# Netbooks: Asus EEE, Acer Aspire, Dell Inspiron 9, MSI Wind etc



## UnderAnOpenSky (Nov 12, 2007)

Just logged on to ebuyer and see they are now for sale in the UK, anyone had a chance to play with one yet and maybe customize it? Seems a great concept, my laptop is dying on me and planning on replacing it with a desktop, but would be nice to have true portable computing at a low price. Be interesting to see if any other manufacturers choose to compete and what the mark 2 will look like....


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## ChrisFilter (Nov 12, 2007)

Trying to convince work to buy one.


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## Xanadu (Nov 12, 2007)

Planning on getting one when the slightly larger models come out.


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## dogmatique (Dec 3, 2007)

Should be getting mine thur / fri this week.  Looking forward to it!

Seems perfect for trips when you want to check email / web browse / watch a few vids on the train.

Can't beat it at the price!

Will probably garner howls of derision though as I plan to put some kind of lite XP on it so that it works with everything I'm used to.

The included install disk comes with all XP drivers ready to go.


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## fractionMan (Dec 3, 2007)

See http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=231618


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## Crispy (Dec 4, 2007)

I'd want to hack OSX onto one


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## han (Dec 4, 2007)

dogmatique said:
			
		

> Should be getting mine thur / fri this week.  Looking forward to it!
> 
> Seems perfect for trips when you want to check email / web browse / watch a few vids on the train.
> 
> ...



Ooh  - give us the lowdown when you've got it


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## fractionMan (Dec 4, 2007)

Crispy said:
			
		

> I'd want to hack OSX onto one



bindun, but it's a bit crap ... http://www.tuaw.com/2007/11/15/os-x-on-an-asus-eee-pc/


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## Crispy (Dec 4, 2007)

Yeah, I saw that. Considering that older cersions ran find on G3 computers with 256MB RAM, I think this thing should do okay for lightweight stuff. It'd be for the novelty really


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## fractionMan (Dec 4, 2007)

My fave hack was windows95 on a PSP.  Really quite pointless


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## dogmatique (Dec 5, 2007)

Hmm.  Seems to be stock problems - no great surprise there.  Looks like I'll be waiting for mine to turn up for a while... curses!


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## Chz (Dec 6, 2007)

Played with one... Meh.

I have a 7 year-old Toshiba Libretto that I picked up for free, and the Asus doesn't do anything that it doesn't except have USB ports. (I've got a card with some) The Eee is slow enough that some web sites are noticeably slow to render, and you can forget about Flash stuff. It would be laughable to use it for any serious work, just due to the keyboard.

I can absolutely see how some people might like it, but I can't find a use for it.


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## fractionMan (Dec 7, 2007)

Compiz fusion +xubuntu on an EEEpc.


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## lobster (Dec 7, 2007)

My friend has one, i played with it, its bit too small for me personally, also don;t solid state drives have read/write limitations?


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## rhod (Dec 29, 2007)

Saw one of these in PC World, and they had very cannilly put it amongst the Apple stuff. 

Very nice looking bit of kit, and although they had simplified the front end desktop for a newbie user, the applications were real enough, and felt quite responsive. You could get some real work done on one of these beasties!


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## ChrisFilter (Dec 29, 2007)

Got the Mrs one for Xmas. Very impressed... the keyboard is very good and you can happily type properly on it. Linux interface is clear and easy to use. Everything works and it's more than snappy enough when you consider it costs £225!


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## dogmatique (Dec 29, 2007)

Gah.  My supplier STILL doesn't have any stock.  Grr.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Dec 29, 2007)

Have you paid for it? Could you not cancel the order and get it from somwhere else?


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## dogmatique (Jan 4, 2008)

They seem to be very difficult to get hold of don't y'know.  There's a few of the 2GB versions about, but they're not much use. 

Finally managed to get one from ebuyer, arrived today - sod's law, didn't cancel the other order first, so now have another one arriving Monday.

Had a quick play - the keyboard is very small, and the mini-shift key on the right is going to be a real pain, but overall it's lovely and compact, and pretty nippy too - though I did immediately whip out the 512mb memory stick and put in a 2GB one.  

The extra PCI slot seems to have gone on my revision of the machine too, which is a shame, though I had no plans to use it.

Had a very brief look around the Linux distro, then immediately started to intstall XP, which I managed to get down to less than 150mb.

Will let you know how I get on.


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## gnoriac (Jan 4, 2008)

fractionMan said:
			
		

> Compiz fusion +xubuntu on an EEEpc.



If it can run that, can't it run full-fat ubuntu? (must admit I'm not that keen on xubuntu).
Any idea what it's native OS is like?


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## ChrisFilter (Jan 4, 2008)

gnoriac said:
			
		

> Any idea what it's native OS is like?



Very locked down, not for enthusiasts.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 4, 2008)

i plan to get one for on the move.... i'll probably end up using it as just soming to cart round with me  so i'm not too worried

and i can always vnc into onbe of my other puters for  other stuff


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## mack (Jan 4, 2008)

Now with added touch screen!

http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2007/12/asus-eee-pc-with-touch-screen.html

Good thread about stock availability here..

http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=1067&p=10


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## Firky (Jan 4, 2008)

I'd be tempted if it was bigger than 2GB SS


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 4, 2008)

there is a 4 gb model  and the 8gb is comming out soon... plus you can easly expand with sd cards


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## Firky (Jan 4, 2008)

I want 100GB which you're not going to get on a little device like this or from SS (anytime soon).


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 4, 2008)

buy an usb external drive


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## Firky (Jan 4, 2008)

I feel dumb for not thinking of that.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 4, 2008)

kneel before zod!!


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## lobster (Jan 4, 2008)

rhod said:
			
		

> Saw one of these in PC World, and they had very cannilly put it amongst the Apple stuff.



FWIW Apple design their machines then contract out the manufacturing to Asus and some others. Asus started out building machines for other people (not just Apple, its common practice to outsource manufacturing) and have branched out into selling their own badged hardware.
There are OEMs (the laptop manufacturers we all know) and ODMs (original design manufacturers). ODMs actually build the laptops, and they're relatively unknown. Asus are unusual in that.


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## dogmatique (Jan 5, 2008)

Well, spent the day getting the reduced Windows install to go down pat, and it works (largely) like a dream - and it's certainly faster than some full size lappies I know.

The keyboard though, being so small is a bit of a drawback for those that touch-type.  It's just so small!  And the decision to make the right hand shift key the same size as a normal one, and position it to the left of the up cursor key is a killer, I'm constantly shifting up a line instead of shifting for caps.

Small potatoes though really - it's a lovely little machine.  I was out for dinner with a load of people tonight and passed it round the table (yeah, I'm such an interesting chap) and there were many admiring and excited coo's about it's size and how truly portable it is.

The tiny 4gb SSD (solid state drive, ie it's hard drive) will become an issue though - especially with my immediate XP install. - Despite stripping the XP install to 150mb, and the final install topping out at 450mb with a few basic apps added, the drive is coming up with 2.93gb used, with only 800mb free - and I haven't even installed Open Office yet.

There's some reading to be done there, as I'm certain it should only be a third of this.

[Edited to add: Disabled the Page File and the space suddenly jumped to nearly 3gig]

It also gets surprisingly hot - I feel like I'm typing on a mini-handwarmer. I wrongly assumed the absense of a HDD would have made a difference.  The EEE still has a fan and it certainly needs it.

The screen is obviously small.  Which in itself shouldn't be a problem - except that most browsers and websites are very inconsiderate.  By this I mean toolbars in all browers: at the very least you have the app title line, the main menu bar, then the tab bar, then the standard action / address bar. All of which are fine normally, but in a screen this tiny, it's taking up an inch, which is very precious.

Visit youtube, and you'll be hard pressed to fit the video and the controls on the screen without having to scroll.

Sacrifices and niggles that can largely be explained and excused by the size.  You know what you're getting into when you buy this little thing, so there shouldn't be much room for complaint.  Especially at the price.

Personally, I love it, and will love it more once I've figured out how to reduce drive usage and practiced typing on it's diminuitive keyboard.


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## jæd (Jan 5, 2008)

Whats the battery life doing normal tasks like...?  (Ie, real word, not the advertised life...)


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## Crispy (Jan 5, 2008)

Go to display properies and use Classic interface, then go to customise and shrink the interface elements, use smaller system fonts etc.


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## Xanadu (Jan 5, 2008)

dogmatique said:
			
		

> Well, spent the day getting the reduced Windows install to go down pat, and it works (largely) like a dream - and it's certainly faster than some full size lappies I know.
> 
> The keyboard though, being so small is a bit of a drawback for those that touch-type.  It's just so small!  And the decision to make the right hand shift key the same size as a normal one, and position it to the left of the up cursor key is a killer, I'm constantly shifting up a line instead of shifting for caps.
> 
> ...



F11 for full screen browsing?
Perhaps find a skin for your browser with smaller buttons, or try out Opera?


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 5, 2008)

God, I want one of these, for no particular reason that I can explain, particularly given that I already have three laptops. I'm having to restrain myself from going down to TCR today and buying one.


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## Crispy (Jan 5, 2008)

Xanadu said:
			
		

> F11 for full screen browsing?
> Perhaps find a skin for your browser with smaller buttons, or try out Opera?


Yeah, you can squeeze the opera interface right down. You can have the tabs in a column up the side, which saves you vertical space.


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## ChrisFilter (Jan 5, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> God, I want one of these, for no particular reason that I can explain, particularly given that I already have three laptops. I'm having to restrain myself from going down to TCR today and buying one.



I doubt there'll be stock left on TCR anyway!


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## dogmatique (Jan 5, 2008)

Xanadu said:
			
		

> F11 for full screen browsing?
> Perhaps find a skin for your browser with smaller buttons, or try out Opera?



That is with Opera.  Just would be nice not to have to use F11.  Still very usable though.


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## dogmatique (Jan 5, 2008)

Crispy said:
			
		

> Yeah, you can squeeze the opera interface right down. You can have the tabs in a column up the side, which saves you vertical space.



I'll give that a go.


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## rhod (Jan 5, 2008)

And Opera's easy to use page zoom feature would also be ideal on a small screen like this.


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## Crispy (Jan 5, 2008)

Yeah, that too. 70-80% zoom is still completely useable.


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## dogmatique (Jan 5, 2008)

Now why didn't I think of that?  Good point.  Works a treat.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 5, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> God, I want one of these, for no particular reason that I can explain, particularly given that I already have three laptops. I'm having to restrain myself from going down to TCR today and buying one.



I know what you mean, they're just so cool.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 5, 2008)

I'm really pleased they are selling well. Hopefully that means that the form factor will stick around and we will get a range of models.


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## dogmatique (Jan 5, 2008)

It's going to be huge - supply has been a real problem - they just can't manufacture them quickly enough.  We're going to see a whole swathe of these devices this year, and I reckon hardly any of them will come with Windows installed, which is nice.


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## jæd (Jan 5, 2008)

dogmatique said:
			
		

> It's going to be huge - supply has been a real problem - they just can't manufacture them quickly enough.  We're going to see a whole swathe of these devices this year, and I reckon hardly any of them will come with Windows installed, which is nice.



So what's the battery life like...?


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 5, 2008)

dogmatique said:
			
		

> It's going to be huge - supply has been a real problem - they just can't manufacture them quickly enough.  We're going to see a whole swathe of these devices this year, and I reckon hardly any of them will come with Windows installed, which is nice.



Yep and hopefully this will have a good knock on effect on the price of full laptops too...


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## dogmatique (Jan 6, 2008)

jæd said:
			
		

> So what's the battery life like...?



Haven't given it much of a run out yet, so not sure.  Was still pretty much on full after an hour.


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## mack (Jan 8, 2008)

9" Coming soon with xp. 







http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/07/live-from-the-intel-sprint-asus-xohm-wimax-press-event/


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 10, 2008)

Has anyone tried getting mobile internet on one running linux, either through their phone or a seperate usb modem? If so whats driver support like?

Would be nice if for the mark 2 they just put a slot to put a sim card in.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 10, 2008)

I read that it supports the Huaewei (sp) 3G modem that I've got, certainly.


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## mitochondria (Jan 10, 2008)

it starts faster than my sony ericsson phone

i want one


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 11, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> I read that it supports the Huaewei (sp) 3G modem that I've got, certainly.


I can confirm that it definitely does, and it's easier to set it up than on OS X. All the settings are built into the network connections manager.


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## editor (Jan 12, 2008)

I don't know if it was because someone had been messing with the settings, but I had a play on an Eee in PC World today and was more than a bit underwhelmed. 

It seemed really slow with a bit of a clunky interface.


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## untethered (Jan 12, 2008)

Global_Stoner said:
			
		

> Would be nice if for the mark 2 they just put a slot to put a sim card in.



Perhaps also a smaller screen, smaller form factor that fits in your pocket and just a few basic keys to enable you to dial numbers and send text messages?


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## lobster (Jan 12, 2008)

Lenovo IdeaPad U110 that should come out in a few months could convince me over the eeepc because of its 11inch screen and bigger size keyboard.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 13, 2008)

editor said:
			
		

> I don't know if it was because someone had been messing with the settings, but I had a play on an Eee in PC World today and was more than a bit underwhelmed.
> 
> It seemed really slow with a bit of a clunky interface.


Really? Admittedly I've chopped out the "basic mode" interface (very easy to do) and twiddled with a few settings, but for most of the stuff I want to do, it's damn fast, and mine is the most basic 2 gig model. Firefox runs quite nippily once it's loaded, which doesn't take that long. OpenOffice launches faster than on some full-size laptops that I've seen.

It's certainly not Palm-speed for launching things and turning on, but it's fast enough that you can get it out on the tube. I timed it from pressing the power on button to having a full wifi connection and having Firefox load your home page and it's about a minute. In fact, I made a video:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=4582613650534875060


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## editor (Jan 13, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> It's certainly not Palm-speed for launching things and turning on, but it's fast enough that you can get it out on the tube. I timed it from pressing the power on button to having a full wifi connection and having Firefox load your home page and it's about a minute. In fact, I made a video:
> 
> http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=4582613650534875060


Gotta love your spoddiness!

I tried opening a few apps and it seemed much slower than I anticipated - maybe I was expecting too much.

Still makes me think that the instant-on Foleo could have been a contender, you know - even a minute can seem like a long time if you want to quickly check something or make a note (especially if you're used to a fast smartphone).

But there's no denying the value of the Eee.


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## Crispy (Jan 13, 2008)

Does it have decent suspend and wake? A minute from cold is not too shabby, but what's it like if you're just closing and opening the lid?


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 13, 2008)

What's it like from hibernation?


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 13, 2008)

It's certainly not a PDA replacement - for a start, it's got no PIM software. (Well, it does, but it doesn't push it in the basic mode; there's all sorts of software that isn't listed in the big-button menus.) And anything that takes a minute to boot really isn't even trying to compete.

On the other hand, I was editing source code and committing it with SVN this evening, in between doing mindmaps on FreeMind, looking things up on the net etc. One can actually do proper work on it in a way that you really couldn't with a PDA, or at least it would be a pain. I wouldn't want to do that sort of thing on my TX, and with this, you have all the Linux apps to pick from too.

It's only a replacement for a PDA if you spend most of your time typing on it and wishing you had a laptop that was small enough and could boot that quickly. In that case you'd do well with it. But if you mostly manage contacts and to-dos and stuff and only occasionally do other things, it won't solve your problems.

It's a fantastic gadget mind you either way, and I can't think of a better alternative if I wanted to carry something around that I could just pull out and do a bit of writing on any time I felt like it. I shall certainly be carrying it around, because that's the sort of thing I _do_ want.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 13, 2008)

Crispy said:
			
		

> Does it have decent suspend and wake? A minute from cold is not too shabby, but what's it like if you're just closing and opening the lid?


It's fairly instant if you're just waking it. Takes about five seconds to restore the desktop, a bit more to rejoin a wifi network (15, 20 or so).


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 13, 2008)

Kid_Eternity said:
			
		

> What's it like from hibernation?


There's no straight "hibernation" mode as such, but you can put it on "standby" which is just like closing the lid, as above.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 13, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> There's no straight "hibernation" mode as such, but you can put it on "standby" which is just like closing the lid, as above.



Sorry, that's what I meant.


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## editor (Jan 13, 2008)

The Foleo rip off has been reviewed here: 
http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=13665



> Here's how it works. You're using your smartphone to, for example, check your email. A message comes in with a large Excel spreadsheet attached, and you quickly find that scrolling around all the columns and rows is frustrating on a 2.8-inch, QVGA display. So you open up the Redfly Mobile Companion and plug your smartphone in. In a couple of seconds, the spreadsheet is displayed on the larger device's 8-inch, WVGA (800 by 480 pixel) screen. There's no synchronizing or re-downloading the message; you are  exactly where you were on the smartphone.


It offers a very similar functionality to the Foleo (even the name is similar: Celio!), instant on, full integration between mobile/laptop, trackpad, USB 2.0, video out and a claimed, not-to-be-sniffed at 8 hours battery life.

The bad news is that it's priced at $500, WM only, has no speakers and it's a fair bit bulkier than the Foleo.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 13, 2008)

It looks more like basically an external screen and an external keyboard for the smartphone than the Foleo did (which iirc had a fair amount of its own software). Which is not a bad idea. I mean, a smartphone can do quite a bit with an external keyboard, why not give it an external screen too?

That $500 is going to put people off though. I can't see that the business market is really going to go for that. There's the argument from TCO of smartphone + Celio vs laptop in that review, but the thing is, every company that equips people with mobile devices to go on the road with has to give them laptops _anyway_.

Until smartphones basically become powerful enough to be little "base computer" units, that you can plug into a docking station of whatever size you like - your desktop, something like this etc - and I think that will happen - I don't think this sort of thing is going to take off outside of the hardcore gadget market. At the moment they're best used for connectivity rather than as actual processors.

For that matter I don't think the Eee is going to take off in the business market either - for freelancers and so on it's great, not for corporations - but they're not concentrating on that, which is sensible of them. Apparently it's being pushed heavily in education.


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## editor (Jan 13, 2008)

I can see the attraction in the corporate world for Foleo-type devices running a limited range of business-focussed programs with little chance of being hit with viruses or people installing dodgy, machine-wobbling programs.

If I was running a business that involved people being sent out on the road (like that's going to happen!), I really could see the appeal of equipping reps with cheap, reliable, simple phone companion laptops with long-life batteries  loaded with just the software for the job.

But $500 is way too much, even if the support and training costs would be massively lower than a 'proper' laptop.


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## jæd (Jan 13, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> On the other hand, I was editing source code and committing it with SVN this evening, in between doing mindmaps on FreeMind, looking things up on the net etc. One can actually do proper work on it in a way that you really couldn't with a PDA, or at least it would be a pain. I wouldn't want to do that sort of thing on my TX, and with this, you have all the Linux apps to pick from too.



You can install Ubuntu onto a Sony TX... I looked into a while back and it seemed fairly do-able...


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## editor (Jan 13, 2008)

He means his Palm TX.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 13, 2008)

Wasn't the Foleo $500?


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## Crispy (Jan 13, 2008)

$600, without the mailin rebate. http://treo.about.com/od/treomodels/a/mobilecomputing_4.htm


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## editor (Jan 13, 2008)

Kid_Eternity said:
			
		

> Wasn't the Foleo $500?


After the rebate, yes, and I think that it was over priced too, although it seems a more polished effort than the Celio.

If that had converted to £250, then I might have been tempted a few months ago, but after the Eee, £200-£220 would be my limit for such a 'companion' device.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 13, 2008)

That's the thing - whether or not you want one, it's still been "game-changing", in that every ultraportable or similar device is going to be compared to it. From now on, people are going to be saying "so what does your gadget offer me over an Eee?"

There's been this weird situation whereby the smaller the laptop, the greater the price, even if there was clearly a market for something based on the size which didn't need some sort of 1600x1280 7" screen and full-scale processor. "Compact" doesn't have to mean "overpowered and stupidly priced".

I might draw a comparison to the iPhone. I have no intention of getting one, but it was a kick up the arse for phone manufacturers in terms of UI, which they definitely needed. Probably they still need a few more kicks now, admittedly.


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 13, 2008)

Good post FM, pretty much agree with all of that. Have noticed PC World have started selling pretty cheap but small laptops now too. Speaks volumes if you ask me...


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## editor (Jan 14, 2008)

Oh hold on: that Celio thing hasn't got wi-fi! Rubbish!


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 14, 2008)

editor said:
			
		

> Oh hold on: that Celio thing hasn't got wi-fi! Rubbish!



That's bit of a stupid move...


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## editor (Jan 14, 2008)

Kid_Eternity said:
			
		

> That's bit of a stupid move...


I'm researching it now for an article and it gets worse: there's no built in memory/memory slot, there's no speakers, and it's a totally dumb terminal that can't run any apps on its own.

The only thing you get is what's on your phone - so if you play a movie it appears in a tiny square on the screen and the only way to get a decent speed is to use a USB cable.

Fuck me, the Foelo was like a power machine compared to this thing!


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## Jonti (Jan 14, 2008)

...  back to the Asus, when I ordered one before Xmas the delivery date was notified as 11th Jan.  Then, on the 13th Jan I got an email telling me the new delivery date would be 4th Feb.

I wonder, what did they do with the stock that was scheduled to be available a few days back?


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## rhod (Jan 14, 2008)




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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 14, 2008)

Sell it to me apparently 

I got the 2 gig one. I understand that there's a bit of a run on the 4 gig ones, if that's what you ordered. There were plenty of 2Gs on ebuyer - there was one 4G, which went by the time I'd sorted out my credit card address.


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## untethered (Jan 14, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> Sell it to me apparently
> 
> I got the 2 gig one. I understand that there's a bit of a run on the 4 gig ones, if that's what you ordered. There were plenty of 2Gs on ebuyer - there was one 4G, which went by the time I'd sorted out my credit card address.



Does anyone know when the 8GB ones will be available in the UK? I know you can use SDHC cards but it'd be nice to have a bit more space on the internal SSD.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 14, 2008)

editor said:
			
		

> I'm researching it now for an article and it gets worse: there's no built in memory/memory slot, there's no speakers, and it's a totally dumb terminal that can't run any apps on its own.
> 
> The only thing you get is what's on your phone - so if you play a movie it appears in a tiny square on the screen and the only way to get a decent speed is to use a USB cable.
> 
> Fuck me, the Foelo was like a power machine compared to this thing!


Yes, it's just a plugin screen and keyboard really. Could just get an external keyboard, and a Fresnel lens like the ones they had in _Brazil_.


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## Crispy (Jan 14, 2008)

Bring on the roll-up e-ink displays.


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## untethered (Jan 14, 2008)

Crispy said:
			
		

> Bring on the roll-up e-ink displays.



I like the e-ink storage meter on these USB flash drives:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132057

A very simple idea but a very convenient one.


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## Crispy (Jan 14, 2008)

neat 




Want! (but a bit bigger?)


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## Kid_Eternity (Jan 14, 2008)

_advert removed_

http://www.apple.com/


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## Crispy (Jan 14, 2008)

Don't take the piss. Smells like spam at this range.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 16, 2008)

Oh, I'd just like to point out something that the Eee is damn good as - a portable games machine.

No, really. You can play all of the old DOS, ST, Amiga etc games that you simply can't play on a DS or other portable device because there's no keyboard, and installing DOSBox and downloading the games is incredibly easy ("sudo apt-get install dosbox", www.the-underdogs.info ). I was up until 3 this morning playing Dungeon Master on DOSBox, for instance - well, I never finished it the first time round. Plus, it will run fairly undemanding games quite well natively. I have heard of people playing Counterstrike with it for instance (and when I showed it to my friend in the pub this evening, she spent about an hour playing FrozenBubble).


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## editor (Jan 16, 2008)

I think I'm going to wait for the next round of Eees with the bigger screen and see what similar products come out from their competitors in the next few months. 

I'm feeling the love for the concept though - it's the nearest I'll get to my Foleo, goddamit!


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## Firky (Jan 16, 2008)

ebuyer has them for £179... tempted.


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## FridgeMagnet (Jan 17, 2008)

I'd probably at least try to get a 4G rather than the 2G I have now if I was buying again. Mind you, I just got a 2 gig SD card from Tesco which I can just plug in and leave there and use for extra storage. Fifteen quid. What's the world coming to eh? Fifteen quid for a 2 gig card!


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## dogmatique (Jan 17, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> Oh, I'd just like to point out something that the Eee is damn good as - a portable games machine.



Yep, I managed to get Call of Duty to install happily on it and it plays a treat!  So not just the old arcade games!


----------



## dogmatique (Jan 17, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> I'd probably at least try to get a 4G rather than the 2G I have now if I was buying again. Mind you, I just got a 2 gig SD card from Tesco which I can just plug in and leave there and use for extra storage. Fifteen quid. What's the world coming to eh? Fifteen quid for a 2 gig card!



And thirty quid for an 8gig card!  

Personally I pimped mine as much as I could as soon as it arrived - swapped the 512mb memory for a 2gb one, and stuck in an 8gig mem card as mentioned.  Works a treat - though I did want to run XP from the get go.


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> I'd probably at least try to get a 4G rather than the 2G I have now if I was buying again. Mind you, I just got a 2 gig SD card from Tesco which I can just plug in and leave there and use for extra storage. Fifteen quid. What's the world coming to eh? Fifteen quid for a 2 gig card!


Rip off! They're less than £6 here!
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_6&products_id=103279


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jan 17, 2008)

*shakes fist at Tesco* DAMN YOU, DENMARK-INVADING BASTARDS!


----------



## dogmatique (Jan 17, 2008)

editor said:
			
		

> Rip off! They're less than £6 here!
> http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_6&products_id=103279



That's fucking ridiculous!

I remember the days etc... 32mb for 40 quid... and in this millenium!!

Note: It's always worth paying a bit extra for the high speed ones, especially for the eee


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jan 17, 2008)

dogmatique said:
			
		

> And thirty quid for an 8gig card!
> 
> Personally I pimped mine as much as I could as soon as it arrived - swapped the 512mb memory for a 2gb one, and stuck in an 8gig mem card as mentioned.  Works a treat - though I did want to run XP from the get go.


That's very odd - your posts didn't appear at all until I looked just now.

Was it hard to add the memory? Do you have a 2G?


----------



## dogmatique (Jan 17, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> That's very odd - your posts didn't appear at all until I looked just now.
> 
> Was it hard to add the memory? Do you have a 2G?



4G.  Adding the memory is a piece of piss.  Though you do have to rip off the warranty sticker they've put over the user accessable back plate that's there so that you can upgrade the memory!  Apparently in Europe that's fine though.

Undo the four screws, pop the back off and you'll see a memory stick in place with spring catches at either end.  Pull them outwards and the stick pops up.  Pull it out and replace with new, push back in  and close hatch.  Easy.

If you want to do owt with the eee the unofficial user forum has great guides.

http://www.eeeuser.com/


----------



## lobster (Jan 17, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:
			
		

> *shakes fist at Tesco* DAMN YOU, DENMARK-INVADING BASTARDS!


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2008)

The competition's heating up!





> Everex may not be releasing its first $399 ultraportable CloudBook until the end of January, but the Taiwanese PC maker is already talking about a supersize successor due later this year that will sport a bigger screen but stay under $500.
> 
> The first $399 CloudBook is expected to be available Jan. 25 in Wal-Mart stores and from e-tailers such as WalMart.com, NewEgg.com and TigerDirect. It will have a 7-in. LCD, 1.2-GHz ultralow-voltage Via processor, 512MB RAM, 30GB hard drive and will run the gOS operating system, which is based on the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution....
> 
> ...


All win for consumers!


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jan 17, 2008)

Excellent!


----------



## tarannau (Jan 17, 2008)

The other interesting thing about this development is that, to a certain extent, it stops the presumption that faster is best, that software can continue to be designed for the latest OSs and processors. 

Which is perhaps bad news for MS and its bloated Vista platform. Sure, there's Windows Mobile, but it's unlikely to be half as dominant.

I am beginning to wonder if this market will run out of steam faster than some predict mind. I like the idea of the eee pc, but I don't know if I honestly have that much use for one. In an area squeezed by ever more capable mobile phones (free) and ever cheaper laptops how many people actually need a cut down unit to companion their other pcs? Still would like an eee pc, but I suspect the number of eager geeks rushing to buy what's essentially an  added 'functional' extra to their computing pleasure may decline fairly sharply


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2008)

tarannau said:
			
		

> Which is perhaps bad news for MS and its bloated Vista platform. Sure, there's Windows Mobile, but it's unlikely to be half as dominant.


The trend for small, light and cheap laptops is hardly good news for Apple either. I can see this market being _huge._ 

With fully functional laptops hovering around the £200 mark - and better, cheaper ones on the way supported by new software - these are going to be great for students, bloggers, travellers, folks on a budget, kids, sales force teams and people like me who occasionally want more than a phone can offer.

An Eee-like lappie would be perfect for me for weekends away, Glasto, working weekends, studying in cafes, reviewing/backing up photos etc etc.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 17, 2008)

mmmm i need an eee soon

probably will try it out running linux ... but first things first i'm going to install a snes emulator and stick all my roms on a sd card...  ultimate power

i might even get UT classic running on it


----------



## Crispy (Jan 17, 2008)

It'll never be someone'e main computer, mind.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 17, 2008)

tarannau said:
			
		

> I suspect the number of eager geeks rushing to buy what's essentially an  added 'functional' extra to their computing pleasure may decline fairly sharply



It's not geeks who are buying it though, it's kids and 'girls'.


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2008)

Crispy said:
			
		

> It'll never be someone'e main computer, mind.


Oh I don't know: I could see parents buying these things for their kids and if you're on a low income, the Eee is a good way to get you online.


----------



## Crispy (Jan 17, 2008)

True. I want one, but I have zero need for it, so I'm just trying to talk it down in the hopes it'll douse my fires


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2008)

They're shifting Eees by the bucketload!


> ASUS' fledgling Eee PC is doing extremely well, the company reports. It expects to sell over 400,000 systems by January, and at a tradeshow in Taipei last week, it sold out all 5,000 units it brought for the occasion. Targeted sales for 2008 could be in excess of 3.8 million. This very success could, however, become a problem for ASUS, notes the research firm Gartner. It has already attracted competition, such as from the Chinese company Hasee, which is building a stripped-down 13.3-inch laptop.
> http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/12/11/gartner.eee.rivals.coming/


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2008)

Crispy said:
			
		

> True. I want one, but I have zero need for it, so I'm just trying to talk it down in the hopes it'll douse my fires


I know exactly how you feel.  

One of the tech blogs described how the Eee has generated an "Apple-like buzz about it," which seems about right.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jan 17, 2008)

editor said:
			
		

> The trend for small, light and cheap laptops is hardly good news for Apple either. I can see this market being _huge._
> 
> With fully functional laptops hovering around the £200 mark - and better, cheaper ones on the way supported by new software - these are going to be great for students, bloggers, travellers, folks on a budget, kids, sales force teams and people like me who occasionally want more than a phone can offer.
> 
> An Eee-like lappie would be perfect for me for weekends away, Glasto, working weekends, studying in cafes, reviewing/backing up photos etc etc.



Yep, every word be true. The cheap price means you're not as worried about it getting broken etc.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 17, 2008)

tarannau said:
			
		

> I am beginning to wonder if this market will run out of steam faster than some predict mind. I like the idea of the eee pc, but I don't know if I honestly have that much use for one. In an area squeezed by ever more capable mobile phones (free) and ever cheaper laptops how many people actually need a cut down unit to companion their other pcs? Still would like an eee pc, but I suspect the number of eager geeks rushing to buy what's essentially an  added 'functional' extra to their computing pleasure may decline fairly sharply



I could see myself getting a device like it to replace my smartphone and laptop. I've got a fast desktop, I'm fed up with smartphones and their tiny screens and my laptop is old, big and bulky so doens't get taken out much, but I couldn't justify the expense of powerfull mobile one when I have a desktop.

