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I thought it would be a bit easier that it is. I find this a useful little machine; however, I find it hard to log onto some wireless connections sometimes.
I am happy to trade off super-duper game playing, loading up with a lot of music, etc. with battery, it fits in a small backpack, large purse, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if future models downsize the speakers. I carried it around Europe for a couple of weeks no problem.The only negatives are a smallish screen that cuts off some windows so you have to scroll horizontally at times.
I love this little machine. for portability and affordability. Also, the keyboard is pretty small--it's fine for kids and adults with smallish hands like me; if this is a concern try it out before you buy.The biggest plus of all is PRICE. I'm hardly a techie, so I'll leave it to others to comment on the very stable Linux operating system, but as an everyday user here's what I like:The screen is bright and easily read in sunlight, indoors, whateverThe 8G hard drive is tiny by today's standards but more than enough for everyday non-technical uses.
The screen size is dictated by two one inch wide speakers, one on each side of the screen. This probably wouldn't be someone's main computer, but as a very portable second machine with basic high quality capability, it's a winner. It comes preloaded with OpenOffice software, a PDF reader, spreadsheet software, etc.--really everything you need for everyday use.It's very, very fast with plug in or wireless internet accessWeighing in at a shade over 2lbs. The compact black neoprene case is more than enough protection, but the power charger and mouse are carried separately.
I give it the marty two thumbs up. I have made skype calls on this machine without a problem. The asus eeec laptop is the best investment I have made this year. The laptop is not cumbersome to carry around and it gets the job done.
I used to bring a laptop to all my conferences and meetings before I had the eee PC. The Celeron CPU inside this unit is not intended for such tasks to begin with. This is the first thing I did when I received the unit. Ok, having stated the technicalities, I'll mention the only negative that I have found so far: battery life. I purchased additional RAM, installed the RAM and a kernel to support it.
This is not its purpose at all. You will need to disable the "easy-mode" and install a kernel that supports more than 1 GB of RAM. Its claim to fame is that it is a real computer. The battery that ships with the unit could have been much better, especially considering the size of the eee PC. The Xandros Operating System it comes with is just as powerful as Windows XP (more powerful in my opinion). I originally had it like that but I wiped out the Windows XP install because I needed the storage space.
I have heard some people complain about the small size of the keyboard. I take the eee PC to meetings and conferences now instead of the laptop. Alternatively, the eee PC works perfectly with Windows XP. The only way you'll get close to 3 hours is if you turn off wireless, which most people won't want to do under normal circumstances. I highly recommend this computer for anyone who is looking for something portable yet powerful enough to carry out standard computer tasks. First of all, this "mini laptop" is not intended to be a high-end mobile system. The eee PC is meant to be the bridge between a PDA and a laptop. In this category the eee PC excels quite admirably.
The eee PC blows away any PDA I have worked with. You'll probably not get more than 2 hours on each battery charge. I kept the Linux Operating System because I have been working with Linux for many years so I feel comfortable with it. If you're looking for something in the mobile category to author/encode music and video, compile lengthy source code, do intense number crunching, etc, this is not for you.
I'm a systems engineer and I use it on a daily basis to do simple administrative tasks to send email, browse the internet, read ebooks and write documents. In this category, it is an excellent device and well worth it. As previously stated, this is not intended to be a computer for primary use. That's a big negative right there. It is much easier to carry around and I don't need a big laptop case or bag.
You can even dual-boot the two if you really want to go crazy on it.
Not any more.
If you aren't computer-savvy, there is plenty of documentation online on how to do that.
When I need more power than what the eee PC can offer, I still use it to connect to my workstations and servers.
This system is intended as a mobile general purpose computer for daily tasks for an average PC user.
I don't consider this a negative since you know what you're getting.
The good thing about the eee PC is that you have a choice of what Operating System you want to have since both Linux and Microsoft Windows XP are supported.
It works great for browsing the internet, email, word-processing, as a document reader (PDFs, text files, etc), work with spreadsheets that don't require heavy number crunching, and other mobile office tasks.
If you're more comfortable with Windows XP you will want to wipe out the Xandros install and install Windows XP.
Its a mini laptop for basic tasks such as e-mail, messenger and surfing the internet. The keyboard is cramped, yes, but you get used to it. I have had my eee 4g surf for over a month and I like it very much. It connects to the internet superfast and i can take it anywhere.
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