Eee PC the Linux Trojan horse?

[nalleberg]

There is something here that doesn't seem right.
It looks by the discussion thread as everyone here think the EEE laptot is for their use (or not, but still thought on as if it should fit them).

Well it isn't. Anyone old enough bother to read a thread like this and then answer is really outside the target group for this PC.
To explain what I mean, let's look at the beginning of the Asus EEE adventure.
First the OLPC (named XO PC) was in the making. A lot of people wanted one for their kids (or themselves), but couldn't get one. The buy one - give one option was only available to US users, so the rest of the world couldn't even use that option. I actually tried, both to get to my two daughters and one for myself. Couldn't get one of cause.

Now, PC producing companies, like Asus noticed the fuzz and talking about people wanted one of these kid-PC's. They started making one. What they ended up with, is a kid-PC with a small screen and a tiny keyboard that would fit child hands perfectly.
As it happened, the EEE filled another void in the market. The need for an inexpensive sub notebook that would not bulge too much in the bag and that could do most normal tasks.

This being a kid PC doesn't mean that it wouldn't be useful for grownups too.
I sure as hell's gonna get one! it arrives to my Norwegian PC-dealer tomorrow, and I should have it 3 - 4 days later, depending on the post delivery time. I am also getting one for each of my two daughters (8 & 10 years old).

As an experiment, I've sold my 1,73M CPU, 15" wide screen, PC that have 80 GB HDD and 2 GB DDR2 RAM.
I will now manage only with the EEE.
It's been said a lot of places on the net, that one cannot manage with an EEE alone. Well I intent to try. I am writing an article series about it too: http://nalle.no/index.php?page=blog2008-07-04-10-15-47.
The first part is written and I expect to write part two as soon as the PCs arrive.

I will use the PC for programming web pages, meaning I will need the 900, as I have ordered - one couldn't program web with the 701 because of the resolution being less than 1024 pixels wide. I will use it for all the normal work as web browsing/word processing/office tool and as a network probe, by installing probing tools. I am an IT consultant. I do not write touch, so the keyboard won't be as cramped for me as it is for those who do.
The kids will use it to learn to handle a computer and to learn and play.

So, what am I trying to say?
The EEE PC is intended for kids, first and foremost, so complaining that it doesn't fit your grown up needs (or hands) becomes a bit wrong.

I think that the small footprint, the solid state disk, the preinstalled OS/app -combo and the reasonable price outweighs the fact that the keyboard is designed for kids, but it's still a learning PC for kids, really!

Nalle Berg
./nalle.

[ehh]

I guess in the current economic situation the Eee PC's will help out people who can't afford a powerful PC or notebook.

At least you have the option of the Linux or XP platform and the 10" screen has taken care of the small screen/keyboard.

[EvilPixieMan]

@Richmod, if you're looking at a laptop and want something to fulfil a laptop need, then no, an EEE is not for you. Its also not just about boot time. Just because it doesn't meet your (laptop) needs, doesn't necessarily make it a fashion accessory, or for "posing" either.

@nalleberg, they're alos not just for kids, though I can see your point about people expecting something it isn't.


I am old enough to bother to read a thread like this (and answer) and I am not outside the target group for this PC. I am well past 30, have been in tech for a long time, and have desktops and laptops for work and home. I am not into labels, image or "posing" (I don't own a watch or an mp3 player, or even a pair of sungalsses worth more than $10) but I have an EEE and think its great. I NEVER use it when I need a laptop, and vice versa. It fulfils a different niche in my needs that is not laptop, but neither PDA nor smartphone either. As mdsmedia said of his mother - using it to copy photos while travelling, or as I do, taking it camping to get surf or weather reports, or use it for mobile mapping with a GPS, or carrying a snapshot of my full music collection to play when I'm away. Sure, an iPod makes a better music player, and a GPS makes a better GPS, and a laptop makes a better laptop, but none of them is as versatile, portable and convenient in the one little unit. I have never had any desire to carry a laptop when I'm backpacking in faraway countries, or camping, or lying on the couch at home. The point with the EEE is that it is not a laptop. It is small and light, it is rugged and easily carried, and it is cheap so you don't get all precious about taking it somewhere it might get damaged. It is precisely because it has a small screen, keyboard and SSD that this is possible. I think the arrival of XP on the scene has corrupted the intent of the EEE, and given people false expectations of what it is, and can do. As soon as you whack a HDD in there and shovel XP onto it you ruin it. It becomes just a small, pokey, underpowered laptop with a fragile HDD and a UI with text too small to read and buttons too small to click.

[richermartyn]

That doesn't take away from your correct assertion that the beauty of it is that it's more of an appliance than a PC.if you like, a beefed up PDA the OS being transparent, and the immediate availability of the OS once switched on.