Just got two for the office (a lefty foundation) and everyone seems to find them excitingly small. I'm going to take one home and see how wonderful I can get it to be, and also whether OpenOffice really runs in a manageable way. Hope this is a sign of things to come!
carl
· 2 years ago
I'm surprised you didn't mention power consumption of this little fella. From another website (hothardware), they tested this thing to run at 18W under load, and 15W at idle. That's pretty good, compared to ~60W for a regular laptop and ~200W or more for a desktop.
Gerald Shields
· 2 years ago
You want a green laptop (1) Get a solid state hard drive (2) Replace the LCD screen with an LED one. This laptop is basically a underpowered piece of garbage designed to do web surfing, email MS Office-related stuff and not much else.
Gerald Shields
· 2 years ago
However, I would give this a my kid (If I had one). But he would then look at me with the "Is this all you're going to give me?" look.
Colin
· 2 years ago
Tree hugger could use a redesign despite screen size. I'd say 9 times out of 10 at least 1 of the sidebars or banners doesn't load. Plus iframes are so 90's.
quikboy
· 2 years ago
But would anyone 'want' this?
With a real top-of-the-line Windows PC, you can use a real Office program, run real programs, have a ton of Windows-only extra, and not have to depend on rather crappy solutions.
Or with a Mac, you can also do the same as well.
So why bother getting this piece of junk?
Dave Cutler
· 2 years ago
Reasons you'd want this:
a) it's incredibly light and tiny
b) unlike most of your horrible Windows ultralights, it's $400
If you'd lilke to come by our office and replace some LCDs with LEDs for free (please bring the LEDs), we're open to it.
My actual kid seems to like it a lot.
Brian
· 2 years ago
Wow, a lot of judgement from those who probably haven't even used the device.
Why bother to make a comment if you haven't any idea what you're talking about? "Real office program"?
<p>OpenOffice.org is just as real as Microsoft Office, and I've been using it strictly for the last year and haven't looked back since. There is not one thing that I do, on a regular basis, that I need Office for specifically.
Firefox is just straight-up the best web browser solution for any laptop, Eee included.
All comments on the included software from anybody who was reviewing the laptop were all positive... but, we should expect the ignorant to hate everything that doesn't suit them specifically. If I don't need it, who does? amirite?
Rosie
· 2 years ago
My hubby and I are Mac users (love love all around) but it is SO expensive, so we only have the one laptop (we've abandoned desktop computers for life).
I want one of these because we like to travel a lot (live in Asia right now) and don't want to risk our Mac being lost or stolen on vacation just because we wanted to upload photos to the web or send e-mails to family.
We have the mac for all the heavy lifting, I want this for uber-portable light surfing or skyping family on the go (I'd get the one with the webcam). Since I walk and bike almost everywhere I don't have to worry about damaging it on bumpy roads or the weight of carrying it in my bag.
I'm waiting for Asus to make one with a bigger screen (which demand will force them to do I'm sure) and then I'll be happy. If this laptop gets stolen in Cambodia I'd be more upset about losing the photos than the laptop.
Thanks for the great review!
mungewell
· 2 years ago
If you're keen for an Ubuntu flavour, there is work underway to port Xubuntu (XFCE desktop) to the eeePro.
Give yourselft a few weeks on the keyboard, you'll be amazed how fast you can actually get.....
Munge.
PS. I hardly think that's underpowered, my main machine (laptop) is only 800MHz and does everything I need, but then again I'm trying to run some bloated commercial OS.
Dave
· 2 years ago
for 400 clams the Asus EEEPC and the OLPC are amazing machines. For those who wonder why someone would want them, I'll bet you aren't train or bus commuters, or walk very much. The ultraportability is all the difference. I lug around a 17" PowerBook somedays, and it is a hassle. I miss my old 12" PB sometimes - but not when I'm at my desk!
Emil Edwards
· 2 years ago
As soon as it was mentioned back in the summertime, I wanted one; it's a small, lightweight, portable internet computer. When it finally hit Canada, it was quite difficult to get, as all places that had received shipments were selling out the same day (some the same hour).
I loaded XP on it from a CD distribution called, "Tiny XP" seeing as their Linux distribution was very handicapped toward your child using it (a la OLPC). It runs fairly quickly, and handles all office applications with ease. Web browsing, from plain blog surfing, to YouTube watching, to MP3 streaming are equally effortless tasks for the eeePC.
