Comments on: Asus EEE PC http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/ A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:56:08 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: gyffes http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-233750 gyffes Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:49:05 +0000 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-233750 Oh, forgot to come back and add: I'd had the XO about 3 days when I came in to work one morning and found it dead dead dead. On boot, it'd give me a nice chime, the XO symbol would appear with a single white "snowball" beneath it... and nothing more. Extensive searching yielded several different things to try as fixes, none worked. ALL resulted in "Boot failed" (in red) with a nice yellow frowny face (echoes of Sad Macs past). It's back in its box about to be RMA'd back to the manufacturer. I'm too experienced a computer user for this to totally sour me on a device -- I understand how tech, esp new tech, can fail; I've not given up on the XO, but it's now going to be a BIRTHDAY present for my son, not an xmas present. Still, the experience hasn't thrilled me and has left me MORE delighted with my eeepc. Oh, forgot to come back and add: I’d had the XO about 3 days when I came in to work one morning and found it dead dead dead.

On boot, it’d give me a nice chime, the XO symbol would appear with a single white “snowball” beneath it… and nothing more.

Extensive searching yielded several different things to try as fixes, none worked. ALL resulted in “Boot failed” (in red) with a nice yellow frowny face (echoes of Sad Macs past).

It’s back in its box about to be RMA’d back to the manufacturer.

I’m too experienced a computer user for this to totally sour me on a device — I understand how tech, esp new tech, can fail; I’ve not given up on the XO, but it’s now going to be a BIRTHDAY present for my son, not an xmas present. Still, the experience hasn’t thrilled me and has left me MORE delighted with my eeepc.

]]> By: Ace_NoOne http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-233737 Ace_NoOne Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:21:11 +0000 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-233737 FWIW, I've jotted down <a href="http://fnd.lewcid.org/blog/archive/6" rel="nofollow">my first impressions of the XO-1</a>. It's a very preliminary review, but maybe someone here is interested... FWIW, I’ve jotted down my first impressions of the XO-1. It’s a very preliminary review, but maybe someone here is interested…

]]> By: Ace_NoOne http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-220584 Ace_NoOne Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:03:39 +0000 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-220584 Thanks for the tip, but I'm not exactly an Apple fanboy... I expect there to be a lot of new developments in this particular market next year, as a number of companies have already announced plans to produce similar devices. Thanks for the tip, but I’m not exactly an Apple fanboy…
I expect there to be a lot of new developments in this particular market next year, as a number of companies have already announced plans to produce similar devices.

]]> By: gyffes http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-220494 gyffes Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:18:44 +0000 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-220494 Right, well, since you're still undecided... might as well wait to see what Steve announces at MacWorld in January. I really bought the eee to tide me over 'til Apple's eMate-replacement device (10" clamshell lappie, SSD, in the $1000-1200 range is my hope hope hope). I'm still eager to see what Apple will release but the Asus has me very very satisfied in the ultra-portable computing department. Especially now that I've tweaked the KDE interface so I see nothing but the keystroke-activated application launcher. Right, well, since you’re still undecided… might as well wait to see what Steve announces at MacWorld in January. I really bought the eee to tide me over ’til Apple’s eMate-replacement device (10″ clamshell lappie, SSD, in the $1000-1200 range is my hope hope hope). I’m still eager to see what Apple will release but the Asus has me very very satisfied in the ultra-portable computing department.

Especially now that I’ve tweaked the KDE interface so I see nothing but the keystroke-activated application launcher.

]]> By: Ace_NoOne http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-220485 Ace_NoOne Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:56:02 +0000 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-220485 Thanks, gyffes, I appreciate the extensive information! That might make me reconsider (especially with regard to future enhanced versions of the Eee), but given that neither the XO nor the Eee is available over here yet ... well, we'll see. Thanks, gyffes, I appreciate the extensive information!
That might make me reconsider (especially with regard to future enhanced versions of the Eee), but given that neither the XO nor the Eee is available over here yet … well, we’ll see.

]]> By: gyffes http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-220470 gyffes Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:22:27 +0000 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-220470 I have had the eeepc for a few weeks now and adore it. I often leave the macbook in the bag when going into the coffeeshop, even for periods of up to a couple of hours (so, I like hanging out in coffeeshops...). Yes, I wish the battery lasted longer -- can sit at the coffeeshop for upwards of FIVE with the macbook -- but it's hardly a deal breaker. And the screen is NOT a problem. Writing in Abiword fullscreen mode is very easy on the eyes. Web-browsing in Firefox requires occasional sideways sliding of the window/scrollbar, but the arrow keys do that easily and as you may notice even from this blog-page, most sites are actually designed almost perfectly for a 7" screen. Yes, the font is small in Firefox, but even that's adjustable, if your eyesight is poor. As for getting the XO instead? Forget it. Mine (ok, ostensibly it's for my son, age 5 1/2) arrived two days ago. I've yet to get it online, the keyboard's miserably small and slick, and it's hardly intuitive. It has much that is appealing about it, but the eee is smaller with better screen and keyboard and really amazing 'net connectivity. The XO's mesh networking is great in concept but until I can actually get it to use one of the myriad wifi locations it sees to get online, it ain' impressing me much. Add to this that the eee's OS is a relatively open version of Xandros, easily modified (or even replaced) vs. the XO's highly proprietary Fedora implementation with the odd Sugar interface and your decision should be clearer. SO, to recap: Given that everyone expects Asus to release their 6-cell battery soon and the XO feels like an alpha or beta-quality product (my ancient eMate feels sturdier and has a TOUCH screen), I believe you'd be very unhappy if you went with the XO over the eeepc. I have had the eeepc for a few weeks now and adore it. I often leave the macbook in the bag when going into the coffeeshop, even for periods of up to a couple of hours (so, I like hanging out in coffeeshops…).