Mobile phones arn't free, you get much cheaper contracts if you dont take one and the form factor of cheap laptops make them more desktop replacements rather then truely portable machines.

What would be ace would be a wind up charger for one for true mobility.


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2008)

We're back to square one!

*Ten Years Ago:*






http://www.urban75.org/tech/toshiba-libretto-50-pc.html

*Now:*


----------



## Crispy (Jan 17, 2008)

(said it before I know)

Plus, I already have a comparable machine.




10hr battery, 2.5lb, solid state, touch screen, CF, PCMCIA, modem, VGA out, USB (mice and mass storage only). INSTANT power on and off. I mean completely instant.

Nearly 9 years old now.
As a 'PC companion' rather than a full computer, the only real drawback is the pants internet experience. You can stick a wifi card in it, but there's no decent browser.


----------



## Xanadu (Jan 17, 2008)

Doesn't Opera mini work well on it?


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jan 17, 2008)

Crispy said:
			
		

> It'll never be someone'e main computer, mind.



Doesn't have to be, I bought a laptop (4 hour battery life, 13 inch screen, pretty slim) over a desktop in part due to money considerations but if I could get a decent desktop and a cheap laptop for £800 I would...


----------



## Crispy (Jan 17, 2008)

Xanadu said:
			
		

> Doesn't Opera mini work well on it?


Nope


----------



## lobster (Jan 17, 2008)

editor said:
			
		

> Oh I don't know: I could see parents buying these things for their kids and if you're on a low income, the Eee is a good way to get you online.



You can get a desktop for about the same price, not going be the best parts, but nor is the eee that great.


----------



## electroplated (Jan 17, 2008)

Question for the EEE owners - How do you reckon a 65 year old with minimal computer experience would get on with one of these? I've been trying to get my dad to see the benefit of the internet for ages but he wont go near the computer itself, just watch over my shoulder and let me do the hands on bit... I'd happily buy him one of these but I'm a bit worried the small keyboard/trackpad and screen might be too awkward for him? He wont have a desktop in his flat though but something this small he might just go for....


----------



## ChrisFilter (Jan 17, 2008)

Might be slightly awkward at first, but it's so easy to use... want to open Firefox? Click the internet button.


----------



## dogmatique (Jan 17, 2008)

electroplated said:
			
		

> Question for the EEE owners - How do you reckon a 65 year old with minimal computer experience would get on with one of these? I've been trying to get my dad to see the benefit of the internet for ages but he wont go near the computer itself, just watch over my shoulder and let me do the hands on bit... I'd happily buy him one of these but I'm a bit worried the small keyboard/trackpad and screen might be too awkward for him? He wont have a desktop in his flat though but something this small he might just go for....



Whilst the linux interface would be great for someone with little or no computer experience, I fear the keyboard will be too fiddly, and that the screen is too small to display websites sufficiently for someone not used to scrolling left and right to find buttons etc.  An entry level standard size lappy would probably suit much better.


----------



## tarannau (Jan 17, 2008)

Exactly. I love the fact that my dad's been happily using his mac for 4 years without incident now, despite no computer skills or technical ability at first. His mouse and keyboard control are still lamentable mind - he'd really struggle with something as small as the eee pc, not to mention the need to zoom into pages would likely totally flummox him.


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2008)

lobster said:
			
		

> You can get a desktop for about the same price, not going be the best parts, but nor is the eee that great.


You're missing the point. The Eee is a success because it's a tiny, super-portable laptop offering all the basic functions for next to nothing.


----------



## Skorch (Jan 17, 2008)

ChrisFilter said:
			
		

> Very locked down, not for enthusiasts.



You can unlock the OS pretty easily.  The default is "basic mode" which has the big CLICK ME icons.  Very easily, you can enable "advanced mode" which will give you the full OS.

http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:introtofulldesktop

I enabled it, but I rarely go into advanced mode.  I don't really see the point.  It's too tiny to really do anything productive.  I just stick with the simple mode and use it for internet stuff.  

The best thing I've done was install Skype 2 beta which gives you video support.  It's a pretty good device for skyping someone.


----------



## fractionMan (Jan 17, 2008)

Little mini thingamy from flipstart now $699

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/17/flipstart_halves_handheld_price/

it does have a better resolution screen though!

eta: cheesiest flash website ever?  http://flipstart.com/


----------



## rhod (Jan 17, 2008)

Not very sexy. Looks a bit "Oregon Scientific", but an interesting spec nonetheless. I wonder what sort of battery life you get out of it?

Could be popular as a commercial rather than consumer device, perhaps.


----------



## editor (Jan 17, 2008)

rhod said:
			
		

> Not very sexy. Looks a bit "Oregon Scientific", but an interesting spec nonetheless. I wonder what sort of battery life you get out of it?
> 
> Could be popular as a commercial rather than consumer device, perhaps.


Windows XP Pro/Windows Vista Business1.1GHz Intel Pentium M ultra-low voltage processor
512MB of DDR 2 memory
30GB hard drive 
5.6in, 1024 x 600 display.
Second, external screen: a 1.8in, 200 x 176 panel for the day's appointments, incoming email etc
0.3-megapixel webcam too.
802.11b/g Wi-Fi 
Bluetooth 2.0 
EvDO mobile broadband 

Ugly as feck though.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jan 17, 2008)

Laments the fact that his excellent thread didn't become as mighty as the Eee thread...


----------



## untethered (Jan 17, 2008)

I've got my Eee. It's good.

Having read and watched quite a few reviews, none of it comes as much surprise.

On the upside:

- very small and light
- robust
- screen perfectly adequate (even 800px horizontally on the web isn't as bad as you might imagine)
- reasonably good Linux setup and good selection of bundled apps
- up and running straight out of the box and onto my wifi in less than five minutes
- wifi has a good range/sensitivity
- parsimony personified
- sound is quite respectable
- 3 x USB and SDHC reader are great.
- fast boot/shutdown

On the downside:

- keyboard really is quite cramped but I'm quickly getting used to it. I don't expect it'll ever be as comfortable as my full-sized ergonomic keyboard, but why would it?
- it gets a little warm while charging on the mains but I've seen worse
- no charge remaining indicator while charging

If you're looking for a laptop to take with you when you can't be bothered to take a laptop, this is it. And, of course, subsequent models will be even better.


----------



## editor (Jan 18, 2008)

9" touchscreen and 10" screen Eees rumoured to be in the works!

"Now DigiTimes claims a "9-inch" and new 10-inch version is also on the way. Notably, the 9-inch versions will feature "four-wire resistive" touch-panels. .... Still, adding touch-panel functionality is expected to add just $15 to the manufacturing cost of the device."
engadget.com


----------



## gnoriac (Jan 18, 2008)

Bit of info on installing ubuntu here.

Tis teriible being skint - no money, no eee.


----------



## editor (Jan 18, 2008)

gnoriac said:
			
		

> Bit of info on installing ubuntu here.


Fuck the MacBook Air: the Eee is what's really innovative and getting people excited - no over-hyped keynote speech needed!

From that article:


> We've just had an Asus Eee in to look at - the £220 laptop that everyone who's seen it is going to buy. It's one of the hottest things in the office this year: the combination of the insanely low price tag, the perfectly functional specification (512MB RAM, 4GB internal flash SSD, wi-fi, real keyboard, VGA display) and its extreme portability makes it an instant hit.


I'm resisting (for now) because I could see myself being drawn deep into geekworld love.


----------



## untethered (Jan 18, 2008)

gnoriac said:
			
		

> Bit of info on installing ubuntu here.
> 
> Tis teriible being skint - no money, no eee.



You're probably better off with Eeexubuntu (Xubuntu / XFCE).

http://wiki.eeeuser.com/ubuntu:eeexubuntu:home


----------



## untethered (Jan 18, 2008)

I've been looking round for a companion mouse with a very small USB receiver.

The Logitech VX Nano Wireless looks just the job:







With a receiver that small you can just leave it plugged into the USB all the time.


----------



## Xanadu (Jan 18, 2008)

Holy fuck that is swish!


----------



## ch750536 (Jan 18, 2008)

Easy, tis but a mouse.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jan 18, 2008)

untethered said:
			
		

> I've been looking round for a companion mouse with a very small USB receiver.
> 
> The Logitech VX Nano Wireless looks just the job:
> 
> ...



That's very neat. Might get that, Logitech do make the best mice imo.


----------



## Dask (Jan 18, 2008)

Without a doubt.

Logitech are masters of the mouse.


----------



## longdog (Jan 18, 2008)

I have to say, skint though I am the EEE looks very tempting. 

I was thinking of getting my rather old and tired lappy mobile again but by the time I've got a paid for a new battery I might as well shell out another £100 and get one of these little darlings.


----------



## editor (Feb 15, 2008)

Is the Honeymoon period over for the Eee?

http://gizmodo.com/351086/asus-eee-pc-long+term-review-verdict-honeymoon-officially-over


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 15, 2008)

it looks like there are still a few bugs to iron out

but  the low end models are just cheap enough and small enough for you to overlook some of the flaws...  but i might wait a while and see how the updates pan out


----------



## ChrisFilter (Feb 15, 2008)

Depends what you want it for... Mrs Chris still adores hers.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Feb 15, 2008)

Looks like the usual Gizmodo crap to me. Oh, it's got a small screen - well, _yes_, that's part of the point. I've never had a moment's problem with the system freezing, or trouble loading OpenOffice (loading OO does take a fair time mind you, not surprisingly, so I have Abiword on it as well) and wifi? Can't say I've noticed that being an issue either.


----------



## untethered (Feb 15, 2008)

I haven't experienced any of the problems described in the article. Mine has been rock-solid stable, the wifi is fine, the screen is acceptable for moderate use.

If you want a bigger laptop, get one. For what it is, the Eee PC is just fine.


----------



## dogmatique (Feb 16, 2008)

untethered said:


> I've been looking round for a companion mouse with a very small USB receiver.
> 
> The Logitech VX Nano Wireless looks just the job:
> 
> ...



Been using that with the eee for about a month.  It's great, plus the super special James Bond detail... *the usb reciever has a little house inside the mouse when you're not using it*.  Goes hand in hand with the Revolution MX, which I use on a day to day basis at work and home.

Love it, though the hatch on the back could be either hinged or a bit more sturdy as you use it quite a bit in transit.

Comes with a nice little neoprene sleeve too.  Best mobile mouse I've ever used by far.  It ain't small, but it is full of function, and better than most people's desktop meeces.


----------



## dogmatique (Feb 16, 2008)

untethered said:


> With a receiver that small you can just leave it plugged into the USB all the time.



You could, but the eee usb port is about 3 mm shallow, which doesn't permit it to sit perfectly snug up to the plastic bit.  

Fine at home, but I'd definately always store it in the concealed hatch in the mouse in transit.  I certainly wasn't comfortable leaving it in when I put it in my bag for the first time...

A bit of an aside, but I loved this pic of how wireless recievers have evolved very recently - I must have had most of these recievers over the last few years.  Amazing how quickly things have moved on:


----------



## untethered (Feb 17, 2008)

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/graphics/misc/15388a.jpg

Or you could get one of these Bluetooth adapters and a Bluetooth mouse. (Plus up to 6 other BT devices, too, of course.)

http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/product/15388.htm


----------



## rocketman (Feb 18, 2008)

Now you can get OS X to run on one of these, who needs a MacBook Air
http://www.pdalive.com/showarticle.php?threadid=14627


----------



## Crispy (Feb 18, 2008)

Still very very WIP. Not reccomended for serious work


----------



## editor (Feb 18, 2008)

rocketman said:


> Now you can get OS X to run on one of these, who needs a MacBook Air
> http://www.pdalive.com/showarticle.php?threadid=14627


It's clever, but it looks a bit of a kludge unless you really, really want the Mac OS.


----------



## Crispy (Feb 18, 2008)

Complete kludge, and there are still fundamental issues to work through. With work, I imagine they'll get it down to a 1 or 2 step process, seeing as they're dealing with a definitive set of hardware. But that's still a very long way off.

I'd do it if I had one though, just for kicks


----------



## Crispy (Feb 19, 2008)

Wow. Now Elonex are stepping up to the game with a (wait for it) *£99p* laptop.







No specs yet - they'll come on the 28th, apparently.

Register article:

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/02/19/elonex_guns_for_eee/



> The keyboard can be detached from the screen section, which also incorporates the laptop's main components.



Now this I can start getting excited about


----------



## Radar (Feb 19, 2008)

Goddammit, I want to see the screen resolution


----------



## Crispy (Feb 19, 2008)

Apparently similar devices are sold all over asia, for schoolkids. The standard screen res is 800x480


----------



## Radar (Feb 19, 2008)

Hmm the inq says its a 7" panel. Now lets see if they can keep them in the shops, the supply situation with the eee is ridiculous.


----------



## jæd (Feb 19, 2008)

Crispy said:


> Wow. Now Elonex are stepping up to the game with a (wait for it) *£99p* laptop.



99p or £99...? Either one or the other. Or £99.99 ...


----------



## Crispy (Feb 19, 2008)

And HP are getting in on the game too!






No price yet though.


----------



## Radar (Feb 19, 2008)

Crispy said:


> And HP are getting in on the game too!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That does look tasty, but it's safe to assume that you're unlikely to get bargain basement pricing with HP/Compaq 

e2a: http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/02/hp-2133-is-what.html

Hmm, 1,366x766 9" display,  wifi, gig ethernet & USB.

Assuming it will handle linux and isn't using a hamster on a treadmill as a CPU, then Radar like   Don't think the old giro will stretch that far though


----------



## editor (Feb 19, 2008)

The HP looks great but I reckon the price tag is going to be a big one.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Feb 19, 2008)

Crispy said:


> And HP are getting in on the game too!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Very nice looking that, the best ultra portable laptop looks wise yet.


----------



## Crispy (Feb 19, 2008)

but as they have all said, won't be cheap


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Feb 19, 2008)

*Yes I am a bit hippy tonight, I blame the Pink Floyd I'm listening while posting...*



Crispy said:


> but as they have all said, won't be cheap



Ah who cares, it's not like we're all going to run out and buy every new small laptop is it? Just enjoy the visuals man...


----------



## Tricky Skills (Feb 20, 2008)

Any idea where I can pick up a 4gig Asus either online or offline? Been hunting high and low, but no joy.


----------



## Crispy (Feb 20, 2008)

Tricky Skills said:


> Any idea where I can pick up a 4gig Asus either online or offline? Been hunting high and low, but no joy.


http://eeestock.cpjackson.co.uk/

play.com and amazon have 4G models in stock _right now_


----------



## stowpirate (Feb 20, 2008)

I am going to wait a  few months as a new improved version is about to be released. From the preview I read it will have an even lower powered CPU with no cooling fan with a proper more usable full resolution display instead of the problematic setup it has now.


----------



## editor (Feb 20, 2008)

The HP UMPC is going to cost around $630, with shipping in April. Not quite so exciting then.


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 20, 2008)

geh practically normal prices

thats why i have been umming and ahhing over what eeepc to get... do i go cheap  for the best disposable computer price or  upgrade  but  start to eat into my new desktop fund


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Feb 20, 2008)

Crispy said:


> http://eeestock.cpjackson.co.uk/
> 
> play.com and amazon have 4G models in stock _right now_



They do, there's nothing listed on Play?


----------



## Crispy (Feb 20, 2008)

Nope, they're out of stock now. That list updates every 10s or something


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Feb 20, 2008)

Ah right.


----------



## boskysquelch (Feb 20, 2008)

I pulled a Compaq Armada M700 out of someone's dustbin(literally)...slapped xubuntu & a new charger on it...much cheaper.


----------



## Jonti (Feb 21, 2008)

I helped a nine year old chose her first laptop, an Asus miniPC. She is well pleased.  It is less hassle and easier to use -- and support -- than Windows.  Especially when you remember you don't need to install third party software to control popups, spyware and internet nasties.

This one machine (and lookalikes) is going to help propel Linux ahead of Apple on personal microcomputers  -- it's expected to outsell Apple in 2008. Apple produces about 3 million Macs in a year, while Asus plans to sell 5 million miniBooks.

I'd like to see a scaled up version running 64-bit Ubuntu.  That'd shake up the laptop market a treat!


----------



## Tricky Skills (Feb 21, 2008)

It seems that the 4Gig model is pretty much out of stock in the UK until mid-March, by which time the 8Gig may be on the market.

But I can't wait that long 

Obvious question:

If I was to buy a 2Gig model and then install a 4Gig card, would this be a (slightly) better model? Is there anything else in the 4Gig spec that beats the 2Gig spec?

Play.com have an offer on at the moment, presumably to cash in on impatient bods like me.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Feb 21, 2008)

Saw this last weekend in a shop window and wanted it automatically! It's just so damn cool looking and tiny!!


----------



## Tricky Skills (Mar 2, 2008)

Hurrah! Finally managed to pick up a 4Gig via eBay. It came with XP installed - the first thing it tried to do when I went online was update me to IE7. Whoops. Not enough disk space. I've had to turn auto updates off.

It's great little machine for doing just what it's designed for - online access out and about, and as a mobile notebook.


----------



## boskysquelch (Mar 2, 2008)

Tricky Skills said:


> Whoops. Not enough disk space.



bin XP  & lookout for xplite...or better still... stick xubuntu on it dood...


----------



## dogmatique (Mar 2, 2008)

Tricky Skills said:


> Hurrah! Finally managed to pick up a 4Gig via eBay. It came with XP installed - the first thing it tried to do when I went online was update me to IE7. Whoops. Not enough disk space. I've had to turn auto updates off.
> 
> It's great little machine for doing just what it's designed for - online access out and about, and as a mobile notebook.



Try turning off paging files.  Should increase your disk space by about 1.5gb.

Also go here for help if needed: http://forum.eeeuser.com/


----------



## stowpirate (Mar 2, 2008)

Tricky Skills said:


> I went online was update me to IE7. Whoops. Not enough disk space. I've had to turn auto updates off.



Did you get Firefox or one of the related smaller browsers to install instead?


----------



## Crispy (Mar 2, 2008)

I would go for opera - FF can be quite the memory hog (and it's slower). Also Opera has better Zoom controls - handy on that small screen.


----------



## stdPikachu (Mar 5, 2008)

Crispy said:


> I would go for opera - FF can be quite the memory hog (and it's slower). Also Opera has better Zoom controls - handy on that small screen.



FWIW, I'm going to be buying the up'n'coming Eee with a 9" 1024x600 screen and chucking Kubuntu on it (and yes, using Opera - far, far better than FF as much as I'm an open source fanboy) - the form factor of this device is brilliant, and it's cheap and rugged enough to go places you wouldn't dream of taking your laptop, and that makes it cooler than the Air  A couple of people at work have them, more as toys than anything else, but far easier to drag about than your typical 14".

I do wish they brought them out in black though.

As a further aside, the FF beta now has a full page zoom similar to Operas, only about a quarter of the speed. Slightly less haemorrhaging of memory too.


----------



## Xanadu (Mar 5, 2008)

stdPikachu said:


> FWIW, I'm going to be buying the up'n'coming Eee with a 9" 1024x600 screen and chucking Kubuntu on it (and yes, using Opera - far, far better than FF as much as I'm an open source fanboy) - the form factor of this device is brilliant, and it's cheap and rugged enough to go places you wouldn't dream of taking your laptop, and that makes it cooler than the Air  A couple of people at work have them, more as toys than anything else, but far easier to drag about than your typical 14".
> 
> I do wish they brought them out in black though.
> 
> As a further aside, the FF beta now has a full page zoom similar to Operas, only about a quarter of the speed. Slightly less haemorrhaging of memory too.


Hey pika - long time no see!

I thought they did do the eee in black?


----------



## ChrisFilter (Mar 5, 2008)

Interesting couple of posts re: Opera. Tried switching to it on my new desktop and it's markedly slower than FF. Switched straight back!


----------



## stdPikachu (Mar 5, 2008)

D'oh, you're quite right, have found some in black now - but they seem to be much thinner on the ground than white ones, and I've only seen white ones in the flesh so far.

I'll keep my mouth shut until my google-fu improves


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 5, 2008)

ChrisFilter said:


> Interesting couple of posts re: Opera. Tried switching to it on my new desktop and it's markedly slower than FF. Switched straight back!



Bizzare, I tried running both side by side and could notice no difference.


----------



## Crispy (Mar 5, 2008)

Check the memory usage after opening eg 20 tabs, or browsing for an hour.

Also, fall in love with instant fwd/bck and mouse gestures.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Mar 5, 2008)

I would, but Opera was slower to render and it fucked me off pretty quickly. I'm also a near obsessive desktop tidy-upper... if I have more than 3 or 4 tabs open I'll close them all. Same with folder windows. I don't like anything but the programs I'm using on my task bar so memory usage doesn't really bother me.

Cluttered desktops make me feel really OCDd


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Mar 5, 2008)

ChrisFilter said:


> Interesting couple of posts re: Opera. Tried switching to it on my new desktop and it's markedly slower than FF. Switched straight back!



Yeah I did the same, also I found too many sites didn't work with it or it did odd things to the formatting.


----------



## Crispy (Mar 5, 2008)

I purposefully set the icon size on my desktop to 256x256 so I can't fit too much crap on there 

I do tend to have about 20 windows open though


----------



## stdPikachu (Mar 5, 2008)

20 tabs? Pfah, lightweight! Opera on my main machine at home is hooked up to a luvverly 24" 1920x1200 screen, and there are so many tabs open I can barely make out the icons. Something like 120 or so 

And it still uses less memory than firefox with about ten tabs running...


----------



## Crispy (Mar 5, 2008)

windows, friend, not tabs


----------



## han (Mar 6, 2008)

I've had my eye on this eee pc for several months. And now there's an 8gb black one on the horizon, I'm deffo gonna get one when it comes out!


----------



## stdPikachu (Mar 6, 2008)

Crispy said:


> windows, friend, not tabs



You keep Opera in multi-windowed mode?! I'm shocked and appalled


----------



## rhod (Mar 6, 2008)

I know, what an appalling way to treat your taskbar


----------



## Xanadu (Mar 6, 2008)

9" eee looks rather perfect!   I hope it comes in black...


----------



## rhod (Mar 7, 2008)

If they brought out a version with changeable fascias / keyboards they could have the ultimate tweakable gadget for geeks and trendies alike!


----------



## zenie (Mar 7, 2008)

So what's the other mini laptop called that's come out to rival the EEE?


----------



## skeen (Mar 7, 2008)

I'll get the 9" version.


----------



## zenie (Mar 7, 2008)

zenie said:


> So what's the other mini laptop called that's come out to rival the EEE?


 
Elonex


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Mar 7, 2008)

rhod said:


> If they brought out a version with changeable fascias / keyboards they could have the ultimate tweakable gadget for geeks and trendies alike!



They don't even have to go that far, they could just release it in pink and sell a billion...


----------



## editor (Mar 9, 2008)

Seeing as you can get reasonably well spec'ed XP laptops for just £270 upwards, the cost advantage of the Eee is paling somewhat, although it still wins on size.

http://www.ebuyer.com/special/1515?hpb=1


----------



## Xanadu (Mar 9, 2008)

It's a combination of size and price that makes the Eee unique though.  It's just the right price and size to hurl into a bag and not give a shit about (especially with the SSD drive).  You can't do that with most laptops under £700.


----------



## editor (Mar 9, 2008)

Xanadu said:


> It's a combination of size and price that makes the Eee unique though.  It's just the right price and size to hurl into a bag and not give a shit about (especially with the SSD drive).  You can't do that with most laptops under £700.


Sure. But a £270 laptop can do a whole load more than the Eee. The price advantage is nearly gone so it's really just down to size and simplicity now.


----------



## Xanadu (Mar 9, 2008)

editor said:


> Sure. But a £270 laptop can do a whole load more than the Eee. The price advantage is nearly gone so it's really just down to size and simplicity now.



I don't understand your point.  A £2k desktop can do a whole load more than the Eee too.  Is that just down to size and simplicity too?


----------



## editor (Mar 9, 2008)

Xanadu said:


> I don't understand your point.  A £2k desktop can do a whole load more than the Eee too.  Is that just down to size and simplicity too?


The point being that to mainstream consumers one of the most attractive elements of the Eee is its cheap, cheap price. With attractive, fully fledged XP laptops crashing down in price to near Eee levels, that advantage may be lost.

Moreover, those XP laptops will run almost everything and be compatible with a lot more stuff - and this may be seen as more tempting to those looking to buy a rock-bottom cheap laptop, i.e. the Eee market.

So that leaves the Eee with just the advantage of being a lot smaller and simpler to use.


----------



## Xanadu (Mar 9, 2008)

editor said:


> The point being that to mainstream consumers one of the most attractive elements of the Eee is its cheap, cheap price. With attractive, fully fledged XP laptops crashing down in price to near Eee levels, that advantage may be lost.
> 
> Moreover, those XP laptops will run almost everything and be compatible with a lot more stuff - and this may be seen as more tempting to those looking to buy a rock-bottom cheap laptop, i.e. the Eee market.
> 
> So that leaves the Eee with just the advantage of being a lot smaller and simpler to use.



Ah I get you.  I would've thought the attraction to mainstream consumers is a combination of the size and price.  It's the sort of form factor that you can really carry around.  It's even small enough to slip into a ladies handbag.  And because of the price point, it's not inconceivable that you'll be able to chuck it in a handbag without worrying about it.  That's not something you could do with a £1.5k laptop.

FYI, Asus are releasing the Eee with Windows XP.  I've had a play on the 4GB Asus Eee with XP installed (upgraded to 2GB RAM).  It ran beautifully.  VS2005 opened in under a second.


----------



## skeen (Mar 9, 2008)

If the new 9" is around the £200 price range, I'll definitely get it. I'll probably run Linux, so long as it play nice with my network.


----------



## Xanadu (Mar 9, 2008)

skeen said:


> If the new 9" is around the £200 price range, I'll definitely get it. I'll probably run Linux, so long as it play nice with my network.



Doubt it'll be £200 - probably closer to £300.


----------



## skeen (Mar 9, 2008)

Xanadu said:


> Doubt it'll be £200 - probably closer to £300.


The price reported for the higher memory one was €400, which is about £300. So the lower-end one should be between £200-250, I'd assume.


----------



## editor (Mar 9, 2008)

Xanadu said:


> A  It's even small enough to slip into a ladies handbag.  And because of the price point, it's not inconceivable that you'll be able to chuck it in a handbag without worrying about it.


I like the idea of the Eee very much - well, truth be told, I preferred the idea of the Foleo a bit more - and I'm almost tempted to get one...


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 13, 2008)

editor said:


> Sure. But a £270 laptop can do a whole load more than the Eee. The price advantage is nearly gone so it's really just down to size and simplicity now.



I always thought that was the advantage, those £270 laptops are about the same size as my aging acer, which I consider to large and heavy to lug round with me. Tiny machines mean you take them with you.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Mar 13, 2008)

editor said:


> I like the idea of the Eee very much - well, truth be told, I preferred the idea of the Foleo a bit more - and I'm almost tempted to get one...



_join us_


----------



## Jonti (Mar 13, 2008)

> (the eee has) just the advantage of being a lot smaller and simpler to use


LOL! That's a couple of competition crushing advantages right there.  

But there is more, much more. What applications do you get with XP? Oooh, Wordpad and Windows Media Player. 

Compare that with the stuff that comes as standard with the Asus ...
* free office suite that's more compatible with MS Office than is, well, MS Office.
* two decent graphics programs (Tuxpaint for entry level and another whose name I forget for the more advanced aspiring artist).
* an excellent Planetarium and shed loads of other custom educational software (the eee is targeted at kids, remember) 
* wireless networking, music and video programs that a primary school child can use with little or no adult tuition (!)
* no need for third party anti-virus/anti-spyware/firewall software
* and there is a vast amount of GPL and other *free* software that can be installed as well.

The Asus EEE and Linux generally are making the promise of cheap computing for all come true.  This is not something that Apple or MS have ever been interested in doing (or, if they were, they've utterly failed). The retail cost of the equivalent software for Mac or Windows that comes as standard on the Asus EEE  far exceeds the purchase price of the machine.  This little machine, and the similar models becoming popular in Asia, will continue to drive laptop prices down at the same time as they raise consumer software engineering standards.

Let's give credit where credit is due,  MS makes things more expensive and complex than they need be. But, with the help of smart companies like RM and Asus, the Linux folks are showing they can make things cheaper and easier.


----------



## editor (Mar 14, 2008)

Jonti said:


> L
> The Asus EEE and Linux generally are making the promise of cheap computing for all come true.


Well...



> Asus expects Windows Eee PC to outsell Linux counterpart 6 to 4:
> http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143402-pg,1/article.html


----------



## Jonti (Mar 14, 2008)

That's up from what? MS "outselling" linux systems 20 to 1? 100 to 1?

A fantastic result, and it's early days yet


----------



## editor (Mar 14, 2008)

Jonti said:


> That's up from what? MS "outselling" linux systems 20 to 1? 100 to 1?
> 
> A fantastic result, and it's early days yet


They're only talking about the microscopic piece of the computer market that is the Eee.

MS laptops outsell Linux laptops by a truly _phenomenal_ amount and I can't see that position dramatically shifting any time soon.


----------



## jæd (Mar 14, 2008)

Jonti said:


> Let's give credit where credit is due,  MS makes things more expensive and complex than they need be. But, with the help of smart companies like RM and Asus, the Linux folks are showing they can make things cheaper and easier.



If they'd put Xp on it from the start it would pricier and probably wouldn't achieved the sales it had from the start. (In turn leading to a higher original price)


----------



## Jonti (Mar 14, 2008)

Quite. It seems the windows Fanbois can't give credit to a good thing whatever it does -- even if it means lower prices for everyone.

It's almost as if they'll back their freedom-lovin' criminal monopolist corporation come what may!


----------



## ovaltina (Mar 14, 2008)

I'm doing overtime at the moment so I can get one of the new ones. There's a website doing them with 8gb hard drives, 1gb memory and built in webcam, speakers etc, for about £305 including VAT. They're not in stock yet but should be soon-ish. I reckon it'll be handy for when I start commuting from Brighton to London, I'll be able to work or watch downloaded tv on the way to work. But since you can't play 4od or Iplayer downloads on Linux I'll have to install XP.

I'm also thinking I can take it to the beach in the summer.


----------



## editor (Mar 14, 2008)

Jonti said:


> Quite. It seems the windows Fanbois can't give credit to a good thing whatever it does -- even if it means lower prices for everyone.
> 
> It's almost as if they'll back their freedom-lovin' criminal monopolist corporation come what may!


Who's knocking the Eee from a 'Windows fanboi' perspective here? 

It's a great little laptop. I'd still prefer a Foleo though. 

*dreams


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Mar 14, 2008)

editor said:


> They're only talking about the microscopic piece of the computer market that is the Eee.
> 
> MS laptops outsell Linux laptops by a truly _phenomenal_ amount and I can't see that position dramatically shifting any time soon.



Unfortunately, with the state of laptop hardware drivers and the way so many companies put their machines together, there are very few laptops which can run Linux properly (a few Dells and Lenovos) and almost nobody sells laptops with it pre-loaded anyway.

I was doing a bit of research into the idea of getting a standard PC laptop and loading Ubuntu onto it to replace my nicked Powerbook. After reading around extensively, even the easiest install logs seem to read "Worked perfectly out of the box! Well, apart from the sound, which needed me to recompile the kernel. And the webcam doesn't work. And it won't sleep when you close the lid, or hibernate. But apart from that it's perfect!" If I wasn't actually planning on using the thing as a proper working machine I might, but I am, so it's another Mac for me.