I even loaded Streets and Trips 2008 with the GPS USB dongle on a 2GB SD card and it too runs well (albeit cramped on the 800x480 screren)
Additionally, for you skeptics out there, the screen is backlit by LEDs, Ubuntu works well on it, and most people don't need anything more powerful than a laptop that was built 5 years ago. I assume that the whiners are people who are consumerist drones, always pining for the next model, even though what they have is more than enough.
My parents, who surf the net way more than they use the computer for productivity expressed enthusiasm for this device as well.
Why did I want it?
As a person who has had to travel with a honking 17": powerhouse laptop, going to a coffee shop or WiFi hotspot just to browse the internet and grab e-mail, the 5Kg laptop was pure overkill. At 900g, this sub-laptop is excellent to keep handy in a satchel or bookbag without the need for an ergonomically designed overkill backpack that can handle a massive laptop plus power brick, and all the accessories.
Also, being a PDA user who has gone through 3 Dell Axim models, having a small portable computer that actually runs a real version of windows and a built in keyboard is quite refreshing. I still use the PDA as my main GPS device (Destinator just runs better than Streets and Trips, and was designed for the computer on which it runs), but all my mobile office work is performed on the eeePC.
At $400, it is also quite accessible to students who just need a computer to type on and stay connected. I know many people who bought overkill laptops just to only surf, IM and play MP3s on them.
Skype 3 works well with the integrated webcam, speakers and microphone. People I chat with remarked that the sound was crystal clear, as if I were using a headset.
Now, demand. Do you really need one if you already have that honking, overpowered (and generally overpriced) laptop? No; what you have is most likely more than you need, and switching to this only to discover that it doesn't run Crysis or edit your HD videos (although it did run 720p videos on VLC without issue) will only make you bitter.
But if you have a power hungry desktop computer (18W consumption vs. 300W) that you find yourself only browsing the internet, and also would enjoy having a mobile internet station with you on the go, then this may be the computer you are looking for. Kids? get the OLPC - it appears to be more kid rugged and friendly than this, although the eeePC is a solid designed computer.
(also the wow factor when people see you use it is mildly satisfying, although I've had to answer many "why?" questions, hence why I've typed up a storm here)
In the meantime, Treehugger's website's fixed width bugs the heck out of me on my 17" widescreen iMac. 1440 pixels accross, and I browse with my whole screen. What does that leave me with? 640 pixels width of wasted space, that's what! I wouldn't mind if the site insisted on making the text size go up as the width grows; at least then I'd be using all this space!
quikboy
· 2 years ago
I'd rather take a Sony Ultra-slim UX over a EEE OR a Mac.
odograph
· 2 years ago
wow, you were a little too quick off the mark with (at least) two of your criticisms!
First, there are multiple models: 2G Surf, 4G Surf, 4G, and in some countries an 8G. The "G" corresponds to the flash memory size, and the "Surf" models are without camera.
Second, the "wireless going away" is a common newbie error (I admit it got me). In your "Internet" tab use "Networks" to set up a permanent connection. The "Wireless Networks" icon seems more for temporary guest connections. I admit the naming could be better.
I have the $350 4G Surf model, and like you can touch type on it barely. I love it though as a low power pc (more on that below) and as a sign of things to come. It's a huge change when inexpensive diskless computers can do so much ... and they way tech goes, next year they'll do even more.
I did test my 4G Surf with a Kill-A-Watt monitor. With the adapter plug stationary I measured all draw from the computer for the first 239 hours of ownership and use ... 0.82 kWh. Not even a thin dime's worth of power.
That works out for me to about 52 kWh/yr or about $5
odograph
· 2 years ago
Oh, to address the "software" issue, it's relatively easy to add "repositories" and to enable full KDE desktop mode.
See the EEE user forum for that, and perhaps others of your issues.
(I haven't installed more software because basically I have other computers for bigger jobs. So far web and ebook reading have done me, and it can do that out of the box.)
Bruce
· 1 year ago
"This laptop is basically a underpowered piece of garbage designed to do web surfing, email MS Office-related stuff and not much else."
LOL! Dude, web browsing, email, and Office-related stuff are about 90% of the tasks most computer users do!
Tanzanite
· 1 year ago
I have one of these models and find it fairly user friendly although it is feeling increasingly out of date with the new batch of hi-tec stuff coming out this year. Very powerful though and I would recommend it.
In recent years, most of the reviews of portable solar power solutions typically say 'close but no cigar' The supposed solutions are either too pricey or else they don;t provide enough power.
