Review of the Asus eee PC

Having chronic fatigue syndrome and a passion for writing isn't without its problems. Taking a laptop on a journey, for example, is a difficult experience when you can hardly lift a few kilos to take to the train!

Secondly, there are other issues to consider: purchasing software such as Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, a DVD player with software and all those other bits of functionality one would like to have with a portable computer. One could spend near a thousand dollars on such a machine, but it would still be heavy.

I needed a laptop that was very light, that could play movies, where I could write novels and short stories and read them back, and something that could read a pdf file, because I have hundreds of stories from other authors and books purchased online which are in the pdf format.

After a while of searching for the best PC, I found the Asus eee-PC. It weighs in at under a kilo, and straight out of the box plays my favourite avi codec, the xVid. I opted for the 4GB flash drive with 512mb RAM because of the price: at under $450, it's still costly, but I believe for the most part, I paid for portability. For me, the portability factor is king.

The second factor is that I didn't want to use Microsoft Windows. In fact, the operating system that comes with the eee-PC by default, Xandros, is a beautiful illustration on the future of the Linux operating system. Having gone away from its predominantly terminal interface, Linux has taken huge steps towards a graphical user interface which parallels Windows. As a recent user of the Ubuntu system, I see a bright future for Linux, although the commercialisation of the product may be limited.

Regardless, Xandros is easy to use and with a few tweaks, can become more advanced. I have both installed and for ease, I use the basic version.

Having the 4GB eee isn't without its challenges. For example, a converted DVD to the Xvid format may still set you back half a gigabyte at least. Fortunately, Asus has placed 3 USB ports and a multi card reader around the machine. I have a 2GB USB stick and intend to buy a 4GB SDCard. I can therefore carry around 6 movies with me and have a choice as to what to watch. For a working week, that's plenty! The quality of an xVid video played on the Asus eee-PC is excellent, by the way, so start backing up now!

Transferring documents has never been so easy over a LAN. I have a broadband router connected through an ethernet port to my desktop. This has had a number of advantages with the eee-PC, as I can disable both the ethernet and the wireless in the eee-PC bios (by pressing F2 continuously as the computer boots). Disabling these devices enhances battery life.

I connected the eee to my router using a standard USB lead, and my Windows Vista desktop picked up the device immediately, allowing me to transfer smaller documents such as Word files, pdf's etc, to the laptop. It was too easy, but I'm not complaining! Now, I can transfer smaller files without having to keep using USB sticks and cards.

The eee-PC is a fantastic piece of hardware if you have the time to get used to it. I type at approximately 120 words per minute when I am writing novels, on a full-sized keyboard. Due to the small size of the eee-PC, I admit that it's difficult to get used to, but not impossible. The hardest keys to press for a touch typist is the space, right-shift, and inverted commas. Unfortunately, the wrist rest below the keyboard is slightly elevated which interferes with pressing the space key.

The battery life is fantastic. I watched Jurassic Park (over 2 hours) on a USB stick and still had 30% charge, and I have only charged the battery once before that use, so I estimate it will be better in the future when it's fully conditioned. The default player has enough options for the average user, although some may not like it.

Further, the machine gives you the opportunity to restore to factory settings from the default flash card or from a CD that can be attached to the eee-PC. I have done both, and if you like tweaking your systems, then perhaps one could delete the restore on the internal drive for more space and use an external drive for restoration operations. I have an external IDE that connects through USB, and it worked flawlessly.

The Xandros system allows the average user to install and remove specific software, but anything else must be done through the synaptic manager, or through the terminal window using the apt-get or sudo apt-get commands. If you Google for pimp my eee, you'll be presented with many more tweaks than I can offer here including the addition of extra repositories to download software from.

One final issue I have is, being new to Linux, I want a firewall. For the Ubuntu system I trust Firestarter but when I install it, I get the error that the system cannot use iptables. If anybody knows how to install Firestarter or another firewall on the Xandros, I would appreciate your comments!

I have had the machine less than 24 hours so there is a lot more to learn, however, I trust this simple review will coax you to purchase one of your own. Here's a summary of the pros and cons that I consider important to your decision:

Pros
1. Very good battery life
2. Plays xVid out of the box
3. Does not use Windows
4. Has pre-installed software including OpenOffice, antivirus, Skype, Firefox, a dictionary, pdf reader, media player and other software you may not even use!
5. Easily connect to external sources such as USB, LAN, etc
6. Very light and robust design.
7. Works with my external spare 30GB hard drive through USB and an IDE combo CD/DVD drive
8. Very quick boot-up time (between 10-15 seconds)
9. The charter is small (a little larger than a mobile phone charger)
10. No movable parts - less risk of damage.

Cons
1. Will take time to get used to the keyboard
2. The 4GB machine may not be enough - must buy additional external storage such as an SD Card
3. um ... that's it, really.

To conclude, the eee-PC isn't for everybody, but if you're after something robust, cheap, lightweight and can run things like portable movies, pdf files, Microsoft Office compatible files, then the Asus eee-PC may be something you should look at more.

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