kferr - there are odd pockets of stock around over here. Currys Digital in Edinburgh had 14 black 4G models in stock this weekend (they only had the white 2G models).
I’m finding the keyboard size a struggle at the moment, and I’m not a fan of the package manager method of installing programs, but I’m very impressed at how “ready to go” it was out of the box - no problems with wireless or ethernet connections, very quick loading time (if you use the default ASUS Launcher “easy mode”; loading a full desktop takes about twice as long, but is still faster than my XP laptop).
The one thing I’d like to get working and have had no luck with is GmailFS. There are Linux instructions but I’m buggered if I can get it to work.
Takes me about six seconds to load the OpenOffice text editor on my desktop system with nothing else running except this here IE window. (Athlon 2600+, 1GB RAM, WinXP SP2)
That’s my biggest concern – she has quite a huge library, but doesn’t really use the 'puter for much otherwise, she’s not into the high-end games that I am, and she fell in lov with the EEE PC when we were looking at it a while back.
I just noticed that Asus has released the Eee PC with Windows XP installed. I wonder how it runs as compared to the Linux OS.
For another $50 you could get an external 80G USB hard drive . Adding the extras you need is still considerably cheaper than a standard laptop with more than she needs.
Now, that’s a great idea! I will definitely look into it, if she hasn’t convinced her (exceedingly wealthy) paternal granfather to buy her a laptop for her bday.
Month One was amazing. I was thinking last night about how I’ve not had any regrets, which is kind of impressive for me. I’m the type of person to over-think things which results in a lot of I-should-have-done-thats. One of the things I had a lot of issues with on my Dell was running a photo processing program at the same time as any other program. I was using some simple thing that came on the computer to resize photos and occasionally do batch renames. I’m assuming, since it came preloaded, it fit into the system’s minimum requirements. I can run GIMP, Picasa, file manager, and Firefox all at the same time on the EEE without it crashing. Life is good.
As a side story, I visited my sister a couple of weeks ago. As soon as she saw the EEE she said, “Where did you get that? Can we go to Best Buy right now? I want one.” (She didnt pause to hear responses, she just spouted that out all at once.) She’s been needing a new laptop for a while and didn’t need anything too complex. I told her about it, explained that Best Buy doesn’t stock them in their stores, but we could go anyways if she really wanted to, and she got online and bought her own. She got the same model as mine, also in pink. Shortly after she got hers, we went to the craft store and purchased self adhesive rhinestones to decorate them with. Mine now has a small silver heart and hers has a pink one.
Mine finally arrived this week, it’s great! I also went out and got a 3G modem from T-Mobile so I can get near-broadband speeds when there isn’t a wi-fi connection available.
Fuck the right shift key! I never use the PgUp key anyhow. Strangely enough, I’ve got my eeePC after my Inspiron 5100 fried.
Have you used the installed FBReader for eBooks? I’m appalled that it doesn’t seem to support text files properly. I notice there is an upgrade, but people report that it corrupts the easy graphical task interface. I’m not comfortable with linux, so I fear the upgrade process.
I’m anal-retentive about surfing the web and only use the up and down arrows for scrolling, so I’ve refrained from reprogramming the keyboard. I’m used to the shift key now though, so it ended up being a non-issue in the end.
FBReader came preinstalled on my Eee. I have to use ctrl-alt-t command and then type FBReader to get to it; there isn’t a present icon on easy mode. I’m not a big e-book reader, so I haven’t noticed its lack of support for text files. That’s odd though.
I just went to REI and bought all manner of packing supplies for carrying the thing on business. It fits fine in many of my shoulderbags, and the 8GB came with a sleeve, but I spent a happy hour agonizing over the various good choices for something sturdier. I decided on an Eagle Creek 1/4 packing cube for my peripherals when I want to keep them packed up in an easy-to-fish-out container, and a medium Protech padded cube for the computer itself. The eee fits snugly into the cube and the moveable dividers can then be used over the top of the case to secure it, with mouse, charger, USB stick, and lock and cable tucked on top for all-in-one packing. Or my moleskine notebook fits on top. The Eagle Creek computer sleeves are good, too, but not quite what I need right now. The x-small fits the eee and a few peripherals; the small fits the eee, peripherals, and has room for a phone or iPod, etc.
I told the guy at REI that I was buying the cube for my computer and he looked skeptical. I pulled it out of my purse to show him, and until I booted it, I’m pretty sure he thought I was a crazy lady with a DVD player.
