[SLUG] Fw: How is yous new laptop?

[DAVID KNIGHT]

Call this a mini-review of the new penguin powered Asus EEE PC, currently around £229 (if you can find one)

Hi, yes I did get it last week. I've only powered it up to test it so far as it's a christmas present for my son Nigel. It has a very small keyboard and mouse which takes some getting used to but it's tiny! A few mild gripes include no WPA2 option encryption (just had to change the encryption to WPA but may limit roaming capability) Very basic user interface (perfect for kids, also very hackable, see www.eeeuser.com) and small screen size (800x480). As this is destined for my son I haven't tried to hack it...yet, but I can definitely see me flashing the bios to overclock the CPU, changing to advanced mode (and probably changing distro to gentoo/arch). It is great for word processing on the move, watching videos, playing music, internet access, flash games, pdf's, slideshows and presentations (output via VGA so can link to projector). The EEE is an apt-get away from a multitude of functions.

The model is the 4G with webcam, 7"screen, 600Mhz celeron (rated 900Mhz hence easy overclocking), 512Mb DDR2 RAM, Wifi (No bluetooth or 3G), 4GB storage (reduced to just under 2GB with Xandros OS). Additional storage is available via USB HDD and SD/MMC slot. It is also incredibly light (under 1kg).

Personally I think this is an excellent device for the novice user (basic mode) and experienced linux user (advanced mode) but this is neither a desktop or laptop replacement. I could see me using this for browsing the web/watching movies/playing mp3's/reading on the sofa. It's also much more portable and I can see me bringing this with me to conferences to take notes/record lectures. I can also take VGA res pictures with the camera for what it's worth. If it was mine I'd probably be spending from now until christmas 2009 installing new OS, tweaking the system, adding new apps etc. In fact, I might just be getting another after christmas to do just that...

Overall seriously recommended but not without the quirks of first generation technology.

As well as the IPAQ you may wish to consider the new Nokia N810 internet tablet. Even more portable than the EEE, qwerty keyboard (although not a full keyboard), wifi AND bluetooth (but no 3G...), web, GPS, webcam, 2GB storage, touchscreen, 400MHz ARM processor and open source OS. Currently a little more than the EEE at around £300 at present. However, I really don't think you should be comparing the EEE with tablet devices as I don't think they are targeting the same market at all. The EEE is a cheap ultra-portable laptop and is the first of a new breed. The Nokia N810 and IPAQ I would place in the PDA category.

Hope this is useful for you. I will endeavour to bring it with me to the next meeting providing I can wrench it of my son long enough ;)


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Daniel Zmijowski <daniel.zmijowski at gmail.com>
To: David Knight <davidknight24 at btinternet.com>
Sent: Monday, 10 December, 2007 4:23:05 PM
Subject: How is yous new laptop?

Hi David,

We met at the last meeting of SLUG in the Valley bar. You mentioned
that you are buying new ASUS EEE laptop. Did you get it? What model is
it exactly (G4)? I'm thinking about buying one like that or I will
wait for new HP iPAQ 210 handheld, anyway your opinions could be
helpful :)


Yours sincerely,

Daniel Zmijowski



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