[svlug] Eee shopping

[David Hummel]

On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 4:35 AM, Bill Ward <bill at wards.net> wrote:
> So, I'm mostly decided I'll buy an Asus Eee PC.  Anyone here have one?
> Ya like it?  Which model and where should I buy it, is the

I got one for work to take notes and be online in meetings.  It's OK.
The default Xandros-based OS is very limited in terms of available
packages, but it's enough to get by with, and everything just works.
With some additional work you can install just about any Linux on it,
including quite a few customized distros.  eeeXubuntu works pretty
well.  You can test out different distros by installing to an SDHC
card and booting from that.  Typing on such a small keyboard is a bit
of a challenge, but I understand there is a touch-screen model with a
larger display in the works.  Battery life is also disappointing
(around 2 hours), but I guess this is to be expected with the low size
and weight profile.  Get the 8GB model if you can.  I would suggest
thinking about whether you actually need it and will use it though.  I
don't think it amounts to much more than an expensive toy for adults,
but I suppose adults need toys too ;-)