[LUAU] More Notes on the Asus eee PC

[Jeff Mings]

Hello All!

    I have the exact same model as Jim - the black was worth the wait.

    There are a number of shortcoming in the Xandros distro, but my 
biggest gripe is not a Xandros problem per se, but rather that a great 
deal of drive space is taken up by the "recovery files", and is 
structured in such a way that removing unwanted apps doesn't free up any 
space.  However, one of my reasons for purchasing it was to evaluate it 
for a client that might use it for a simple and inexpensive browsing / 
training PC.  I needed to keep it relatively "stock" for the sake of 
simplicity.  But overall, the Xandros distro works with very few issues 
or complaints

    Like Peter, I added an 8GB SDHC card.  Also, I carry my data between 
various machines on an 8GB USB drive. I may never have to worry about 
running out of storage space on the eee - by the time that's an issue, I 
will have a 32 GB USB drive.

    The tiny keyboard takes time to get used to, but I can touch-type 
surprisingly well with it at this point.
   
    I've been able to use both WEP and WPA.  Oddly, the eee doesn't do a 
good job of discerning a WPA-secured WAP / hotspot - you have to select 
WPA instead of WEP.
>
> because running "office" apps is the very definition of getting things 
> done, eh?
>

For a lot of people, being able to read and write office app formats is 
very important.  I'm one of them - I use OpenOffice for all manner of 
exchanging data with my clients and the world at large.  OpenOffice is 
wonderful - I use it on Linux, Mac, and sometimes Windows - I've never 
bought any kind of M$ Office for my own use, thanks to OpenOffice.  
OpenOffice opens faster on the eee PC than on a new Dell Core 2 Duo I 
compared it with.
>>> -The combination of a speedy Linux and a solid state drive make for a
>>> delightfully quick experience with a 900 Mhz Celeron.  Very refreshing
>>> after seeing several of my clients complain about the speed of Vista on
>>> very speedy hardware.
>
> there is no 'drive'.  repeat, there is no *drive*.  There is 4GB (or 
> 2GB in the 'Surf' models, or 8GB in the newest member of the lineup) 
> of flash soldered to the board
>

Most nerds would argue that the SSD is just what it stands for - a solid 
state drive.  The fact that there is no spinning platter or removable 
component doesn't change the fact that it is a drive.


Aloha,

-Jeff Mings