To have a proper Linux laptop these days you need to actually build it with components that have working drivers, and not many companies are interested. It'll be a while.


----------



## stdPikachu (Mar 14, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> To have a proper Linux laptop these days you need to actually build it with components that have working drivers, and not many companies are interested. It'll be a while.



<derail>My HP nx7400 and nx7300 really did work out of the box. But you're right, you need to pick and choose carefullly.</derail>

A guy at work has a modded 4GB Eee, 2GB RAM, 8GB SDHC card, Kubuntu, 3G modem. It's bollocks fast and truly one of the niftiest pieces of cheap hardware I've seen.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Mar 14, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> If I wasn't actually planning on using the thing as a proper working machine I might, but I am, so it's another Mac for me.



MBP arrived today; fucking _yes thank you_.

Just thought I'd slip that in here.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 14, 2008)

Think the larger screen model is great news, more and more tempted. Obviously pirce has to go up as screens are pricey, but I'd rather have more ram then more storage space. Anyone know how upgradble the new ones will be? With falling prices of SD cards it would make more sense to put extra sd card ports, so you can just keep adding cards as you need them.


----------



## dogmatique (Mar 15, 2008)

I presume they'll have the same memory slot as the current ones. - Changing them is easy peasy.  I swapped the 512 mb card for a 2gb one.  Took all of 30 seconds.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 15, 2008)

dogmatique said:


> I presume they'll have the same memory slot as the current ones. - Changing them is easy peasy.  I swapped the 512 mb card for a 2gb one.  Took all of 30 seconds.



Nice. Do you get one ram slot or two and does it run lots faster now?


----------



## editor (Mar 20, 2008)

Now if this puppy has a sub £275 price, I'm in!







> ECS G10IL:  Atom CPU, Windows XP or Linux, a single RAM slot (up to 2GB), an HDD or SSD, 1.3-megapixel webcam, 4-in-1 multicard reader, a 8.2- / 10.2-inch glossy display and a 4- / 6-cell battery, Bluetooth, WiFi , built-in HSDPA / HSUPA,



http://www.dailytech.com/ECS G10IL ... Diamondville 89102 Displays/article11162.htm


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Mar 20, 2008)

What's the hard drive space?


----------



## Xanadu (Mar 20, 2008)

http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/news/2008/03/11/MSI-Wind-Sub-Notebook-Spotted/p1

I like the look of this one too.


----------



## editor (Mar 26, 2008)

Second generation Eee PCs have been announced: 8.9-inch (resistive) touchscreen display, $500 starting price, 8GB to 12GB options and "possible GPS support."  Very nice.

ASUS are also about to release their $200 Eee Dekstop, aka the E-DT. 

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/official-asus-8-9-inch-eee-pc-will-include-touchscreen-possibl/


----------



## untethered (Mar 26, 2008)

editor said:


> Second generation Eee PCs have been announced: 8.9-inch (resistive) touchscreen display, $500 starting price, 8GB to 12GB options and "possible GPS support."  Very nice.
> 
> ASUS are also about to release their $200 Eee Dekstop, aka the E-DT.
> 
> http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/official-asus-8-9-inch-eee-pc-will-include-touchscreen-possibl/



My money will be on the new Eee PC when it's launched unless there's something better around at the time. I love my Eee and it gets a fair bit of use, but it'd be even better with a bigger screen.

I'm sceptical about the touchscreen. Screens are for looking at, in my humble. I find the Eee's trackpad just fine if I don't have a mouse to hand.


----------



## Xanadu (Mar 26, 2008)

editor said:


> Second generation Eee PCs have been announced: 8.9-inch (resistive) touchscreen display, $500 starting price, 8GB to 12GB options and "possible GPS support."  Very nice.
> 
> ASUS are also about to release their $200 Eee Dekstop, aka the E-DT.
> 
> http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/official-asus-8-9-inch-eee-pc-will-include-touchscreen-possibl/




I'm surprised they're out so soon!  I'm not 100% certain that I'm getting one yet.  I might wait for other brands to release theirs.


----------



## editor (Mar 26, 2008)

Intriguingly, the manual mentions "multi-finger gesture input," which apparently lets users zoom in, zoom out a la MacBook Air, and do  two-finger scrolling on upsized trackpad.


----------



## untethered (Mar 26, 2008)

editor said:


> Intriguingly, the manual mentions "multi-finger gesture input," which apparently lets users zoom in, zoom out a la MacBook Air, and do  two-finger scrolling on upsized trackpad.



I hope they don't do that kind of thing in public.


----------



## hendo (Mar 27, 2008)

editor said:


> Intriguingly, the manual mentions "multi-finger gesture input," which apparently lets users zoom in, zoom out a la MacBook Air, and do  two-finger scrolling on upsized trackpad.



It looks as if Asus have not only parked their tanks on the Mac's lawn but are revving them up and down in the flower beds: here
I want one of these things. Shall I hang about for the 8G version? And can you really get them running XP?


----------



## spanglechick (Mar 27, 2008)

ok - these are pretty and they are little.  and cheap. and they do wireless.

on the negative side, they dont play dvds, don't use MS compatible programmes (word, excel, powerpoint)?

do I have it right?  anything else i should be aware of?


----------



## Kanda (Mar 27, 2008)

They're too complex for girls?


----------



## spanglechick (Mar 27, 2008)

Kanda said:


> They're too complex for girls?



like your attempted iphone demonstration... which was too complex for *you*?


----------



## Kanda (Mar 27, 2008)

spanglechick said:


> like your attempted iphone demonstration... which was too complex for *you*?


 
Dunno what you're talking about


----------



## hendo (Mar 27, 2008)

spanglechick said:


> ok - these are pretty and they are little.  and cheap. and they do wireless.
> 
> on the negative side, they dont play dvds, don't use MS compatible programmes (word, excel, powerpoint)?
> 
> do I have it right?  anything else i should be aware of?



This EE thingie apparently uses the (free) Openoffice software, which many now argue is better than the MS office apps. 
It doesn't have a DVD player. 
The thing that's making me decide to get one is its sturdy, web friendly, chuckitinabagandforgetaboutit feel. I am distinctly queasy about carting around a very heavy lappie costing not far short of a grand, and this looks a lot like the answer.


----------



## Xanadu (Mar 27, 2008)

hendo said:


> It looks as if Asus have not only parked their tanks on the Mac's lawn but are revving them up and down in the flower beds: here
> I want one of these things. Shall I hang about for the 8G version? And can you really get them running XP?



Yep, they'll be sold with XP soon enough.  They're releasing a 9" screen version, so you might want to wait for that.


----------



## Jonti (Mar 27, 2008)

I've been having an intensive look, after my gift of an Asus eee got bricked by the nine year old recipient.  (Here's what not to do ... 1) set a password 2) set the machine to log in automatically 3) forget your password 4) set the machine to demand a password to log in the user).

I booted the device from a USB stick with Puppy Linux on it (hit ESC immediately after switching it on, and it will display a menu of potentially bootable devices, including the default solid state hard drive) .  But the standard tricks with chroot and /etc/shadow and the like didn't work.  So in the end I saved the data to an SD card, then rebooted and pressed F9 to reset the machine to its "factory shipped" state.  Then rebooted into Puppy and copied the data back, OK.

Turns out the ability to reset everything, software and all, to the factory shipped state is related to the trouble I had resetting the password with chroot.

The hard drive includes two partitions one for the system as shipped; the other for the user. They are cleverly knitted into one by boot scripts, and any user changes just overlay the factory installed stuff and are used in preference.  Pressing F9 on boot (handled by grub -- take a look in the menu.lst) just deletes the data from the user partition, allowing the factory installation to shine through.  Consequently, the "restore to factory default" takes just a few seconds!


----------



## Jonti (Mar 27, 2008)

spanglechick said:


> ok - these are pretty and they are little.  and cheap. and they do wireless.
> 
> on the negative side, they dont play dvds, don't use MS compatible programmes (word, excel, powerpoint)?
> 
> do I have it right?  anything else i should be aware of?


You can plug in anything you like via the USB ports; and the Xandros operating system can run a wealth of high quality free software to handle those devices.

OpenOffice (that comes free with the eee) is file compatible with MS Office.  It can read and write ms office files, and that's all that matters.


----------



## Tricky Skills (Mar 27, 2008)

hendo said:


> And can you really get them running XP?



Yep - my 4Gig is running fine with XP. I've got Word Pad as the default bundled software, which is Word compatible. I tend to use Notepad for most writing on the road though.


----------



## Jonti (Mar 27, 2008)

That's one problem with the XP on eee route -- the dearth of software that comes as standard with XP.  Media player and wordpad are about your lot. But the default linux eee comes with a wealth of useful free software from openoffice, through fun educational packages aimed at kids,  to a planetarium.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Mar 27, 2008)

To tell the truth I spend a lot of time with the Eee using web apps anyway - much less of a pain than syncing all sorts of rubbish, and you don't have to worry so much about space.


----------



## stdPikachu (Mar 27, 2008)

You can trim an XP install quite considerably though. Heck, if you fancied it you could even install 2k on it if you didn't mind the somewhat more cumbersome wireless GUI (or you could use Intel's wireless supplicant).

Personally, my 9" Eee is getting a 2GB SODIMM and a full Kubuntu treatment.


----------



## Jonti (Mar 28, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> To tell the truth I spend a lot of time with the Eee using web apps anyway - much less of a pain than syncing all sorts of rubbish, and you don't have to worry so much about space.


^ this ^ 

gmail is currently offering 6.5GB of free online storage, and more every second!


----------



## Jonti (Mar 28, 2008)

*SDK for eee*

This from theRegister, today ... 





> Asus has posted a Software Development Kit (SDK) for the Eee PC, the better to help coders write new programs to run on the elfin laptop's Xandros Linux distribution.


more here


----------



## spanglechick (Mar 28, 2008)

Jonti said:


> You can plug in anything you like via the USB ports; and the Xandros operating system can run a wealth of high quality free software to handle those devices.
> 
> OpenOffice (that comes free with the eee) is file compatible with MS Office.  It can read and write ms office files, and that's all that matters.



so can you get usb disc players?  i've been wondering how you'd upload CDs to itunes and stuff...


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Mar 28, 2008)

spanglechick said:


> so can you get usb disc players?  i've been wondering how you'd upload CDs to itunes and stuff...



Yeah, you can. But this isn't the best machine for doing that sort of thing to be quite honest, anyway; you'd want to store MP3s etc on a machine with a proper big hard disc, and then, if you wanted to listen to them with the Eee, copy them onto a flash drive and plug it in later.


----------



## jæd (Mar 28, 2008)

Jonti said:


> This from theRegister, today ... more here









Um... You can't usually use a laptop screen outdoors in direct sunlight, and certainly not when you have dark glasses on... And how is her back-half in shadow, but the front-half is lit up. Since her legs look nothing like her arms, I say this has been prhotoshopped...


----------



## stdPikachu (Mar 28, 2008)

jæd said:


> I say this has been prhotoshopped...



Captain Obvious  strikes again 

Seriously though, pretty much every shadow in that picture is wrong. The girl has been shopped in on top of the beach, and the Eee and digital camera have been shopped in on top of her, for starters. The hands are the wrong colour and look like a mans, FFS...!


----------



## Jonti (Mar 28, 2008)

El Reg regularly deploys that Asus publicity photo to make fun of the marketing muppets.  

And in response to readership demand


----------



## Tricky Skills (Mar 28, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Yeah, you can. But this isn't the best machine for doing that sort of thing to be quite honest, anyway; you'd want to store MP3s etc on a machine with a proper big hard disc, and then, if you wanted to listen to them with the Eee, copy them onto a flash drive and plug it in later.



Yeah, treat them as a basic road machine and you won't go far wrong. You certainly wouldn't want an eee as your main machine. I use mine mainly for basic browsing when out and about, and writing pieces whilst on the road as well.

That's the basic functionality, anything else is probably pitching slightly too high.


----------



## han (Mar 28, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Yeah, you can. But this isn't the best machine for doing that sort of thing to be quite honest, anyway; you'd want to store MP3s etc on a machine with a proper big hard disc, and then, if you wanted to listen to them with the Eee, copy them onto a flash drive and plug it in later.



or just play them from your big hard disc over the network (using your eee).


----------



## hendo (Apr 13, 2008)

An interesting article in the Grauniad about our gadget of choice.


----------



## gnoriac (Apr 13, 2008)

Yet another competitor, the Jisus! 
Register story

I think this has to be the most highly-powered one around though:


> What makes the Jisus stand out is its use of the China-developed Loongson processor, a 64-bit chip clocked at 1GHz.


Available 25th May, 299.99EUR - a bit unfortunate the £'s falling against the Euro.


----------



## jayeola (Apr 13, 2008)

I know someone that has one. He's currently working on a BLAG GNU/Linux for it.


----------



## Jonti (Apr 13, 2008)

Boy, I bet that's quick  

I notice they plan to ship the Jisus with Ubuntu -- that'll be another pretty big step to fixing Bug #1, then.

Meanwhile, Gartner (Gartner!) are saying Windows Is Collapsing.  There's a huge slashdot discussion about it here.


----------



## jayeola (Apr 13, 2008)

ftp://ftp.blagblagblag.org/pub/BLAG/developers/jebba/eee/
Load of code and images of the device being flashed.


----------



## jebba (Apr 14, 2008)

*eee roolz*

If you can stand the keyboard/screensize, the eee is capable of quite a lot. I put 2 gigs of RAM in there (1 stick) and that obviously helped out tons. There are 3 USB ports (e.g. you could do 8gig X 8gig X 8gig) and a SD slot (another 8gig). So you can stuff quite a bit of storage into the sucker too, if you want.

I'm trying to "liberate" the machine so it runs only Free Software. Basically that means the wifi card and the BIOS. The wifi card will be supported by the ath5k driver (currently in the kernel, but not with support for this device) and development is in progress (a new snapshot was released today for it).  A free BIOS is trickier, of course, but it appears that openboot.org should be able to run on it fine, if the right developers are found to port it. I'm working on the latter myself, but am woefully ignorant of writing what's needed (I'm just trying to find out as much as possible so an upstream developer can "hit the ground running" should they decide to work on it).

Running BLAG on it is really nice, but mostly i've just been ssh'ing in to work on the thing.

Jayeola noted a URL for my notes, code, datasheets, etc. and I'll add the equivalent http:  url:

http://www.blagblagblag.org/pub/BLAG/developers/jebba/eee/

Have fun,

-Jeff


----------



## jayeola (Apr 14, 2008)

heh - wotcha Jebba. Just came across this. Hope it helps...
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/12/eee-pc-overclocking-looks-surprisingly-easy/

--extract--

```
Overclocking - BIOS Method
There are two known Eee PC BIOSs that support overclocking to 
900MHz. These are the 8804 and 0511 BIOSs. Only the 
4G Eee PCs (including the Surf version) are capable of 
using these BIOSs. The 0511 BIOS is my recommendation 
of the two due to its backlight options and less bugs. 
Follow these steps to install either BIOS:
```


----------



## Tricky Skills (Apr 15, 2008)

And HERE are the specs for the 900 model. Can't say I'm impressed, especially with the £329 price tag. The eee for me is all about affordability, combined with minimum functionality when I'm on the road.


----------



## editor (Apr 16, 2008)

More news: The 900 is set to carry two different flash storage units, with 4GB soldered onto the motherboard and an 8GB SSD in the PCIe slot for XP versions and a 16GB unit for Linux models, priced around $500 - $650 price point, with a UK release scheduled for now!

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/16/eee-pc-900-details-launch-dates-come-trickling-out/


----------



## Xanadu (Apr 16, 2008)

I'm finding it difficult to justify getting an Eee now.  Need something with more processing power.  I'd rather not spend £1k on a portable laptop though.


----------



## editor (Apr 16, 2008)

Xanadu said:


> I'm finding it difficult to justify getting an Eee now.  Need something with more processing power.  I'd rather not spend £1k on a portable laptop though.


I'm leaning towards getting a Dell XPS 1330 again.


----------



## Xanadu (Apr 16, 2008)

I'll have to decide between the Sony 11" model and the Dell M1330.  Dell is a lot cheaper, so I need to quantify how much the extra portability is worth to me.  In theory I should be getting a Macbook Pro, but I want something smaller, and if I'm on stage trying to use a laptop, it's going to need to be something I know like the back of my hand - which is WinXP.


----------



## editor (Apr 16, 2008)

The first reviews of the Eee PC900 are in and they're pretty good:
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39030092,49296523,00.htm
http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2008/04/16/Asus-Eee-PC-900/p1

Battery life is a smidgen disappointing though.


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 17, 2008)

I just got my ebay'ed Thinkpad X31 delivered this morning. It's a little bit bigger than an eee, but not much, and is now downloading the first two episodes of Skins on 4od, so I can watch them on the train home.

It cost £200 including VAT and delivery, and I'm going to have to spend about another £70 on a new battery, more memory and a hard disc (the one it came with is a tiny 14gb and noisy as fk) but the processor is 1.4ghz, much better than the eee, and it feels like a well-made computer with lots of life left in it, and a decent screen and keyboard. I was a bit worried the eee would fall apart after a couple of days being lugged around.


----------



## jayeola (Apr 17, 2008)

*Thinkpad x31 ftw!*


```
dmesg | grep -i think                                                                                                                                
PM: Adding info for platform:[B]thinkpad[/B]_acpi                                                                                                                               
PM: Adding info for platform:thinkpad_hwmon                                                                                                                              
thinkpad_acpi: [B]ThinkPad[/B] ACPI Extras v0.17                                                                                                                                
thinkpad_acpi: http://ibm-acpi.sf.net/                                                                                                                                   
thinkpad_acpi: ThinkPad BIOS 1KET44WW (1.05 ), EC unknown                                                                                                                
thinkpad_acpi: acpi_bus_get_device(bay) failed: -19                                                                                                                      
thinkpad_acpi: disabling subdriver bay                                                                                                                                   
PM: Adding info for No Bus:thinkpad_screen                                                                                                                               
input: ThinkPad Extra Buttons as /class/input/input0
```


----------



## jæd (Apr 17, 2008)

And a translation into English would be...?


----------



## jayeola (Apr 17, 2008)

It's a Thinkpad running GNU/Linux.


----------



## jæd (Apr 17, 2008)

jayeola said:


> It's a Thinkpad running GNU/Linux.



And this has *what* to do with the Eee PC...?


----------



## jayeola (Apr 17, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> I just got my ebay'ed Thinkpad X31 delivered this morning.


^^ what he said


----------



## jæd (Apr 17, 2008)

jayeola said:


> ^^ what he said



So... You got your one today as well...? And you were able to run Linux on it...


----------



## zenie (Apr 17, 2008)

So if you've got 200 or so quid what can you buy that's smaller than a standard laptop? Is an X31 gonna cope with interwebs and email ok?


----------



## Bun (Apr 17, 2008)

I got one at the weekend and I love it. I do my e mailing and surfing on it now from the comfort of the sofa. No regrets at all.


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 17, 2008)

zenie said:


> So if you've got 200 or so quid what can you buy that's smaller than a standard laptop? Is an X31 gonna cope with interwebs and email ok?



Seems happy enough with the internet and email - I put opera on it this morning and it's zipping along nicely. Once I've got the cash I'm going to give it a new (and quieter) hard disc, because it came with a 16gb one (I didn't read the specs properly and thought it was 40).

I'm happy with the little fella so far. It's really dinky but feels solid, the screen's nice and bright, and the keyboard is almost as good/spacious as on a desktop machine.


----------



## zenie (Apr 17, 2008)

Ok might have a look for one of those then, what size is the screen? 

Is there a mian retailer selling the EEE? Just thought I'd do a comparison. 




			
				Bun said:
			
		

> I got one at the weekend and I love it. I do my e mailing and surfing on it now from the comfort of the sofa. No regrets at all.



Sorry mate, what? A EEE or a Thinkpad? 

Nice username!


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 17, 2008)

zenie said:


> Ok might have a look for one of those then, what size is the screen?
> 
> Is there a mian retailer selling the EEE? Just thought I'd do a comparison.
> 
> ...



This bloke's done one already 

http://www.davidsudjiman.info/2008/03/24/asus-eee-pc-or-thinkpad-x31/


----------



## zenie (Apr 17, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> This bloke's done one already
> 
> http://www.davidsudjiman.info/2008/03/24/asus-eee-pc-or-thinkpad-x31/


 

Ta! 

It's the fact that the EE's so small that's why I want one. 

Am gonna get a ruler and have a think! 

No it's too big!! I want it to fit in my handbag see....


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 17, 2008)

zenie said:


> I want it to fit in my handbag see....



Ah - that's why I carry a rucksack!


----------



## zenie (Apr 17, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> Ah - that's why I carry a rucksack!


 
<David Walliams>

hehe but I'm a lay-dee!!! 

</David Walliams>

I don't know if you are or not sory! 

So where can I buy one?


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 17, 2008)

zenie said:


> I don't know if you are or not sory!
> 
> So where can I buy one?





Nope - definete man-stuff in my trousers.

You can check eee stock here: (posted by someone else on Urban ages ago and added to my favourites when I was thinking about getting one)

http://eeestock.cpjackson.co.uk/


----------



## zenie (Apr 17, 2008)

Aww thanks for that!! I remember seeing that before it's a good site. 

Is it worth getting 8gb over 4? I know the memroy's uprated to 1024 rather than 512 and the HD bigger but for a hundred quid like.....

I'm not a techie so won't be able to do/put in stuff myself!


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 17, 2008)

zenie said:


> Is it worth getting 8gb over 4?



i wouldn't think so - my old, main laptop gets by easily on 512mb of memory, and you can add flash USB memory or a shove in a memory card if you need to...

The nice thing about the eee is it's got a built in webcam, mic and speakers, so you can make free star trek-style video calls on skype!


----------



## zenie (Apr 17, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> i wouldn't think so - my old, main laptop gets by easily on 512mb of memory, and you can add flash USB memory or a shove in a memory card if you need to...
> 
> The nice thing about the eee is it's got a built in webcam, mic and speakers, so you can make free star trek-style video calls on skype!


 

Okies!! 

Cheapest is Pixmania which after discount comes out at £226.60, but it doesn't come in white on there!  

Or I could just get the 2GB one?? I don't really know what difference it makes!


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 17, 2008)

I reckon 2gb is too small - and the 2gb ones don't always have built in webcams, so you can't make skype video calls 

4gb is about right. The prices might come down once the 8gb model becomes available


----------



## zenie (Apr 17, 2008)

Cheers for that 

4GB Should be fine, I want a white one though


----------



## dogmatique (Apr 17, 2008)

I had a white one, but my boss nicked it...


----------



## zenie (Apr 17, 2008)

dogmatique said:


> I had a white one, but my boss nicked it...


 
How did you find the screen size? People are saying that it's too small 

Should I wait for the bigger one?


----------



## dogmatique (Apr 17, 2008)

It is _really_ small.  There's a lot of switching to fullscreen mode and scrolling sideways and stuff, but it is a functional annoyance rather than a full-blown drawback.  The mini right hand shift key annoys me more as I'm a touch typist, which is pretty difficult on this machine.

But - if you can hang on for the bigger screen, do so.


----------



## Tricky Skills (Apr 17, 2008)

zenie said:


> How did you find the screen size? People are saying that it's too small
> 
> Should I wait for the bigger one?



It all depends on what you want to use it for. If it's for your main machine - forget it. The specs aren't up to the job.

I've got a 4Gig 7" screen machine and find it perfect for taking out with me. It weighs next to nothing, gets me online in most places and does just what I want in terms of basic word processing. You wouldn't want to type more than 1,000 words on it.

My model is black - white would only get dirty and is for cheapo Mac Fanboys anyway 

So yeah, if you want a mobile machine for being out and about, it's ideal.


----------



## Tricky Skills (Apr 17, 2008)

Plus...

The price was all important for me. I wouldn't want to pay more than £220 - £230. So I personally wouldn't hang around for the larger screen.


----------



## editor (Apr 18, 2008)

Review of the Eee 900 here: http://www.itpro.co.uk/reviews/188559/first-look-asus-eee-pc-900.html
Video showing the multi touch feature: http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/188442/video-it-pros-quick-take-on-the-asus-eee-pc-900.html

Looks very good. I'm tempted.


----------



## untethered (Apr 18, 2008)

zenie said:


> How did you find the screen size? People are saying that it's too small



Too small for what? It's quite legible.

The main problem is trying to use an 800px screen for websites that are designed for higher fixed resolutions. It's a great shame that BBC News has now moved to 1024px as it used to work fine on the Eee.


----------



## hendo (Apr 18, 2008)

I ordered one today, can't wait.


----------



## stowpirate (Apr 18, 2008)

untethered said:


> Too small for what? It's quite legible.
> 
> The main problem is trying to use an 800px screen for websites that are designed for higher fixed resolutions. It's a great shame that BBC News has now moved to 1024px as it used to work fine on the Eee.



Can you not zoom the page to fit in Firefox - maybe use an addon? In Opera you can get it to fit but the text is difficult to read. 

With the Eee I had to  tweak both Opera and Thunderbird to make them more usable on the small screen.

http://wiki.eeeuser.com/opera
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:shrinkthunderbird

I have not tweaked Firefox yet but that is also possible:

http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:shrinkfirefox

Has anybody else tried this?


----------



## jayeola (Apr 18, 2008)

/me lurks on the thread, waits for reviews and holds some funds...


----------



## rhod (Apr 18, 2008)

stowpirate said:


> With the Eee I had to  tweak both Opera and Thunderbird to make them more usable on the small screen.
> 
> http://wiki.eeeuser.com/opera




very informative tutorial there, although I'll never get used to "fit-on-a-floppy" Opera being described as "bloated"


----------



## Mr T (Apr 18, 2008)

i've had mine for about 3 weeks, its mostly great for wireless internet, i can watch films on long train journeys on divx/xvid, and its so light i can take it anywhere.  while i don't find the keyboard too small as others have, i think the screen is a too small for working on for any long period of time, and as i'm obviously too thick to install any other software than whats on there (it doesn't seem to like exe files) there are certain things like sopcast that would be great on here but i can't have.  for the price and weight, i'm glad i got it (and i don't think i'd pay £300+) but beware of the limitations.


----------



## editor (Apr 18, 2008)

I'm deffo going to wait to see what the Eee 900 feels like and then ponder some more about the Eee vs the Dell XPS 1330.


----------



## zenie (Apr 18, 2008)

I just want it for mobile internet and email, won't use it for much else.

I take it the 9 inch 8gb isn't gonna be out for ages? I tried to buy a 7" 9gb but they've phased them out now. 

Is it hard/expensive to upgrade the RAM/HD space yourself?  

I guess people were saying they're too small for web pages?  Some of the pics of the EEE show a display which doesn't fit across the screen...does this happen often that you end up with a border either side?

And why are so many on ebay from Thailand?


----------



## Crispy (Apr 18, 2008)

the old model is only 800 pixels across, so some websites need scrolling side to side. FAIL (unless you fiddle around to install Opera and browse at 80% zoom(

The new 900 model has 1024 pixels across, so all websites will fit without horizontal scorlling


----------



## editor (Apr 18, 2008)

zenie said:


> I take it the 9 inch 8gb isn't gonna be out for ages? I


Supposed to be out at the beginning of May.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39386039,00.htm


----------



## zenie (Apr 18, 2008)

editor said:


> Supposed to be out at the beginning of May.
> 
> http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39386039,00.htm


 


I wonder where'll sell it on 1st May?


----------



## zenie (Apr 20, 2008)

Well, just to bump this I found the 900 model for £300 delivered on preorder. 

Due to come 11th May, I think that's a pretty good price but will carry on looking in case somewhere else pops up cheaper. 

Read quite a few good reviews and a comparison of the 701 and 900 and decided I was better off waiting a couple of weeks.


----------



## dogmatique (Apr 20, 2008)

That's not a bad price!  

Where from?

Hmm... ponders if able to pursuade boss to get another one...


----------



## zenie (Apr 20, 2008)

dogmatique said:


> That's not a bad price!
> 
> Where from?
> 
> Hmm... ponders if able to pursuade boss to get another one...




Using Quidco and a discount code on play. com 

If people don't already use Quidco they *really* should, you'd be surprised the amount of retailers that are on there now. 

I forgot about it til I was searching about the EEE yesterday. Could've got quite a bit back from ebay!


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Apr 20, 2008)

Reviews: http://www.eeeuser.com/2008/04/20/eee-pc-900-reviews/


----------



## zenie (Apr 21, 2008)

Ta! 

Reading the reviews there's that 'oh maybe wait til the Pentium Atom comes out...'but if you waited for every upgrade you'd never buy anything for fear of it being superceded lol


----------



## hendo (Apr 21, 2008)

Quite. 
I've ordered the 20G Linux version, and I shall post a review here, along with the customary desperate appeals for help as to how to use it.


----------



## zenie (Apr 21, 2008)

hendo said:


> Quite.
> I've ordered the 20G Linux version, and I shall post a review here, along with the customary desperate appeals for help as to how to use it.


 
Where have you ordered from? 

and ditto to the last bit ha!


----------



## boskysquelch (Apr 21, 2008)

http://eeepc.itrunsonlinux.com/the-...sus-will-launch-an-eee-pc-with-10-inch-screen

or



> In order to stay ahead of the competition, Asus had to rush out the 900 before the Atom chip was available and while battery supplies were limited because of the factory fire. I have no doubts that in a couple of months a 900 will be released with Atom chip and better battery. I will wait for that one.



anyways I'll be reading this http://wiki.eeeuser.com/ on & off in the meantime.


----------



## editor (Apr 21, 2008)

I'm faffing like mad on this one but I'm going to try and hold out for the faster Atom version with the longer battery life - it's scheduled for a June release.


----------



## Crispy (Apr 21, 2008)

Yeah, atom's worth waiting for I think. Much better battery life, and lower costs, as they've shrunk the thing so much they can fit many more on a wafer.


----------



## zenie (Apr 21, 2008)

Will it be much pricier though? 

Hmmm


----------



## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 21, 2008)

Thinkpad X31

oh fuck


want


----------



## zenie (Apr 21, 2008)

X31 is too big for me though, 12 inches won't fit in my bag nicely 

It's so hard wanting/needing something and then thinking maybe I should wait....grr!!!


----------



## hendo (Apr 21, 2008)

zenie said:


> Where have you ordered from?
> 
> and ditto to the last bit ha!



I ordered it from a UK dealer called Clove. 

They're saying it'll be delivered by the middle of next month.

The order's been processed, but they haven't taken the money from the account yet, which I consider a good sign.


----------



## zenie (Apr 21, 2008)

I'm trying to find a secondary battery for it....


----------



## dogmatique (Apr 21, 2008)

My overriding feeling is... _just wait_...

Seems daft to buy the current spec eee 900 when the new atom is supposedly available in less than 6 weeks..


----------



## zenie (Apr 21, 2008)

Yeh I get what you're saying totally (I'm just being impatient I expect suff now! ) but I read a review that said there's nothing to say the atom will be better than the celeron. 

Maybe the reviewer was talking out of his arse....I definitely want more than 2 hours battery life though. I mean WTF?? 

Have seen spare batteries for the 701, but ideally you want a stand alone battery that can be charged in an external charger rather than being plugged into the lappy. Is that a pig I just saw fly past? 

If a release date for the atom and better battery (if they actually do it!) was revealed I wouldn't be umming and ahhing so much


----------



## dogmatique (Apr 21, 2008)

Well, considering the supply issues of the last eee, and the fact that anyone selling it now is just taking pre-orders for the eee 900 without a firm delivery date, I'd hazard a chance at saying that you'll only just be getting your much coverted mini computer when they announce the atom version...


