...making Linux just a little more fun!
Mike Orr [sluggoster at gmail.com]
Anybody tried the ASUS eee PC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eee_pc) ? I'm thinking about getting the 8GB model which costs $500. It's a 2 lb subnotebook with 1 GB RAM, 8 GB flash "memory", and Xandros (based on Debian/Corel), and compatible with the Debian repository. I haven't seen one and they seem hard to find even mail order, though some Best Buys have the 4 GB model. My main concerns are the small keyboard, 800x600 screen, and one-button touchpad. But as a second computer for running Python, Firefox, Kopete, gvim, and maybe the Gimp when traveling, I think it might do OK.
Any opinions on the other Linux (sub)notebooks which have begun appearling? I thought about the Zonbu but it has a nonstandard version of Gentoo tied to their subscription plan.
-- Mike Orr <sluggoster@gmail.com>
Rick Moen [rick at linuxmafia.com]
Quoting Mike Orr (sluggoster@gmail.com):
> My main concerns are the small keyboard, 800x600 screen, and > one-button touchpad.
The 800x600 screen would be a deal-breaker, for me. X11 simply sucks at less than 1024x768.
Here's my reply to my mother-in-law, when she asked me about a different (but related) "EEE PC" model:
Quoting Cheryl Morris (camorris@mars.ark.com):
> Any opinions or info on this? > > http://www.physorg.com/news115288648.html
Hadn't seen or heard of, before today. I note the link to http://www.itwire.com/content/view/15490/ , making clear that ASUS is violating the copyright of Linux kernel maintainers and shipping binary-only support for their ACPI firmware (possibly ineptitude rather than malice, but it's still clear copyright violation). Also that they've put "warranty void seals" over the RAM bay and mini-PCI opening, in violation of US consumer law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC says there are actually four models with the name "ASUS EEE".
It's pretty severely anemic: 900 MHz Celeron, 256MB standard RAM, 7" display maxing out at 800 x 480. (Ouch!) Solid-state flash memory is used as mass-storage, which is permanently soldered to the motherboard. Preinstalled Linux distro is gimmicked to not see any RAM above 1 GB (if you void your warranty and add RAM).
Motherboard is an Intel "Alviso-GM" aka 910GML, one of the "Centino Mobile" series. Northbridge is 82910GML. Southbridge is one of the ICH6M class. Integrated Intel GMA900 video.
Basically, if you want a severely limited machine offered by a manipulative firm with an attitude problem, it might be OK, but you can get a much better machine for the same money on the used market. The screen is a particularly nasty limitation, because you can't upgrade to fix it, even in theory.
Ramanathan Muthaiah [rus.cahimb at gmail.com]
> My main concerns are the small > keyboard, 800x600 screen, and one-button touchpad. But as a second > computer for running Python, Firefox, Kopete, gvim, and maybe the Gimp > when traveling, I think it might do OK.
Mike,
Recently, while visiting a car exhibition in Bangalore, I laid my hands on this gadget (of course, it seems not connected, car exhibition and subnotebooks !).
It was on display by an Indian company (SPIN something???) and I
managed to play around with this toy inspite of my daughter's
insistence to move on to the bigger stalls 
The guys at the booth allowed me free access; it was loaded with a
modified version of Debian. Certainly, the screen and the keyboard are
a limitation if you consider to use it continuously for long periods.
Should be suitable for use while on the road
Sorry, I could not offer much on the applications' availability, system features and other things.
One last thing, I did launch OpenOffice and used the Writer to type (scribbled, to be correct) in few sentences to feel the keyboard. That's when I felt the keyboard thing.
/Ram
Thomas Adam [thomas.adam22 at gmail.com]
Hey Mike --
On 24/12/2007, Mike Orr <sluggoster@gmail.com> wrote:
> Anybody tried the ASUS eee PC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eee_pc) ?
Yes -- a colleague of mine has one at work. They're retailing for ~ ?250 here in the UK which is very cheap. It's a nicely designed laptop, works well with Ubuntu, but the screen is rather small IMO, at just 1024x768 resolution maximum.
-- Thomas Adam