Computers for Technologists

For most people they purchase a computer to perform very specific tasks on. Most people really aren’t all that concerned with the fine-grained specs of the computer and will be more interested in whether it can run a certain application or store and play certain media files. They are also typically very concerned with the form factor of the computer versus the cost and will either choose to go with a full-sized laptop or something like an eee pc. They are not at all concerned with hacking or concerned in technology for technology’s sake. As long as it does what they need it to do they are happy. There is a whole different group of users though that is very interested in the technology and the specs and that will modify their eeepc or other computer just for the sake of hacking and playing with technology. For them it is very important that the internals of the computer are accessible so that they can explore and that the computer is flexible in terms of the type of software you can install and the type of drivers that are available. For them the technology in the eeepc is vitally important and the specs certainly do matter.

Computers for Technologists is a post from: Asus Eee PC netbook

There are many things that the KDE desktop environment has been called, but fast is not one of them. As Linux blogger “Penguin” Pete Trbovich once commented when reviewing a distro with KDE on it, “I might as well have been sending mouse clicks by telegraph and getting the postcards of the desktop back in the Sunday mail.” But that was years ago, and Trolltech, the team behind KDE, has focused more on performance than adding eye candy in recent releases. Even Linux founder Linus Torvalds came out as preferring KDE over Gnome as recently as 2008. SO perhaps you would too, on your ASUS EeePC..

But recent reviewers have been outspoken in their amazement that a run-of-the-mill build of an ASUS EEE PC will run KDE4 out-of-the-box, with only a minimal graphics card. Using the Kubuntu variant of Ubuntu (itself no speed demon), and the “EeeUser” Wiki for instructions on how to create a USB bootloader, one may get KDE4 on the ASUS EeePC with as little hassle as you could expect.

The boot speed on ASUS EeePC is a minute or less. The desktop comes up on the Eee PC screen in all of its shiny KDE glory, with transparent menus, wobbly windows, and various whistles and bells. Keep in mind that KDE4 is still in development, up to version 4.2 as of this writing, so several tweaks and customizations may still affect the graphics on the desktop, but basically the root functionality will remain the same.

It should also be noted that if the BIOS boot order of the triple-E isn’t set up right, it won’t know to boot from a USB drive. So you have to tweak that first as well – just boot the ASUS EeePC machine and when the first screen shows (before it hits the operating system) press ‘F2′ to get to the BIOS configuration.

KDE4 Can Too Run on the ASUS EeePC is a post from: Asus Eee PC netbook

The latest development in the smoking-hot Linux netbook market is the eee-Xubuntu, which is a customized version of Ubuntu, the world’s most popular Linux system, for the ASUS EEE PC (also known as the the triple-E-PC, EiEiEi-PC and iii-Pc – although the official name is Asus Eee Pc ).

Specifically, it uses a version of “Xubuntu”, which is Ubuntu with the Xfce desktop environment instead of the Gnome one. If you’ve never used Xfce, you’re missing out; it’s a smooth, user-friendly desktop with many similarities to Gnome and yet is many times faster than Gnome and has good, sensible defaults. Xfce is known for being a good choice for office desktops, because it’s a clean, efficient design that doesn’t get in your way.

The tweaks to help it run on the EEEPC include improved WiFi connectivity, a reduction in the number of disk-writes it makes (which spares wear and tear on solid-state drives) and they’ve also made it easier to install from USB instead of needing a CD-ROM, which is nice since Asus Eee Pc does not come with optiacal drive.

In an almost serendipitous coincidence, Amazon has started stocking the ASUS EEEPC in black, available for immediate shipping instead of the common 4 to 6 weeks. The sleek design of ASUS in black, together with a smart Linux system running on it, makes quite a statement about your elite computer skills when you flip it open.

There’s no telling where the Linux age will end up. Ubuntu-based systems just keep devouring the netbook and notebook computer market without real competition. It’s no wonder that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has mourned that Linux now represents a bigger competitor to them than Apple does. Although aboyt 75% of all Asus Eee Pc’s are sold with Windows XP, the Linux marketshare is bigger than on any other consumer market product.

The ASUS Triple-E PC is Still Breaking Sales Records! is a post from: Asus Eee PC netbook

Xandros is the Linux package that comes preinstalled on some Asus Eee Pc’s. Yes, we DO know that Xandros is old news – it has been the Linux OS of choice on Asus Eee PC from the beginning. But many people still are still strugling with the choice: Should I choose an Asus Eee PC with Linux/Xandros or Windows XP. So here is our take on the subject:

When you first power up an ASUS Eee PC you are asked to select a name and password and set up your profile. Initial impressions regarding the Xandros OS on Asus Eee PC are that it appears very user-friendly with its tabbed navigation but it also suffers from text and icons that are overly large thereby giving you the feeling that you are dealing with a children’s toy rather than a serious machine. Performance is good and the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, and 20GB SSD that you will find on many Asus Eee PC models provide a smooth user experience.

