[Dave]

Saw a client using one of these yesterday & have to say I was quite impressed with it :-
Buy the Asus EeePC 2GB Handheld PC online from PC World.

Anyone else own one ?

[Dabhand16]

Should appeal to Silkstone

[silkstone]

It does appeal to me but I have enough gadgets at the moment.

They're a lot cheaper at Laptops Direct.

Go for the 4GB version, not the 2GB.

My wife is into computers at Huddersfield University and they have bought quite a few of these. They are surprisingly good, although a slightly larger screen wouldn't go amiss for web browsing. The current ones run Xandros Linux. Asus are supposed to be bringing out a Windows version as well, and you can actually put XP on them now. However, this is not recommended because (of course!) Windows slows it down quite a lot. If you can live with Xandros, that's ideal for it.

Go for black rather than white - white gets grubby quickly.

My birthday is in six weeks.

[AQ]

With only a 2GB hard drive I am curious what software it had installed. Not Vista I assume

[Dabhand16]

Originally Posted by Anthraquinone

With only a 2GB hard drive I am curious what software it had installed. Not Vista I assume

Xandros Linux according to Silky. Ad just says Linux.

[silkstone]

Aye, that's right. It includes Firefox, Open Office and all the software you need to do routine stuff like e-mails and making tea. There's even a built-in webcam, and the keyboard is quite usable.

To give you some idea how bloated Windows is (and no, I'm not trying to start a war - this is just 'out of interest' ) backing up the system and all installed software on my (Ubuntu) Linux machine, including configuration files (but not data), takes up 1.5GB. I have a complete disk image (again, excluding data files) on a 2GB USB stick.

Xandros has less eye candy than Ubuntu Linux and needs even less space, so 2GB is OK but I'd go for the 4GB version.

[VikingPhotography]

They're talking about releasing a Windows XP version soon... it'll cost a bit more but, paired with a 4GB / 8GB drive, it would be an attractive proposition for press and sports photographers who need to wire shots in short order using PhotoMechanic or Breeze Browser etc.

[silkstone]

You can install XP on the current ones, but the downside is that it slows the machine down quite a bit.

[Dave]

Also has "wireless" built in

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Dave

Also has "wireless" built in

Will that enable me to listen to Radio 2

[Dave]

& I saw you more as a Radiio 4 "Archers" man

[Dabhand16]

Originally Posted by Dave

& I saw you more as a Radiio 4 "Archers" man

Isn't that on the Home Service?

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Dabhand16

Isn't that on the Home Service?

Is that a little like 'Home Help'

[Markulous]

Originally Posted by Steve

Is that a little like 'Home Help'

Knew you needed all the help you could get - great to see you acknowledging it - it's the first step to rehabilitation!

Must admit that I've been tempted by the Asus - can see how it'd be useful in all kind of 2ndary roles, and it's had pretty good writeups. Roll on more powerful processors and more flash memory

[Lew]

For everything you'd like to know.

EeeUser.com » Unofficial ASUS Eee PC EeePC 701 Blog Forum Wiki Community

I've been looking at them for months. An aquaintance has one also and they are very impressive. My new E510 has been devouring my pocket money or I'd have one by now even though I have enough computer stuff. Modifying them has become all the rage. Even OSX has been ran on them.

[silkstone]

Now typing this on an Asus EeePC and it's fine except the screen is a bit small and things go off the edge. The keyboard is surprisingly good.

[orangepeel]

try opera on it. It's particularly good at small screens.

[silkstone]

Cheers OP but this one isn't mine - just borrowed to try it. I'm guessing that they'll introduce one with a larger screen and more flash memory before long, and then I'll probably be tempted.

[orangepeel]

There's apparently an 8.9" screen version coming out in june.

Battery shortage means Asus EEE woes « MadMikeMageek’s Bog

[silkstone]

The extra 2" would make a big difference.