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 22, 2008)

Shippou-Chan said:


> Thinkpad X31
> 
> oh fuck
> 
> ...



Give in! Give in!

Mine's a right old slow coach at the moment, and the battery only lasted 30 minutes last night when I was watching Dr Who on the train.

Luckily I went on an online shopping spree this morning and bought it a new 80gb hdd, a battery for £25 and a usb-ide converter for when I switch hard discs. I'm going to spend the weekend playing with it and expect it to be better specced than my expensive 'proper' laptop by the end of the weekend, except for the processor which clocks in at 1.4ghz.

Last thing to buy is the memory. Not sure if I can upgrade mine to 1gb or 2, but if it's two I'm going to sell my old laptop (should get £250 for it) which means the switch to UMPC will have cost about £100.

I'll be surfing the internet on the loo and at bus stops!

I'm living the dream!!!


----------



## zenie (Apr 22, 2008)

dogmatique said:


> Well, considering the supply issues of the last eee, and the fact that anyone selling it now is just taking pre-orders for the eee 900 without a firm delivery date, I'd hazard a chance at saying that you'll only just be getting your much coverted mini computer when they announce the atom version...


 

_Alright I'll wait!!!!_ 

*Taps foot impatiently*

LOL @ Ovaltina


----------



## dogmatique (Apr 22, 2008)

Another reason to wait, seems Asus are risking throwing away all of that goodwill they've built up by _lying_ about the battery life: They sent reviewers better batteries than standard _"by mistake"_, meaning that false battery life statements were put out in the press - 2.5 hours instead of less than 1.5.

Apparently they're thinking about sending out replacements to early adopters...

Don't think!  Go on and do it!


----------



## Xanadu (Apr 22, 2008)

Is the Atom processor really going to faster than the Celeron-M?

e2a: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/...celeron-m-processors-before-official-release/


----------



## boskysquelch (Apr 22, 2008)

dogmatique said:


> Don't think!



http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/26/fire-at-battery-plant-threatens-global-supply-of-exploding-lapto/

it's not jus the Asus angle...loads of battery "issues" are on the cards.

and then the rest of lappy manufactureres are gagging for Asus to fkkup... Intel fer instance...oh Intel!!!!?...Intel..Atom...Atom...Intel....oooooh.


This is gonna go on ALL Summer!


----------



## dogmatique (Apr 23, 2008)

I'll be a happy upgrader as soon as they supply the battery they gave to the reviewers, and an atom chip.


----------



## dogmatique (Apr 23, 2008)

Brazilian thieves hack ATM with Eee PC


----------



## zenie (Apr 23, 2008)

dogmatique said:


> Brazilian thieves hack ATM with Eee PC



Oh my!!!  And all caught on camera too!


----------



## editor (Apr 24, 2008)

Another Eee 900 review - and it's a good 'un:



> VERDICT
> As an entry-level machine you get a lot of bang for your buck. The lightweight appeal, the fast software and the easy to use interface means this will serve your needs if all you need is internet, word processing and email on the go, on a budget.
> 
> Where things start to get murky is if you are looking to do more than that on the go or from the sofa.
> ...


http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/reviews/review.phtml/3091/4115/Asus-Eee-900-notebook-PC.phtml


----------



## Jonti (Apr 25, 2008)

I think I'm going to upgrade a certain small (now ten years old) girl's Asus eee to the 900 when it comes out.  She'll have the same software she's gotten used to, and I can move her data over easily enough.

No hurry, but the bigger screen means less sideways scrolling to read web-pages, and the two fingered scrolling with the bigger touch-pad will make the bigger screen even easier to use.  The 1.3 megapixels on the webcam (that's a whole million pixels more, folks!) sounds well worthwhile.  All this, and the promise of an Atom processor to extend the battery life makes it something worth waiting for, imho.  

Mind you, the Atom could be months away as yet; and who knows what further delights are lurking in the upstream pipe?! The microcomputer market is getting interesting like it hasn't been since the 1980s 

Whatever, I reckon I can put Puppy Linux on her "old" entry-level asus eee to give me a well quick and versatile little engine.


----------



## Crispy (Apr 25, 2008)

Atom, not Acorn.
Worth waiting for - it should really help battery life.


----------



## zenie (Apr 25, 2008)

Jonti said:


> I think I'm going to upgrade a certain small (now ten years old) girl's Asus eee to the 900 when it comes out. She'll have the same software she's gotten used to, and I can move her data over easily enough.
> 
> No hurry, but the bigger screen means less sideways scrolling to read web-pages, and the two fingered scrolling with the bigger touch-pad will make the bigger screen even easier to use. The 1.3 megapixels on the webcam (that's a whole million pixels more, folks!) sounds well worthwhile. All this, and the promise of an Acorn processor to extend the battery life makes it something worth waiting for, imho.
> 
> ...


 
so she gets the better one you get the l'il one? Cool dad! 

Any more news on the atom??


----------



## Crispy (Apr 25, 2008)

Comes out in June. Expect product announcements closer to then.


----------



## Tricky Skills (Apr 25, 2008)

I was amazed to find the number of competing models now available in what is looking like becoming a boom market. Not all of these are available in the UK (yet,) but the story doesn't start and end with the eee.

*still love mine though*

Full specs over HERE.

You pay yer money, you take yer choice


----------



## zenie (Apr 25, 2008)

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/NewsRoom/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1133&MenuID=13&LanID=0

looks like it could be good 

as does this

http://vanderled.com/onlinestore/product_info.php/cPath/49_48_58/products_id/81

I'll be having a look a bit more at that page 

Thanks


----------



## hendo (Apr 25, 2008)

Here's another review from the people at teh Register. 
Quite a high approval rating, but on the negative side there's the price hike, the battery life issue - and the debate over whether to wait for the Atom chip.


----------



## editor (Apr 25, 2008)

That battery life thing is critical for me. Not much point having a carry anywhere laptop if it keeps running out of juice.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Apr 25, 2008)

Tricky Skills said:


> I was amazed to find the number of competing models now available in what is looking like becoming a boom market. Not all of these are available in the UK (yet,) but the story doesn't start and end with the eee.
> 
> *still love mine though*
> 
> ...



That's a wicked blog! Great name too.


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 27, 2008)

*In praise of the thinkpad x31 *

I absolutly LOVE my neew Thinkpad X31! 

I was debating whether to get an eee for about a month but held off because I didn't have enough cash. Then, after reading a thread on here, decided to go for an x31 instead, because it runs XP, so I can download 4od and iplayer stuff to watch on my commute into work (not poss on linux).

I paid over the odds (£200) for the machine, which came with a 1.4ghz processor, 512mb memory, and dying battery and a 14gb hdd.

It cost about £100 to upgrade to an 80gb hdd, upgrade the memory and fit a new battery.

Now it's up to speed, and it's a lovely little machine... really quick and perfect for my needs. It's a bit bigger than an eee but I can still sling it in my rucksack. And the battery gets three or four hours on a full charge.


----------



## editor (Apr 27, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> I paid over the odds (£200) for the machine, which came with a 1.4ghz processor, 512mb memory, and dying battery and a 14gb hdd.
> 
> It cost about £100 to upgrade to an 80gb hdd, upgrade the memory and fit a new battery.


I'm getting interested by this X31 - but £200 seems the going price for it on ebay. Were have you see it cheaper?

How hard/much of a pain was it to replace the HD and upgrade the RAM? And is bluetooth on board?


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 27, 2008)

editor said:


> I'm getting interested by this X31 - but £200 seems the going price for it on ebay. Were have you see it cheaper?
> 
> How hard/much of a pain was it to replace the HD and upgrade the RAM? And is bluetooth on board?



I saw one on Ebay for £140 a day or so after I paid £200 for mine, and it had a higher spec  (not sure if it was an auction or buy it now). I think most of the ones on ebay are ex-corporate machines that are 'refurbished', whatever that means, and then sold on, but the odd private seller must turn up once in a while.

The upgrade was pretty straightforward, once I found instructions on an x31 forum. I downloaded a 15 day trial of acronis true image 11, plugged the new hdd into usb via an adaptor and it tranferred the whole disk across.

The ram's under a panel on the underside of the box, i just swapped it over and it worked. There's no bluetooth.

The battery is now showing 92 per cent remaining - 3hrs 45 mins! 

I was planning to use this as an extra laptop and keep my big old core-processor laptop as the main machine, but the x31 is so quickI think I'm going to sell the other one now


----------



## editor (Apr 27, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> The ram's under a panel on the underside of the box, i just swapped it over and it worked.


Isn't the max ram capacity 512MB?


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 27, 2008)

Nope 1gb - but I've seen some web pages saying 2gb

I assumed there would be one 512 card and I could upgrade to 1gb by buying another one, but when I opened the panel there were two 256mb cards. I fitted the new 512 so now it's running on 760mb of memory, but it's quick enough with that. I might buy another 512 and bring it up to 1gb.

This one's at £97 with 30 mins remaining...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBM-Lenovo-Th...goryZ177QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


----------



## jayeola (Apr 28, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> I absolutly LOVE my neew Thinkpad X31!


Thinkpads 0wn! I try onot to use any thing else. Been dropped down stairs, by airport staff, nephews and house mates.


----------



## spanglechick (Apr 28, 2008)

yup - i'm well pleased with my thinkpad x31 refurb.  early days, but tis money well spent, afaics


----------



## zenie (Apr 29, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> Nope 1gb - but I've seen some web pages saying 2gb
> 
> I assumed there would be one 512 card and I could upgrade to 1gb by buying another one, but when I opened the panel there were two 256mb cards. I fitted the new 512 so now it's running on 760mb of memory, but it's quick enough with that. I might buy another 512 and bring it up to 1gb.
> 
> ...


 

Fuck that went for cheap!!! 

Can someone tell me the maor advantage of having solid state? is it just that it'll never fail? How likely are regular laptop hard discs to fail?


----------



## boskysquelch (Apr 29, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> (not poss on linux).



yes it is


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 29, 2008)

boskysquelch said:


> yes it is





How? Don't you need Xp to get past the DRM restrictions?


----------



## stdPikachu (Apr 30, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> How? Don't you need Xp to get past the DRM restrictions?



Think he was referrring to the flash version of the iPlayer, which doesn't use intrusive and flaky-as-hell DRM.


----------



## ovaltina (Apr 30, 2008)

stdPikachu said:


> Think he was referrring to the flash version of the iPlayer.



Ah ok. No good for watching Dr Who on the train home tho.


----------



## boskysquelch (Apr 30, 2008)

ovaltina said:


> Ah ok. No good for watching Dr Who on the train home tho.




mmmmm... I wouldn't _care_ to know! 

but i do use iPlayer in Linux...a LOT!


----------



## zenie (May 1, 2008)

might get an x60, might not


----------



## editor (May 1, 2008)

All the cool people are using Bryant and May laptops now.


----------



## editor (May 7, 2008)

This isn't a good sign:


> The German c’t magazine reports that Asus has begun to replace the 5200mAh battery in its eee device with a smaller battery having a capacvity of just 4400mAh. This is said to reduce the endurance to 2.8h from 3.3h - Asus claims that the reduction is due to a fire at its battery supplier LG Chemicals(ever heard about second sourcing, folks?).
> 
> Anyways, the c’t claims that the outside of device’s boxen are not altered in any way - while some may call that an oversight, I feel that this smells a bit like wilful deception and fits well into the overall picture of a company that can not handle its recent success…
> http://tamspalm.tamoggemon.com/2008/05/07/asus-silently-reduces-eee-battery-capacity/


----------



## hendo (May 7, 2008)

Clove says it'll be the end of May for my EEE. Fire at the Battery factory is cited.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (May 8, 2008)

Now this is very clever and a little cool, just a shame its a two year contract:

*UK mobile carrier PowerUp gives away free Eee PC with contract*








> I can't say this ever occurred to me before, but an Asus Eee PC is cheaper than an iPhone. So perhaps we shouldn't be surprised to see wireless carriers subsidizing Eee PCs. After all, it's cheaper than subsidizing some cellphone models, and carriers have been doing that for years.
> 
> So here's the deal. If you're in the UK and you want to sign up for a 2 year T-Mobile contract through PowerUp Mobile, you can get a free Eee PC 2G Surf and a USB modem so you can surf the web on the go using your new wireless service. The contract will set you back £35/month and the offer is good until June 15th.


----------



## editor (May 13, 2008)

Bit of an indifferent review of the Eee 900 here: http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=14051


----------



## zenie (May 15, 2008)

That looks sexy as fuck 

Wonder why they state it's with windows, I hope it's only that review model and they're not scrapping Linux....

I think this sounds fine to me  The conclusion is a bit damming but I reckon it's a good buy.



> Overall, the Eee PC 900 is a snappy little budget notebook. Granted, the 900 MHz ultra-low voltage processor doesn't have the performance of a modern Core 2 Duo processor. The flash-based storage drives on the Eee PC 900 help with the benchmarks since they provide virtually instant data access times.
> In short, the Eee PC 900 provides plenty of performance for travel and short-term use, but this mini notebook isn't designed to be a primary computing workhorse.


 
Hurry up with a release date for the atom chip!!! 

Apparantley they've got the EEE in Toys R Us think I'll have a play and have a feel of it as I'm gonna have to wait so long for a 9 inch!!


----------



## Crispy (May 15, 2008)

Yes there's a linux version. It has much more built-in storage space.


----------



## zenie (May 15, 2008)

Crispy said:


> Yes there's a linux version. It has much more built-in storage space.


 

I know, I was talking about this



> *Operating System and Software*
> Unlike the original Eee PC, *the Eee PC 900 doesn't come with Linux.* This notebook comes pre-installed with Windows XP.


 
which makes it sound a bit misleading doesn't it?


----------



## editor (May 15, 2008)

The more I think about it, the more I think that the Eee 900  is pretty poor value. I think they took their eye off the ball by instantly upgrading the range rather than introducing incremental upgrades that kept the price at that crucial ~£200 mark. 

For £329 you can get a great full size laptop or a 2nd hand ultraportable that will seriously outperform the Eee.


----------



## hendo (May 15, 2008)

Mine arrived yesterday, and you won't be surprised to hear that I think it's quite good value and something of a tiny marvel. 
It's true that by spending a bit more i could have had a lap top that weighed up to twice as much and had a bigger and more fragile hard disk inside, but that isn't the point. As another poster has remarked, this isn't a workhorse where you put all your files and do hard core pooting stuff, this is a carry around web-friend. 
I've noticed prices falling quite quickly in the lower specced end of the lappie market and I have a feeling this may be to do with the success Asus are having with these machines.
Anyway I'll tote it about for a bit and review it properly when I've messed about with it. 
Ed/Crispy, do pm me if you want to pop round for a beer and see the thing for yourself.


----------



## editor (May 15, 2008)

hendo said:


> Mine arrived yesterday, and you won't be surprised to hear that I think it's quite good value and something of a tiny marvel.


Don't get me wrong - I think they're lovely little laptops, but I just think they lost one of the main advantages when their price sailed upwards into sight of conventional laptops.

But then I'm still ruing the loss of the instant-on, Treo-twinned, big battery Foleo. That would have been my perfect carry around lappie (if it lived up to its promise).


----------



## zenie (May 15, 2008)

I suppose for me I've always wanted an ultra portable web assistant, (I remember posting about the nokia one a few years ago saying how much I wanted one!!)  I've tried the net on PDA's it was crap, I've tried it on PSP's and DS's it's crap, so I'm hoping this'll be just the thing I can put in my bag and carry round and actually work! 

It might be a bit more money than a 12 inch or so UPC, but I think the advantages for me are greater than the disadvantages. Although, the proof is in the pudding


----------



## Radar (May 15, 2008)

zenie said:


> Hurry up with a release date for the atom chip!!!


This place is saying (or more accurately guessing) the end of June for the atom variant, which does make the current celeron 900 a bit of a pig in a poke.


----------



## zenie (May 15, 2008)

hendo said:


> Mine arrived yesterday, and you won't be surprised to hear that I think it's quite good value and something of a tiny marvel.
> <snip>Anyway I'll tote it about for a bit and review it properly when I've messed about with it.


 
Yay glad you like it 

Look forward to hear how you get on, especially with speed of browsing and the like. 



Radar said:


> This place is saying (or more accurately guessing) the end of June for the atom variant, which does make the current celeron 900 a bit of a pig in a poke.


 
I suppose it depends if you're willing to wait though, if you need/want something right away then their's always gonna be new technologuy coming out isn't there?

I'll read the full review that comes off that story later, cos it mentions the battery life issues


----------



## editor (May 15, 2008)

zenie said:


> I suppose it depends if you're willing to wait though, if you need/want something right away then their's always gonna be new technologuy coming out isn't there?


Battery life is really important though if you want a carry anywhere lappie.


----------



## zenie (May 15, 2008)

editor said:


> Battery life is really important though if you want a carry anywhere lappie.


 

agree 100% 

My English is getting worse  (((their)))


----------



## ovaltina (May 15, 2008)

I saw someone using one of the original eees on the train the other day. It's so, _so_ small isn't it! Really dinky. I don't think I could get my head around that little keyboard.


----------



## Tricky Skills (May 15, 2008)

Agree totally about the price on the 900. £220 is a great deal for a road-friendly laptop. Anything higher is a false economy for the spec of the machine. Maybe now is a good time to track down a 700 model, what with all the 900 hype?

I noticed that 900's were readily available along Tott Ct Rd yesterday. It took me over a month to track down my 700!


----------



## editor (May 15, 2008)

I'm typing this on my Thinkpad X32. I don't think I'd fancy spending too much time typing on a smaller keyboard or looking at a screen smaller than this one (12").


----------



## hendo (May 15, 2008)

I've done a little review on me blog. It's not hugely technical but there you go.

I like this thing lots. But i can't stress enough, no way is this your main PC, at least not mine.


----------



## han (May 15, 2008)

Just seen the Asus EEE today (^^^hendo's) - it's gorgeous!
I want.

Yep, you couldn't use it as your main pc really, but it's a great mobile pc.


----------



## zenie (May 15, 2008)

hendo said:


> I've done a little review on me blog. It's not hugely technical but there you go.



No but it is honest which is just as important 

found any spare batteries yet? 




			
				han said:
			
		

> Yep, you couldn't use it as your main pc really, but it's a great mobile pc.


----------



## dogmatique (May 15, 2008)

hendo said:


> I've done a little review on me blog. It's not hugely technical but there you go.
> 
> I like this thing lots. But i can't stress enough, no way is this your main PC, at least not mine.



That extra screen size really makes a difference doesn't it?  Damn me for being an early adopter. 

Doesn't look like they've improved the keyboard much though, the right shift is still in it's awkward position.  Are the keys rounded at the edges?  That might make it a bit better...


----------



## hendo (May 15, 2008)

The keys are square, but the keyboard has a nice action. You have to be precise when you're typing though, or spend ages cleaning up your typos.

The battery issue is a vexed one. The power unit they've included with this model is actually 15% less powerful than the 700 according to the Register's hardware reviewers. They advocate hanging on till a superior model appears, which will have an Atom chip as well as better power.

But I couldn't wait!


----------



## Tricky Skills (May 15, 2008)

Yeah, same here - I couldn't wait. If you end up hanging on for the latest tech product then you'll end up buying nothing.

I find my 700 battery not bad actually. I got four hours out of it on Sunday


----------



## stowpirate (May 15, 2008)

han said:


> Just seen the Asus EEE today (^^^hendo's) - it's gorgeous!
> I want.
> 
> Yep, you couldn't use it as your main pc really, but it's a great mobile pc.



Its great isnt it!!!! If you were forced to you could just about get away with using it as a replacement for a real PC. 

The main problem is that not all the application windows fit on the small screen resulting in some tricky finger work to move them around.  You can modify the look and feel of some of the Windows to make them more ergonomic in use. The worst is the default Email setup as it only allows you to view a few lines. I tweaked mine:

http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:shrinkthunderbird

I also did a similar thing with Opera Browser.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 15, 2008)

Tricky Skills said:


> I find my 700 battery not bad actually. I got four hours out of it on Sunday



If you spend any more time than the battery life on a 700 you'll be fucking your eyes up anyway.


----------



## soulman (May 15, 2008)

Can anyone tell me if this can be run off a charged up 12v battery? Ta


----------



## Radar (May 16, 2008)

Another article on the 901 (as the reg is calling it) smoother outlines than the previous models. Pictures and stuff here. They're still reckoning on an end of june launch.

The inq also has a review of the upcoming MSI wind with a 10" display. Accurate details are thin on the ground, but there's a google translated article here that doesn't make your eyes bleed when trying to read it.  No mention of possible release dates yet.


----------



## stowpirate (May 16, 2008)

Radar said:


> Another article on the 901 (as the reg is calling it) smoother outlines than the previous models. Pictures and stuff here. They're still reckoning on an end of june launch.



Atom version I think is a 64bit processor? If so you should be able to run some cutting edge applications and the latest 64bit Linux OS's


----------



## editor (May 16, 2008)

Launching on the same day as the 10-inch, Atom-based, MSI Wind running Linux *and costing $250 more*, the Eee 901 will be released on June 3rd.



> Asustek Computer will launch its Atom-based 8.9-inch Eee PC 901 in June and the company is planning to add more features to it in order to clearly separate it from its competitors, according to market channel sources.
> 
> In addition to a Bluetooth module, Asustek will also add metal alloy parts to the keyboard and hinge, while its touchpad will also have a metallic border.
> 
> ...


----------



## zenie (May 16, 2008)

soulman said:


> Can anyone tell me if this can be run off a charged up 12v battery? Ta


 
I don't see why not. Might be wrong though. 



Radar said:


> Another article on the 901 (as the reg is calling it) smoother outlines than the previous models. Pictures and stuff here. They're still reckoning on an end of june launch.
> 
> The inq also has a review of the upcoming MSI wind with a 10" display. Accurate details are thin on the ground, but there's a google translated article here that doesn't make your eyes bleed when trying to read it. No mention of possible release dates yet.


 
Just read the review on the wind, battery life is amazing this is what the EEE needs! It looks really good although a bit bigger than the EEE, <wrong comment removed> I'd be interested in having a play maybes....

End of June for the 901 now....arse!  6 weeks isn't too long I suppose...


----------



## zenie (May 16, 2008)

editor said:


> Launching on the same day as the 10-inch, Atom-based, MSI Wind running Linux *and costing $250 more*, the Eee 901 will be released on June 3rd.









sexy sexy 

I wanna know what it looks like in Black.

The review I read stated the wind probably wouldn't have an atom chip. 



> It is expected that the MSI Wind Notebook reach our region in mid-June. Unfortunately the availability of processors Atom is not yet ideal, and therefore we will see that supply will slow this machine (which incidentally may favour MSI) and will grow hand in hand with the bid process, which should be regulated entirely during the month of September What do we assure the people of MSI is to be an adequate volume of computers for Latin America and that its price is highly competitive with its closest rival


----------



## hendo (May 16, 2008)

stowpirate said:


> Its great isnt it!!!!
> 
> The main problem is that not all the application windows fit on the small screen resulting in some tricky finger work to move them around.



The 900 has a bigger screen, so you don't have to.


----------



## stowpirate (May 16, 2008)

hendo said:


> The 900 has a bigger screen, so you don't have to.



1024x600 still means some of the Windows in software like Gimp will not fit still requiring some nifty finger work.  It is obviously a lot better than the old models 800x480, however unfortunately the standard 1024x768 is the ideal solution. Its also I believe16 and not 24bit colour which causes problems in software like Opera with its widgets. Still a great gadget for the money.


----------



## zenie (May 19, 2008)

I hope all the atom 901's aren't gonna be this price! 
http://www.superetrader.co.uk/asus-...html?gad=CMDIu8kDEgg-s_Nh2Zr1URiY3OT-AyCY9p4z&


----------



## editor (May 19, 2008)

zenie said:


> I hope all the atom 901's aren't gonna be this price!
> http://www.superetrader.co.uk/asus-...html?gad=CMDIu8kDEgg-s_Nh2Zr1URiY3OT-AyCY9p4z&


£500?! They're having a laugh!

You could get two as-new X32 Thinkpads for that!

I'll probably end up buying a supersmall Eee-style ultraportable at some time to supplement my X32 (which has unexpectedly become my 'main' laptop), but unless they're around the £200 mark, I could never justify the outlay.


----------



## Brainaddict (May 19, 2008)

Does anyone know anything about the Elenox ONE (£100) or the chinese Tianhua (£130)?

Has anyone seen any reviews of them?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elonex_ONE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianhua_GX-1C


----------



## zenie (May 19, 2008)

editor said:


> £500?! They're having a laugh!
> 
> You could get two as-new X32 Thinkpads for that!
> 
> I'll probably end up buying a supersmall Eee-style ultraportable at some time to supplement my X32 (which has unexpectedly become my 'main' laptop), but unless they're around the £200 mark, I could never justify the outlay.


 
I think they are having a laugh yeh, it's meant to be 300 quid I think.....something like that.

I knew you would!  The wind looks good too!

I haven't BA, but have a google, sure they'll be one somewhere


----------



## Brainaddict (May 19, 2008)

I just worked out the Elonex is released in June. The chinese ones I'm not sure - can't find reviews. 40gb hard disk memory kicks the arse of other cheap subnotebooks, but RAM isn't up to much.


----------



## hendo (May 19, 2008)

zenie said:


> I hope all the atom 901's aren't gonna be this price!
> http://www.superetrader.co.uk/asus-...html?gad=CMDIu8kDEgg-s_Nh2Zr1URiY3OT-AyCY9p4z&





Agreed that's mad; Asus have missed the point of their own invention by pricing it there.
Have to say I don't feel the 900 is slow by any means; i wonder what the atom chip can do that the 900's CPU cannot.


----------



## stowpirate (May 19, 2008)

hendo said:


> Agreed that's mad; Asus have missed the point of their own invention by pricing it there.
> Have to say I don't feel the 900 is slow by any means; i wonder what the atom chip can do that the 900's CPU cannot.



http://www.intel.com/technology/atom/index.htm


----------



## zenie (May 20, 2008)

hendo said:


> Agreed that's mad; Asus have missed the point of their own invention by pricing it there.


 
I just think that's someone cashing in on it tbh. Don't imagine it being more than 350 for a natom powered one.

So, who's installed XP on a Linus EEE? Anyone?


----------



## Tricky Skills (May 20, 2008)

Yeah, I've got XP on my 700 model 

I bought it 'as new' off eBay, with the seller having already put a genuine copy of XP on. £220 all in was a bit of a bargain.

It all runs fine, until XP tries to download the latest service pack on the 4G drive


----------



## jayeola (May 21, 2008)

Wow. Haven't really kept up with this thread but there seems to be an opening up of the sub-notebook market. Lots of stuff happening soon, huh?


----------



## zenie (May 21, 2008)

Tricky Skills said:


> It all runs fine, until XP tries to download the latest service pack on the 4G drive


 
ROFL 

I want to lend it to my nephew when he goes on holiday but I' not sure he'll cope with Linux although being 13 hge'll probably get on better with it than me. 




			
				jayeola said:
			
		

> Wow. Haven't really kept up with this thread but there seems to be an opening up of the sub-notebook market. Lots of stuff happening soon, huh?


 
Yes, now we have to bloody choose and make a decision!!!


----------



## hendo (May 21, 2008)

I took the EEE900 to Manchester yesterday and did some e-mailing, browsing and document writing. It behaved immaculately - and (importantly) impressed all who saw it. But the ninety minute battery life is a tad poor.  I'm taking its power lead next time.


----------



## editor (May 21, 2008)

hendo said:


> But the ninety minute battery life is a tad poor.  I'm taking its power lead next time.


That's the killer for me.


----------



## hendo (May 21, 2008)

editor said:


> That's the killer for me.


 
ah but its a thing of beauty ed.


----------



## editor (May 21, 2008)

hendo said:


> ah but its a thing of beauty ed.


Funnily enough, my equally tiny ten-year-old Libretto had a similarly poor battery life, yet it ran basic office apps, surfed the web, emails etc.

So much for progress!














http://www.urban75.org/tech/toshiba-libretto-50-pc.html


----------



## Crispy (May 21, 2008)

Ninety minutes!
That's put me right off.


----------



## hendo (May 21, 2008)

With the wifi unit on, 90 is what you get. I agree, it is poor. But hell, you can (mostly) plug it in. 

On another tack, found this article about the atom chip:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/21/msi-wind-pc-benchmarked-secrets-of-the-atom-cracked/


----------



## Kid_Eternity (May 21, 2008)

editor said:


> Funnily enough, my equally tiny ten-year-old Libretto had a similarly poor battery life, yet it ran basic office apps, surfed the web, emails etc.
> 
> So much for progress!
> 
> ...



That's a cool little device! How did it cost when new?


----------



## Crispy (May 21, 2008)

This is my old thing:






Size (Inches):	9.6 x 7.5 x 1.1
Weight:	2.6 lbs

Instant (and I mean instant) power on/off

Screen: 800x600 touchscreen
Battery life: Fuckin ages. Probably around the 7 hour mark
Storage: CF - I have 2GB in mine
Network: Wireless when you slot a PCMCIA card in (only certain models though, drivers are rare)
USB: Accepts mice or Generic Storage (with a universal 3rd party driver)

Shit bits: It'll never do video or imaging. IE3 is utter balls.

Cost 95 quid on ebay


----------



## zenie (May 21, 2008)

editor said:


> Funnily enough, my equally tiny ten-year-old Libretto had a similarly poor battery life, yet it ran basic office apps, surfed the web, emails etc.
> 
> So much for progress!
> 
> ...


 
So why don't you still have it?


----------



## editor (May 21, 2008)

zenie said:


> So why don't you still have it?


I still have it but the screen is tiny, a new battery too expensive and using Windows95 would be too painful to contemplate.


----------



## hendo (May 22, 2008)

A row has now kicked off about the 900's battery life in the columns of the Reg:

Herewith the article: check out the comments underneath. 

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/22/asus_speaks_out_eee_battery/

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/22/asus_speaks_out_eee_battery/comments/

And another interesting discussion developing over at the EEE users forum:

http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=27140&p=1

Apparently customers in HK got a better battery!


----------



## Wolveryeti (May 22, 2008)

Hong Kong based EEE vendors such as this seem a permanent fixture on ebay these days though. The price compares pretty favourably to the 330 odd you're getting charged in the UK and you get the better battery.


----------



## zenie (May 23, 2008)

You get a better battery but do you get any warranty or an English keyboard?


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 23, 2008)

Was just looking at the Pandora - a Linux ultraportable optimised for gaming with emulators and stuff (proper graphics card, analogue and D-pad controls as well as a teeny keyboard) about the same size as a DS. Claims 10+ hours battery life.






http://openpandora.org/

It's by the same people who did the GP2X if you remember that - I actually got one of those, though I used it for, oh, about twelve hours? I found it in the bottom of a bag recently. Must see if it still works.

Anyway, it's all completely open stuff and is a bit of an interesting angle I thought, coming as it does from handheld consoles rather than laptops (and in terms of battery life and UI, handhelds are damn good).


----------



## Wolveryeti (May 23, 2008)

zenie said:


> You get a better battery but do you get any warranty or an English keyboard?



1 year warranty and an english keyboard in the link i provided, so yeah.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 23, 2008)

NB I charged up some batteries and powered up the GP2X. The firmware is a couple of years out of date and I thought it might be an idea to upgrade it.

