|
I find this a useful little machine; however, I find it hard to log onto some wireless connections sometimes. I thought it would be a bit easier that it is.
I love this little machine. The screen size is dictated by two one inch wide speakers, one on each side of the screen. Also, the keyboard is pretty small--it's fine for kids and adults with smallish hands like me; if this is a concern try it out before you buy.The biggest plus of all is PRICE. It comes preloaded with OpenOffice software, a PDF reader, spreadsheet software, etc.--really everything you need for everyday use.It's very, very fast with plug in or wireless internet accessWeighing in at a shade over 2lbs. for portability and affordability. with battery, it fits in a small backpack, large purse, etc. I'm hardly a techie, so I'll leave it to others to comment on the very stable Linux operating system, but as an everyday user here's what I like:The screen is bright and easily read in sunlight, indoors, whateverThe 8G hard drive is tiny by today's standards but more than enough for everyday non-technical uses. I wouldn't be surprised if future models downsize the speakers.
The compact black neoprene case is more than enough protection, but the power charger and mouse are carried separately. I carried it around Europe for a couple of weeks no problem.The only negatives are a smallish screen that cuts off some windows so you have to scroll horizontally at times. I am happy to trade off super-duper game playing, loading up with a lot of music, etc. This probably wouldn't be someone's main computer, but as a very portable second machine with basic high quality capability, it's a winner.
The asus eeec laptop is the best investment I have made this year. The laptop is not cumbersome to carry around and it gets the job done. I have made skype calls on this machine without a problem. I give it the marty two thumbs up.
That's a big negative right there. Its claim to fame is that it is a real computer. I kept the Linux Operating System because I have been working with Linux for many years so I feel comfortable with it. The eee PC blows away any PDA I have worked with. It works great for browsing the internet, email, word-processing, as a document reader (PDFs, text files, etc), work with spreadsheets that don't require heavy number crunching, and other mobile office tasks.
I highly recommend this computer for anyone who is looking for something portable yet powerful enough to carry out standard computer tasks. If you're looking for something in the mobile category to author/encode music and video, compile lengthy source code, do intense number crunching, etc, this is not for you. The only way you'll get close to 3 hours is if you turn off wireless, which most people won't want to do under normal circumstances. I take the eee PC to meetings and conferences now instead of the laptop. You'll probably not get more than 2 hours on each battery charge. I have heard some people complain about the small size of the keyboard.
First of all, this "mini laptop" is not intended to be a high-end mobile system. This system is intended as a mobile general purpose computer for daily tasks for an average PC user. If you're more comfortable with Windows XP you will want to wipe out the Xandros install and install Windows XP. The battery that ships with the unit could have been much better, especially considering the size of the eee PC. This is the first thing I did when I received the unit. The Xandros Operating System it comes with is just as powerful as Windows XP (more powerful in my opinion). Alternatively, the eee PC works perfectly with Windows XP. You will need to disable the "easy-mode" and install a kernel that supports more than 1 GB of RAM.
The Celeron CPU inside this unit is not intended for such tasks to begin with. Ok, having stated the technicalities, I'll mention the only negative that I have found so far: battery life. I don't consider this a negative since you know what you're getting. I'm a systems engineer and I use it on a daily basis to do simple administrative tasks to send email, browse the internet, read ebooks and write documents. I purchased additional RAM, installed the RAM and a kernel to support it.
The good thing about the eee PC is that you have a choice of what Operating System you want to have since both Linux and Microsoft Windows XP are supported. In this category, it is an excellent device and well worth it. This is not its purpose at all. The eee PC is meant to be the bridge between a PDA and a laptop. As previously stated, this is not intended to be a computer for primary use. When I need more power than what the eee PC can offer, I still use it to connect to my workstations and servers. It is much easier to carry around and I don't need a big laptop case or bag. I originally had it like that but I wiped out the Windows XP install because I needed the storage space.
In this category the eee PC excels quite admirably. Not any more. If you aren't computer-savvy, there is plenty of documentation online on how to do that. You can even dual-boot the two if you really want to go crazy on it. I used to bring a laptop to all my conferences and meetings before I had the eee PC.
I have had my eee 4g surf for over a month and I like it very much. It connects to the internet superfast and i can take it anywhere. The keyboard is cramped, yes, but you get used to it. Its a mini laptop for basic tasks such as e-mail, messenger and surfing the internet.
|