When I was researching portable solar power, I kept thinking to myself "why don't we just make less power hungry gadgets?"
It seems that we already do. I hope people start going solar with netbooks more. It'ss like chocolate and peanut butter all over again :)
All Comments
Just got two for the office (a lefty foundation) and everyone seems to find them excitingly small. I'm going to take one home and see how wonderful I can get it to be, and also whether OpenOffice really runs in a manageable way. Hope this is a sign of things to come!
I'm surprised you didn't mention power consumption of this little fella. From another website (hothardware), they tested this thing to run at 18W under load, and 15W at idle. That's pretty good, compared to ~60W for a regular laptop and ~200W or more for a desktop.
You want a green laptop (1) Get a solid state hard drive (2) Replace the LCD screen with an LED one. This laptop is basically a underpowered piece of garbage designed to do web surfing, email MS Office-related stuff and not much else.
However, I would give this a my kid (If I had one). But he would then look at me with the "Is this all you're going to give me?" look.
Tree hugger could use a redesign despite screen size. I'd say 9 times out of 10 at least 1 of the sidebars or banners doesn't load. Plus iframes are so 90's.
But would anyone 'want' this?
With a real top-of-the-line Windows PC, you can use a real Office program, run real programs, have a ton of Windows-only extra, and not have to depend on rather crappy solutions.
Or with a Mac, you can also do the same as well.
So why bother getting this piece of junk?
Reasons you'd want this:
a) it's incredibly light and tiny
b) unlike most of your horrible Windows ultralights, it's $400
If you'd lilke to come by our office and replace some LCDs with LEDs for free (please bring the LEDs), we're open to it.
My actual kid seems to like it a lot.
Wow, a lot of judgement from those who probably haven't even used the device.
Why bother to make a comment if you haven't any idea what you're talking about? "Real office program"?
<p>OpenOffice.org is just as real as Microsoft Office, and I've been using it strictly for the last year and haven't looked back since. There is not one thing that I do, on a regular basis, that I need Office for specifically.
Firefox is just straight-up the best web browser solution for any laptop, Eee included.
All comments on the included software from anybody who was reviewing the laptop were all positive... but, we should expect the ignorant to hate everything that doesn't suit them specifically. If I don't need it, who does? amirite?
My hubby and I are Mac users (love love all around) but it is SO expensive, so we only have the one laptop (we've abandoned desktop computers for life).
I want one of these because we like to travel a lot (live in Asia right now) and don't want to risk our Mac being lost or stolen on vacation just because we wanted to upload photos to the web or send e-mails to family.
We have the mac for all the heavy lifting, I want this for uber-portable light surfing or skyping family on the go (I'd get the one with the webcam). Since I walk and bike almost everywhere I don't have to worry about damaging it on bumpy roads or the weight of carrying it in my bag.
I'm waiting for Asus to make one with a bigger screen (which demand will force them to do I'm sure) and then I'll be happy. If this laptop gets stolen in Cambodia I'd be more upset about losing the photos than the laptop.
Thanks for the great review!
If you're keen for an Ubuntu flavour, there is work underway to port Xubuntu (XFCE desktop) to the eeePro.
See:
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/ubuntu:eeexubuntu:home</p>
Give yourselft a few weeks on the keyboard, you'll be amazed how fast you can actually get.....
Munge.
PS. I hardly think that's underpowered, my main machine (laptop) is only 800MHz and does everything I need, but then again I'm trying to run some bloated commercial OS.
for 400 clams the Asus EEEPC and the OLPC are amazing machines. For those who wonder why someone would want them, I'll bet you aren't train or bus commuters, or walk very much. The ultraportability is all the difference. I lug around a 17" PowerBook somedays, and it is a hassle. I miss my old 12" PB sometimes - but not when I'm at my desk!
As soon as it was mentioned back in the summertime, I wanted one; it's a small, lightweight, portable internet computer. When it finally hit Canada, it was quite difficult to get, as all places that had received shipments were selling out the same day (some the same hour).
I loaded XP on it from a CD distribution called, "Tiny XP" seeing as their Linux distribution was very handicapped toward your child using it (a la OLPC). It runs fairly quickly, and handles all office applications with ease. Web browsing, from plain blog surfing, to YouTube watching, to MP3 streaming are equally effortless tasks for the eeePC.