Unfortunately, after playing with the Xandros OS on my Asus Eee PC  for a while, a number of annoyances come up. Occasionally, when you shut the system down, Asus Eee PC  fails to actually turn off and you are forced to shut it down manually by pressing the power button on your Eee PC. When using the Asus Eee PC’s touchpad, the mouse cursor will sometimes jump around for no apparent reason. Furthermore, the Asus Eee PCs  webcam as well as Bluetooth are disabled by default on Xandros and you have to dig around a bit to enable them, which might prove a little difficult for inexperienced users.

The aforementioned problems are not show-stoppers but they do mar the user experience of Asus Eee PC with Xandros Linux somewhat. It appears that these problems are due to the choice of operating system instead of the Eee PC’s hardware. The upsite of Xandros is that is is easy to use and are lighter than Windows system. The downsides have already been mentioned. As a result buyers might want to look at getting an Eee PC with Windows XP which most users know already – or installing another distribution of Linux such as the popular Ubuntu. There are several guides for this and it should be fairly easy.

Asus Eee PC with Xandros review is a post from: Asus Eee PC netbook

After massive criticism of Asus for the election to remove Linux from their machines and only sell Eee PC with Windows XP, they pulled back the resolution.

Linux is back in the heat of Asus Eee PC ..!

There is thus at least a couple new Eee PCs from Asus next year and will be the existing Eee PC models still continue to be sold in both Windows XP and Linux variants ..

Read any. more from Computer World ..

… And then is Linux right back on Asus Eee PC is a post from: Asus Eee PC netbook

When Asus launched their Eee PC with Linux would take jublen no ed.

Asus EeePC 901

The “low” sales figures have led Asus out now completely abandon the sell machines with Linux.

It is the logistics of the many different models that looked at the same time be found in OS-2 variants are the problem. Asus simply do not think it pays off.

My personal opinion is that it is a pity that Linux now cuttes entirely from Asus’ page. However, I can easily follow them – Asus has certainly been a damn good offer from Microsoft as soon as they began to see Netbook-Linux prevalence a threat. I can also easily follow the buyers – my next NETBOOK will probably also with Windows, simply because I have a lot småprogrammer that I can run only then, so everything just easier ..

The idea that Linux can take advantage of the neddroslede resources much better than Windows, I still really good, but with Asus out of the market, Acer is the main player as Linux-pusher at netbook’en, but their strategy is rotten: The Acer Aspire One ‘ s Netbook sold with Linux is neddroslede compared with XP versions, for example, with 512MB of RAM instead of 1GB, and then the whole scams disappeared ..

Asus drops Xandros Linux on the Eee PC is a post from: Asus Eee PC netbook

Link to Opera Mini

Expert-chain is on track with Asus Eee PC 701 – which was the first Eee PC on the market. It is smaller and cheaper – but of course also more stripped. Not least the screen: The original Asus Eee PCs had only 7-inch display with 800 pixels wide. Most existing websites are optimereret the width 1024 pixels, and therefore there can be a problem with the annoying horizontal scroll bar. It MAY now be hope for solving.

When I successfully used Opera Mini java-browser on several of my phones, I suddenly got the idea that Monday when had to be able to use this browser also on the Eee PC 701 The huge advantage of Opera Mini is that the cannon is good to compress websites, so you can see them, as they appear and are designed, but zoomed down so we can watch them on a much smaller screen than they are made for. One can easily zoom in on an area, and thus view it enlarged, so that for example, can more easily read text. So as example familiar from iPhone and HTC Touch Diamond.

- After a little search on the web it turns out that I am not the first with the idea .. Check out here how to do:

http://java4me.blogspot.com/2008/02/run-opera-mini-on-pc-version-06-also.html

The wizard is to run Opera Mini on Windows, so I have not even tried it. Say, finally, if you have!

Perfect browsing experience on the Eee PC 700’s mini-screen? is a post from: Asus Eee PC netbook

Yes, the cryptic title covers that Asus’ online storage solution for the Eee PC and Eee Box is launched, and there is every indication that it will be a great resource for all Eee-owners. First CAN solution will be very sensible, since there are said to be talking about a solution where Eee Storage emerging as a drive in line with the hard disk, etc. – that is really easy to handle. I must say that the website seems quite unfinished until further notice ..

That it is a good RESOURCES covers the course of this to be anything other than an online storage løsnign for Eee-owners. Apart from introducing the solution to contain and firmware updates, tutorials, bonus packs of wallpapers and the kind Gejl and various other useful pieces of software. So to have “everything” Eee-related current total somewhere sounds attractive.

In addition, it opens the course of that Asus for part of the market with software sales and media sales “, if the platform along the way can evolve into a form of iTunes solution (which also handles updates to iPods, etc.) to the Eee users. One must say that the Eee-branded appears to allow for the Asus moves into some new markets ..

End of a cryptic Eee-speech. Good weekend here.

Eee Online Storage is a good resource (?) is a post from: Asus Eee PC netbook

Ars Technica has a new How-To guide for installing Ubuntu on Eee PC

Ubuntu would be a little “easier” to manage than Windows XP, which can be cumbersome for a small machine. But why not just run with Xandros? (Asus’ Linux distro which preinstalleres Linux Eee-PCs.) Because at some points is becoming obsolete in the following article, which complicates the installation of other programs, such as Firefox 3

Guide: Install Ubuntu on Eee PC is a post from: Asus Eee PC netbook