The Netbook Thread

The Joy of Tech - Anything and everything about all things shiny..
Post Reply
Dave
Baaaaaaa!
Baaaaaaa!
Posts: 8035
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2002 6:35 pm 0

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by Dave »

Posting from my just-arrived eee 901 right now. :)

The base Linux install Asus put on this thing is actually quite good. Shockingly good. It's perfect for a novice PC user who does very basic things (Internet, Email, Word processing without needing the niceties of Office).

I almost don't want to wipe it and throw Ubuntu or Gentoo on it. :)
User avatar
JQW
Baaaaa!
Baaaaa!
Posts: 1186
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 12:23 pm 0
Location: Ripon, where nothing ever happens.

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by JQW »

According to a leaflet I saw earlier today, Sainsbury's are now doing Medion branded jobbies for just under £300. The spec is pretty decent, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive, XP and Wordperfect Office pre-installed. I'm not sure if my local branch is large enough to stock them, but I'll have a look tomorrow.
User avatar
dom
Baaaaa!
Baaaaa!
Posts: 1370
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:17 pm 0
Location: Edinburgh, UK and level 691859
Contact:

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by dom »

My Linux 901 has finally shipped :D

Roll-on Monday.

Dom
OMG (or oligodendrocyte myelin glycoprotein) is a molecule found in your central nervous system.
User avatar
dom
Baaaaa!
Baaaaa!
Posts: 1370
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:17 pm 0
Location: Edinburgh, UK and level 691859
Contact:

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by dom »

dom wrote:My Linux 901 has finally shipped :D

Roll-on Monday.

Dom
...and it's got stuck pixels :cry:
OMG (or oligodendrocyte myelin glycoprotein) is a molecule found in your central nervous system.
User avatar
Dio
Sheepie Whore
Sheepie Whore
Posts: 18887
Joined: Mon May 31, 2004 1:08 pm 0
Location: Newcastle UK

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by Dio »

Distance selling regs - have it straight back to 'em.
User avatar
dom
Baaaaa!
Baaaaa!
Posts: 1370
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:17 pm 0
Location: Edinburgh, UK and level 691859
Contact:

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by dom »

Dio wrote:Distance selling regs - have it straight back to 'em.
Ah yes, I guess the rules are different inside of 28 days after receipt.

I tried using the diagnostic tool to send e-mail, but the address it uses doesn't exist (!)

I await a response from my reseller.

ta

Dom
OMG (or oligodendrocyte myelin glycoprotein) is a molecule found in your central nervous system.
User avatar
Darth Bungle
Baaa!
Baaa!
Posts: 437
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2003 1:17 pm 0
Location: Chicago

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by Darth Bungle »

Posting from my nice shiny white 901. Finally shipped from Amazon, waited for the linux version, but they have gone and sent the xp one...

It is rather lush though so I think I will be keeping it now I have my mits on it.
User avatar
dom
Baaaaa!
Baaaaa!
Posts: 1370
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:17 pm 0
Location: Edinburgh, UK and level 691859
Contact:

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by dom »

superetrader wrote:How many pixels are there? There will need to be around 5 to clas the unit
as faulty
I wonder what part of "My brand new Eee 901 has an area of broken pixels (about a 4x4 square)" was unclear ;-)
OMG (or oligodendrocyte myelin glycoprotein) is a molecule found in your central nervous system.
User avatar
piku
Sheepie Whore
Sheepie Whore
Posts: 20960
Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2002 10:44 am 0
Website: Http://Www.ncot.uk
Location: Wakefield
Contact:

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by piku »

OK, I',m sold... I want one. I'm surfing from some open wifi point in Chamonix using my dad's Eee, and it's nice. My N810 has trouble staying connected to the same wifi point, claiming no signal.

Need moar moneys now.
return (0);
User avatar
dom
Baaaaa!
Baaaaa!
Posts: 1370
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:17 pm 0
Location: Edinburgh, UK and level 691859
Contact:

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by dom »

piku wrote:OK, I',m sold... I want one. I'm surfing from some open wifi point in Chamonix using my dad's Eee, and it's nice. My N810 has trouble staying connected to the same wifi point, claiming no signal.

