Asus 3epc, Have you seen it? Options

[ZDevil]

I have added a Transcend 8GB Class 6 SDHC (cheap, just around 45 USD only) as an additional (permanent) diskspace to store various frequently written files (such the stuff in /tmp and /var), the whole user home directory, firefox profiles and caches, and everything in /usr/games and /usr/lib/games (where most game packages are installed in *buntu, including the giant game data files).
Here are the pointers again for those who are interested:
Installation method (including making a live USB/CD!): http://wiki.eeeuser.com/ubuntu:eeexubuntu:home
Installing all alternative distros:
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/#installing_altern...erating_systems
Discussion: http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewforum.php?id=15 , or more specifically http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=5005 for eeexubuntu.

[ZDevil]

I have just set up Compiz and it just works so BEAUTIFULLY!

Even though I am also a Mac user, I've never imagined that this kind of fancy effect can happen to Linux, and now on the EeePC!!

My 701 Black only has 512MB RAM but Compiz just works without any noticeable performance lag or resource (CPU, RAM) drain. Amazing ...

Instructions:
http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?pid=59943#p59943
http://forlong.blogage.de/article/2007/8/2...p-Compiz-Fusion

Will shoot a short video when free.

[speculatrix]

I have just set up Compiz and it just works so BEAUTIFULLY!

Maybe because it's easy to do fancy visual effects on a low resolution screen?

I tried compiz/fusion on my sony tx2, spent 5 minutes thinking "wow" and then got sick of it and turned it all off. then again, when I occasionally use win XP and vista, I switched off all the bling (my computer->properties->advanced->optimise performance) and use the "windows classic" theme.

[ZDevil]

Well, as a mac user, I just feel more at home with the Compiz interface.

After a couple of weeks of trial, my 701 black has arisen to be my choice machine on the road, leaving the Z "in the pocket".
Came across an interesting review noting the resemblance of Eee PC and Psion Seris 5/ netBook: http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/re...ee-PC-4G-701/p1

[jpmatrix]

if you wait some (!), you'll have compiz on the zaurus just kidding

actually, that eee is terrible for me........i bought the zaurus to be the perfect companion for a 3G-smartphone then comes the eee which would be a better terrible match.........but i just don't want to sell my Z back....... terrrrrrrible.......

[ZDevil]

What's even more "terrible" is somebody shows how to install a touchscreen panel and HSPDA module to this scandalous device:

HSPDA panel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1K8woV4C4M

Touchscreen panel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8-BbOWVgXg

[Snappy]

Well, as a mac user, I just feel more at home with the Compiz interface.

After a couple of weeks of trial, my 701 black has arisen to be my choice machine on the road, leaving the Z "in the pocket".
Came across an interesting review noting the resemblance of Eee PC and Psion Seris 5/ netBook: http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/re...ee-PC-4G-701/p1

Sadly, it was only a cursory remark without much of a comparison ...

But yes, the resemblance is uncanny! ... The main difference, and a good one at that, is that the eeepc is cheap while the netbook is not!

Not to mention that eeepc runs linux, has wifi, bluetooth, sd-slots and USB ... oh and VGA out built-in!

[ZDevil]

See how Otto Berkes, aka the father of UMPC, thinks of the Eee PC in his weblog:

http://ottoberkes.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/sweet-spot/

In retrospect, it's interesting to witness the big leap from R2H to Eee PC in every respect (specs, cool factor, OS, PRICE).

[Snappy]

Yeah, price is one of the *BIG* factor here. Had the zaurus been sold at say $199 instead of the high MSRP ... maybe it may had been crowned the gadget king and not be written off as a great device that got EOLed.

I'm certainly glad that Asus got their pricing right! It may not be the dream UMPC incarnation for some (I know it is for many ... last I check, a million and counting! ), but it definitely delivered on many promises that a UMPC is supposed to be. It is not instanton (yet), but its suspend and quick boot up time is good enough for me. Its 3.5hrs of real usage is less than an ideal of 5~7 hr usage for a UMPC, but a 6cell batt from Asus should draw us into the 4~5 hour range for now.

