Little PC Heaven

[azkaisr]

I just got an ASUS EEPC 701 Laptop today so that I can work from the road on my blog and on my pictures. This little guy is amazing so far. The size and weight of a oversized paperbak novel or a little bigger then a DVD case makes it ultra portable. It has a 4GB Flash drive and a full sweet of software as well as the ability to use flash drives and external drives for me to store pictures on. Combined with my 80GB Wolverine hard drive and I am in heaven. Oh and it is under 2 pounds.

 

I will post a picture of it later next to my Dell D410 which is pretty small for a full size PC

 

Kaisr

[azkaisr]

Here is a picture of the little guy. I spent most of the evening surfing the net on this from the hammock in the back yard.

[Heck]

Ordered one....be here Monday. (Coulda been Friday but I wont be there so it doesnt need to be either.)

 

Will request operational pointers upon arrival.

Got the one without the webcam.

(saved 45 bux)

 

Tx for the tip.

[OverMyHead]

Excellent! I have one as well and love it. It rode in the tank bag at the BRR.

 

I'm currently running XP on it for MapSource, but have also used eeeXubuntu linux on it and it worked great even if I did have to run MapSource in a VM.

 

I've upped mine to 2GB ram and have no complaints at all.

 

David

[velomoto]

What OS did it come with: XP or Vista?

[Bob Palin]

What OS did it come with: XP or Vista?

Linux.

[steveknapp]

I thought there were versions with preloaded windows as well?

[OverMyHead]

They just started shipping some of them with XP Home. Previously they shipped with a ASUS customized version of Xandros Linux, but even those shipped with XP drivers on the CD. It is relatively simple to install XP on any of them. One limitation of the default Xandros kernel is that they complied it with a 1GB RAM limitation. Fortunately there is a patched kernel floating around if you want to stick with the Xandros install and use 2GB. XP and any other Linux distribution will see a full 2GB if it is installed.

 

It is entirely possible to install Vista on a 4G model, but it is a little more complex and I'm not sure what the point would be.

[Bob Palin]

I thought there were versions with preloaded windows as well?

Yup, I just answered the specific question because I chatted with Tom last night and he seems to be busy today. (And I can't mind my own business)

[velomoto]

It is entirely possible to install Vista on a 4G model... [snip] ...and I'm not sure what the point would be.

Yup! For me, Vista would not be a feature.

[velomoto]

... I just answered the specific question because I chatted with Tom last night and he seems to be busy today. (And I can't mind my own business)

Helpful is always appreciated. Thanks!

[eddd]

You'll love that small size for traveling. That's exactly why I bought my C400 you saw last week. With a Flash drive memory it should be very durable. I'd read alot about them on on-line mags, but couldn't find any regular user who had got their hands on one. I'll be interested in hearing about your experiences.

[Bob Palin]

It's so easy to use even Yoda can do it!

[Smoky]

I really want one of those.

 

Can I run Gamin on it? I have to be able to do routes and stuff for my Garmin GPS.

 

There seems to be conflicting opionons on the Garmin compatability.

[azkaisr]

not sure but dont see why not. Memory is the only issue I would think.

[OverMyHead]

If you either get one with Windows XP installed or put Windows XP on it yourself, Garmin MapSource works great. I've got it running on mine just fine. I've tried it with 512MB, 1GB RAM and 2GB RAM and it works great either way. MapSource isn't very memory hungry.

 

If you want to keep the Linux install, you can create a windows virtual machine on the SD card. MapSource running in a Windows VM on the eee PC is a little slower, but certainly usable.

 

It did take some time to get used to that tiny keyboard.

[azkaisr]

Yeah the keyboard is a challenge with my big paws but I just ordered a roll up keyboard for it which should help.

 

After two days playing with it, I am very happy I got the beast.

[Rob_Mayes]

Looks cool, but I need access to my office via a secure remote access and the ability to run my windows programs. I guess I will have to stick with a small laptop and an AIR CARD.

[Mike]

This looks pretty cool. I've been contemplating a small notebook for much this same purpose.

 

Here's my question: There are some relatively decent notebooks available in the $500 range. What do you see as the pluses and minuses of the ASUS, as opposed to one of the cheapie notebooks?

 

It seems like a really good answer to my travel needs, but I'm trying to wrap my brain around the concept--it's inexpensive, but you seem to lose a fair degree of functionality. Could you elaborate on why this is the right solution?

[BeniciaRT_GT]

I spent most of the evening surfing the net on this from the hammock in the back yard.

 

So how do the Raccoons like it then???

[kcscout]

I tried hammock surfing once ... my feet kept falling through the webbing.

[OverMyHead]

I've got a question. Because there's no optical drive, can I copy the MapSource CD to a external hard drive and install it onto the ASUS from there? Or, do I need to buy an external CD reader and install MapSource from the disk?

 

Yep. It works fine. I actually used a USB DVD Drive the first time around, but I just tried it with a USB Hard Disk and it works great. You can also use a SD card and the built-in SD card slot. MapSource City Navigator NT 2008 DVD only is about 1 GB.

 

David