How good is the Asus EEE PC?

Discussion in 'Asus' started by Chalmer, Jul 21, 2008.

  1. Chalmer

    Chalmer

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    Your overall impression?

    Neat, light, robust, and of great practical value, with a few limitations (see below).
    Battery life?

    Pretty good - 3 hours with wireless on - probably a lot longer if wireless was switched off. There are no moving parts (no hard disk as such).
    Screen?

    Quality and colour is good but is small. The new version (900) has a bigger screen but is more expensive and perhaps the battery life will be affected.
    Keyboard?

    Fine - I'm very used to using a laptop as my main computer so the small keyboard doesn't bother me.
    Trackpad?

    Again: good quality - no problems, and I like the "scroll bar" area down the edge of the track pad.
    Peripheral ports?

    I only use the USB and network connections but these work fine.
    System and user interface?

    This is Linux, not Windows! It boots in less than 15 seconds. Windows and Mac users have to adapt, but since you're not doing much with the operating system (you're mainly using the Internet), it doesn't take much adapting. The browser is Firefox.

    I'm very happy with Linux as a user. I've not used it much but it seems very straightforward.

    The applications include Firefox, Skype and Open Office, which interacts fine with MS Office,assuming you're not usually very sophisticated with your MS Office apps.

    I think I would need help with installing software, and I'm not used to the 'Super User' role. Currently this machine has no login and so it's not secure -- but I don't know how to fix this.
    Networking?

    This is essentially designed to be a wireless computer, and generally the networking works well.

    Wireless is good at home and on the train, but when I have to use VPN (e.g. on the campus 'magpie' network, it seems a bit flaky.

    Note: ISS instructions for setting up a campus connection are on the web page from our Network Team: see the footnote.
     
    Chalmer, Jul 21, 2008
    #1
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