ASUS Eee PC arrived....

[Goonie]

On Nov. 26th, I ordered the new ASUS Eee PC from Amazon. They said it was back orderd and wouldn't ship until AFTER Dec 27th. A postal clerk called me this morning to tell me that it was at the PO, and I could pick it up. Slightly ahead of schedule! YEA!

I charged the battery, ran through the 'Initial Setup' which only took a couple of minutes, logged onto my WIFI, and here I am! The keyboard is rather small, but I think that I'm adapting to it fairly well.....gotta get 'spell check' enabled though!

It will be GREAT for traveling, or just grabbing it to take anywhere! It only weighs ~2#, and is only 9" x 6" x 1.5". About the size of a hard back book, and not much heavier either. It's not a dektop replacement by any means, nor a replacement for a normal sized notebok if you use it for hours on end. But for an hour or 2 at a time, and for checking email, surfing, writing letters, and the typical stuff you'd want to do on vacation or when out running errands, or even just sitting on the deck or patio.....it's wonderful!!!

It comes loaded with a version of Xandros Linux, and boots up in 15 SECONDS, and shuts down in 10 seconds. (The owners manual gives step-by-step instructions for installing Windows XP if you want to.) starts in "Easy Mode", but you can change it so it looks and feels like Windows XP.....which is what I'll do probably. Definitely keeping LINUX......don't need XP.

So, if your in the market for an inexpensive, small, notebook for travel & such, check this little baby out! It's neat!

 

[ERD50]

Goonie, does Linux support spanning across a second monitor? Also, buy an inexpensive USB keyboard - more comfortable for home use, and reduces wear and tear on the built in keyboard.

I may buy a laptop as my next desktop. External keyboard and mouse, external monitor gives you plenty of usable screen space, plus you get the portability.

And I keep wanting to play with Linux.

-ERD50

 

[Coach]

Wow, it sounds like a nice little box -- something to keep in mind. Thanks for the info Goonie.

Coach

 

[Goonie]

Goonie, does Linux support spanning across a second monitor?

Yes, it does....you can run multiple monitors under Linux the same as with WinXP. It may take a little more effort (tweaking), though I'm not positive about the details. Can the Asus Eee do it? I doubt it...as it doesn't have robust hardware. However, if you just want to use an external monitor, that's no problem at all, as it has a VGA connection built in.

Also, buy an inexpensive USB keyboard - more comfortable for home use, and reduces wear and tear on the built in keyboard.

Actually, the keyboard isn't that bad to use, and I have big hands! (extra large gloves....ring size 13.5) The keys are the pretty much the same size as a regular KB, they're just closer together, though the 'enter' and 'shift' keys are smaller in size. I do use a Fellowes MicroTrac Finger Mouse
a lot of times, both with my laptops, and my desktops (and it works fine under Linux....uses no drivers and is plug&play). At some point I may pick up a USB wireless mouse also, since it's hard to type while using the 'finger mouse'.

I may buy a laptop as my next desktop. External keyboard and mouse, external monitor gives you plenty of usable screen space, plus you get the portability.

And I keep wanting to play with Linux.

I have an ACER TravelMate 4672WLMi that I bought almost 2 years ago, that's my desktop replacement, as well as (up until yesterday) my travel computer. It'll still take a few road trips, but far less than the tiny, lightweight Asus.

I've been playing with various flavors of Linux, off and on, for a few years. It's really come a long way in hardware support and detection, as well as ease of use, and the variety and quality of software apps for it are amazing.

If you want to play around with it, you can get a "live" version like Knoppix or Mandriva One, they both run from a bootable CD with NOTHING installed to your hard-drive. That way you don't have any worries of screwing up your 'puter.....that's why I like 'em!!! Both of those are free ISO downloads that you burn to CD....or you can buy the CD ready to go. Also, Mandriva has a bootable flash drive available...but it's around $89. (Also, many flavors of Linux can be used to make a bootable flash drive yourself....it's kind of an 'involved' process, but it can be done. I might try it sometime....not soon.)

 

[RetireeRobert]

Good info for future reference. Thanks.

 

[ERD50]

Yes, thanks goonie - I saved the post to my hard drive for future ref. That is probably the most likely way I would try this - some nice pre-packaged linux. I should learn the nitty gritty of an install process, but I just am not motivated enough. Something more turn-key is more to my liking.

-ERD50

 

[Goonie]

I should learn the nitty gritty of an install process, but I just am not motivated enough. Something more turn-key is more to my liking.

Most installs nowadays are about the same as doing a Windows installation....everything is pretty much automatic and plug & play. But like you say, I'm not motivated enough either! I used to like to build my own machines, and do upgrades, and install the OS and all of the software....now I like to just open the box, plug the darn thing in, and be done with it!

Although at some point in time, I might tinker around with making a bootable USB flash drive, since I have 6 or 8 flash drives that I've gotten cheap when they've been on sale. I've burnt a couple Linux versions to make bootable CD's to play around with.