Now I remember why I didn't use the damn thing - the entire project seems to be run by the worst possible combination of Linux geeks and gaming retards. Any "documentation" you may find googling is out of date, incomprehensible and mostly just plain incorrect. It doesn't really say much for the future of the Pandora I have to admit.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (May 24, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Was just looking at the Pandora - a Linux ultraportable optimised for gaming with emulators and stuff (proper graphics card, analogue and D-pad controls as well as a teeny keyboard) about the same size as a DS. Claims 10+ hours battery life.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That looks pretty cool.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (May 24, 2008)

Its a great idea, but unless you can pick up and play with a couple of hours without your wrists hurting its made of fail.


----------



## zenie (May 24, 2008)

DapperDonDamaja said:


> 1 year warranty and an english keyboard in the link i provided, so yeah.



The pics are a mixture of both I just wasn't sure if you got a keyboard which had Chinese (which language do they use in the main on electronics in China, Mandarin??) AND English....


----------



## hendo (May 28, 2008)

yet another reason to hang on: Asus are launching another sub notebook which might be even better specced:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/28/asus-10-inch-eee-pc-1000-series-to-launch-at-computex/


----------



## Crispy (May 28, 2008)

hendo said:


> yet another reason to hang on: Asus are launching another sub notebook which might be even better specced:
> http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/28/asus-10-inch-eee-pc-1000-series-to-launch-at-computex/


I'm sure it'll be lovely. But it won't cost £200. That's what made the original so special.


----------



## editor (May 28, 2008)

Crispy said:


> I'm sure it'll be lovely. But it won't cost £200. That's what made the original so special.


Indeed. As soon as it climbs over £200, it loses a lot of its appeal. Pricing the E900 at £329 was plain daft and this 901 looks like it's going to be even more expensive.


----------



## zenie (May 28, 2008)

Crispy said:


> I'm sure it'll be lovely. But it won't cost £200. That's what made the original so special.


 
And nothing to do with it's size or features? 

I wanna see this MSI wind.....

and from the wind article



> Word to the wise: wait until summer for your ultra-portable purchase -- competition will be fierce and the waves will be tasty.


----------



## hendo (May 29, 2008)

And another reason to wait:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/29/dells-mini-inspiron-eee-pc-killer-revealed/


----------



## editor (May 29, 2008)

hendo said:


> And another reason to wait:
> 
> http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/29/dells-mini-inspiron-eee-pc-killer-revealed/


I'm liking the cut of that lappie's jib, squire.


----------



## han (May 29, 2008)

That's gorgeous!


----------



## hendo (May 29, 2008)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/29/gadgets.windows

another review of the EEE900, this time from the grauniad.


----------



## editor (May 29, 2008)

The MSI is sure looking like a contender too. I might pick one up when I'm in the States if the price is under $450.





1GB of RAM, 80GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth, a trio of USB ports, 4-in-1 multicard reader, VGA output and a 3-cell battery that will theoretically provide 3- to 4-hours of life plus 10-inch 1,024 x 600 resolution panel. Nice.


http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/29/msi-wind-gets-detailed-further/


----------



## jayeola (May 29, 2008)

On the sounds of it the general specs seem quite good. I've seen a few MSI laptops at computer fairs but have not taken one for a test drive.


----------



## zenie (May 29, 2008)

Dell is sexy as is the wind, but neither are solid state are they?


----------



## editor (May 29, 2008)

zenie said:


> Dell is sexy as is the wind, but neither are solid state are they?


Don't think so, but I imagine they'll both have vastly superior battery life to the Eee 900, so it's all swings and roundabouts. Fat lot of good having a faster starting laptop if it runs out of juice all the time.

Or you could just save yourself £70 and get a superior spec'd Thinkpad X32 with a bigger screen, far better battery life and more usable keyboard while sacrificing a bit of the super small size.


----------



## stdPikachu (May 29, 2008)

I'd still much prefer a small solid state drive for an ultraportable, as it makes it an awful lot more rugged in terms of being able to be chucked about, having no moving parts. Given fifty quid and a few SDHC cards you can have shedloads of compact, fast and durable storage space.


----------



## editor (May 29, 2008)

I have to say I've lugged laptops all over the place for years and have never had a hard drive fail on me.


----------



## zenie (May 29, 2008)

editor said:


> Don't think so, but I imagine they'll both have vastly superior battery life to the Eee 900, so it's all swings and roundabouts. Fat lot of good having a faster starting laptop if it runs out of juice all the time.
> 
> Or you could just save yourself £70 and get a superior spec'd Thinkpad X32 with a bigger screen, far better battery life and more usable keyboard while sacrificing a bit of the super small size.



Yeh am waiting to hear about this battery business....

Jesus you never stop, I want small and new!


----------



## hendo (May 30, 2008)

Now it seems Asus are stopping making the Asus EEE900 and are switching up to the 901.

And from June 10th are reported to be offering to upgrade the battery on the EEE900...here.


----------



## zenie (Jun 2, 2008)

So are you gonna send yours off hendo? 

Also why bother recycling the batteries they get sent back in exchange, why not just leave them with the consumer? It's not like they'll get any money for them will they?


----------



## editor (Jun 2, 2008)

Asus have said that they're about to slash the prices of the Eee 701 and 900 in the wake of tomorrow's Eee 901 launch.


----------



## hendo (Jun 2, 2008)

zenie said:


> So are you gonna send yours off hendo?
> 
> Also why bother recycling the batteries they get sent back in exchange, why not just leave them with the consumer? It's not like they'll get any money for them will they?


 
I don't think I can be arsed tbh, because it'll take out my lovely lappie for weeks.


----------



## hendo (Jun 2, 2008)

editor said:


> Asus have said that they're about to slash the prices of the Eee 701 and 900 in the wake of tomorrow's Eee 901 launch.


 
Typical!


----------



## editor (Jun 2, 2008)

hendo said:


> Typical!


With a longer battery life too!


----------



## hendo (Jun 2, 2008)

I still reckon this is a nice little computer. OK, so soon there's going to be little computers that are nicer still, but the 900 remains a nice little computer.


----------



## editor (Jun 2, 2008)

hendo said:


> I still reckon this is a nice little computer. OK, so soon there's going to be little computers that are nicer still, but the 900 remains a nice little computer.


You're paying the price of being a hepcat _Early Adopta'._

It's a pain I know well.


----------



## zenie (Jun 3, 2008)

Well it wouldn't be so bad if people didn't go on about it, or is that a consequence of people being jelaous of what you've got and they haven't? hehe 

New 901 and 1000 unveiled at computex

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9957648-1.html



> Asus promises new power-management software, called Super Hybrid Engine technology, *that can purportedly offer up to 7.8 hours of battery life* (although we'll believe that when we see it). You get the same 12GB and 20GB solid state hard drives in the Windows XP and Linux versions, *but with an additional 20GB of hosted online storage space for data backup* (something also offered by Dell and other PC makers these days). Design tweaks appear to be minor, and the keyboard still isn't as full-size as the one on HP's 2133 Mini-Note, but it looks to be less cramped than the original finger-twisting 7-inch Eee PC.



Suonds good...let's hear about them testing the battery though! 

Any more news on the wind?


----------



## hendo (Jun 3, 2008)

zenie said:


> Well it wouldn't be so bad if people didn't go on about it, or is that a consequence of people being jelaous of what you've got and they haven't? hehe


 
I can take it. What's your decision Zenie, is it the 901?


----------



## editor (Jun 3, 2008)

zenie said:


> Any more news on the wind?


First look reviews:
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/reviews/review.phtml/3187/4211/MSI-Wind-ultraportable-notebook-PC.phtml
http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/notebooks/0,1000000333,39427750,00.htm


----------



## zenie (Jun 3, 2008)

hendo said:


> I can take it. What's your decision Zenie, is it the 901?


 



It'll be the 901 or the wind, when we get all the pricesin, then I'll decide lol 

Cheers ed will have a read


----------



## hendo (Jun 3, 2008)

Wait up.....now Acer is getting in on the mini notebook act!!

And here comes Sony!!


----------



## editor (Jun 3, 2008)

I'm glad I've got my IBM for now - that way I can wait for the market to settle because I reckon the best is yet to come!


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jun 3, 2008)

editor said:


> You're paying the price of being a hepcat _Early Adopta'._
> 
> It's a pain I know well.



Eh, it's only really when you buy something and then they reduce the price to 10p plus free crisps the next week that it really bites. I'm happy with my 700 and I've had a lot of use out of it so far which I wouldn't have gotten if I'd waited.

Wouldn't mind some free crisps though.


----------



## editor (Jun 3, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Eh, it's only really when you buy something and then they reduce the price to 10p plus free crisps the next week that it really bites. I'm happy with my 700 and I've had a lot of use out of it so far which I wouldn't have gotten if I'd waited.
> 
> Wouldn't mind some free crisps though.


It's not so bad if you bought a 700 a while ago, but if you'd just shelled out for the 900 only to see it nearly instantly upgraded, it's gotta smart a bit.


----------



## editor (Jun 3, 2008)

oh, I say: the £199 Aspire1 form Asus looks very nice - and light as fuck too:
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/15132/16156/acer-aspire-one-video-review.phtml


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jun 3, 2008)

editor said:


> It's not so bad if you bought a 700 a while ago, but if you'd just shelled out for the 900 only to see it nearly instantly upgraded, it's gotta smart a bit.


This is my excuse for buying whatever I want whenever it appears 


editor said:


> oh, I say: the £199 Aspire1 form Asus looks very nice - and light as fuck too:
> http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/15132/16156/acer-aspire-one-video-review.phtml



It does, doesn't it? Now all I need is Apple to jump into the market. They won't, though, the buggers


----------



## editor (Jun 4, 2008)

Lordy. This one _is_ purdy.








    * 8.9-inch 1024 x 600 LED-backlit display
    * 1.6GHz Atom N270
    * 512MB DDR2 SDRAM (expandable)
    * 1.3 megapixel camera, SDHC and multi-format media readers
    * 802.11b/g, Ethernet, three USB 2.0, VGA, and 3.5mm audio out
    * One free mini PCI slot for WWAN
    * 80GB hard drive (with XP) or 8GB solid state (with Linux)
    * 2.5 or 5 hours on 3 or 6-cell batteries in XP model, 3 or 7 hours on Linux
    * 1kg (2.2 pounds)

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/03/acers-aspire-one-finally-gets-real/


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jun 4, 2008)

editor said:


> oh, I say: the £199 Aspire1 form Asus looks very nice - and light as fuck too:
> http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/15132/16156/acer-aspire-one-video-review.phtml



Very nice! I'm in the process of trying to get work to see the value in not spending 600 on bulky high specced laptops  that people only use for word, email and general surfing in favour of a few ultraportables. Looks like another contender is about to enter the ring...


----------



## Crispy (Jun 4, 2008)

The asus has _2_ memory card slots, so you can shove a SDHC in there for good


----------



## Xanadu (Jun 4, 2008)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Very nice! I'm in the process of trying to get work to see the value in not spending 600 on bulky high specced laptops  that people only use for word, email and general surfing in favour of a few ultraportables. Looks like another contender is about to enter the ring...



Wouldn't you want something with a bigger keyboard and screen for that kind of stuff though?


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jun 4, 2008)

Xanadu said:


> Wouldn't you want something with a bigger keyboard and screen for that kind of stuff though?



Ten inch screen would be fine, I do a lot of traveling and time spent on trains could be better used than being bored...


----------



## Xanadu (Jun 4, 2008)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Ten inch screen would be fine, I do a lot of traveling and time spent on trains could be better used than being bored...



Sorry, I meant for your work.  Don't you have people working in the company that have less than perfect eyesight, or not-so-good keyboard skills?


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jun 4, 2008)

Xanadu said:


> Sorry, I meant for your work.  Don't you have people working in the company that have less than perfect eyesight, or not-so-good keyboard skills?



Nope.


----------



## zenie (Jun 4, 2008)

The competition is hotting up,  I wonder when these things will be relased? 

I just type the model number into google, but is there a better way to look for reviews?


----------



## hendo (Jun 5, 2008)

I'd like to give you some pointers to reviews but I can't. All the ones I looked at raved about the E900, but apparently I still bought the wrong thing. 

I suppose you could try Cnet, and The Register's Hardware section, which are both strong, and written by people who seem to know what they're writing about. Editor?


----------



## editor (Jun 7, 2008)

Video review of Acer Aspire One here: http://techdigest.tv/2008/06/shiny_video_rev_185.html
They're loving it.


----------



## zenie (Jun 10, 2008)

Soooooo still no release date? 

That Acer looks good.


----------



## fractionMan (Jun 10, 2008)

when are any of these things (asus w/atom or aspire one) going to be in the shops tho.  I need a new computer at home.


----------



## fractionMan (Jun 10, 2008)

Also, does anyone know the max resolution you can drive an external monitor at using one of these things?


----------



## Brainaddict (Jun 10, 2008)

That acer looks good for £199. I'm seriously pondering whether to get that.


----------



## hendo (Jun 12, 2008)

fractionMan said:


> when are any of these things (asus w/atom or aspire one) going to be in the shops tho. I need a new computer at home.


 
My advice is not to make the mistake of actually buying a computer. Because everyone on this thread will then post up the details of all the newer computers you _should_ have bought. 

Or if you do buy one, don't tell anyone.


----------



## stowpirate (Jun 12, 2008)

hendo said:


> My advice is not to make the mistake of actually buying a computer. Because everyone on this thread will then post up the details of all the newer computers you _should_ have bought.
> 
> Or if you do buy one, don't tell anyone.



That depends on if you buy new or not. Nobody going to be interested if you tell them you got a working IBM Thinkpad for £2 at a car boot sale and that the only fault was a abortive attempt to upgrade to Vista. Who needs new computer equipment when car boot sales are full of cheap kit which is just a few year old


----------



## zenie (Jun 12, 2008)

hendo said:


> My advice is not to make the mistake of actually buying a computer. Because everyone on this thread will then post up the details of all the newer computers you _should_ have bought.
> 
> Or if you do buy one, don't tell anyone.


 
LOL it's true though! Early adapters always fare worse off, I'll just be pleased when I can bloody buy one! 



stowpirate said:


> That depends on if you buy new or not. Nobody going to be interested if you tell them you got a working IBM Thinkpad for £2 at a car boot sale and that the only fault was a abortive attempt to upgrade to Vista. Who needs new computer equipment when car boot sales are full of cheap kit which is just a few year old


 

You never?


----------



## dogmatique (Jun 12, 2008)

I'm very tempted by this for the ability to put a sim in.  Am off on a boat for a week or so, and it's always a pain in the arse having to plug a mobile into the lappy to get net access...


----------



## zenie (Jun 12, 2008)

Well the MSI Wind's on sale here but not due for delievery til mid july...it's also £335 quid! 

http://www.expansys.com/tag.aspx?tag=msi wind&partner=adwords&gclid=CK70mv_h7pMCFQ9oQgodQTCszA


----------



## stowpirate (Jun 12, 2008)

zenie said:


> You never?


----------



## zenie (Jun 12, 2008)

stowpirate said:


>


 

Sooo what did you get? 






Hope your boy likes it!


----------



## stowpirate (Jun 12, 2008)

He has an Eee


----------



## editor (Jun 14, 2008)

The Eee PC 1000 is out now in Taiwan.





http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2008/06/asus-eee-pc-100.html


----------



## hendo (Jun 15, 2008)

Tis a beautiful thing. But i note when you look at the unboxing video it seems to take xp an age to get the device booted.

The 901 arrives on July 1st, it is reported.


----------



## zenie (Jun 16, 2008)

This waiting's bloody annoying


----------



## fractionMan (Jun 16, 2008)

The 12" acer 2920 is only £400 in currys atm.  Dual core, 2gb memory, 120gb drive, <2kg.

Might well get one.  Not sure of the atom performance compared to the lower end dual cores, but I think the atom is slower, right?


----------



## Xanadu (Jun 16, 2008)

fractionMan said:


> The 12" acer 2920 is only £400 in currys atm.  Dual core, 2gb memory, 120gb drive, <2kg.
> 
> Might well get one.  Not sure of the atom performance compared to the lower end dual cores, but I think the atom is slower, right?






The lower end core duos should be much much faster than the atom.


----------



## zenie (Jun 23, 2008)

I really hope these get a release next week, my PC's fucked with viruses!


----------



## dogmatique (Jun 23, 2008)

Finally got round to buying an extended battery for my eee 701, and despite the fact that it's damn ugly and spoils the lines of the computer, it makes a hell of a difference.  From just about 1 hour to over 4.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 24, 2008)

zenie said:


> I really hope these get a release next week, my PC's fucked with viruses!



How about just formatting if its that bad. Its not like a virus can break a computer.


----------



## zenie (Jun 24, 2008)

Global_Stoner said:


> How about just formatting if its that bad. Its not like a virus can break a computer.


 

Yeh I am....but I then need to load back on the operating system and all that before I can get it working again. I'm not great with computers.


----------



## stowpirate (Jun 27, 2008)

zenie said:


> Sooo what did you get?



I think it is a T30 with wireless. Some student had attempted to upgrade it and had failed. It was covered in beer stains(or worse) and looked a bit sad but after a clean with alcowipes it looked like new. I  Installed Linux on it and had a bit of a struggle with the wireless which in the end worked.  



> Hope your boy likes it!



He loves the Eee which is great for his constant hospital visits. There is a good free wireless hotspot at Addenbrookes in the food mall!


----------



## hendo (Jun 30, 2008)

I thought I'd post this up from the Register about the Asus range; it's all changing quicker than, well, something that's changing pretty quickly.


----------



## hiccup (Jul 1, 2008)

I just got one of them IBM X31 jobbies for £147. *crosses fingers it's not held together with matchsticks*


----------



## editor (Jul 1, 2008)

hiccup said:


> I just got one of them IBM X31 jobbies for £147. *crosses fingers it's not held together with matchsticks*


*crosses fingers too!

I'm loving the X32. I added another gig of RAM for £68 and it purrs along. Don't forget to fire up its Vantage auto-updating software widget - IBM offer amazing support for their older products.


----------



## hiccup (Jul 1, 2008)

editor said:


> *crosses fingers too!
> 
> I'm loving the X32. I added another gig of RAM for £68 and it purrs along. Don't forget to fire up its Vantage auto-updating software widget - IBM offer amazing support for their older products.



Cheers, sounds handy, I'll check it out.


----------



## Crispy (Jul 1, 2008)

editor said:


> *crosses fingers too!
> 
> I'm loving the X32. I added another gig of RAM for £68 and it purrs along. Don't forget to fire up its Vantage auto-updating software widget - IBM offer amazing support for their older products.


This, and the build quality, are what makes IBM laptops so popular in business. Not sure how it all works now that the laptops are lenovo, though. Does your support still come from IBM, or is it lenovo with IBM badges on?


----------



## editor (Jul 1, 2008)

Crispy said:


> This, and the build quality, are what makes IBM laptops so popular in business. Not sure how it all works now that the laptops are lenovo, though. Does your support still come from IBM, or is it lenovo with IBM badges on?


It's hard to say and the logos seem to swap around at will on their various websites. I'm not sure if I rang up IBM or Lenovo for the CDs (I still can't get over the company sending me a free 9 CD pack for a laptop nearly three years old - with no quibbling!).

Lenovo have certainly done an excellent job of offering updates for older  IBM machines too.


----------



## Crispy (Jul 1, 2008)

Ah well. If it quacks like a duck...


----------



## stowpirate (Jul 1, 2008)

What about one of these?

http://www.snotmonkey.com/work/ezgo/


----------



## editor (Jul 1, 2008)

They're hideous. And expensive. And screen-less and keyboard-less. And not portable.


----------



## revol68 (Jul 1, 2008)

editor said:


> They're hideous. And expensive. And screen-less and keyboard-less. And not portable.



it's like a hideous underpowered media pc at three times the price.

the website design alone says it all.


----------



## jayeola (Jul 1, 2008)

stowpirate said:


> What about one of these?
> 
> http://www.snotmonkey.com/work/ezgo/



A headless workstation or thinclient? Dunno what the buzz word is but it'd make a decent server if you put the right OS on it.


----------



## stdPikachu (Jul 1, 2008)

$2000 for a 2.4GHz P4, gig of RAM and 60GB hard drive?

Would have been impressive in 2005, perhaps. That said, site doesn't appear to have been updated since 2007 in any case. Quite what it's doing in a thread about the Eee is the stuff of nightmares though.


----------



## editor (Jul 1, 2008)

Asus are doing a really good job of trashing the brand with an endless stream of here today, gone tomorrow products.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/01/asus-confirms-intent-to-drain-eee-brand-with-eee-monitor/


----------



## Tricky Skills (Jul 2, 2008)

editor said:


> Asus are doing a really good job of trashing the brand with an endless stream of here today, gone tomorrow products.
> 
> http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/01/asus-confirms-intent-to-drain-eee-brand-with-eee-monitor/



Yeah, there's a definite Amstrad feel going off with Asus over the past few months. The Eee 700 had such a buzz about it because of:

(i) the price and

(ii) the simplicity of what it offered.

Increasing the price of later models, and adding specs that touched on more conventional laptops goes against what was so great about the original Eee.

Pleased that I bought mine whilst they were still knocking about.


----------



## stowpirate (Jul 3, 2008)

stdPikachu said:


> $2000 for a 2.4GHz P4, gig of RAM and 60GB hard drive?
> 
> Would have been impressive in 2005, perhaps. That said, site doesn't appear to have been updated since 2007 in any case. Quite what it's doing in a thread about the Eee is the stuff of nightmares though.



You can get them for around £100 on ebay. As for why I posted this is that an Eee was going to produced with a cut down version without the display. Has anbody any idea if this ever happenned and how much? i was looking for a small mulimedia machine to plug into my TV.


----------



## zenie (Jul 3, 2008)

Can't seem to find 901's out yet. Weird. 

Well actually I have 320 quid though! WTF?!!!


----------



## hiccup (Jul 4, 2008)

editor said:


> *crosses fingers too!
> 
> I'm loving the X32. I added another gig of RAM for £68 and it purrs along. *Don't forget to fire up its Vantage auto-updating software widget - IBM offer amazing support for their older products.*



Not sure I have this widget, think my X31 has had a complete reinstall of XP. Or is this Vantage thing tucked away somewhere I can't find it?


----------



## hendo (Jul 5, 2008)

zenie said:


> Can't seem to find 901's out yet. Weird.
> 
> Well actually I have 320 quid though! WTF?!!!


 
Go Zenie!

I write this from my (now obselete) EEE900 surfing happily in a bustling  cafe in Northern France. Many curious looks from the gadget happy Gauls.  EEE's FTW.


----------



## zenie (Jul 7, 2008)

I bet you looked like an uber geek hendo! 

Still can't find them in 'regular' stores, (seem to all be imports from Asia from what I can gather on sites like superGPS, SupereTrader.co.uk etc.) wonder what happened to the July 1st release date? 



> A small quantity of ASUS Eee 901 stock was delivered Friday 4th July for preorders. Additional deliveries are expected everyday from Monday 7th July. All preorders will be fulfilled as stock arrives. (All UK resellers are in the same position)



Oh well the waiting continues...

*drums fingers on desk*


----------



## editor (Jul 7, 2008)

hendo said:


> I write this from my (now obselete) EEE900 surfing happily in a bustling  cafe in Northern France. Many curious looks from the gadget happy Gauls.  EEE's FTW.


They're probably all thinking, "Why is ze Englisher using ze out of date Eee, eh?"

*Gallic shrugs all round


----------



## editor (Jul 8, 2008)

Here's the first review of the EEE1000 (from What Laptop magazine)



> The new Asus EEE PC, the 1000H, has been reviewed for the first time by What Laptop and the reports are pretty positive. In the burgeoning low-cost laptop market, Asus has firmly established itself as one of the front runners by releasing a slew of cheap thigh-warmers, and its latest addition boasts features to attract even more users to the category.
> 
> A new 10-inch screen is a welcome addition, as is the new 'Comfortable' style keyboard, which is apparently around 95 per cent the size of normal letter-tappers.
> 
> ...


----------



## zenie (Jul 8, 2008)

None of this speculation is any good if they can't get them in the shops though


----------



## editor (Jul 8, 2008)

I'm going to wait until I go out to the States in the winter to get one (Eee/Wind or whatever else is around by then). My X32 has unexpectedly turned out to be such a good machine that its been promoted to my 'main' laptop!


----------



## editor (Jul 9, 2008)

The Acer Aspire One is continuing to pick up good reviews. Looks great too.


----------



## Crispy (Jul 9, 2008)

Yeah, that looks like a winning model. good price too (can't find one in £s though)


----------



## editor (Jul 10, 2008)

The Acer Aspire One Atom 1.6, 8GB SSD, 512MB, Linux, White
version is on pre-order at £234.94 from Expansys.

http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=169960&partner=froogle

Other pre order prices:

# Acer Aspire One
# UK, Atom 1.6, 8GB SSD, 512MB, Linux, White
# £234.94

# Acer Aspire One
# Uk, Atom 1.6, 80GB, 1GB, Linux, White
# £264.38

# Acer Aspire One
# UK, Atom 1.6, 80GB, 512MB, XP Home, white
# £297.28

# Acer Aspire One
# UK, Atom 1.6, 80GB, 1GB, XP Home, White
# £317.25

Looks awesome in blue:


----------



## zenie (Jul 10, 2008)

editor said:


> The Acer Aspire One is continuing to pick up good reviews. Looks great too.


 

Yes I am definitely considering my options with that one. 

I think the 80gb model has a SSD slot too doesn't it?

http://channel.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=14266








Also, it seems that the MSI wind has been rebadged as an Advent 4211 details here

It's available in the shops!! 

*sits on hands*


----------



## Crispy (Jul 10, 2008)

Both models have two memory card slots. One for SD, one for 5 different formats. The SD-only slot is designed for expanding the storage. I'd ge the 8GB version and expand the staorage that way. You'll never need 80GB on on of these, and HDs with moving parts are just wrong for a chuck-around portable.


----------



## zenie (Jul 10, 2008)

Crispy said:


> Both models have two memory card slots. One for SD, one for 5 different formats. The SD-only slot is designed for expanding the storage. I'd ge the 8GB version and expand the staorage that way. You'll never need 80GB on on of these, and HDs with moving parts are just wrong for a chuck-around portable.


 

Yeh I am a bit concerend about chucking it in my panniers and going over bumps! 

But, you can't get a 1Gb RAM version of the one or the 4211, without getting the 80GB HD.


----------



## Crispy (Jul 10, 2008)

Don't reckon you need 1gb in one of these. what are you going to tax it with?


----------



## zenie (Jul 10, 2008)

Crispy said:


> Don't reckon you need 1gb in one of these. what are you going to tax it with?


 

interweb, photoblog, emails and maybe some WP on the move. 

But, I do need it to last me a long time so that's why I wanted more RAM, I won't be able to upgrade in a year 'cos it's to slow.


----------



## Crispy (Jul 10, 2008)

hmmm. I reckon you've got to have a go on one first, or at least get some decent real-world reports back.


----------



## zenie (Jul 10, 2008)

Yeh if I have time I'll be popping to PC world on saturday


----------



## hendo (Jul 13, 2008)

What happened??? Did you buy something?? What's it like??

On another topic, can anyone tell me if you can use one of those internet dongles with the E900? I go on the forums and they're all in Linuxese.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jul 13, 2008)

What sort of dongle? The 3G ones work fine with the 700, so I assume they would with the 900 as well.


----------



## hendo (Jul 13, 2008)

All the phone networks seem to be offering these mobile broadband dongles, and obviously I'm tempted since they'd make the E900 an invincible weapon of web. 
But you can't just plug anything into a linux lappie, I've discovered. For example my Belkin bluetooth dongle is ignored by my machine.
It would be a nightmare if I paid O2 20 quid a month and then the thingie didn't work with the OS.
But you say a 3G dongle works fridge? Do not the latest ones use HSDPA  and 3G in areas where that can't be found?
It's tricky (in some ways) outside windows world.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jul 13, 2008)

Well, I use a bog-standard Huawei modem, which are very common, one of these:






It works out of the box with it, there's a whole section in the "make new connection" menu that has all the settings configured for every network in every country. Easier than using it with a Mac actually.

If it's not one of those, I'd google about for the model + eee, but the software's certainly there to connect if there's a driver.


----------



## hendo (Jul 13, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Well,.....
> 
> If it's not one of those, I'd google about for the model + eee, but the software's certainly there to connect if there's a driver.



Thanks for this Fridge, reckon I may well invest when I've the cash. The wifi works fine but I'm often in places where there's no coverage..


----------



## Tricky Skills (Jul 14, 2008)

There's no issue for me on my 700 (running XP) and using a 3 network dongle... Except that the 3 coverage is "officially shite."

Still pushing speeds of 40kbps in central London. Woh!


----------



## zenie (Jul 14, 2008)

hendo said:


> What happened??? Did you buy something?? What's it like??
> 
> On another topic, can anyone tell me if you can use one of those internet dongles with the E900? I go on the forums and they're all in Linuxese.


 

Nope they didn't have them in stock! 

There's been loads of threads about these dongles, 3 seems cheapest but may be a bit crap!


----------



## hendo (Jul 21, 2008)

Asus now seem to be proposing sticking a hard drive in the EEE900, which seems to me to be re-inventing the wheel.


----------



## Tricky Skills (Jul 21, 2008)

3 mobile broadband is "officially shite." That comes from the con artists (Carphone Warehouse) who sold me the dead horse.

Avoid.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jul 21, 2008)

I've been having terrible trouble with T-Mobile for the last few days/weeks so don't think that they're much better. At least I could get a signal today, yesterday it was rejecting my SIM card every time. I know it was a Sunday but it's not like I was going to use it to do any _work_


----------



## jusali (Jul 23, 2008)

My brother wants to get one he's asked my advice can anyone help him decide? 

_"I'm going to get the Asus Eee 901 PC (at some point) but am just wondering what the difference is between Linux and Windows and which is better.  Can I, for example type documents in Microsoft Word and then save them on my memory stick and put them on the Linux system? It has something called SunOffice (a newer version of OpenOffice)."_

I'm also intrigued by this linux lark too and it interoperability.......


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jul 23, 2008)

Open office allows you to save as .doc (the word format), but you must remember to do so or it saves it as a file that doesn't work on word. It will also open .doc files made on word. I've heard some advanced formating doesn't always convert right, but I have yet to do anything which doesn't.


----------



## Crispy (Jul 23, 2008)

You can set it so that the default format is MS Office, and it's pretty much transparent from there. Yeah, some advanced stuff can choke it a bit, but for nearly everything, it's just fine.


----------



## jusali (Jul 23, 2008)

Thank you both!


----------



## jayeola (Jul 25, 2008)

tables seem to get broken though. I had a cv with loads of tables and MSW couldn't  parse it.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jul 25, 2008)

I'm seriously thinking of getting an Eee or something like, really could do with a cheap small laptop that I don't mind throwing in a bag when I travel....


----------



## zenie (Jul 29, 2008)

This release is taking the fucking piss now


----------



## editor (Jul 29, 2008)

I'm still waiting for the Dell - and all the other latecomers - to come out before whipping out my wad.

Asus's endless updating of the Eee has kind of put me off the company a bit.


----------



## Mr T (Jul 29, 2008)

I've managed to break the screen of my Eee  and although the rest of the computer still works (using it now, hooked up to me desktop monitor as a test), its kind of pointless to have to have it fixed in one place...next to my bloody desktop!  does anyone have any knowledge/suggestions of what i could possibly do?  most of the laptop screen replacers that google brings up don't appear to do 7" screens, not that i'd know how to install one anyway.


----------



## editor (Jul 29, 2008)

Oh dear. I think you're going to have to send it back although it may not be very cost effective. It saddens me to say it, but you'd probably be better off getting a new one.

Incidentally, Asus have just announced a product roadmap for even more ruddy Eee PCs, bringing the total to 21 or something equally daft.