Yes, I wish the battery lasted longer — can sit at the coffeeshop for upwards of FIVE with the macbook — but it’s hardly a deal breaker. And the screen is NOT a problem. Writing in Abiword fullscreen mode is very easy on the eyes. Web-browsing in Firefox requires occasional sideways sliding of the window/scrollbar, but the arrow keys do that easily and as you may notice even from this blog-page, most sites are actually designed almost perfectly for a 7″ screen. Yes, the font is small in Firefox, but even that’s adjustable, if your eyesight is poor.

As for getting the XO instead? Forget it. Mine (ok, ostensibly it’s for my son, age 5 1/2) arrived two days ago. I’ve yet to get it online, the keyboard’s miserably small and slick, and it’s hardly intuitive. It has much that is appealing about it, but the eee is smaller with better screen and keyboard and really amazing ‘net connectivity.

The XO’s mesh networking is great in concept but until I can actually get it to use one of the myriad wifi locations it sees to get online, it ain’ impressing me much.

Add to this that the eee’s OS is a relatively open version of Xandros, easily modified (or even replaced) vs. the XO’s highly proprietary Fedora implementation with the odd Sugar interface and your decision should be clearer.

SO, to recap:

Given that everyone expects Asus to release their 6-cell battery soon and the XO feels like an alpha or beta-quality product (my ancient eMate feels sturdier and has a TOUCH screen), I believe you’d be very unhappy if you went with the XO over the eeepc.

]]> By: Vharn http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-212436 Vharn Thu, 06 Dec 2007 08:02:20 +0000 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-212436 I was looking into the EEE for several months now, and am quite fond of it. The battery life is a drawback though, but keep in mind that the power supply is only as big as a regular cell phone charger, so there's no problem taking it along. Because of the size, it will fit nicely into your bagpack or suitecase. Additionally, depending on your use of the EEE, the battery may last longer than 3,5h. I have a full-sized asus notebook myself, which should last about 3 to 4 hours, but with a little tweaking, i get it to 5 hours of office work. @1: The Release date is set to the middle of december in europe, so it should be available in the next two weeks I was looking into the EEE for several months now, and am quite fond of it.
The battery life is a drawback though, but keep in mind that the power supply is only as big as a regular cell phone charger, so there’s no problem taking it along. Because of the size, it will fit nicely into your bagpack or suitecase.
Additionally, depending on your use of the EEE, the battery may last longer than 3,5h. I have a full-sized asus notebook myself, which should last about 3 to 4 hours, but with a little tweaking, i get it to 5 hours of office work.

@1: The Release date is set to the middle of december in europe, so it should be available in the next two weeks

]]> By: Brad Linder http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-212250 Brad Linder Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:26:30 +0000 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-212250 I'm actually writing this on an Eee PC. The small screen and low resolution is probably the biggest drawback. But the 900MHz processor is surprisingly zippy when using the built in Xandros Linux distribution. You can also very easily install Windows XP or other operating systems. As for the battery life, an extended battery would make the Eee PC larger and heavier, which partially defeats the purpose of having a tiny portable take-anywhere PC. The power cable, on the other hand, is tiny. It's more like a cellphone charger than a laptop charger, which makes it easy to take with you. I’m actually writing this on an Eee PC. The small screen and low resolution is probably the biggest drawback. But the 900MHz processor is surprisingly zippy when using the built in Xandros Linux distribution. You can also very easily install Windows XP or other operating systems.

As for the battery life, an extended battery would make the Eee PC larger and heavier, which partially defeats the purpose of having a tiny portable take-anywhere PC. The power cable, on the other hand, is tiny. It’s more like a cellphone charger than a laptop charger, which makes it easy to take with you.

]]> By: Ace_NoOne http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-212173 Ace_NoOne Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:38:15 +0000 http://www.ghacks.net/2007/12/05/asus-eee-pc/#comment-212173 The tiny (or rather, low-res) display is exactly the reason why I'm not very interested in the Eee. I'd much rather have an XO (<a href="http://laptop.org" rel="nofollow">OLPC</a>). In <a href="http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Hardware_specification#Display" rel="nofollow">monochrome mode</a> - which is fine for most tasks - it has an impressive resolution of 1200x900 (800x600 otherwise). However, it's not available here in Europe (yet?)... The tiny (or rather, low-res) display is exactly the reason why I’m not very interested in the Eee.

I’d much rather have an XO (OLPC). In monochrome mode – which is fine for most tasks – it has an impressive resolution of 1200×900 (800×600 otherwise).
However, it’s not available here in Europe (yet?)…

]]>