Need moar moneys now.
I was able to see more wifi access points from my Xandros-based 901 than there are people with broadband in my block of flats, so I'd say the radio is pretty darn good :D
OMG (or oligodendrocyte myelin glycoprotein) is a molecule found in your central nervous system.
User avatar
Ely
Baaaaaaa!
Baaaaaaa!
Posts: 7404
Joined: Tue May 28, 2002 6:32 pm 0
Yahoo Messenger: ely_uw2000
Location: The other place....
Contact:

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by Ely »

Oddly I took mine to my parents house on Sunday and could not see a single Wireless network. I just can't believe no one about the area they live doesn't have one. At home I can see about 5! Of course you can't see ours because it's hidden, so maybe that's the case.
User avatar
Firefox
Sheepie Whore
Sheepie Whore
Posts: 11412
Joined: Fri Apr 26, 2002 6:15 pm 0
Location: Sheffield

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by Firefox »

This one looks very good:
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4526797348.html

It's Loongson-2F (64-bit MIPSalike) powered, so it has long battery life and should be pretty quick. Nice big 10" 1024x600 screen. I like the concept of the thumb drive dock under the touch pad, too.

Two points of epic fail:
1. Fn key in the corner instead of Ctrl.
2. Comes with a portal application called Gayaplex. *claps hand over eyes*

:)
"I am a very considerate person. If I want to go out all night on my miniature golf course and shoot lizards, well, no reason to keep the neighbours awake..."
User avatar
Kemper_Boyd
Sheepie Whore
Sheepie Whore
Posts: 11967
Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2002 9:15 pm 0

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by Kemper_Boyd »

PC World have the Acer Aspire One (8GB Linux) for £199 according to their
website. Product code: 705895
User avatar
Kemper_Boyd
Sheepie Whore
Sheepie Whore
Posts: 11967
Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2002 9:15 pm 0

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by Kemper_Boyd »

I've seen the Aspire One now. Very dinky and looks quite a bit nicer
than the Eee in my opinion. It booted very quickly. The screen is good,
but the trackpad is awful, small size and mad acceleration made controlling
the pointer very awkward. I hope that it's better with the acceleration
turned off.

It's amazing how quickly the Eee 701 has been improved upon. The 900,
901, Wind, and this Acer netbook are all better in their own way. I'd like
to see the Lenovo S10 I think that might be the best overall in terms of
size, build and features.

Anyway some links.

Price cuts already? I wonder if the UK will see them below £199,
or maybe the six cell battery model for £199.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/22/acer ... s-price-o/

Pics of the Inspiron 910.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/22/dell ... -the-wild/
User avatar
xav
Baaaaaa!
Baaaaaa!
Posts: 2455
Joined: Thu Jun 06, 2002 5:32 pm 0
Location: Bucks, UK
Contact:

Re: what? no asus eee pc thread here?

Post by xav »

Kemper_Boyd wrote:I've seen the Aspire One now. Very dinky and looks quite a bit nicer
than the Eee in my opinion. It booted very quickly. The screen is good,
but the trackpad is awful, small size and mad acceleration made controlling
the pointer very awkward. I hope that it's better with the acceleration
turned off.
I didn't find the size of the trackpad to be a problem myself, but I really dislike the location of the buttons - left and right of the trackpad rather than below it. The left button isn't too much of an issue as a single tap on the trackpad does the job - but it doesn't recognise tapping with two fingers as a right-click so you really do have to use the awkwardly positioned (and overly stiff) right button.

You can enable a full application menu in Linpus, rather than just the quick-launch app. Unfortunately there's no easy option to add that menu in the traditional bottom-left corner, Start Menu style. Instead it appears when you right-click on the desktop. This is a two-fold problem: it means that you have to use that crappy right button a lot, and it doesn't help if you're already running an application full-screen. Right clicking on the desktop might be okay on a full desktop machine, but with a small screen like this, it's a pain.

And I hate to think what contortions you would need to go through to fake a middle-click using both buttons at once. A fake-middle-click-and-drag could easily land you in hospital with dislocated fingers!


So yes, definitely a crappy trackpad. But otherwise it's a nice machine - especially at its new lower price. None of the machines that have been released (or announced) so far are perfect, but it's definitely one of the better contenders for the crown.
Co-creator of The Greys, Monsters, Inked & Elvie webcomics
• Web Site • Twitter • Patreon •
Post Reply