Hello everyone, I’m Thom Allen, and this is my first post on The Gadgets Page. Let’s dig right in.
A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to put my hands on the Asus EeePC, which is a small mini style notebook computer. Thanks to Clint Savage for bringing it to a local geek gathering (CodeAway), and giving me a chance to see how it works. For a computer this small, limited storage and screen real estate, it worked quiet well. Linux is the default operating system on this PC, and it’s brilliant. Small footprint and minimal hardware requirements make Linux the perfect OS choice for a machine of this type.
Pros
- Very portable. The small footprint makes it easy to throw into a briefcase or purse.
- Uses solid state memory and storage. Adding a Secure Digital (SD) card to the device expands its storage capabilities.
- Runs video and audio with little or problems.
- Has USB ports for external devices. Devices connected to the EeePC would depend on available Linux drivers.
Cons
- Small keyboard. If you have big hands like mine, this could be an issue—I tend to wonder on the keyboard and press the wrong key.
- Solid State memory. I know I said this was a pro, but it’s also a con. Solid State technology means a finite amount of storage on the main system board. This means you can’t run down to your local PC shop and get an upgraded hard drive.
- Small screen. Again, depending on your use of the machine, a small screen can make reading some text or viewing some videos difficult.
I highly recommend this PC. It’s very solid, and I’ve spoken to several people who have this machine and they tell me it has worked quite well. The price is generally low, compared to my T-Mobile MDA, which I paid more for than you can buy the EeePC. This makes it a great bargain in my opinion.
Last week I co-hosted a quick show with Twitter user acomputerpro where he compared the EeePC to the CloudBook. Watch it here. Next time I’ll give my two cents on the CloudBook.
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