EEEPC!

[chris]

Well, I've had my EEE for about a week now and have finally gotten around to installing my extra 2gb of RAM and eeeXubuntu.

It. Is. Awesome.

Applications are snappy, the screen isn't bad(most of the pages I've been to automatically adjust for the low res[including 68kmla, woo!]) and I don't have any problems with the keyboard. The onboard Xandros was pretty crappy so I finally installed eeeXubuntu and it is great. I can't say that I don't wish the screen was bigger, but it's perfectly adequate for everything I've done, including a touch of photo editing with the GIMP. That involved quite a bit of scrolling though :lol:

I've even stuck Tremulous on here, and it works great, getting an average of 30fps on middling-low settings. I've currently got a 2gb SD card in it, though there's an 8gb SDHC on the way.

One of the big things I noticed was that the wifi is AMAZING. I'm currently sitting in my sunroom using my neighbor's wifi. The particular neighbor lives about 400ft away, and I'm getting a 60% signal. It's the same with all access points(he doesn't have some kind of mutant transmitter.)[/u]

 

[QuadSix50]

That's excellent news! I've been looking to get one of these, but I'm waiting for the Atom chip to be included in them. I do like the Eee PC 900 model so once they bring them out with the Atom chip I'll be inclined to buy it.

I did finally get to see one of the Eee PC 701 ultraportables in person and MAN they're small! The trackpad button felt a little flimsy, but that could have just been the condition of the floor model.

I'd be curious to see some of the competition as well. Dell is supposed to be coming out with one and HP already has a really nice one out (Mini-Note 2133). Who knows....maybe Apple will feel the pressure and come out with a similar portable comparable to a Mac mini (or less). One can only dream!

 

[Temetka]

It's all about the X300 people....

That being said the eePC is far cheaper.

I'd still take an X300 over it though.

In a heartbeat bro, in. a. heartbeat.

 

[MacMan]

I've used one of those with Xubuntu and I was mightily impressed with it. There is something quite special about a portable Linux computer that you can carry about in your coat pocket!

 

[QuadSix50]

It's all about the X300 people....
That being said the eePC is far cheaper.

I'd still take an X300 over it though.

In a heartbeat bro, in. a. heartbeat.

Well DUH! But the price differential is there. Had I the money for an X300, yes I would go with that over the Eee since it's a C2D against an underclocked 900 MHz Celeron. Something comparable to the X300 pricewise would be the Asus U2E which also looks nice, but of course doesn't come with the durability of the ThinkPad name. However, for something at the low-end price point the Eee PC is great, as are all of the competitors out there. Again, once the Atom chip is released they might be even more alluring.

Now personally, if I were given the choice of the Eee and the MacBook Air, I would probably go with the Eee. I need the functionality of ports over looks. And to be honest, I didn't find the MacBook Air any lighter than a MacBook, or lighter than my Dell Latitude D630 work laptop for that matter. :?:

 

[4seasonphoto]

Nice!

I haven't seen one of those in person yet, but in general I've really liked Asus products. I was tempted to buy one for storing my digital photos while traveling, but really need 50+ gigabytes of storage space for that, so I've got an HP Mini-Note on order instead.

 

[chris]

Temetka: The words 'price differential' don't even APPLY between the eee and the x300. One of them is $300 min, the other is somewhere around $3,000 min. Ten times the price for nowhere near ten times the stats. Other than price they can't really compare, though I can say that the speed of the EEE is sufficient for everything I've thrown at it, including Tremulous.

As for the Air: Why? It's just a very thin normal laptop at a premium price. Even completely disregarding the price, at least the EEE decreases the actual size of the laptop significantly.

 

[Temetka]

Dudes: I pointed out the price difference. It was a sarcastic post anyways. Chill.

I have used my friends eePC. It's actually quite useable. Nice little machine. Not for me, but still a nice little machine and I congratulate the Asus engineers for a job well done.

 

[chris]

An unsurpassed issue of strangeness has come up.

I have not even considered turning on my main computer for two weeks. The only other times this has happened was on vacation and when I randomly reject computers entirely during the summer.

I wouldn't have known it, but apparently I'm fully capable of doing all my computer-related stuff(cough cough, internet, games, chat, games, photo editing, and games) on a 630mhz Celeron.

Detailed analysis on several of the programs:

The GIMP:

Fully usable, though quite a bit of scrolling is required if you're working on images of any size. An SD card is especially useful here, though you probably have one if you're doing photo editing at all

Tremulous:

Inside ridiculously populated human base on 'Fastest' quality: 12fps

Inside ridiculously populated alien base on 'Fastest' quality: 14fps

Outside on 'Fastest' quality: 35-65fps, regardless of if there are people out or not.

Inside non-base areas on 'Fastest' quality: 45-65fps

All of these are very playable, even in the highly populated bases.

Need a mouse for any actual gaming though, the trackpad doesn't cut it.

Team Fortress(Darkplaces engine, low quality settings):

Average 35fps regardless of area.

Warzone 2100:

No idea of FPS numbers, but very playable, but with a bit of slowdown if FireFox is open.

Mupen64 with Zelda 64:

Pending results.

 

[benjgvps]

Team Fortress(Darkplaces engine, low quality settings):

Average 35fps regardless of area.

Hold on, is that Team Fortress 1 or two? If it is two... I want to know how you did it! I attempted to get CS:S on 2.66 GHz with a 32 MB video card... FAIL!

 

[kondspi]

One of the big things I noticed was that the wifi is AMAZING. I'm currently sitting in my sunroom using my neighbor's wifi. The particular neighbor lives about 400ft away, and I'm getting a 60% signal. It's the same with all access points(he doesn't have some kind of mutant transmitter.)

As an EEE conquistador, (mine is gonna arrive Saturday or Monday from eBay) I'm glad to hear this.

I'm gonna be using the thing on vacation over this summer, and the house where I'll be staying has no WiFi, but the neighbors do...