The Netbook Thread

[Kemper_Boyd]

1.6 GHz Diamondville Atom processor vs. Eee PC 900 Celeron M at 900 MHz.
http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=31266

Looks good to me. Generally the same performance or a bit better.

[xav]

I've never understood why no company has tried to sell thin clients to home users yet.

Games.

True for a certain market segment, but the people I know with kids (a) don't play games themselves (so don't see it as a requirement in a computer for their benefit) and (b) have kids who already own a games console or three (so the fact that their super cheap computer can't play games won't wash with the parents as a reason for the kids to get a full-blown machine of their own).

What I'm talking about isn't a computer for people who know about computers; it's a computer for people who don't know about computers, but think their rapidly growing kids need one. Those people are almost invariably concerned that their own lack of knowledge about computers will mean that their kids will be looking at grungy porn and talking to paedophiles in chat rooms, and they won't know about it.

I'm suggesting that if these parents could buy a machine that they can easily monitor and control access to, and let their kids have a very cheap, neutered system that they can lock down, many of them would jump at the chance. In a lot of cases it would be a choice between "you can have a computer in your room, but it won't play fancy games" and "you can't have a computer in your room at all". I know which most kids would go for - especially if you get them at an early age (before the playground disc swapping begins).

[Dio]

Not sure. For me, I'd be far happier for my kids to have a PC that can play games and run Word in their room but can't access the internet.

[Kronos]

Mentions H.264 in the official Atom chipset anyway.

That's the Poulsbo chipset not the one in the Eee Box.

I see, the way it was written I inferred that they might use that chipset too.

However it's too weedy for a home machine (Mac mini is much higher CPU) and businesses would stick to CITRIX and basic thin clients if they know what's good for them. Any laptop for 300 quid will trounce it and has a screen and DVD writer built in so I can't see what mass market they are hoping for here myself.

You are ignoring the good attributes such as size, power and cost.
It's not aimed at people wanting to edit HD video or run CAD software.
It would be just fine for 90% of what most people do with PCs.

Here my bias towards laptops obviously shows, without a drive or a screen it does look expensive compared to even a £250 Vostro 1000 Widescreen laptop to me, which is also portable into the bargain. If it did manage HD video playback sure I would stick one under the telly/projector, each to their own as is becoming my catchphrase

[xav]

Not sure. For me, I'd be far happier for my kids to have a PC that can play games and run Word in their room but can't access the internet.

I know what you're saying, but if you give a determined teenager a fully functional PC that can't access the internet there's a reasonable chance that a quick trip to PC World for a USB Wifi dongle will be all that's needed for it to become internet accessible - especially in a non-techy household, or one with nearby neighbours who have an unsecured connection.

With a thin client system their access to the internet would be discretionary. If you don't want your kids to go online from their own machines, then you simply lock out that access. Perhaps there would be black/whitelists for sites they can visit - or the machine has something like Firefox with Glubble already installed.

Plus you get the benefits of being able to add extra terminals cheaply, and a centralised location for backing up.


I'm not suggesting that this sort of arrangement would suit every family - far from it. All I'm saying is that I'm surprised nobody has tried selling such a system yet.

[Firefox]

Comparison pic between the three models here

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/03/asus ... 701-fight/

The SSD-based 1000 is definitely my new favourite to replace my 700.



7.5 hours of runtime, 40 gigs of flash, up to 2 gigs of RAM, and not that much bigger overall than a 700...

[Dio]

Yeah, I like the 1000. Actually, though, I'm not sure I want that much SSD. I'd prefer a smallish builtin SSD - 16M would be enough, even for Windows - and keep the data on SDHC cards instead. Next year it will be £10 for 16M more...

I know what you're saying, but if you give a determined teenager a fully functional PC that can't access the internet there's a reasonable chance that a quick trip to PC World for a USB Wifi dongle will be all that's needed for it to become internet accessible - especially in a non-techy household, or one with nearby neighbours who have an unsecured connection.

Actually, if they could work out to do that themselves, I wouldn't be as worried.

[Kemper_Boyd]

Eee Box preview and benchmarks. Well worth a read.
http://anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i=3321&p=1

[HGFB]

All I want to know is when I get to upgrade to a 901. Have Asus announced UK ship dates yet? I'm hoping it'll be soon since the 900 seems to have almost vanished from the supply chain.

[Kemper_Boyd]

I can't keep up with all the news, here's another - £199?
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/03 ... nches_one/

[Dio]

Well, it's gonna be nice to have some choice.

[WiteWulf]

Indeed...the price war going on between all these manufacturers can only be good for us as consumers in the short-term. That Acer is just crazy cheap and will probably be our lass's birthday present come September.

[xav]

I know what you're saying, but if you give a determined teenager a fully functional PC that can't access the internet there's a reasonable chance that a quick trip to PC World for a USB Wifi dongle will be all that's needed for it to become internet accessible - especially in a non-techy household, or one with nearby neighbours who have an unsecured connection.

Actually, if they could work out to do that themselves, I wouldn't be as worried.

Hmmm... I'm not convinced that the ability to plug in a dongle, pop in a CD, and press "Next" a few times implies sufficient understanding of potential online threats and how to mitigate against them, or sufficient maturity to deal with the seedier side of the internet.

Yes, I applaud the teenager with the "hacker ethic" who can circumnavigate his parents security measures, and would hope that such a teenager is encouraged in their technical endeavours (within a safe and supportive environment). However I don't think that being able to connect to a neighbour's unsecured wifi connection necessarily implies that type of person.

[Firefox]

Yeah, I like the 1000. Actually, though, I'm not sure I want that much SSD. I'd prefer a smallish builtin SSD - 16M would be enough, even for Windows - and keep the data on SDHC cards instead. Next year it will be £10 for 16M more...

Yeah, even 8GB SDHC cards direct from a top-notch manufacturer can be had for <£30 now. I just can't believe how fast the the price of flash is dropping.

[HGFB]

I use cheap slower 8gig SDHC cards in my camera. £14.99.

What I want is for these buggers to stop announcing things and actually put them where I can buy one from. Asus have pulled the 900 but so far haven't said when we can buy the 901.