I even loaded Streets and Trips 2008 with the GPS USB dongle on a 2GB SD card and it too runs well (albeit cramped on the 800x480 screren)
Additionally, for you skeptics out there, the screen is backlit by LEDs, Ubuntu works well on it, and most people don't need anything more powerful than a laptop that was built 5 years ago. I assume that the whiners are people who are consumerist drones, always pining for the next model, even though what they have is more than enough.
My parents, who surf the net way more than they use the computer for productivity expressed enthusiasm for this device as well.
Why did I want it?
As a person who has had to travel with a honking 17": powerhouse laptop, going to a coffee shop or WiFi hotspot just to browse the internet and grab e-mail, the 5Kg laptop was pure overkill. At 900g, this sub-laptop is excellent to keep handy in a satchel or bookbag without the need for an ergonomically designed overkill backpack that can handle a massive laptop plus power brick, and all the accessories.
Also, being a PDA user who has gone through 3 Dell Axim models, having a small portable computer that actually runs a real version of windows and a built in keyboard is quite refreshing. I still use the PDA as my main GPS device (Destinator just runs better than Streets and Trips, and was designed for the computer on which it runs), but all my mobile office work is performed on the eeePC.
At $400, it is also quite accessible to students who just need a computer to type on and stay connected. I know many people who bought overkill laptops just to only surf, IM and play MP3s on them.
Skype 3 works well with the integrated webcam, speakers and microphone. People I chat with remarked that the sound was crystal clear, as if I were using a headset.
Now, demand. Do you really need one if you already have that honking, overpowered (and generally overpriced) laptop? No; what you have is most likely more than you need, and switching to this only to discover that it doesn't run Crysis or edit your HD videos (although it did run 720p videos on VLC without issue) will only make you bitter.
But if you have a power hungry desktop computer (18W consumption vs. 300W) that you find yourself only browsing the internet, and also would enjoy having a mobile internet station with you on the go, then this may be the computer you are looking for. Kids? get the OLPC - it appears to be more kid rugged and friendly than this, although the eeePC is a solid designed computer.
(also the wow factor when people see you use it is mildly satisfying, although I've had to answer many "why?" questions, hence why I've typed up a storm here)
I think I'll wait for Apple:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/12/21/e...>
In the meantime, Treehugger's website's fixed width bugs the heck out of me on my 17" widescreen iMac. 1440 pixels accross, and I browse with my whole screen. What does that leave me with? 640 pixels width of wasted space, that's what! I wouldn't mind if the site insisted on making the text size go up as the width grows; at least then I'd be using all this space!
I'd rather take a Sony Ultra-slim UX over a EEE OR a Mac.
wow, you were a little too quick off the mark with (at least) two of your criticisms!
First, there are multiple models: 2G Surf, 4G Surf, 4G, and in some countries an 8G. The "G" corresponds to the flash memory size, and the "Surf" models are without camera.
Second, the "wireless going away" is a common newbie error (I admit it got me). In your "Internet" tab use "Networks" to set up a permanent connection. The "Wireless Networks" icon seems more for temporary guest connections. I admit the naming could be better.
I have the $350 4G Surf model, and like you can touch type on it barely. I love it though as a low power pc (more on that below) and as a sign of things to come. It's a huge change when inexpensive diskless computers can do so much ... and they way tech goes, next year they'll do even more.
I did test my 4G Surf with a Kill-A-Watt monitor. With the adapter plug stationary I measured all draw from the computer for the first 239 hours of ownership and use ... 0.82 kWh. Not even a thin dime's worth of power.
That works out for me to about 52 kWh/yr or about $5
Oh, to address the "software" issue, it's relatively easy to add "repositories" and to enable full KDE desktop mode.
See the EEE user forum for that, and perhaps others of your issues.
(I haven't installed more software because basically I have other computers for bigger jobs. So far web and ebook reading have done me, and it can do that out of the box.)
"This laptop is basically a underpowered piece of garbage designed to do web surfing, email MS Office-related stuff and not much else."
LOL! Dude, web browsing, email, and Office-related stuff are about 90% of the tasks most computer users do!
I have one of these models and find it fairly user friendly although it is feeling increasingly out of date with the new batch of hi-tec stuff coming out this year. Very powerful though and I would recommend it.
tanzanite
In recent years, most of the reviews of portable solar power solutions typically say 'close but no cigar' The supposed solutions are either too pricey or else they don;t provide enough power.
When I was researching portable solar power, I kept thinking to myself "why don't we just make less power hungry gadgets?"
It seems that we already do. I hope people start going solar with netbooks more. It'ss like chocolate and peanut butter all over again :)