eee PC: A Proper Review
Jan. 21st, 2008 12:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrasteSo, a couple of people asked about my new PC, and since I brought it to work today I thought I'd take the time to write up a review *g*.
The eee PC, for anyone who's not already read the glowing press, is a notebook released by Asus. It's only seven inches or so wide and constructed primarily out of plastic, so it's small and light enough for me to put in my shoulder bag. At AUS $499, it's also shockingly cheap. I've got a white one, but they also come in black. I've had it less than two days, and already everywhere I go people exclaim over just how cute this thing is.
Part of the reason for the low price is that it runs not Windows, but Linux. Many consumers will see this as a draw back, but frankly the chance to avoid Windows Vista was part of what attracted me. (The only reason I continue to keep Windows on my main system is that I need it to run Premiere.) I suppose you could always install Windows on the eee PC, but I imagine this would make it run like treacle.
It's obviously not designed as a primary computer, although I imagine it could serve that purpose for those whose needs and budgets are modest. It's designed as a portable device allowing the user to connect to the internet, take notes and watch videos while away from home.
As far as I can tell after a bit more than twenty-four hours of use, it succeeds at what it sets out to do. The pre-installed version of Linux is colourful, user friendly and foolproof. I expected to have to configure and install for at least a few hours, but in practice the only thing I've done is change the colour scheme. I was also amazed to find that the battery was already charged, so it literally worked straight out of the box!
The desktop is divided into six tabs: Internet, Work, Learn, Play, Settings and Favourites. Internet is fairly self-explanatory, containing links to Firefox, network connections and other such things. It picks up my wireless network at home without issue, but alas, I was unable to connect while at work! Looks like I will have to find something else to do with it during those hours.
Speaking of Work, that's where you find Open Office, and also the File Manager. Learn has various educational tools, including the periodic table and a desktop planetarium. Play is where you access your photos, music and videos as well as the in-built webcam. (I'll have to get hold of a microphone before I can use that properly – maybe there's one installed and I just haven't figured out how to switch in on.) There are also some games – I can already feel Frozen Bubble becoming a horrible time sink, and I've only got as far as level seventeen. The video player, incidentally, has so far handled everything I've thrown at it without my needing to install a single codec. Colour me impressed. Rounding out the menus, Settings is self-explanatory and Favourites is where you put the parts of the other menus that you want to use the most often.
Are there any major drawbacks? Well, as with any portable computer, battery life could be an issue if you're on the tram or otherwise unable to plug it in. The documentation claims that it will run for between two and three hours, but I suspect that time would be reduced if you were to be watching movies or doing something else energy intensive.
The keyboard really is is tiny, and while I have nimble fingers and have had no trouble typing at my usual speed during the production of this document, I imagine that could be a problem for some. I found that the touchpad drove me nuts even while trying it out in the shop, so I also invested in the world's most adorable travel mouse.
Another potential drawback is the lack of CD/DVD drive. While this contributes to the light, compact construction of the machine it does mean that you need to put anything you want to get onto the computer onto a USB device or transfer it via the network from another computer. The 4GB hard drive is mostly filled by the pre-installed programs, so there's not a lot of space to play with. With 512MB of RAM, it's not designed for complex system demands - I couldn't recommend having more than a couple of programs open at a time.
If you want a computer that can function as a desktop replacement or are married to Windows, this is obvoiusly a terrible choice. If you want maximum portability for minimum price, it's well worth checking out.
For my purposes? The only way I could love it more is if it transformed into an evil robot.
The eee PC, for anyone who's not already read the glowing press, is a notebook released by Asus. It's only seven inches or so wide and constructed primarily out of plastic, so it's small and light enough for me to put in my shoulder bag. At AUS $499, it's also shockingly cheap. I've got a white one, but they also come in black. I've had it less than two days, and already everywhere I go people exclaim over just how cute this thing is.
Part of the reason for the low price is that it runs not Windows, but Linux. Many consumers will see this as a draw back, but frankly the chance to avoid Windows Vista was part of what attracted me. (The only reason I continue to keep Windows on my main system is that I need it to run Premiere.) I suppose you could always install Windows on the eee PC, but I imagine this would make it run like treacle.
It's obviously not designed as a primary computer, although I imagine it could serve that purpose for those whose needs and budgets are modest. It's designed as a portable device allowing the user to connect to the internet, take notes and watch videos while away from home.
As far as I can tell after a bit more than twenty-four hours of use, it succeeds at what it sets out to do. The pre-installed version of Linux is colourful, user friendly and foolproof. I expected to have to configure and install for at least a few hours, but in practice the only thing I've done is change the colour scheme. I was also amazed to find that the battery was already charged, so it literally worked straight out of the box!
The desktop is divided into six tabs: Internet, Work, Learn, Play, Settings and Favourites. Internet is fairly self-explanatory, containing links to Firefox, network connections and other such things. It picks up my wireless network at home without issue, but alas, I was unable to connect while at work! Looks like I will have to find something else to do with it during those hours.
Speaking of Work, that's where you find Open Office, and also the File Manager. Learn has various educational tools, including the periodic table and a desktop planetarium. Play is where you access your photos, music and videos as well as the in-built webcam. (I'll have to get hold of a microphone before I can use that properly – maybe there's one installed and I just haven't figured out how to switch in on.) There are also some games – I can already feel Frozen Bubble becoming a horrible time sink, and I've only got as far as level seventeen. The video player, incidentally, has so far handled everything I've thrown at it without my needing to install a single codec. Colour me impressed. Rounding out the menus, Settings is self-explanatory and Favourites is where you put the parts of the other menus that you want to use the most often.
Are there any major drawbacks? Well, as with any portable computer, battery life could be an issue if you're on the tram or otherwise unable to plug it in. The documentation claims that it will run for between two and three hours, but I suspect that time would be reduced if you were to be watching movies or doing something else energy intensive.
The keyboard really is is tiny, and while I have nimble fingers and have had no trouble typing at my usual speed during the production of this document, I imagine that could be a problem for some. I found that the touchpad drove me nuts even while trying it out in the shop, so I also invested in the world's most adorable travel mouse.
Another potential drawback is the lack of CD/DVD drive. While this contributes to the light, compact construction of the machine it does mean that you need to put anything you want to get onto the computer onto a USB device or transfer it via the network from another computer. The 4GB hard drive is mostly filled by the pre-installed programs, so there's not a lot of space to play with. With 512MB of RAM, it's not designed for complex system demands - I couldn't recommend having more than a couple of programs open at a time.
If you want a computer that can function as a desktop replacement or are married to Windows, this is obvoiusly a terrible choice. If you want maximum portability for minimum price, it's well worth checking out.
For my purposes? The only way I could love it more is if it transformed into an evil robot.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-23 10:23 am (UTC)Hmmm. Looking at the specs, I'd say the eee is a little smaller, but I'm finding it remarkably easy to type on. Except I haven't got used to where the shift key is yet and keep hitting Page Up instead *g*.
Thank you SO much for the update!!!!
My pleasure - I hope it will help people make up their minds.