Hopefully the next gen eeepc work on 1) Batt life 2) 2 SD slot and 3) 8~9" lcd with thinner bezel.

[ZDevil]

Yes, personally the battery duration of the eee pc is still wanting even though it lasts for 3~3.5 hours and is longer than most UMPCs in the market, with the exception to Everun, which can last for around 6 hours!
But the design of Everun is really an acquired style, particularly the weird thumbboard. I once held it in a shop, and I simply don't know how people can hold it vertically and thumbtype with two hands. The keyboard region is too cramped and small and the screen standing upright feels so heavy that the machine tends to fall over if I don't grap it firm enough. Laying it down and typing just with the right hand is totally beyond my capacity. The key layout is strange, such as the super tiny [SPACE] button (it just can't be seen as a proper key).

[ZDevil]

Perhaps what sets this bloody cheap & tiny eee pc apart from other laptops and UMPCs (and perhaps the Z as well) is that:

-- it enjoys the luxury of extreme tortures by physical and elemental attacks: http://www.dailymotion.com/search/eee/vide...aleur-froi_tech

-- it is privileged to get ripped apart for all sorts of crazy implantations:
http://beta.ivancover.com/wiki/index.php/E...ternal_Upgrades

[jpmatrix]

Perhaps what sets this bloody cheap & tiny eee pc apart from other laptops and UMPCs (and perhaps the Z as well) is that:

-- it enjoys the luxury of extreme tortures by physical and elemental attacks: http://www.dailymotion.com/search/eee/vide...aleur-froi_tech

-- it is privileged to get ripped apart for all sorts of crazy implantations:
http://beta.ivancover.com/wiki/index.php/E...ternal_Upgrades

+1 for the eee ...
i think i'll go to a famous french computer shop in Paris tonight....... just to see it.....

[Snappy]

Aye ... I really laughed when I saw the video via eeeuser.com! ... Makes me wonder how much cold sweat the owner had while doing the vid!

Just some thoughts about the eeepc after a few weeks of usage and twinkering:

Take a look at the wiki here http://wiki.eeeuser.com/ and tell me it is not the least daunting for an end-user. ...

I'm not complaining abt the eeepc (ok, I am a bit! ), but I'm hoping that the next version would have a shorter list => that by default, the system should do what most people want it to do already. eg, if the user upgrades the ram to 2gb, he should not need to build his own kernel or download and install a new kernel. I mean, this is 2008, not 1986 or something right? Call it bloatware, but in my usage of PCs since mid 80s, upgrades of ram either worked or not mainly because the mobo supported it or not. The OS almost always supports it by default. ok, DOS was the only time that one had to do silly things like EMM386, know XMS from EMS, and use stuffs like DOS4G http://www.tenberry.com/dos4g/index.html just so that the extra 4mb ram can be used instead of limiting the app to the lower 640kb.

1gb ram kernel ceiling in 2008? Ahem.

Sporadic support for hardware. To eeepc and more correctly linux credit, support is *way* better. But I really wonder how many of the wiki tips are something only for hackers or something that a normal avg user would have to go through. hmmm ...

Anyway, had more ranting ... but after doing some google search for the DOS/4G name, I kinda recall how 'fun' and 'exciting' owning a pc was back in the 80s to mid 90s, when the next hardware upgrade you get may just break your pc and require hours and nights to set dip switches and hunt for drivers to download. So in retrospect (compared to DOS (or linux) machines from 80s/90s era, the eeepc is really as good as it gets.

ok, let me tuck into some more eeepc love!

[speculatrix]

when the asus fff comes out - the eee's successor (I'm making up the name) then I might be interested in one for my daughter. A bit more memory, a modestly larger screen higher res, and I think it'd be great... once I install a decent OS (suse :-)

[jpmatrix]

when the asus fff comes out - the eee's successor (I'm making up the name) then I might be interested in one for my daughter. A bit more memory, a modestly larger screen higher res, and I think it'd be great... once I install a decent OS (suse :-)

by the way, i saw an eee in a shop which was either with a 2Go RAM or a 16Go SDHC.... do you think the eee needs 2GO RAM ?