When it comes to diluting the brand, Eee sure have got the knowledge!


----------



## editor (Jul 29, 2008)

Yep - I was right:



> I phoned Asus UK tech support.
> 
> I was told the price for sending back and replacement screen (damage wasn't covered by warranty)
> 
> ...


----------



## Mr T (Jul 29, 2008)

cheers ed - i thought that would be the case. i might check the house insurance and see if _fat oaf falling asleep and rolling over onto little computer_ is covered


----------



## Tricky Skills (Jul 30, 2008)

Yeah, I think for once, being an early adapter with the 700 model has paid off. I got a decent price (£220) and a neat machine that I've been able to use daily for the past six months.

I've had no tech problems - it really is robust and can take a lot of wear and tear.


----------



## mango5 (Sep 22, 2008)

Just got one.

*bounces*


----------



## Radar (Sep 22, 2008)

I bit the bullet and bought the 512M 120 Gb HD linux acer aspire one, plus a 1G sodimm for 260 all in.  I spent a nerve wracking 30 mins cracking the case to install the sodimm, but its rocking now.

I lasted a week with the original OS before nuking it and plopping gentoo on it, still fettling it at the moment. Also starting to get used to the keyboard layout, not as many typos as last week


----------



## mango5 (Sep 24, 2008)

AsusEeePC100H 5+ hours battery life!  Hooray!


----------



## editor (Sep 27, 2008)

I'm liking the look of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4578

The Asus 100H might just be a bit too big for me.


----------



## editor (Sep 28, 2008)

I've renamed the thread to reflect the ongoing discussion and made it a sticky.

I had a good play around with various netbooks over the weekend and confirmed that the 10" screen models are just too big for me - I've already got a 12" ThinkPad so I'm looking for something substantially smaller.

The models I'm currently mulling are (in order of preference):

*Asus 901 XP *(around £290)
Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 1.5 (inches)
good: great battery life, great trackpad, good size
bad: only 12GB SSD free storage

*Acer Aspire One 120GB HD/1 GB Ram XP* (£295)
Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 1.1
good: great looks, tons of storage, nice blue finish, good keyboard, 2 SD slots
bad: average battery life with 3 cell battery, fiddly mouse buttons, small trackpad, no Bluetooth

*Dell Inspiron Mini 9* (£299)
Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1.2
good: solid looks, reasonable battery life 
bad: no second SD slot, max 16GB SSD.

If you're after a 10" screen, the Eee 100H is a good bet, but the Advent 4211 has picked up the best reviews (it's a rebadged, cheaper MSI Wind). The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 might be an interesting option too.


----------



## editor (Sep 29, 2008)

I've just done a bit more research and was rather surprised to find that the Eee 1000H is almost the same size as my IBM ThinkPad!

IBM X32 - 10.7 x 8.8 x 1.19, weight: 3.6lbs
Eee 1000H - 10.5 x 7.5 x 1.15  weight: 3.2lbs

By comparison the Eee 901 (my current frontrunner) is considerably more compact and lightweight at 8.9 x 6.9 x 1.5 and 2.6lbs.


----------



## untethered (Sep 29, 2008)

editor said:


> *Asus Aspire One 120GB HD/1 GB Ram XP* (£295)
> Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 1.1
> good: great looks, tons of storage, nice blue finish, good keyboard, 2 SD slots
> bad: average battery life with 3 cell battery, fiddly mouse buttons, small trackpad, no Bluetooth



Typo: the Aspire One is an Acer, not an Asus.

I'm still enjoying my Advent 4211. Very nice to work on even for extended periods. Good screen and keyboard, perfectly usable for fast touch typing.

Is it possible to swap out the SSDs on these various netbooks and replace them with "real" hard drives, if that's what you're after?


----------



## editor (Sep 29, 2008)

untethered said:


> Typo: the Aspire One is an Acer, not an Asus.


Cheers I'll fix it. The Advent is perhaps the best bargain of the lot, but it's just too big for me.

It's not possible to swap out SSDs.

My faffing on getting a netbook remains positively Olympian!


----------



## mango5 (Sep 29, 2008)

editor said:


> I've just done a bit more research and was rather surprised to find that the Eee 1000H is almost the same size as my IBM ThinkPad!


It's a lot smaller than a typical book that I might carry around.  It's better than my old laptop and a *lot* lighter.  It has fab battery life.  It suits me, but I'm a laydee with a large handbag to put it in.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Sep 29, 2008)

Checked out the Eee and Acer yesterday, nice little laptops, very cute but a complete bastard to type on for me. Fiddly as fuck...


----------



## EastEnder (Sep 30, 2008)

mango5 said:


> It's a lot smaller than a typical book that I might carry around.


When golightly uses it, does it look like a full sized laptop?


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Sep 30, 2008)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Checked out the Eee and Acer yesterday, nice little laptops, very cute but a complete bastard to type on for me. Fiddly as fuck...



You do get used to them fairly quickly though; I have quite fat fingers but I manage well enough now.


----------



## editor (Sep 30, 2008)

I've gone with the Eee 901. The deciding factors were the small size (it could probably fit inside my jacket pocket!)  and the big, big battery life, claimed at up to 8 hours. 

I wanted something really small that I could carry around all day and never have to worry about the batteries conking out even if I was hitting the wi-fi hard. The Eee 901 looks to be the best for that right now.

*waits for delivery


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Sep 30, 2008)

How much and where from?


----------



## editor (Sep 30, 2008)

Kid_Eternity said:


> How much and where from?


I bought the ASUS EEEPC901-BK007X 8.9IN Intel Atom 1GB 12GB Windows XP from eBuyer for £278.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146031


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Sep 30, 2008)

editor said:


> I bought the ASUS EEEPC901-BK007X 8.9IN Intel Atom 1GB 12GB Windows XP from eBuyer for £278.
> 
> http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146031



Decent price, the Eee is a cool little machine, tempted by it even though it's fiddly for me and er I have a laptop!


----------



## editor (Sep 30, 2008)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Decent price, the Eee is a cool little machine, tempted by it even though it's fiddly for me and er I have a laptop!


I nearly talked myself into getting the bigger screen models, but I'm glad that I got to hold a 10" model before ordering. 

The Eee 901 is a lot smaller than most, including models with the same size screen, but it still rules when it comes to the all-important battery life.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Sep 30, 2008)

editor said:


> I nearly talked myself into getting the bigger screen models, but I'm glad that I got to hold a 10" model before ordering.
> 
> The Eee 901 is a lot smaller than most, including models with the same size screen, but it still rules when it comes to the all-important battery life.



Is that 8 hours real world test or those tests where they open a word document and leave it on with a timer? My laptop gets just under fours which does me fine.


----------



## editor (Sep 30, 2008)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Is that 8 hours real world test or those tests where they open a word document and leave it on with a timer? My laptop gets just under fours which does me fine.


It's explained here in some sort of detail: http://event.asus.com/eeepc/battery/index.htm.

Of course, the real point is that something so tiny can keep you going for so long.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Sep 30, 2008)

editor said:


> It's explained here in some sort of detail: http://event.asus.com/eeepc/battery/index.htm.
> 
> Of course, the real point is that something so tiny can keep you going for so long.



Oh right, yeah that explains alot, so you're probably looking at 5-6 hours in reality then...


----------



## han (Oct 2, 2008)

editor said:


> I've gone with the Eee 901. The deciding factors were the small size (it could probably fit inside my jacket pocket!)  and the big, big battery life, claimed at up to 8 hours.
> 
> I wanted something really small that I could carry around all day and never have to worry about the batteries conking out even if I was hitting the wi-fi hard. The Eee 901 looks to be the best for that right now.
> 
> *waits for delivery



I've been waiting for a tiny laptop with decent battery life (and Windows) for a while....and think I'm gonna bite the bullet v soon and get one of these


----------



## EastEnder (Oct 2, 2008)

han said:


> I've been waiting for a tiny laptop with decent battery life (and Windows) for a while....and think I'm gonna bite the bullet v soon and get one of these


I'm sorely tempted, but I don't _really_ need one, although it would come in very handy (just not quite handy enough to qualify as 'need' rather than 'want'!). I'm also waiting for the ever-so-slightly-better model that some company will release next month, just like I've been doing for the past 6 months...


----------



## mango5 (Oct 2, 2008)

han said:


> I've been waiting for a tiny laptop with decent battery life (and Windows) for a while....and think I'm gonna bite the bullet v soon and get one of these


Mine's great and the battery life is 5-8 hours on and off.  It's mighty fine.  And it's bigger than editor's   fnar


----------



## han (Oct 3, 2008)

mango5 said:


> Mine's great and the battery life is 5-8 hours on and off.  It's might fine.  And it's bigger than editor's   fnar



Which one have you got, Mango?

I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed one. I  haven't got a laptop!


----------



## editor (Oct 3, 2008)

han said:


> Which one have you got, Mango?
> 
> I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed one. I  haven't got a laptop!


She's got the Asus Eee 1000H and I've the got the 901.

Here's how I made my mind up: http://www.urban75.org/tech/looking-for-the-best-notebook.html


----------



## jayeola (Oct 3, 2008)

Pink? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149152


----------



## editor (Oct 4, 2008)

The MSI Wind u90x gets a fairly rubbish review: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/msi-wind-u90.aspx

1hr 39min battery life!


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Oct 5, 2008)

Here's yet another new one from Asus - the S101, a super-thin 10" netbook, ever-so-slightly thicker than the Macbook Air but, you know, $1000 less....

http://gizmodo.com/5058853/more-info-on-the-asus-s101-the-macbook-air-that-you-can-actually-afford

Bluetooth and 5 hour battery, too, though like the Air's the latter isn't replaceable, presumably to get the form factor.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Oct 5, 2008)

That's quite nice!


----------



## zenie (Oct 5, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Here's yet another new one from Asus - the S101, a super-thin 10" netbook, ever-so-slightly thicker than the Macbook Air but, you know, $1000 less....
> 
> http://gizmodo.com/5058853/more-info-on-the-asus-s101-the-macbook-air-that-you-can-actually-afford
> 
> Bluetooth and 5 hour battery, too, though like the Air's the latter isn't replaceable, presumably to get the form factor.




Yeh...but it was meant to launch in September! 

Looks hot but shame about the RAM not being able to be upgraded. 

http://eeepc.net/asus-s101-will-be-launched-in-september/


----------



## editor (Oct 5, 2008)

Once it gets that pricey, it stops being a 'throw in the bag' kinda laptop which - to me - is the whole point of the thing.


----------



## zenie (Oct 6, 2008)

editor said:


> Once it gets that pricey, it stops being a 'throw in the bag' kinda laptop which - to me - is the whole point of the thing.


 
Yeh agreed, I had a play with a few yesterday actually in Currys, just can't make my mind up.


----------



## sam/phallocrat (Oct 6, 2008)

I'm sore tempted to get an £150 7" one - is the screen really to small to be useable or will it be ok for the odd bit of browsing/viewing on the move?


----------



## editor (Oct 6, 2008)

sam/phallocrat said:


> I'm sore tempted to get an £150 7" one - is the screen really to small to be useable or will it be ok for the odd bit of browsing/viewing on the move?


The 7" screen will drive you up the wall as you'll be constantly scrolling left to right, as well as up and down!

Pay a bit more and get a 1024 pixel wide screen fella!


----------



## editor (Oct 6, 2008)

zenie said:


> Yeh agreed, I had a play with a few yesterday actually in Currys, just can't make my mind up.


From having the Eee 901 for a week I'm happy with my choice. A bigger keyboard would be good, but then the whole thing gets bigger. I was surprised how big the 10" models were.

But the real killer is the battery life. It's amazing to be able to loll about in a cafe on wi-fi for hours on end and not have to get even slightly worried about battery life. The Eee goes on for ages.

It's also great for watching iPlayer and YouTube movies too. Perfect!


----------



## untethered (Oct 6, 2008)

sam/phallocrat said:


> I'm sore tempted to get an £150 7" one - is the screen really to small to be useable or will it be ok for the odd bit of browsing/viewing on the move?



I used to have an Eee 701. The keyboard was worse than the screen. I could live with a bit of sideways scrolling here and here though it was far from ideal, but if you can touch type, forget about being able to do it on that small a keyboard. It's just not comfortable to type more than a line or two at a time.

I replaced it with an Advent 4211 mainly to get a better keyboard and screen. The keyboard is particularly impressive, though I understand that it's nearly twice the price and a fair bit bigger/heavier than what you've got in mind.


----------



## sam/phallocrat (Oct 6, 2008)

editor said:


> The 7" screen will drive you up the wall as you'll be constantly scrolling left to right, as well as up and down!
> 
> Pay a bit more and get a 1024 pixel wide screen fella!



Hmmmm . . . maybe I should save up a little bit more then.  Cheers for the advice.  It's just a pipe dream at the moment anyway, but hopefully I'll have the cash together by Christmas . . .


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Oct 6, 2008)

I have a 701 still, and while it's perfectly good for a bit of web browsing and typing (I use Opera on it, which has excellent page zooming functions) if I was going to buy one now I'd definitely go for something slightly larger.


----------



## zenie (Oct 6, 2008)

editor said:


> From having the Eee 901 for a week I'm happy with my choice. A bigger keyboard would be good, but then the whole thing gets bigger. I was surprised how big the 10" models were.
> 
> But the real killer is the battery life. It's amazing to be able to loll about in a cafe on wi-fi for hours on end and not have to get even slightly worried about battery life. The Eee goes on for ages.
> 
> It's also great for watching iPlayer and YouTube movies too. Perfect!


 
Oh you're pleased with the battery life? 

Where did you order from out of interest?


----------



## editor (Oct 6, 2008)

zenie said:


> Oh you're pleased with the battery life?
> 
> Where did you order from out of interest?


I've never come close to making much of a dent in the battery life so I'm well chuffed. I bought the 901  from eBuyer.com and ended up getting it even cheaper because of Citylink's uselessness.


----------



## zenie (Oct 6, 2008)

editor said:


> I've never come close to making much of a dent in the battery life so I'm well chuffed. I bought the 901 from eBuyer.com and ended up getting it even cheaper because of Citylink's uselessness.


 

Sorry I just saw where you posted what you bought! 

You can upgrade the RAM in them too if you need to can't you?


----------



## untethered (Oct 6, 2008)

editor said:


> I've never come close to making much of a dent in the battery life so I'm well chuffed. I bought the 901  from eBuyer.com and ended up getting it even cheaper because of Citylink's uselessness.



What's the keyboard like? Good enough for serious work or just occasional use?


----------



## editor (Oct 6, 2008)

zenie said:


> You can upgrade the RAM in them too if you need to can't you?


Yeah, you can upgrade to 2GB. 

Thing is, it is designed to be a small take-anywhere, low-powered laptop, so I'm not sure if you're really going to need an awful lot of RAM.

Mind you, RAM's cheap, so I'll probably upgrade anyway.  


untethered said:


> What's the keyboard like? Good enough for serious work or just occasional use?


I'm used to small keyboards, so I'd probably be comfortable knocking out lengthy articles, although it is a bit fiddly. I wouldn't like to code on it for too long.


----------



## zenie (Oct 6, 2008)

Oh and can you run itunes on Linux, this is very important! 

*goes to google*


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Oct 6, 2008)

zenie said:


> Oh and can you run itunes on Linux, this is very important!
> 
> *goes to google*



No, though there are ways you can sync iPods with the thing, and you can certainly play music.


----------



## editor (Oct 6, 2008)

zenie said:


> Oh and can you run itunes on Linux, this is very important!


I'd get the XP version for the better battery life and extra app compatibility.


----------



## zenie (Oct 6, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> No, though there are ways you can sync iPods with the thing, and you can certainly play music.


 

yeh it says there's something called banshee, just unsure whether to get XP or Linux. 

Don't wanna find out it doesn't work with i-phones. will have a deeper look.

Ed - woah better battery life with XP? Seriarse?!!! I thought it'd be opposite!


----------



## editor (Oct 6, 2008)

zenie said:


> Ed - woah better battery life with XP? Seriarse?!!! I thought it'd be opposite!


Here's the battery stats:
XP: 8 hrs
LX: 7.2 hrs
http://eeepc.asus.com/global/901.htm


----------



## untethered (Oct 6, 2008)

editor said:


> Here's the battery stats:
> XP: 8 hrs
> LX: 7.2 hrs
> http://eeepc.asus.com/global/901.htm



Linux power management has never been good in my experience.


----------



## Crispy (Oct 6, 2008)

Nope. Linux still doesn't have proper hibernation support worth a damn.


----------



## han (Oct 6, 2008)

editor said:


> She's got the Asus Eee 1000H and I've the got the 901.
> 
> Here's how I made my mind up: http://www.urban75.org/tech/looking-for-the-best-notebook.html



You wanted the smallest possible thing to carry around, then.....?

Nice article, btw


----------



## han (Oct 6, 2008)

editor said:


> From having the Eee 901 for a week I'm happy with my choice. A bigger keyboard would be good, but then the whole thing gets bigger. I was surprised how big the 10" models were.
> 
> But the real killer is the battery life. It's amazing to be able to loll about in a cafe on wi-fi for hours on end and not have to get even slightly worried about battery life. The Eee goes on for ages.
> 
> It's also great for watching iPlayer and YouTube movies too. Perfect!



Nice one! Now, I just need to sort out wireless in the house.....then I'm gonna go for it. The 901, methinks.


----------



## han (Oct 6, 2008)

zenie said:


> yeh it says there's something called banshee, just unsure whether to get XP or Linux.
> 
> Don't wanna find out it doesn't work with i-phones. will have a deeper look.
> 
> Ed - woah better battery life with XP? Seriarse?!!! I thought it'd be opposite!



Go for XP


----------



## untethered (Oct 6, 2008)

han said:


> Nice one! Now, I just need to sort out wireless in the house.....then I'm gonna go for it. The 901, methinks.



If you're going to use the machine at home or near to a power supply you might be better off with a bigger machine like my Advent 4211. It would be great to have a better battery life but in practice I'm rarely away from power for more than an hour at a time. So the better keyboard/screen suits me. It's horses for course, though.

Before long you'll be able to get both, of course.


----------



## editor (Oct 7, 2008)

The Asus S101 has been officially launched for an early November release It's pricey at £449 but that's well under half of the price of the Mac Air for an arguably better specced notebook.

The lappie comes with an Intel Atom processor, Intel 945 Express (GMA 950) graphics, three USB ports, a built-in 4-in-1 card reader, RJ-45 Ethernet socket, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and an user-changeable battery that should run for around five hours.

It's stick thin at 18-25mm thick, with a 10.2-inch screen (up to 1,024 x 768), Asus's multitouch trackpad and what's claimed to be a vastly improved keyboard.

You can grab it in a Windows XP Home version (with upgradeable 16GB SSD) and two Linux versions packing in 32GB or 64GB of SSD.

It all looks good apart from the crappy 0.3-megapixel webcam, although I'd never invest over £300 for a netbook.


----------



## Crispy (Oct 7, 2008)

I don't know about better spec. Depends what your needs are I suppose.

+ve

2 more USB, card reader, user battery, ethernet

-ve

slower processor, lower screen res, weaker gfx

I think the lower screen resolution is the killer weakness compared to the air or any other regular laptop. Looks like a nice machine, but not quite sure what the market is. Too big and expensive for anetbook, too underspecced for an executive's showoff.


----------



## editor (Oct 7, 2008)

Crispy said:


> I think the lower screen resolution is the killer weakness compared to the air or any other regular laptop. Looks like a nice machine, but not quite sure what the market is. Too big and expensive for anetbook, too underspecced for an executive's showoff.


I'm not so sure. A lot of execs will only ever need a laptop for looking up and writing reports, sorting out email and browsing the web, and the Asus is well up to those jobs.

You definitely need more than one USB port though, even for a netbook.


----------



## editor (Oct 7, 2008)

First S101 review in: http://www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk/20081007968/asus-eee-pc-s101.html


----------



## Crispy (Oct 7, 2008)

Win:





Fail:


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Oct 7, 2008)

I don't see anything?


----------



## Crispy (Oct 7, 2008)

Oh

Well, the top looks nice and shiny. The bottom is ugly black plastic with safety stickers, vents and nubs.


----------



## editor (Oct 7, 2008)

Crispy said:


> Oh
> 
> Well, the top looks nice and shiny. The bottom is ugly black plastic with safety stickers, vents and nubs.


Who really cares what the bottom of their laptop looks like?

I'm not bothered what the top looks like either come to think of it, just so long as the laptop is small, compact and does all I need.


----------



## editor (Oct 7, 2008)

It's worth noting the size differences. You'd basically be spending an extra £100 or so on top of the Asus Eee 1000 to save 10mm width.


----------



## Crispy (Oct 7, 2008)

editor said:


> Who really cares what the bottom of their laptop looks like?
> 
> I'm not bothered what the top looks like either come to think of it, just so long as the laptop is small, compact and does all I need.


I don't particularly care either, I just thought it was amusing that they've made loads of effort to make it look good, including crystals on the hinge (!) and not make any effort on the bottom.


----------



## editor (Oct 7, 2008)

Crispy said:


> I don't particularly care either, I just thought it was amusing that they've made loads of effort to make it look good, including crystals on the hinge (!) and not make any effort on the bottom.


That's generally the PC way though, isn't it? Functionality over fashion statement.

Thinking about it, I haven't a clue what the bottom of my Asus 901 looks like, and I'll only take a look when I upgrade the RAM.


----------



## Crispy (Oct 7, 2008)

insert 100 posts back and forth about the importance of the design of the bottom of a computer here


----------



## editor (Oct 7, 2008)

Crispy said:


> insert 100 posts back and forth about the importance of the design of the bottom of a computer here


I'm not going to argue about it. If people want to pay a premium to have a trendy style statement on the bottom of their laptop, that's their call. 

Couldn't give a toss myself.


----------



## Crispy (Oct 7, 2008)

I don't want you to argue about it!


----------



## editor (Oct 7, 2008)

Crispy said:


> I don't want you to argue about it!


Err, but I'm not.  

Weirdo.


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Oct 7, 2008)

Crispy said:


> insert 100 posts back and forth about the importance of the design of the bottom of a computer here



You know you two actually just had me look at the bottom of my laptop. I can report it is as stylish as the top.


----------



## boskysquelch (Oct 7, 2008)

Buddha said..._if you don't look underneath you will never see the true meaning._


----------



## editor (Oct 8, 2008)

Just banged the RAM on my Eee 901 to 2GB for £23 thanks to Crucial memory.


----------



## zenie (Oct 8, 2008)

Was it easy to do?


----------



## han (Oct 8, 2008)

editor said:


> Just banged the RAM on my Eee 901 to 2GB for £23 thanks to Crucial memory.



Crucial rock!

Yeah, installing RAM is a piece of piss, Zenie


----------



## editor (Oct 9, 2008)

zenie said:


> Was it easy to do?


1. Unscrew cover
2. Lift back covering piece of thin plastic to expose RAM chip
3. Pull back the two clips on either side and pull out
4. Push in new RAM 
5. Put the covering back and screw the cover back on.

Took about 4 minutes.

http://crashedpips.co.uk/wordpress/2008/08/08/howto-upgrade-the-ram-in-your-eee-pc/


----------



## zenie (Oct 9, 2008)

Aces I might be able to manage that!  (if not maybe Han or yourself can do it for a pint of Ale?  )

That memory's much cheaper than ebuyer too! 

You loving the 901 Ed? Zippy enough?


----------



## editor (Oct 9, 2008)

zenie said:


> You loving the 901 Ed? Zippy enough?


It's doing the job for me. Web browsing is perfectly speedy and it's small enough to lob in a bag and not worry about it. The keyboard does take a bit of getting used to though.


----------



## jayeola (Oct 9, 2008)

http://gizmodo.com/5060954/asus-planning-to-release-touchscreen-eee-pc-within-six-months
"Asus Planning to Release Touchscreen Eee PC Within Six Months"


----------



## onemonkey (Oct 16, 2008)

my 3yr old powerbook is starting to limp a bit..and might have to be retired from on the road duty and live more sedately as my desktop replacement at home ..  but the new apples aren't too inspiring so i thought maybe one of these netbooks might be a good stop gap for out and about.

but asus are doing their best to put me off... just visited their site and they clearly a bit bonkers. why have so many different models? apple get by with three different laptops. i can't even count how many variations there are of the eee.  and how the fuck would i buy one any way? there is no pricing information on their site and absolutely indication of where to purchase their product.. why should i buy anything of such a bunch of obvious morons?


----------



## editor (Oct 17, 2008)

The Lenovo S10 gets a video review here. It looks great.

http://hothardware.com/Articles/Lenovos-IdeaPad-S10-Netbook-HotHardware-Video-Spotlight/


----------



## jayeola (Oct 17, 2008)

battery ~2.5 hours


----------



## chilango (Nov 2, 2008)

Just picked up a 7" Eee. 512 ram, 4gb hd. Linux. So far its pretty neat. 200 euros off the high street shelf.

So small and light!

The Linux interface is simple. Not the nicest looking, but so what?

Great for net, small screen not been a bother. Firefox running as fast, if not faster, than any other machine I use. Typing this on it right now.

WP in Open Office is fine, saving automatically as .doc and uploading into google docs anyway.

The right shift key, as said above, is a pain, but I banged off 4000 words of my masters on it this weekend, so it can't be too fiddly!


So an initial thumbs up from me.


----------



## jayeola (Nov 2, 2008)

Bought one on Friday.

```
Base Board Information
        Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
        Product Name: 900
```
brought to you by the dmidecode command. Installed Debian on it


----------



## dogmatique (Nov 13, 2008)

Okay, the biggest netbook tart is back with the latest purchase... the Samsung NC10.






Disclaimer... I don't go out and buy the newest bestest netbook ad hoc every other week, we have a strong demand for netbooks at work, and I'm lucky enough to do the ordering, so as and when the requests come in, I get the latest best praised one around.

So then... first impressions - I'm coming from the context of being an Acer Aspire One user, which you can find a review of here.  

The best thing about the Aspire One was undoubtedly the keyboard, which for a touch-typer was a joy compared to the cramped layout of the Asus EEE 700 - with proper sized shift keys on both sides of the keyboard.  

The Samsung does quite well here - again, it's nearly a full sized keyboard, keys are beveled at the edges, and are easy to hit correctly, but the right shift suffers slightly, as it is only 2/3 the size of the Acer, but doesn't suffer from being shunted to the right of the cursor keys as on the EEE, as it's placed above them, but it's still a bit small and takes a bit of getting used to, and some cursing when you hit \ or enter instead.

So what's the point of upgrading to the Samsung above an Acer Aspire?  After all, that had a fantastic screen, great keyboard as noted, its light, looks quite spanky and has a generous hard drive - 120gb - to be honest I'm not convinced by SSD's as any decent capacity is hugely expensive.

Well - the obvious killer point is the battery life - a six cell battery comes as standard, with a battery life of (advertised) up to 8 hours.  Well... we'll take them at six hours - which is, frankly marvelous when compared to the EEE or the execrable 3 cell that came with the Acer, and the Lenovo ideabook.

Yes, I know that the Asus 900 also comes with a six cell, but I like the extra form factor size that the Samsung gives you.  I bought a six cell for the Aspire, but it really compromised the design aesthetic.  With the Samsung, it's built into the design, so there’s no ugly lump protruding out at the back.

As for looks, it’s a real EEE clone, even down to the same metallic white shell the EEE’s have, it’s slightly boxy, like the Volvo of the netbook world, but then that’s down to fitting in the big assed battery.






As for spec, it’s pretty good, and pretty familiar.  Atom processor, 1GB ram, 160GB hard drive, Windows Home, so far so good.  There are also three USB ports as expected, mic and phone jacks, Ethernet and a VGA port.  

A slight disappointment is the SD card / multi card reader port.  Instead of having an empty push/click in socket on the side like both the EEE’s and the Asus Aspire, the Samsung has its socket on the front of the keyboard, filled with a blanking plate.  When you insert an SD card, you don’t get a satisfying click when you push it in – the card doesn’t even fit flush to the device – it sticks out about 5mm, which means you won’t be leaving any cards in there, and you’ll have to remember not to leave the blanking plate lying around.  Not a good design choice.

Speakers are surprisingly good, especially when compared to the Acer, and can comfortably used in a quiet room to watch tv shows or movies or at a hefty push, music, if , if your expectations are low.

I’d also like to point out that this is really as big as I’d ever like to consider as a netbook.  Welcome to realism… The screen is 1024 x 600, the keyboard is large enough to type on, but the weight is a little bit on the hefty side.  Sacrifices…. This is the first netbook that has a good screen, good keyboard AND decent battery life.  And for that it gets my vote.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Nov 13, 2008)

Anyone used an elonex one?

My sister gave me a call to ask about them last night. She already has a laptop, but the battery is fucked. Obviously being a student she has limited budget and they are only £99. All she wants it for is taking notes in lectures and using the net in the library at uni where they have no power points. She will use her existing machine back at home to type essays etc. 

http://www.elonexone.co.uk/



I assume that word processor is fine, but was worried about well the 300mhz processor would deal with her virtual campus and other net stuff.


----------



## dogmatique (Nov 13, 2008)

If anyone wants the HP netbook, it appears to have dropped in price quite considerably...


----------



## jayeola (Nov 14, 2008)

dogmatique said:


> Okay, the biggest netbook tart is back with the latest purchase... the Samsung NC10.



I saw that in the shop the day I bought the eee 900. Like the battery life. I think it uses an IDE disk, right?


----------



## dogmatique (Nov 15, 2008)

Yup.  Not a huge amount of difference to choose between them - I just liked the size and the battery life.

No internal sim is still very annoying though - especially as both the Aspire and the Samsung have the ports, but no hardware to support them...


----------



## cybertect (Nov 15, 2008)

Global_Stoner said:


> Obviously being a student she has limited budget and they are only £99.



ISTR that kind of money would buy you a manual typewriter in the mid 80s when I was a student


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Nov 17, 2008)

Well I spoke the parents and mentioned she was looking and they think it would be a good xmas present. Budget up to £250. The HP dogmatique linked to is no longer available.

Most important thing is battery life, followed by keyboard as she can touch type. I'm thinking that XP and a hard disk would be a better choice, but this is no essential. 

I was looking at the HP with an extended battery, so if there are cheaper models which you could buy with an extended battery for sub £250 that would also be a good option.


----------



## dogmatique (Nov 18, 2008)

Battery life is the main problem here - I think the only ones that come with decent 6 cell batteries as standard are the ASUS EEE 900 or the Samsung.  (I'm sure someone will be able to correct me if this isn't the case)

The extended batteries you can buy are expensive - at least 60 odd quid, which pushes the price above standard netbook price...


----------



## Xanadu (Nov 18, 2008)

Which one of these netbooks have the highest CPU performance?  I've heard the 900MHz Celeron was better than the 1.6GHz Atom processor.  Any truth in that?


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Nov 18, 2008)

dogmatique said:


> Battery life is the main problem here - I think the only ones that come with decent 6 cell batteries as standard are the ASUS EEE 900 or the Samsung.  (I'm sure someone will be able to correct me if this isn't the case)
> 
> The extended batteries you can buy are expensive - at least 60 odd quid, which pushes the price above standard netbook price...



Thanks for that, my research had already pointed to me the EEE 900, will check out the Samsung. The HP at £200 would have been an option for getting an extended battery for, as it gives the advantage of two batteries, but that's gone now.


----------



## dogmatique (Nov 18, 2008)

Global_Stoner said:


> Thanks for that, my research had already pointed to me the EEE 900, will check out the Samsung. The HP at £200 would have been an option for getting an extended battery for, as it gives the advantage of two batteries, but that's gone now.



