The Asus Eee PC - so you want small well we got small!

My first officer from a couple of weeks ago stepped on my bag and broke my loved ThinkPad X60 laptop. It is in the shop for repairs. Since I can't stand not having access I searched for a cheap solution and found the Asus Eee PC. It's the size a a sheet of paper folded in half. Cool! Starts at $300 bucks, Cool! and runs Linux, possibly cool!



What's Good:
Cheap
Compact Fold a sheet of paper in half and that is the size of this device.
Lots of free games and other applications. Generally there is a free replacement application to anything available on Windows.

Give it a 9” screen vs 7” and you could get a lot more use out of this device. If you need something to check the weather, your schedule, bid, etc with light Internet use the Eee PC could be for you. With free Wifi in your hotel room and using Pandora.com you can have yourself a nice small music player. If you subscribe to the Rhapsody music service they offer a Linux version.

What To Add:
Mouse – While the touchpad works it is small
SD Card for more storage
Opera Browser ( A bit more flexible that FireFox on a small screen)
Use in Advanced mode vs icon more. More flexible. Better WiFi management and other bells and whistles

What's Bad:
Screen Size: It's too small for long sessions of Internet surfing. Physical screen size is 6 by 3.5". This device is great for an occasional user. If you want something that is extremely small and won't add any weight this is it. However, after about 45 minutes your eyes will probably get worn out.

Issues in Linux Compared to Windows:
Many flavors of Linux each with unique issues. Ubuntu and Freedora are the most popular Linux Operating Systems and thus have the greatest amount of support. I have installed something called eeeXubntu. It works really well.

Bluetooth – Weak support may or may not have issues getting a bluetooth device to work with the Eee.

USB Internet Sharing with mobile phone – In MS Windows it is very easy to plug in a smart phone and use it as a modem for your laptop. This is extremely handy in places with no free wifi. I have tried many possible solutions for this in Ubuntu and have yet to get them to work. One solution worked until the PC was rebooted then no luck.

No one click installation – There are some good application managers which make life easier to install applications. Make sure you have one on your device. Otherwise you will struggle with adding and removing applications. It takes some effort to simply download a file from a web site and then install. I.E. the process is not as simple as in XP and Vista. Ubuntu pretty much solves this. The default Xandros OS does not.

File Structure – Linux does not use drive names like C: D: E: ,etc. this can be confusing when trying to figure out where to install applications, find where your files are, and even to understand how everything works. Generally you should not have issues if you just simply want to use the device as intended vs. digging deeper into how things work.

WiFi and General Network Support – The default applications are weak and can make it difficult to configure/gain access to a wifi network. I would suggest installing WICD or WifiRadar. They work reasonably well but do not compare to what XP or Vista offer in the default OS or what many vendors like Dell, HP, Toshiba install to make things easier for the user.

Need to Run Windows Applications? -
Fear not there is a add on to Linux called WINE. This gives you the ability to run native windows applications within Linux. A list of tested applications is on the main WINE website. Read up on this. Remember there are many replacement applications in Linux. However, if you want to run something like Logbook Pro on the Eee you would run it under WINE. Take a few minutes to read the FAQ on the Wine web site (Insert Address).

Want to Run Internet Explorer?
Check out IE4Linux.Org

Conclusion:
If you love gadgets you should buy this device. It won't break the bank. It's small form factor is nice when you are jammed into the middle seat on a flight and want to read emails or watch a movie. With a large SD card it should be possible to put movies on them. Get a extra battery though. My guess is version 2.0 or 3.0 of this device will be really great. Chances are it could have an internal solid state drive (Think Ipod) as large as 32GB. This would be plenty of storage for a device like this. If you get the 4gb version you can upgrade the ram and install Windows XP if need be.

Linux – The good the bad and the ugly -
Linux is not a friendly interface for dummies. With a little patience and lots of reading you can get along. The most difficult thing to do in Linux is install files. Many people upgrade the operating system to Xubento. This is a scaled down version of the desktop OS. Links are provided to tell you how to do this. Some people even put Microsoft XP on the device. It requires having the 4GB version I think this really defeats the purpose of having a quick small Internet device. If you have to have XP for certain applications so be it. Otherwise I would stay with Linux. It is fast, less prone to viruses and if you already use Firefox on a Windows PC you will be right at home on the Eee PC.

Get used to people interrupting you while using the Eee PC. It is just so small and has a high curiosity factor. If you need something small and simple that gives you the ability to bid on the road, check schedules, etc I would highly recommend the Eee PC. The more robust version is available at Amazon and Costco for $399 bucks. Make sure you go to www.eeeuser.com to read all about this device and the various models. This should also be your starting point for customizing the PC. I would recommend Xubuntu if you don't like the default operating system. At a minimum you should get rid of the basic Icon based desktop and use the device in Advanced Mode. Look at the Wiki on eeeuser.com for information on how to do this.

Sites to check out:
http:///www.eeeuser.com
http://www.ubuntu.com