[Cialug] eee PC

[Matthew Nuzum]

On Feb 1, 2008 10:38 AM, James Shoemaker <james at dhlake.com> wrote:

> Brandon Griffis wrote:
> > I have a friend on another Linux list that won't shut up about them.
>  But
> > honestly I don't get it.  If it were really an inexpensive option, then
> yes
> > it'd be rather interesting.  But you can get a "real" laptop for <$400
> these
> > days.  If they were really the initially advertised $200 then it'd be
> > interesting, but as most are pushing $400 or more I really don't see the
> > point.
>
>   Where's the $400 laptop with 3.5 hr battery life, or even 2.5 hr
> battery life?  That weighs what the eee does.  And is as small as the
> eee is.
>   It's the battery life and size that attract me to the eee, not just
> the price.
>
> > I do think there's a market for something like this if they can put a
> decent
> > size screen on it and give at least 4GB for the OS and still keep it
> around
> > $200.  But so far nothing I've seen comes close.
>
>   What's a decent sized screen?  One of the big advantages of the eee,
> it's small size, if you make the screen much larger it would have to
> make the whole thing bigger.
>

I got to play with one a little in November. It was in some Asian language
so I couldn't get the full effect, but really, the screen was pretty nice.
The size of the screen and keyboard felt good. It was obvious you were using
a tiny notebook but it should get the work done.

I think the price holds it back. At $199 - 249 they'd sell like hotcakes.

Of course, the real question is, what can you do with these that makes them
valuable? For me, I don't write that many documents or spreadsheets on the
go. If I wanted something to check my e-mail I'd use a blackberry or
similar. If I wanted to surf the web then I'd hold out for one of the
devices coming on the heals of the iphone that have a cellular data
connection and also work like a phone or a device like the Nokia N series
that uses wifi but still fits in a pocket. If I want to play games, do
graphics work or write code I really need a bigger machine (screen and horse
power). If anything, this device is too big.

I will say that if you're looking for a linux based mobile computer that can
fit in your pocket, you don't have to wait long. There are a ton being
engineered now. Soon, maybe this year, there will be far more Linux
"devices" (computers, MIDs, phones, etc) than Windows devices.

-- 
Matthew Nuzum
newz2000 on freenode
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