Well, if on the off chance that you decide to buy an Acer Aspire 1, I have a spare 3 cell battery due to the fact that one of the dumbasses at work stood on the fucker, breaking the screen, two days after it was given out.

Gah.  Morons.  Anyway, offer is open if it helps.  Not really a great solution but there you go.

ETA: There's another user from here that's after the spare battery, so to be fair, as I did offer it to you first, you've got 24 hrs to say yes, otherwise it's going to Radar...

Putting someone on a deadline for something they never asked for and may have no use for... new one for me, but there you go...  

ETA AGAIN: It's off to Radar...


----------



## Rikbikboo (Nov 20, 2008)

Actually I just wanted to be a whore and say That I just bought the asus N10.  forget that samsung check this beauty out
http://www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk/20080926939/hands-on-with-the-asus-n10-gaming-netbook.html

It comes with a nvidia 9300 256mb vid card  but also comes with intel 945e for powersaving.

posting from it now whilst installing some games.  i also went from vista business to xp pro as it came with the free downgrade.

do i like it. yeah i love it i can take it to work and still play my games. couldnt do that with the aspire i had and the xps m1730 was too big to take to work.


----------



## dogmatique (Nov 20, 2008)

Oooooooh... wants....!

How much?  Very pretty...  Dammit I can't keep finding excuses to buy small laptops...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH make them stop!!!

What's the battery spec? *salivates*

ETA: The google suggests 500 quid... Hmm, bit pricey...


----------



## Rikbikboo (Nov 21, 2008)

I got it for 429 from a website i found on google. it has a six cell battery i have not had a chance to test the battery properly yet.  I downgraded from vista business to xp pro but have just gone back to vista.


the keyboard keys seem like you need to really push them down.  so far have just been installing games as i wanted it to use at work.

this one came with a 250gb hard drive so am guessing it is the midrange version.

so far it has managed most stuff at native resolution low settings nicely.

mainly it is going to be my wow and eve work toy. the xps is too big to cart around.

I was going to buy the advent 4213 but spotted this and thought.  "gotta have it"

It comes with fingerprint reader. face recognition software and a portable dvdrw.

the keys need to be really pressed to get them to type but it is almost a fullsize keyboard.

I really really like it. ppl at work thought it was very nice too.


----------



## onemonkey (Nov 23, 2008)

I bought a black Samsung NC10.. comes with XP but installing ubuntu on it was an easy, even joyful experience. tried and failed to get it triple booting OSX as well.. but i guess i can wait a few weeks til someone has written the definitive tutorial on the topic.. not that I think I'll be using XP or OSX much, ubuntu is just too good.. 

great keyboard, great battery life, and everything I need.  it's not teeny-tiny but it's way more portable than my 15" powerbook.  

Very pleased.


----------



## han (Nov 25, 2008)

onemonkey said:


> I bought a black Samsung NC10.. comes with XP but installing ubuntu on it was an easy, even joyful experience. tried and failed to get it triple booting OSX as well.. but i guess i can wait a few weeks til someone has written the definitive tutorial on the topic.. not that I think I'll be using XP or OSX much, ubuntu is just too good..
> 
> great keyboard, great battery life, and everything I need.  it's not teeny-tiny but it's way more portable than my 15" powerbook.
> 
> Very pleased.



Interesting!  And - what's the battery life?

It comes with 1Gb RAM, yeah, but how much more can  you put in, do you know?

A colleague told me about that Samsung last week - and it does look REALLY good. 

What's the atom processor like? I'd like to know how it would run Office 2007, mainly cos I'm buying laptops for work and this is the main consideration really. Anyone running Office 2007 on it?

It looks a great piece of kit!


----------



## han (Nov 25, 2008)

onemonkey said:


> not that I think I'll be using XP or OSX much, *ubuntu is just too good*..
> 
> great keyboard, great battery life, and everything I need.  it's not teeny-tiny but it's way more portable than my 15" powerbook.
> 
> Very pleased.



that's great!!


----------



## onemonkey (Nov 25, 2008)

han- 

NC10 has a single memory slot that can take upto 2gb ram..
battery definitely lasts over 5hours.. 
no idea how it would cope with office 2007 or vista  but XP  seems happy enough and OpenOffice runs pretty swiftly on XP and ubuntu


----------



## han (Nov 27, 2008)

I'd definitely never put Vista on anything! 

But - what you say sounds 

And Office 2007 can run ok with 2 gig of ram as long as you don't try and do loads of other stuff at the same time (how CRAP is microsoft?! )


----------



## jayeola (Nov 28, 2008)

2GB of RAm "in your hand"? Beat that!


----------



## editor (Dec 2, 2008)

Have to say the Eee 901 is really impressing. It's light enough to cart around all day, it's as fast as fuck at picking up any wireless networks when I'm out and the battery life is fantastic - way over 5 hours.


----------



## Xanadu (Dec 2, 2008)

Hmmm, I'm now officially in the market for one of these.  I've just got a mobile broadband card from vodafone, and am thinking about using it to work when I'm out and about.

So my main criteria: 
decent touchpad (with two buttons)
as big a keyboard as possible
at least 1024 x 600 screen, higher would be much more preferable
battery life of at least 2 hours
expandable to 2Gb
Preferably a celeron 900MHz, or something faster

Will be using it for remote desktop/VPN and Reason (if possible)


----------



## Xanadu (Dec 2, 2008)

Note: the songs on Reason get to about 30% CPU usage on my Core 2 Duo 2GHz laptop.


----------



## editor (Dec 2, 2008)

For me, size and battery life were really important. I nearly bought the Eee 100H with 10" screen, but realised it was nearly the same size as my IBM Thinkpad!

There's always going to be comprises with these little chaps, but it's better to get used to a smaller keyboard than it is to lug around a bigger laptop that's going to run out of juice after a couple of hours, IMO.


----------



## Rikbikboo (Dec 2, 2008)

going back to my asus n10 after having it a coupe of weeks i have to say i still like it very much.  i have had 3hours 20 mins using it on constanly with the video card enabled. with power settings set to saver and turning the videocard off and switching to the onboard intel gma95 i got just shy of 5 hours (asus website says 6 and a bit)  maybe they had the screen brightness really low or something.

I downgraded again to xp from vista business but then again swapped back to vista (i like vista and although there are better gaming benchmarks with xp the diference is very small.)

compared to the Dell mini my partner uses I really have to say i prefer my own. main reason being the keyboard and the synaptics touchpad.

again what sold it for me was the choice of using onboard gfx when doing work or using the nvidia 9300gs 256mb when bored at work and fancying a bit of gaming.


----------



## jayeola (Dec 14, 2008)

*can you touch type on a mini laptop?*

my fingers hurt after a few hours of typing 
/me has asus eee 900


----------



## Gingerman (Dec 14, 2008)

http://www.dealgiant.co.uk/archive/free-mini-laptop-deal-free-advent-4211with-mobile-broadband/
Got meself one of these little fellows last week,not a bad bit o kit,actually using it more than my bigger lappie.


----------



## derf (Dec 14, 2008)

I've been toying with the idea of a netbook for a while but was unsure of them so when I saw a second hand one going for a song last week I went for it.
It's a Asus eee PC 4G with a cel 900 cpu and 4 gig internal with a 2 gig SD in the slot.
Pretty good. I use it when I stay with the wife in her shop or when I'm on the move. Runs quite cool and the keyboard is fine.
I have installed several other progs on it that I am likely to find useful while I'm out and about.
I've used it from a hotspot with no problems at all.
It's main use was intended for watch my collection of WMV converted movies, playing music and Internet but even this limited machine will do so much more.

I'm giving serious consideration to chopping it and my laptop in for the higher spec version of this with a 160 gig hard and bigger screen.

A real thumbs up for this machine.


----------



## editor (Dec 18, 2008)

This is interesting. It looks like Linux missed its big chance with the general public thanks to XP: 

Asus says 90% of Eees sold with XP
"Asus has revealed that the sales of Eee PC models pre-loaded with Linux have fallen dramatically following the availability of Windows XP versions.

Executives from Acer have told iTWire that more than 90% of their netbooks shipped were Windows XP models"

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/19928/20952/asus-90-eees-windows-xp.phtml


----------



## ovaltina (Dec 18, 2008)

As a consumer I'd much rather have XP because I know how it works, even though autoupdates would be a very bad thing on a machine with a 2gb hard drive.

It was a clever move from Microsoft to release cheap versions of Xp for these machines.


----------



## editor (Dec 18, 2008)

It gets worse for Linux: Asus to eliminate Linux Eee PC option in parts of Europe
http://www.liliputing.com/2008/12/asus-to-eliminate-linux-eee-pc-option-in-parts-of-europe.html


----------



## boskysquelch (Dec 19, 2008)

seems like some people see things where other don't...that Windoze_bwois feryer.

http://www.liliputing.com/2008/12/reports-of-linux-eee-pcs-european-demise-were-exaggerated.html


----------



## boskysquelch (Dec 19, 2008)

oh and there is this

http://www.liliputing.com/2008/11/asus-our-linux-netbooks-arent-returned-more-frequently.html


----------



## derf (Dec 19, 2008)

editor said:


> This is interesting. It looks like Linux missed its big chance with the general public thanks to XP:



Over here the shops are openly saying there is almost no call for the linux machines and I've not seen one on sale for a while now.
This one is XP and runs well on it.
I noticed a keyboard comment a little way up the page. I have quite big fingers and I'm not having problems at all. This is now the only machine I use on the net so it's getting some hard use and no trouble at all to date.

I have turned off all updates for all programs and set the firewall to alert me when any program tries to access the internet. That's partially down to low memory but mostly down to slow connection.


----------



## boskysquelch (Dec 19, 2008)

derf said:


> I have turned off all updates for all programs



http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/15/ie7_exploits/


----------



## derf (Dec 21, 2008)

boskysquelch said:


> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/15/ie7_exploits/



I knew about this one but use firefox as a rule so should be no problem.


----------



## mitochondria (Dec 21, 2008)

gigabyte have also withdrawn linux from their netbooks/tablet pcs. 

it looks good and 1280x768 is amazing but battery life apparently sucks

however gigabyte motherboard is the best piece of hardware I ever bought so I may consider their netbook some time in the future


----------



## Badger Kitten (Dec 22, 2008)

editor said:


> It gets worse for Linux: Asus to eliminate Linux Eee PC option in parts of Europe
> http://www.liliputing.com/2008/12/asus-to-eliminate-linux-eee-pc-option-in-parts-of-europe.html



  I specially wanted a linux asus Eee, *and *it was 40GBP cheaper in Tott. Ct. Rd than the MS version. I was chuffed about that; no idea why Linux isn't selling.


----------



## zenie (Dec 23, 2008)

I got a laptop, finally!! 

Have a Samsung NC10 sat in front of me now and it sure is small enough, I played with Mango5's 1000h a few weeks ago and decided the screen was ok 

Got the RAM on it's way to upgrade too.


----------



## TwoTimer (Dec 24, 2008)

Dell Mini 9 rules. I'm not overly bothered about only having 8GB of hard disk space. A 16GB SDHC card deals with that problem, for now.

The thing is always switched on and by my side indoors. Is used at work. Heck it even get's chucked into my gym bag just in case I want to check the net either at the gym or in a cafe / pub on the way back.

The internal 3G transceiver is the business. Because it's on Vodafone, the connection is extremely good. While on a train between the South coast and London, I was getting over 2.5 mbits...and yes...the train was moving and it was seamlessly switching between 3G and 2.5G.

It's great to KNOW that one will always have built in wireless net access. I'll be taking it to the parents house and over the 2 days, it's just nice for my net access to be the same as ever!

Netbooks really do change the way you do your computing. Before, with a bigger laptop I would never use it for as long as it would make my lap uncomfortable. With this little baby you think "I'll get that cup of tea" - as you get that cup with one hand, the netbook is still in the other...before I would have put the laptop down to get the cup of tea. When something becomes that portable....it sticks to you....just like a mobile phone does.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Dec 27, 2008)

I've been thinking of getting a 901 to replace my 701, which still works fine but is showing its age and disc space (can't even run FF3 for instance), and I have to monitor free space quite carefully.

I'll get the Linux one, and I've been fairly happy with the 701's Linux install, but does anyone have any reports on installing other distros, specifically Ubuntu Eee? If it's going to be a pain in the arse I don't think I'll bother but if it's straightforward....


----------



## jayeola (Dec 28, 2008)

For what it's worth, I have an eee900. I've run BLAG, freeee, Fedora core and Debian on this sucker.

You can install them all from a cd-rom image that you can burn to disk. Debian and FC also facilitate installation via the sd card. Each has its own +/- . What works best? ....


----------



## sam/phallocrat (Dec 29, 2008)

just bought this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146031

should be arriving on Friday afternoon, a nice xmas/new year prezzie for me


----------



## editor (Dec 29, 2008)

sam/phallocrat said:


> just bought this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146031
> 
> should be arriving on Friday afternoon, a nice xmas/new year prezzie for me


Good call! It's worth lobbing in some extra RAM and buying a cheapo 8GB/16GB SD card.


----------



## sam/phallocrat (Dec 29, 2008)

sound, I'll look into that, ta


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Dec 30, 2008)

Mine's coming tomorrow! Er, today. Shall look into bumping the RAM with something from Crucial though, good point.


----------



## derf (Dec 30, 2008)

I'm so please with this little baby and have used the other large laptop so little since I bought it I'm toying with the idea of flogging both and buying a high spec machine with an external DVD combo for the odd time I use one.


----------



## zenie (Dec 30, 2008)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Mine's coming tomorrow! Er, today. Shall look into bumping the RAM with something from Crucial though, good point.


 

I got my RAM from there, they're so quick at delivering too 

Got a wireless dongle for christmas too, fuck paying 4 quid in Cafe Nerro for 45 minutes!


----------



## Oswaldtwistle (Dec 30, 2008)

Can the 701 be upgraded? (more RAM, windows xp etc)


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Dec 30, 2008)

Oswaldtwistle said:


> Can the 701 be upgraded? (more RAM, windows xp etc)



The 4G you can get XP on (just - you need to chop a lot out, but there are ways). Not really much of an upgrade over a dedicated system with that small amount of space though. RAM, I think, is hard to upgrade - not really tried.


----------



## Oswaldtwistle (Dec 30, 2008)

If I'd had more time to research things, i'd have gone for the 901. I needed something that would get me online straight away, and Toys R Us had them for sale cheap.


----------



## editor (Dec 30, 2008)

derf said:


> I'm so please with this little baby and have used the other large laptop so little since I bought it I'm toying with the idea of flogging both and buying a high spec machine with an external DVD combo for the odd time I use one.


You won't get much better than this DVD recorder which works a treat with the 901.









http://www.urban75.org/tech/lg-gsa-e50n-cd-dvd-review.html


----------



## derf (Dec 31, 2008)

Not seen an LG one here but there are a couple that look a lot like it.
Cheers


----------



## spanglechick (Jan 2, 2009)

hmm - this thread is a bit confusing.

i am a luddite.

my last laptop (recon'd X31) lasted less than a year.

I need something cheap and durable for internet use - blogging, urban, iplayer (though screen resolution needen't be fab).  We have a Desktop - I can do most writing stuff on that or at work - so don't really care about the keyboard size. 

would have to run xp.

would mostly be used in the flat or maybe on train journeys, very occasionally - battery life isn't terribly important.

top priority is cost.  suggestions?


----------



## derf (Jan 2, 2009)

Someone told me Tesco were doing netbooks at silly cheap money.
You may have to get hold of a large capacity flash card for the music collection if it's the 4gb hard drive version that I'm using.

Built in wifi but an external dongle for mobile internet.


----------



## editor (Jan 2, 2009)

spanglechick said:


> top priority is cost.  suggestions?


What's yer budget? And what happened to your X31? They're generally easy to get fixed.


----------



## rubbershoes (Jan 2, 2009)

derf said:


> Someone told me Tesco were doing netbooks at silly cheap money.



there's an acer aspire for £224

or an Eee for £234


----------



## Xanadu (Jan 2, 2009)

I thought Tescos were going to be selling the Dell netbooks?  Or am I imagining things?


----------



## spanglechick (Jan 2, 2009)

editor said:


> What's yer budget? And what happened to your X31? They're generally easy to get fixed.



i dunno - it died.  i posted a thread and the consensus was that it sounded terminal.  

budget = as close to zero as possible, since i have already spent around £400 on a laptopp in the last 9 months - realistically, I know these things cost _something_...


----------



## mitochondria (Jan 8, 2009)

some new ubercool netbooks are shown at CES

MSI X320

Toshiba

MSI will be a hit if they keep the expected pricing range - $700-$900


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jan 8, 2009)

The X320's not a netbook though, it's too pricey and it's 13.4". It's an Air clone.


----------



## mitochondria (Jan 8, 2009)

True. £ exchange rate is not what it used to be...


----------



## Grobelaar (Jan 20, 2009)

anyone got OS X running on one of these netbooks? quite tempted, but not sure which one is most compatible - from searching the net most hacks seem to have some sort of defficiency - like no wifi, no sound or dodgy sleep function.


----------



## newbie (Jan 20, 2009)

It sounds like you've been reading http://forums.msiwind.net/mac/    I have 10.5.5 on an Advent, and I'm happy that the result is usable if not 100% perfect.   

I had to swap the wifi card, which cost about £15 from ebay and took 5 minutes, but I think there's now a driver for the native card, not sure.  other issues are: the internal mic doesn't work in OSX but as I've never used it in any operating system it doesn't bother me.  I've never managed to make hibernate work, but I think there's a fix for that I haven't investigated. Time Machine doesn't work for restore-  think that's a hardware issue with non-Apple boards. Multitouch only works with some pads, not including mine- I'd quite like that.  

tbh If you want a fully functioning OSX machine, buy a Mac, you won't get perfection without their hardware but you can get pretty close.


----------



## editor (Jan 20, 2009)

Seems a lot of work to end up with something you can't even put into hibernate.


----------



## newbie (Jan 20, 2009)

it's caused me zero problems, ymmv.


----------



## zenie (Jan 20, 2009)

spanglechick said:


> i dunno - it died.  i posted a thread and the consensus was that it sounded terminal.



Did you get anyone to look at it? 

And I thought you got guarantees with recons?


----------



## Crispy (Jan 20, 2009)

apart from hibernate, the microphone, hibernation, backup restore and multitouch

I'd call those problems!


----------



## editor (Jan 20, 2009)

Crispy said:


> apart from hibernate, the microphone, hibernation, backup restore and multitouch
> 
> I'd call those problems!


I could probably live without some of those, but hibernate is pretty much an absolute essential for a carry-everywhere netbook, IMO.


----------



## newbie (Jan 21, 2009)

of course they're problems, but do they matter?  not to me, the only one I'd quite like to solve is multitouch.  Hibernate might be a problem to people with a different usage pattern but for me it's been irrelevant so far, and from what I read it's fixable but needs a reinstall. Carbon Copy restore appears to work, so not having the glitz of TM isn't a massive issue.  I don't care about the mic.  

But then I know I'm merely evaluating an operating system on hardware it's not designed for.  To expect zero issues is unreralistic, because Apple bind their software to their own hardware so tightly.


----------



## newbie (Jan 21, 2009)

editor said:


> I could probably live without some of those, but hibernate is pretty much an absolute essential for a carry-everywhere netbook, IMO.



that's a usage pattern thing- I'm almost always using it places where mains is available, so hibernate doesn't matter.  If it did I'd focus on making it work, I'm pretty sure it's possible, I just haven't done it.


----------



## elbows (Jan 24, 2009)

Im just about to pick up a Samsung NC10 and put Windows 7 on it. I was going to wait till there were lots of netbooks with hardware h264 video decoding support, but its taking too long to happen.


----------



## zenie (Jan 24, 2009)

Why are you putting Windows 7 on it? XP works fine on mine.


----------



## elbows (Jan 24, 2009)

Because I am a geek and I want to see if its true that Windows 7 isnt a bloater.


----------



## editor (Jan 25, 2009)

Techradar has done a netbook supertest. Here's their ratings:

*Battery results:*
Dell Inspiron Mini 9: *8*
Dell Inspiron Mini 12: *6*
Asus Eee PC S101: *8*
Samsung NC10:  *9*
Asus Eee PC 1000H: *8*
Acer Aspire One:  *7*
HP Mini-Note:  *7*
*Asus Eee PC 901: 10*
MSI Wind U100:*  7*


*Operating system results:*
Dell Inspiron Mini 9: *8*
Dell Inspiron Mini 12: *8*
Asus Eee PC S101: *8*
Samsung NC10: * 8*
Asus Eee PC 1000H: *8*
Acer Aspire One:  *7*
HP Mini-Note:  *7*
Asus Eee PC 901: *8*
MSI Wind U100: *8*

*Performance results:*
Dell Inspiron Mini 9: *7*
Dell Inspiron Mini 12: *7*
*Asus Eee PC S101: 9
Samsung NC10:  9
Asus Eee PC 1000H: 9*
Acer Aspire One: *7*
HP Mini-Note:  *7*
Asus Eee PC 901: *8*
MSI Wind U100: *8*

*Final scores:*
Dell Inspiron Mini 9: *8*
Dell Inspiron Mini 12: *7*
Asus Eee PC S101: *8*
*Samsung NC10: 10*
Asus Eee PC 1000H: *8*
Acer Aspire One: *7*
HP Mini-Note: *6*
Asus Eee PC 901: *7*
MSI Wind U100: *8*


http://www.techradar.com/news/mobil...hich-one-is-the-best--507801?src=rss&attr=all

*Not quite sure how the 901 ends up with just 7 after its earlier scores, but there you go....


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jan 25, 2009)

That's a weird review - they don't even mention the 901 in a lot of it despite giving it scores. For instance, for battery, they say "The Samsung NC10 is the star of this latest round of machines in terms of battery life, managing just under four hours of constant use, thanks to its 5,200mAh battery - this is a machine for those long commutes in more ways than one." And only mention the Asus S101. But then they give the 901 the highest score. 

I'm very happy with my 901 by the way - almost all of the issues I had with the 701 (apart from "it doesn't run OS X") have been solved with it.


----------



## elbows (Jan 26, 2009)

Im loving the NC10 so far, and Windows 7 does indeed appear to work rather wonderfully with such netbooks.


----------



## TwoTimer (Jan 26, 2009)

I soooo want one of these!! 

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/newgallery.aspx?id=24921


----------



## Jambooboo (Jan 31, 2009)

I'm on the hunt for an Aspire One today -  Asda have been knocking them out for £150 since mid-month, but I was in hospital last week and some of this so I reckon I'm gonna have to try every store around Manchester if I've got any hope of still finding one.

The spec... 





> Sapphire Blue, Linpus Linux® Lite version , 8.9" WSVGA Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD, Intel® Atom processor N270 (1.60 GHz, 533 MHz FSB, 512 KB L2 cache), 512Mb RAM, 120GB SATA Hard Disk Drive with SD Card reader for storage Expansion, Mobile Intel® 945GSE Express Chipset up to 8MB Shared Graphics Memory, Acer InviLink 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIED® network connection, 3-cell Li-ion battery pack, Integrated 0.3Mp Acer Crystal Eye webcam, 5-in-1 card reader, 3* USB 2.0



Failing that I may just bite the bullet and get a NC10; nicer machine and it comes with XP, but it'd be rude not to at least try to get the Aspire for half the price.


----------



## hiccup (Feb 1, 2009)

Bit of a longshot this, but I'll ask anyway.

My girlfriend, who is currently 200 miles away from where I am, bought an aspire One today, but can't get it to connect to her Mum's wireless network. It's detecting the network, but won't connect.

That's all the information I have - not helpful I know.

So, um... any ideas?

EDIT: oh, it's a linux one


----------



## Radar (Feb 1, 2009)

hiccup said:


> Bit of a longshot this, but I'll ask anyway.
> 
> My girlfriend, who is currently 200 miles away from where I am, bought an aspire One today, but can't get it to connect to her Mum's wireless network. It's detecting the network, but won't connect.
> 
> ...



Crypto ??

Does her Mum's network use WEP/WPA ?? If so you'll need to tweak the wireless connection to use the correct passphrase.


----------



## hiccup (Feb 1, 2009)

I shall suggest that, cheers


----------



## Jambooboo (Feb 8, 2009)

Didn't manage to get one of the £150 Acer, and with the NC20 about to be released this next week I'm gonna go for one of them. Dabs are selling them for £390, which you could get a decent laptop for, but meh netbooks are cute and I'm a sucker for consumer electronics.


----------



## TwoTimer (Feb 8, 2009)

Jambooboo said:


> Didn't manage to get one of the £150 Acer, and with the NC20 about to be released this next week I'm gonna go for one of them. Dabs are selling them for £390, which you could get a decent laptop for, but meh netbooks are cute and I'm a sucker for consumer electronics.



I love my Dell Mini 9. You work differently with a netbook. It's amazing what habits change. You'll find yourself walking around the house with it in your hand rather than putting it down as you would with a laptop.


----------



## Bob (Feb 10, 2009)

Anyone have an opinion on this for £140?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=225532&source=1

I'm trying to work out what I really do on the internet at home. As far as I can work out it comes down to Youtube, Facebook, Urban and a few blog aggregators (e.g. Netvibes). I assume that means I need very little...


----------



## editor (Feb 10, 2009)

I'd really spend a little more and get something with a bigger screen (8.9") - the Acer Aspire One is a much better machine for not that much more.


----------



## derf (Feb 10, 2009)

I just picked up this little baby.

http://www.axiooworld.com/product/zetta2/395


*Processor*	:	Intel® Atom™ Processor N270 (1.6GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512Kb L2 Cache)
*Chipset*	:	Intel 945GSE (MCH)+ ICH7-M (ICH)
*Memory*	:	(included) Onboard 1GB (DDR2 667 MHz, PC5300)
 	 	(additional) 1x 200 Pin SO-DIMM Sockets DDR2, Supporting DDR2-533/667 MHz (Known As PC4200/PC5300)
 	 	Memory 1024MB - Total Supporting up to 2GB (512/1024/2048 DDR2 Module)
*Graphics Controller*	:	• Intel GMA 950 Integrated
 	  	• Support Dynamic Video Memory Technology
 	 	• Support Microsoft DirectX 9.0
*Display*	:	10.2" TFT 1024 x 600 resolution (WXGA)
*Storage / Drivers*	:	
• 1x Nand Flash Card
• 1x 2.5" HDD S-ATA 160GB
*Keyboard*	:	
• Winkey Keyboard
• Built-in Touch Pad
*Sound System*	:	
High Definition Audio
Direct Sound 3D Compatible
Built-in Microphone & Two Speaker
*I/O Ports*	:	
• 3x USB 2.0 Ports (USB 1.1 Compatible)
• 1x External CRT
• 1x Headphone Jack
• 1x Microphone Jack
• 1x Internal Microphone
• 1x RJ-45 Jack for LAN
• 1x DC-In Jack
*Slots*	:	3 in 1 Card Reader Support (MMC/SD/MS)
*Communication*	:	
• 10/100 Mb Base-T Ethernet
• Wireless 802.11 b/g
*Camera*	:	1.3 MP Video Camera Module
*Power* 	: 	• Full Range 40Watt AC Adapter
  	  	• 3 Cells Smart Battery Li-ion 11.1V/2.2Ah (Removable) or
 	 	  6 Cells Smart Battery Li-ion 11.1V/5.2Ah (Removable)
 	  	• RTC Battery
*Security *	: 	Kensington® Lock
*Support O.S* 	: 	Linux, Windows XP and Windows Vista
*Dimension* 	: 	260mm (w) x 180mm (d) x 19-31.5mm (h)
  	  	1.2 Kg

XP version of course.


----------



## jayeola (Feb 11, 2009)

A nine in screen has a keyboard that is  /just/ about manageable. I have a eee 900 and the kb took some time to get used to. Now I use it as my "main machine" as cos it is so portable. Chaps at work are considering getting them for /all/ of the engineers. Means tha you do not have to lug around a great 2-3 KG sack when one goes off to the datacenter.


----------



## lunatrick (Feb 17, 2009)

thinking of getting one of these :

compaq mini 700

linky

the only downside I can see is the smallish (60gb) hard drive?

anybody else used one?


----------



## Radar (Feb 17, 2009)

Who's offering the cheapest deals on the Aspire One (blue/linux/HD/512) A mate in work is enamoured with mine and has a bad dose of the "I wants"

Is there an updated version coming along anytime soon ?


----------



## zenie (Feb 17, 2009)

lunatrick said:


> thinking of getting one of these :
> 
> compaq mini 700
> 
> ...


 
60gb should be shouldn't it? You could get an NC10 for that month though...

I can't say I've used the HD on muy NC10 much tbh


----------



## dessiato (Feb 17, 2009)

I recently bought a Packard Bell Dot, (329€) it has 160GB HDD, 1GB DDRAM, 9" screen, built in mic and web cam, XP, works and office pre-loaded, and I get three hours of battery life surfing etc. I am not sure what the UK equivalent is called. 

I have to say that I use it much more than the regular laptop as the portability is such an advantage. However, if I was to use it at home I would consider using an external keyboard and screen for ease of use. For what it is I find it excellent.


----------



## lunatrick (Feb 22, 2009)

went for the nc10 in the end.....160gb hard drive and longer battery life edged the compaq out......a triumph of functionality over style cos the compaq just looked sexier..........but anyway very happy with it - just plugged it in and posting this from it...nice machine.


----------



## jayeola (Feb 22, 2009)

Does anyone actually use the web cam feature? I've not.


----------



## zenie (Mar 2, 2009)

Just how slow is the processor in the 701? I've been offered one for a hundred quid which would do my old dear but not if it's really crap


----------



## Jonti (Mar 2, 2009)

It's a nippy 900MHz


----------



## TwoTimer (Mar 5, 2009)

jayeola said:


> Does anyone actually use the web cam feature? I've not.



I use it in Skype on my Dell Mini 9.


----------



## zenie (Mar 17, 2009)

jayeola said:


> Does anyone actually use the web cam feature? I've not.


 

No, my mates try and get me too but the thought horrifies me


----------



## fractionMan (Mar 17, 2009)

Which one would be best for my 4 year old?

Cost is obv a factor.


----------



## Crispy (Mar 17, 2009)

My parents love webcam chats

Sometimes means a frantic scramble to hide things when a call comes in


----------



## editor (Mar 17, 2009)

zenie said:


> Just how slow is the processor in the 701? I've been offered one for a hundred quid which would do my old dear but not if it's really crap


I'd *strongly* recommend spending a bit more and getting an Eee 901, an Acer Aspire or the Samsung NC10.


----------



## mitochondria (Mar 20, 2009)

don't bother with 701 - LG x110 is now 230 pounds delivered at ebuyer!


----------



## upsidedownwalrus (Mar 20, 2009)

How good are these netbooks?  Can they substitute for a real laptop?


----------



## fractionMan (Mar 20, 2009)

mitochondria said:


> don't bother with 701 - LG x110 is now 230 pounds delivered at ebuyer!



I nearly got that yesterday but now I'm looking at a dell mini 9 for 215 inc delivery.

2gb ram, 8.9 screen, 16gb ssd, free delivery.

Use this link: http://www.hotukdeals.com/visit/?m=28&q=349535

And then put this code in the checkout: *M8BX1P0J$8PRDV*

You'll need to check the +1gb memory option (with a cost of £0) and the 16gb ssd option.  Available in the full range of colours/stickers for a little extra.


----------



## zenie (Mar 20, 2009)

editor said:


> I'd *strongly* recommend spending a bit more and getting an Eee 901, an Acer Aspire or the Samsung NC10.


 
thanks. It was onyl cos it was going cheap. 



mitochondria said:


> don't bother with 701 - LG x110 is now 230 pounds delivered at ebuyer!


 
yeh I saw that this morning, that's a bargain


----------



## editor (Mar 20, 2009)

fractionMan said:


> I nearly got that yesterday but now I'm looking at a dell mini 9 for 215 inc delivery.


I like the Dell, but the battery life is a bit duff. I'm still loving the 5hrs+ I'm getting out of the Eee 901 but the keyboard is still a bit of a fiddly bleeder to use.


----------



## fractionMan (Mar 20, 2009)

editor said:


> I like the Dell, but the battery life is a bit duff. I'm still loving the 5hrs+ I'm getting out of the Eee 901 but the keyboard is still a bit of a fiddly bleeder to use.



Fair enough.

I've just got the dell 

Reasons:
Pre configured ubuntu with a nice simple interface - great for the lil one.
There's a really good suite of linux educational software - great for the lil one.
2gig ram - futureish proof, esp on linux.
16gb ssd + build quality - means he can drop it a couple of times and it wont break
Price - 215 quid is pretty good value.


----------



## lunatrick (Mar 23, 2009)

more luck than judgement but it seems my choice of the nc10 was the right one.....!


http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/02/16/review_netbook_samsung_nc10


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Mar 30, 2009)

Tried that Sony P the other day, what a piece of shit! Slow fucking machine, utter fiddly shite with that nipple thing and a keyboard that's barely usable if you type with two fingers....what a rip.

Does look nice though...


----------



## editor (Mar 30, 2009)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Tried that Sony P the other day, what a piece of shit! Slow fucking machine, utter fiddly shite with that nipple thing and a keyboard that's barely usable if you type with two fingers....what a rip.
> 
> Does look nice though...


It looks fantastic. And that's about it. 

http://www.urban75.org/tech/sony-vaio-p-series-netbook.html


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Mar 30, 2009)

editor said:


> It looks fantastic. And that's about it.
> 
> http://www.urban75.org/tech/sony-vaio-p-series-netbook.html



Totally. I was really shocked at just how crap it was beyond it's looks!


----------



## Oswaldtwistle (Apr 9, 2009)

Carphone Warehouse have dramatically increased the price of the basic EEE 701 from £154 to 179. 

Is there some sort of shortage out there?


----------



## scifisam (Apr 12, 2009)

Well, I just bought this Acer Aspire One for my GF's birthday. Three friends and her two sisters are chipping in too, and it was £160 inc. recovery disc, VAT and delivery. 8gig hard drive, 512mb ram (upgradeable to 1.5gig), decent size and battery life. Reconditioned but it sounds like it'll be in good condition. We shall see - unfortunately it won't arrive till after her birthday.


----------



## scifisam (Apr 15, 2009)

Well, it's here - apparently they tried to deliver it yesterday, which is an impressive delivery time since I only ordered it on Sunday and didn't pay for express delivery. It's a great little computer - does everything you need and the ram seems enough. My GF squealed with delight when she saw what her gift was.


----------



## Radar (Apr 17, 2009)

BTW if you're curious you can whack on the Ubuntu 9.04 rc and it appears to work like a charm. Networking, video and sound just work without any tweaking and  installation is the proverbial piece of piss.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 29, 2009)

I would just like to say that I've just installed Ubuntu 9.04 on my EEE 901 and it is _so much better than the default Linux it makes me want to cry_.


----------



## purplex (May 29, 2009)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I would just like to say that I've just installed Ubuntu 9.04 on my EEE 901 and it is _so much better than the default Linux it makes me want to cry_.



dont cry you probably just need a wee


----------



## FridgeMagnet (May 30, 2009)

No, I laugh when I need a wee.

I'm on it now actually, on 3G - it was even easier to set that up than on the standard Linux, which wasn't hard to start with. But more importantly I don't have to deal with Asus' bizarre module choice and configuration and update system that just didn't bloody work except to annoy me. It also looks a lot nicer, and runs Dropbox properly.


----------



## mattie (Jun 18, 2009)

Any ideas what the Lenovo S9 is like?

There's a 4 week backlog on the Dell mini 10, and tesco's are doing the Lenovo for 200 notes

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-9694.aspx

Dated?  Screen too small?



eta:  Ignore, now discontinued.


----------



## mattie (Jun 19, 2009)

Expansys has the Acer ASpire for £150 notes

http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=169883&partner=uknews

I am sorely tempted.


----------



## azbokid (Jul 11, 2009)

lunatrick said:


> more luck than judgement but it seems my choice of the nc10 was the right one.....!
> 
> 
> http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/02/16/review_netbook_samsung_nc10



Thanks for that link, I have just bought one of these for my mum to take travelling with her. So that was a very comforting read.  

Does anyone know if Ubuntu Jaunty runs well on these NC10s?


----------



## Xanadu (Jul 11, 2009)

I know these machines aren't meant to be stupidly powerful, but which are the fastest netbooks?


----------



## editor (Jul 11, 2009)

Xanadu said:


> I know these machines aren't meant to be stupidly powerful, but which are the fastest netbooks?


They're all much of a muchness, although more RAM and a SSD can help. If you're after running Photoshop, don't expect things to whizz along.


----------



## Xanadu (Jul 11, 2009)

editor said:


> They're all much of a muchness, although more RAM and a SSD can help. If you're after running Photoshop, don't expect things to whizz along.



Was thinking I might be able to run Cakewalk or Cubase.


----------



## MightyAphrodite (Jul 11, 2009)

mattie said:


> Expansys has the Acer ASpire for £150 notes
> 
> http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=169883&partner=uknews
> 
> I am sorely tempted.



I have one of those that I take when I'm at the pool or just out kicking around. Really tidy. And you're not out of much if you lose it etc etc.

I love it! It took me a while to get used to the little keyboard, the touchpad I just couldn't deal with so bought a little mouse to go with it. But all in all it's a good little notebook and not THAT much smaller than a "real" laptop.







I rate it.


----------



## editor (Jul 11, 2009)

Xanadu said:


> Was thinking I might be able to run Cakewalk or Cubase.


There's a really good article here:
How to buy a netbook for music making
http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/how-to-buy-a-netbook-for-music-making-201451/2

This thread has some user experience: http://www.mail-archive.com/313@hyperreal.org/msg101782.html

Personally, I'd look at picking up a second hand IBM ThinkPad...


----------



## Jonti (Jul 19, 2009)

azbokid said:


> Thanks for that link, I have just bought one of these for my mum to take travelling with her. So that was a very comforting read.
> 
> Does anyone know if Ubuntu Jaunty runs well on these NC10s?


It does seem so, yes.  This from theRegister comments on the NC10 piece ... 





> However since M$FT appear to be virtually giving XP away you can always console yourself that buying one of these seemingly very impressive machines has contributed next to nothing to the Redmond coffers - before thowing away that nasty 10yr old XP and replacing it with Ubuntu Linux - which means 3G dongles are nicely integrated, office software is included as standard, and a virus free life without the performance sapping overhead of mcafee et al.
> 
> (and while I'm on about it, how about Thunderbird email, which is fully compatible with Outlook).


But I'm liking the spec and price of the Dell Mini 10v for myself.


----------



## hendo (Jul 19, 2009)

lunatrick said:


> more luck than judgement but it seems my choice of the nc10 was the right one.....!
> 
> 
> http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/02/16/review_netbook_samsung_nc10




I'm enjoying my NC10 also.


----------



## Fingers (Aug 5, 2009)

I bit the bullet and bought a Samsung NC10 today. Mainly because my Laptop which is the workhorse of my work keeps switching itself off every time I move it slightly.  My laptop is now my Desktop for heavy graphics work etc and now sits on the table and is not moved.

Loving the NC10 so far.  Might need to upgrade to 2gb.  I am amazed at how silent it is and the fact that it does not get hot.

Mental.  Cheers for all the advice guys.


----------



## JimW (Aug 14, 2009)

Just finished installing the Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) Alpha Netbook remix on the new EeePC 1005HA (only sold XP pre-installs here) that arrived yesterday and am a very happy bunny. Nutty long battery life (8 hours with actual normal use, ten apparently at a squeeze), great screen, looks nice and keyboard big considering, if a little plasticy to the touch. Not normally one for the bleeding edge of distros but reading around in advance it's the only Ubuntu version to have a kernel supporting this wireless card and has been pretty stable, so went for it rather than fucking about jigging an earlier version.


----------



## Jonti (Aug 29, 2009)

I took the plunge and got myself the Dell mini 10v

It comes with the regular 8.04 Ubuntu LTS desktop and everything Just Works OK.  But the Netbook Remix has a better interface for such a small form factor, and it looks great too. So I installed the 9.04 version of Ubuntu NBR. 

I'm well pleased, even though the video playback doesn't work under 9.04. That's to do with this, a whole heap of work that's been done on the Intel Graphics driver, and on the kernel and xorg. Looks like one can tinker a bit to get the video playback working even under 9.04, or just wait till the 9.10 (October) release of NBR.

It's a right cool little device, cheap too. I'm well chuffed


----------



## Jambooboo (Aug 31, 2009)

Got me a 1gb ram, 16gb ssd, XP AAO - it's neat but the SSD slows everything down such that it's almost unusable. As is it's constantly reading and writing to the SSD making it lag something rotten, but I found a utility that sorts it out - now boots up in half the time and Explorer & Firefox etc are as quick as my dual core.


----------



## spanglechick (Sep 12, 2009)

If we were looking for a decent netbook in the current market for reasonably low outlay, would a samsung nc10 running XP be a good purchase?


----------



## Gingerman (Sep 12, 2009)

spanglechick said:


> If we were looking for a decent netbook in the current market for reasonably low outlay, would a samsung nc10 running XP be a good purchase?


Yep got one a few weeks ago,v happy with it great battery life and good looking as well


----------



## hendo (Sep 12, 2009)

I would be tempted to hang on a couple of weeks and bag one with winders7.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Sep 12, 2009)

I doubt that netbooks will be selling with Windows 7 for a while.


----------



## toggy (Sep 14, 2009)

spanglechick said:


> If we were looking for a decent netbook in the current market for reasonably low outlay, would a samsung nc10 running XP be a good purchase?



Yes, very much so. Best bangs/buck. Stick a 2GB SODIMM in it for £15 and you're done.


----------



## nick h. (Oct 16, 2009)

Refurb'd NC10 for £209 http://www.tier1online.com/Items/It...NC10 Black netbook Windows XP home 10" laptop

Or Archos 10 for £189 http://www.tier1online.com/Items/It...ndows XP netbook 10.2" 1GB - 160GB Hard drive


----------



## editor (Oct 23, 2009)

Excellent review of the Asus Eee 1005 by our very own mhendo here: http://www.wirefresh.com/asus-eee-1005ha-p-seashell-netbook-pc-full-review/


----------



## Missez (Oct 29, 2009)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I doubt that netbooks will be selling with Windows 7 for a while.



I'm planning on buying a little HP one with windows 7 installed this weekend. $350 +GST. Itty bitty little thing it is.

http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures...egory=Netbooks&ProductID=3927159&ProductTab=3


----------



## yardbird (Nov 2, 2009)

I just bought a lenovo S10e -well dinky- using it to send at the moment, but using ethernet cable as the key I'm giving it for my router ain't working 
It's got XP which I'm happy with.
My problem is that I'm not computer literate, but I'll suss it out.


The cost - 255 quid, I'm happy with that, but I'd like any thoughts on the machine please.


----------



## han (Nov 21, 2009)

hendo said:


> I'm enjoying my NC10 also.



I'm going to get one of these too


----------



## han (Nov 21, 2009)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I doubt that netbooks will be selling with Windows 7 for a while.



If I were you Spanglechick I'd get an NC10 with XP on. You can always upgrade to Windows 7 in 6 months to a year's time when Windows 7's been around for a while. It's never a good idea to get a new OS until at least the first Service Pack's come out. Otherwise you're just a guinea pig for Microsoft.


----------



## han (Nov 21, 2009)

Xanadu said:


> Was thinking I might be able to run Cakewalk or Cubase.



I do think the idea of making music on a netbook's a little bit crazy. They're not really designed for much more than standard office stuff and websurfing (processing power, component quality, etc. etc.). As well as having screens that are rather small for looking at the array of information you get in programs like Cubase


----------



## _pH_ (Nov 23, 2009)

My mum's on about getting a laptop (cue loads of phonecalls: 'how do I get this to work?') but can't afford to pay loads so I suggested a netbook. 

Only really for email/browsing, maybe storing photos on the HDD. Her fingers are a bit arthritic though, so a reasonable sized  keyboard would be a bonus. Budget: dunno, maybe up to £300? Certainly no more.

Any suggestions?


----------



## bhamgeezer (Nov 29, 2009)

Can anyone recommend me a netbook for around £250, so far I'm considering the Sumsung NC10, the Samung N110 and the Dell Mini 10v (only with 6 cell battery). Anyone know a good place to get either of the samsung with the decent battery at a good price? N110 might be out of my price range.


----------



## Lo Siento. (Nov 29, 2009)

hey, is there a reason why the wifi on my EEE 1000H has a truly pathetic range? Anyone else noticed this?


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Nov 29, 2009)

Not strictly speaking a netbook, but this new Acer looks mighty tempting.







£430 get you a duel core chip, 1366 x 768 11.6" screen, 3gb Ram and 8 hours of battery life. It comes with win 7 64 bit.

Review


----------



## bhamgeezer (Dec 29, 2009)

Got a new NC10 £240  Anyone know the what type of ram I should put in it to upgrade to 2gb?


----------



## Hassan I Sabha (Dec 30, 2009)

I have been looking on crucial memory for memory for my Dell 10v, you can choose by machine on their site or download their machine scanner for a recomendation.


----------



## Moggy (Feb 14, 2010)

Anyone used/using a Sumsung N140? Definitely leaning it's way, although aiming for the slightly older XP/160GB HD version over the new Windows 7 starter edition...

Feedback?


----------



## mitochondria (Feb 14, 2010)

I got an eee1101HA for my birthday and it is lovely. the keyboard is very good, battery life is very good. the only downside is that it gets fingerprints all over as it is piano black.
I think it cost around 250 too - recommended!


----------



## ovaltina (Mar 13, 2010)

Moggy said:


> Anyone used/using a Sumsung N140? Definitely leaning it's way, although aiming for the slightly older XP/160GB HD version over the new Windows 7 starter edition...
> 
> Feedback?



Just got one of these and the battery is amazing - it goes on and on and on... about 7 hours normal use. I'm swapping the memory for a 2gb Kingston generic (£35 on Amazon) and have replaced XP with Win 7 Ultimate (starter is apparently awful).

I'm very happy so far, although I miss some of the touches from my Thinkpad like the trackpoint, keyboard layout and keyboard light.

EDIT: looking at the system information, it looks like I've got two processors... can that be right? It's supposed to come with an intel atom but there are two listed?!


----------



## editor (Mar 13, 2010)

I'm thinking of flogging off my Thinpad X32 and Asus EEE 91 and getting this baby. It's a sort of netbook/ultraportable mix.

The battery life isn't as good as netbooks but I love Thinkpads and for £400 it's great value. 





http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/354865/lenovo-thinkpad-x100e


----------



## ovaltina (Mar 13, 2010)

It looks lovely... I'm donating my X31 to my mum, whose computer is painfully slow. Was planning to keep running it into the ground until it dies but I can't see that ever happening - it's been dropped, soaked and thrown around but doesn't seem to care.


----------



## editor (Mar 13, 2010)

ThinkPads are awesome machines. No wonder they use 'em on the Space Station!


----------



## Jambooboo (Mar 18, 2010)

My Acer Aspire One A150 has borked, which I don't mind as it's still under guarantee, meaning I can get something new if I get a refund. Dunno whether to go for an Acer 751H - it's pretty much like cost-wise for like what I'd get refunded - which has a bigger screen at 11", but at 1.33MHz the Atom Z520 processor is even slower than the 1.6MHz in my current one.

The other consideration is splashing out a bit more for netbook with a dual core Atom 330 and ION graphics - which work great in my Asrock nettop - such as the Asus 1201N. But that costs about £400RRP, which puts it in competition - costs and specs - with the Acer Aspire 1810TZ linked to above.


----------



## Dr Jon (Apr 2, 2010)

I recently got an eeePC 1008HA.  I wiped the hdd and installed Ubuntu Netbook Remix and it works perfectly! Battery life is about 5-6 hours.

Recommended.


----------



## editor (Apr 2, 2010)

editor said:


> I'm thinking of flogging off my Thinpad X32 and Asus EEE 91 and getting this baby. It's a sort of netbook/ultraportable mix.
> 
> The battery life isn't as good as netbooks but I love Thinkpads and for £400 it's great value.
> 
> ...


In the end, I managed to bag a ThinkPad X200 for £540. More than I wanted to pay, but it's a glorious machine, and usually retails at well over a grand. It's obviously a lot bigger than a netbook but it's still pretty small and light, has a far more powerful CPU/specs, comes with Windows7 and still has a decent battery life (claimed at 5hrs).

Crucially, it feels a *lot* more solid than my Eee 901 and will outlive it by some years, I reckon.


----------



## Lazy Llama (Apr 13, 2010)

Picked up a refurbed Dell Mini 10v with 1GB RAM from the Dell Outlet store for under £175 with Windows 7 Starter Edition.

The machine arrived about a week later, with recovery disks in the box. I've backed up the Windows 7 installation and wiped the machine.

I may(*) have used the tools at http://code.google.com/p/netbook-installer/ to install OS X Snow Leopard.
It took two attempts to get it to install all the updates but it's now happily running OS X 10.6.3
The OS runs fine(*) so far, the biggest issues I have are:

 the screen isn't tall enough for decent web browsing
 unsurprisingly, the hardware feels like the machine cost under £200. 
 trackpad is awkward compared to the Apple ones.
I've picked up a bluetooth module, 2GB SODIMM and a case for it from Ebay, so will be opening it up when the RAM arrives.

Kudos to the guy(s) who created the NetbookInstaller, it's a marvel!



(*) Of course, I haven't actually done this because it would be breaking the license agreement for Snow Leopard


----------



## Badger Decoy (Apr 27, 2010)

Was wondering if anyone had any advice - I cannot decide whether to get a straight netbook or a mini-laptop. I've been searching for a few days and have narrowed it down a bit to these 10" netbooks:

1. Toshiba NB305 - comes with the new Intel Atom N450 processor, 250 GB HD and 1 GB RAM 
2. Samsung NC10 - Intel Atom processor N270, 160 GB hard disk 

Or these slightly bigger ones:

1. Acer-Aspire-Timeline-1810TZ (think somebody mentioned this one a few posts back). 
2. Asus N10 - supposedly the first gaming netbook but pricier than the others and difficult to get in the UK.

I really can't make up my mind,. The more I read up on them the less I know which to get.  Basically I am moving to South Korea in 4 weeks time and I would like a light little machine to take with me so I can mess around on the internet, check email, Skype ppl back home watch a few films on the plane/train, stick my photos on before I transfer them onto my external hard drive. The ability to play some basic old games would be cool too but I have heard netbooks aren't really designed for that?? I don't have another (working) laptop at the mo though my boyfriend does and we can share it/ use that for films as the main computer. 

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated muchly


----------



## Crispy (Apr 27, 2010)

My advice would be get anything with more than 600 pixels vertical screen resolution. You really do miss the space. Apart from that, for your uses, there's nothing in it. The HP mini 110 has a 1366x768 screen as an option for example.


----------



## editor (Apr 27, 2010)

Samsung, Tosh and Asus Eeee netbooks always get good reviews, and I like the Lenovo  S10.

PC pro '#1:http://www.pcpro.co.uk/alist/netbook
Top netbooks listed: http://apcmag.com/top-10-netbooks-that-will-excite-us-in-2010.htm
Useful features comparison here: http://computers.toptenreviews.com/netbooks/

To be honest, I paid a bit more and got a refurb Lenovo Thinkpad X200 for £500 - it's a wonderful machine and still small enough to replace my netbook for most things.


----------



## pgb (Jun 27, 2010)

ovaltina said:


> EDIT: looking at the system information, it looks like I've got two processors... can that be right? It's supposed to come with an intel atom but there are two listed?!



Modern processors have more than one "Core", oval - the core being the circuitry that actually executes program instructions. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-core


----------



## Rikbikboo (Jul 2, 2010)

Badger Decoy said:


> Was wondering if anyone had any advice - I cannot decide whether to get a straight netbook or a mini-laptop. I've been searching for a few days and have narrowed it down a bit to these 10" netbooks:
> 
> 1. Toshiba NB305 - comes with the new Intel Atom N450 processor, 250 GB HD and 1 GB RAM
> 2. Samsung NC10 - Intel Atom processor N270, 160 GB hard disk
> ...



i have the asus n10  cool little machine and yes i do use it for a bit of world of warcraft.  i overclock mine to 2.2ghz and it will run cod4

worth the extra money for the vidcard


----------



## ovaltina (Jul 3, 2010)

pgb said:


> Modern processors have more than one "Core", oval - the core being the circuitry that actually executes program instructions.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-core



Ah ok, thanks! I thought single core was still the standard. Very hard to keep up with tech.

In other news, it turns out you can't fall asleep next to a Samsung netbook, in case it falls off the bed and onto the floor...







[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]



£50 for a new screen from ebay.


----------



## editor (Oct 26, 2010)

Here's an updated list of the best cheap netbooks under £350 (the cheapest starts at £230):
http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/best-cheap-netbook-which-should-you-buy--903311

Also:
Best netbook revealed: the top 15 in the world today
http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/15-best-netbooks-in-the-world-today-699790


----------



## mack (Oct 26, 2010)

There's some new dual core netbooks being released soon..

http://www.dabs.com/products/samsun...l?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product+search

If you're looking to get a netbook (like myself) I'd look out for some clearance bargains or wait a while and see what gets released.


----------



## Crispy (Oct 26, 2010)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I doubt that netbooks will be selling with Windows 7 for a while.


 
http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/...nd-of-sales-and-end-of-support-deadlines.aspx

They'll have to now


----------



## Oswaldtwistle (Nov 21, 2010)

mack said:


> There's some new dual core netbooks being released soon..
> 
> http://www.dabs.com/products/samsun...l?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product+search
> 
> If you're looking to get a netbook (like myself) I'd look out for some clearance bargains or wait a while and see what gets released.


 
Still only 1gb of RAM, which is quite surprising. Surely you need more than that for good Win 7 performance?


----------



## mack (Nov 21, 2010)

I think the first thing most geeky types do is get an extra gig of Ram, in the end I decided against getting a netbook and went for a 13" Asus laptop instead, portability and power.


----------



## Jambooboo (Nov 29, 2010)

Were I to get a decent powered netbook, I'd get an Asus 1215N (can be had for about £50 cheaper than Amazon).


----------



## editor (Nov 29, 2010)

I had a play with the HP Mini 210 and was very impressed. It's got a really good keyboard - miles better than my Asus Eee901 - and you can pick them up for around £280 (maybe cheaper soon as I think the range is about to be refreshed). It's one of the best cheapish netbooks I've tried.


----------



## Stanley Edwards (Dec 9, 2010)

Just bought a Packard Bell running XP Home with full PhotoShop Elements preinstalled. Fairly low spec memory (1GB, 160GB), but with graphica accelerator and 3 hours batteries.

I like it. €260

XP Home and PS already there was a big selling point to me. It's going to have to do a lot of work. I'll see how I get on.


----------



## Stanley Edwards (Dec 11, 2010)

This is handling 12MP files comfortably. N450 Atom with graphics accelerator.

My only complaint is the number of cafes and bars that say they have Wi-Fi, and then say it doesn't work after you've paid.

I will give it a very difficult HD video challenge tomorrow 

It looks fucking cool also.


----------



## Stanley Edwards (Feb 23, 2011)

So, this is looking like 4 months 

Everything still functions, but all the hard stuff is falling apart already  I'm not heavy handed. 

Back-up time for me.


----------



## editor (Mar 22, 2011)

This is a *great* deal:

Samsung N150 Plus Netbook - £229.99

Intel Atom Dual Core N550 1.5GHz
1GB RAM + 250GB HDD
10.1" LED Non-Gloss
Webcam + Bluetooth
Up to 8 Hours Battery
Blue Lid
Windows 7 Starter
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/251962


----------



## Stanley Edwards (Mar 22, 2011)

I'm upgrading expectations.

This thing has already done a lot of work. PhotoShop Elements pre-installed was a huge bonus. Without wishing to tempt fate, the keypad is a little bit rattley now, but all seems to be holding out well. It's been passed around hand to hand in hostals and hotels also. Pretty much let anyone use it. I was worried it was starting to fall apart physically, but it just seems to be loosening up a bit.


----------



## editor (Mar 22, 2011)

To be honest, if i were you, I would have forked out a bit more and got something like a second hand ThinkPad. Now they *are* as tough as old boots.


----------



## Stanley Edwards (Mar 22, 2011)

editor said:


> To be honest, if i were you, I would have forked out a bit more and got something like a second hand ThinkPad. Now they *are* as tough as old boots.


 
I was comparing with a ThinkPad with someone the other night. Although the screen size and pad are pretty equal, she was saying she wished she had gone for something smaller and lighter like my Packard Bell. It's been dropped a few times, passed around a bunch of drinkers and smokers many times, and it's holding out well. Only 3 battery cells, but light and easy.

N450
160 GB HD
Intel Graphics Accelerator 3150
WiFi, but no BlueTooth
PS Elements pre-installed 

€280

I'm more than happy. If it gives up tomorrow I won't complain. I suspect it's going to get me across Europe and then some though.


----------



## Paul Russell (Mar 27, 2011)

editor said:


> This is a *great* deal:
> 
> Samsung N150 Plus Netbook - £229.99



I've been looking at getting one of these Samsungs (my mum got the N150 a while back after I got some advice here). 

For a tenner extra, you can get the 220 (in red or green):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...computers&field-keywords=samsung+n220&x=0&y=0

bit more battery life, I think.


----------



## Stanley Edwards (Apr 3, 2011)

I am beginning to trust this.

€280 is looking like a bargain. Keyboard has loosened up a bit, but all is still very cool despite the many drops. It's been across southern Spain and Algeria and Morocco. Handed around and dropped many times. I'm upgrading expectations further 

It's a very nice, portable little work tool with PS elements and everso reliable XP.

PS was a big selling point. XP is good for compatibilty in internet cafes ETC.. it's old and trusted. It's also a very stable OS and pretty virus proof. It's a very good little tool and toy. Some reviews moaned about an over sensitive touch pad, but you can adjust it. It's actually a main feature. For a portable, it's very cool. Battery of 3 cells is more than ample and makes it light.

I like it lots


----------



## kabbes (Apr 20, 2011)

I just got an N150, so I hope it's as good as you all say...


----------



## DotCommunist (Apr 21, 2011)

I'm buying one of these next week. Just had a play with ma's N210 samsung and love it. I don't need a windows 7 starter or anything- the internet recons £210. I'm a little concerned over hardiness because I break delicate machines. Ham fisted.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 21, 2011)

DotCommunist said:


> I'm buying one of these next week. Just had a play with ma's N210 samsung and love it. I don't need a windows 7 starter or anything- the internet recons £210. I'm a little concerned over hardiness because I break delicate machines. Ham fisted.


 
My little Acer has been tougher then it probably should have been. Not done anything to bad to it, but get thrown loose in a rucksack and all sorts.


----------



## DotCommunist (May 6, 2011)

Have decided on this Samsung n!50 Plus. For starters I like it and it is powerful. For second I can source it through a uni tech department buying group and get it 40 pounds cheaper than otherwise (with fripperies and extras). Plus:







it has a red lid


----------



## mango5 (May 19, 2011)

I've been very happy with my Eee, it's taken 3 years hammering and now getting arthritic. It had fantastic battery life for the first year.
Not sure what to get next.... what do y'all think of these?

Sony VAIO VPCM12M1E/P Intel Atom N470 1.83GHz 10.1" LED, 250GB HDD, Bluetooth, Mini Netbook (Pink) - Windows 7 - Open Box £239.99 inc VAT 

Samsung N150 Plus Netbook Intel Atom Dual Core N550 1.5GHz - 1GB RAM + 250GB HDD, 10.1" LED WSVGA, Up to 8 Hours Battery Life, Red Lid, Webcam + Bluetooth, Windows 7 Starter £223.82 inc. vat

Asus EEE PC 1015PEM Netbook  - Intel Atom N550 1.5GHz, 250GB HDD, 1GB RAM, 10.1" LED, No Optical Drive, Black, Windows 7 Starter £244.84 inc. vat

Any more suggestions on a £250 budget are welcome, ta


----------



## kabbes (May 19, 2011)

I'm really happy with my N150 bought a month back.  Battery life is great (particularly on a dim screen) and it functions perfectly well given that it's a netbook.

Obviously can't compare because this is the only netbook I use!  But I'm more than happy with it.


----------



## editor (May 19, 2011)

The N150 has picked up great reviews but the slightly more expensive Samsung NB30 might be worth a look if you need a bit of toughness. 
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/netbooks/samsung-nb30-review-50000392/
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/247566


----------



## DotCommunist (May 19, 2011)

kabbes said:


> I'm really happy with my N150 bought a month back.  Battery life is great (particularly on a dim screen) and it functions perfectly well given that it's a netbook.
> 
> Obviously can't compare because this is the only netbook I use!  But I'm more than happy with it.


 

its not as good as the n150 plus, I feel.


----------



## mango5 (May 23, 2011)

editor said:


> The N150 has picked up great reviews but the slightly more expensive Samsung NB30 might be worth a look if you need a bit of toughness.
> http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/netbooks/samsung-nb30-review-50000392/
> http://www.ebuyer.com/product/247566


That 14 hour initial battery life is *very* attractive!

Cheaper here too


----------



## not-bono-ever (Jul 1, 2011)

just got an NB30 as it happens

not as slim or sleek as some, but still dinky and nice n solid.199+vat seemed a pretty good deal for a rugged little netbook.The kids love it. Still a bit odd not having a diswc drive, but with a bit of planning, that wont be an issue and will cut down on the peripheral shite we lug around to use on the lappy when we travel

Still getting used to it, but seems speedy so far - Iplayer downloads arent as smooth as I an used to, but perfectly acceptable for a bit of light travel action.

our normal laptop didnt like travelling at all - luckily it is was under warranty and got sorted both times


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## ovaltina (Aug 7, 2011)

I've bought a Thinkpad x31 on Ebay for £70. It replaces the Samsung netbook I broke last year when I dropped it and cracked the screen. The hard drive is the weak link so I've ordered a 32gb cf card and ide adapter for £40. If it all works I'll have something quick as a whippet, tough as old boots and as cheap as chips.


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## ovaltina (Sep 3, 2011)

ovaltina said:


> I've bought a Thinkpad x31 on Ebay for £70. It replaces the Samsung netbook I broke last year when I dropped it and cracked the screen. The hard drive is the weak link so I've ordered a 32gb cf card and ide adapter for £40. If it all works I'll have something quick as a whippet, tough as old boots and as cheap as chips.


Couldn't get the cf thing to work so I sold it again (£5 loss) and got a replacement hdd for £30. It's working fine, I've been using it on the train to design a set of flyers, business cards and top redesign a website, including some photoshopping, adnd it works almost as well as my big box desktop. Very happy for a total spend of about £150.


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## mrs quoad (Sep 30, 2011)

Looking at Samsung netbooks atm...

I'm interested to see that Samsung seem to rate a single core 1.66ghz processor above a 1.5ghz dual core (both by Intel).

Ummmm.... is that a sensible, clear-cut preference? Or is it more likely to rely on choice, taste, usage, blah?


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## petee (Oct 6, 2011)

my eee 1000 still in perfect shape after 2+years. 7 hr battery. 400 in US currency.


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