Forbes has a nice article about Jonney Shih, ASUS, and the Eee PC. It gives great context for all to see how we got to where we are right now. They talk about the idea, development, and success so far. You can read the full article here.
A Brief History of the Eee PC
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“But Asustek clearly wants to connect with the first billion, too. For instance, the 2- to 8-gigabyte memory cards can be upgraded to 32 gigabytes and the RAM from 256 megabyte to 1 gigabyte by simply taking out two screws on the back of the machine, something that Shen demonstrates but isn’t including in the marketing materials”
Interesting. Has anybody actually dismantled the back side of the eee? We know the RAM is upgradable, but is the SSD also upgradable? If that is the case, WOW! There will be no holding back the floods if you can just drop a 32GB unit in there in 6 months when the prices go down…
The SSD upgrade would go into the mini PCIe slot under the same cover as the RAM. It’s even labeled for that.
Can someone post a detailed photo of the uncovered back side of EEE? I want to see it.
Trustworth insider from ASUS told me that 10″ eeepc is canceled
Via http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=999 is a link to a review with this photo: http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/28024.jpg
Look at the top of the mini PCIe connector where it is labeled FLASH_CON.
Check engadget.. Think they had a teardown…
The russian hands-on review was the only place wre i saw a photograph of the naked hardware of eee…
Just scan google a bit, ought to be somwhere.
http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2007/11/eee-pc-701-4g-gets-dissected.html
http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2007/10/asus-eee-pc-has-pci-e-slot-for-hsdpa-or.html
Of course, one of the two screws on the bottom of my EEE PC is covered with the sticker stating that my warranty is void if I remove the sticker.
I’ve got a comment awaiting moderation with a link to the picture. Let’s just say it’s in a link from a fairly recent post on the forums. Search for mini PCIe, takeapart, etc. and check the hits.
TheBronze – RAM according to the article is upgradable, HOWEVER, Nope, early looks at the photos of prototypes covered on other web sites, had the Flash Storage as permanent on the Main board… this is a mistake as any Flash that needs to be serviced AT ALL will mean that normal tech service will be unable to do it… and if there is a problem (a wide scale one) with the flash storage, then all units will need to be returned to ASUS, vs having the cheaper option of sending the customer a replacement Flash storage replacement (that would be best then easily accessed and a simple unplug and plug-in solution would be the fix). This would also allow for geeks to upgrade the flash storage to larger sizes easily as well.
Of course, another hole in the design is not using the OLPC Dual Mode Screen (and it’s day light or sunlight usable feature, as well as the huge power savings you get with this option). The battery life at 3 hours is very poor.
The unit also fails to package as options a USB powered External Portable Hard Drive, and/or a USB powered External portable CD/DVD writer as well.
I only wish that the 4G Surf was priced retail at $269.00 vs the $350 that I am seeing it listed at… I can get a full size and fuller featured cheap laptop, with a built in CD/DVD burner, for not much more than the prices that the Eee PC is approaching.
Reminder for those putting other Distros on this platform:
Remember, you can’t use a “normal†install of UBUNTU default File System in these Flash Based devices. The Flash needs some “wear leveling†to allow it to work for a acceptable period of time (of course, as mentioned above, the Flash in the next version needs to be Tech replaceable as the wear out of Flash or MTBF issues when out of warrantee, needs the Flash to not be on the main board, but instead is something that can be plugged in, easy service and upgradeability is NEEDED!
For info on Wear Leveling File system for Linux Read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JFFS
And you will need to eliminate the SWAP as well.
Read ALL of this groklaw url below, and it might be wise for eeeuser.com to get an article about this out (the truth about flash and playing with it on your own, is, what is, is…)?…:
http://www.groklaw.net/comment.php?mode=display&sid=20070526142455986&title=OT%20-%20Dell%20has%20SanDisk%20SSD%20for%20%26%2336%3B549%2C%20but%20not%20for%20Dell%20E1505n%20Ubuntu%20Laptop%20%28too%20bad%29…%3F&type=article&order=&hideanonymous=0&pid=576075#c576291
Flash storage, even with wear leveling and ECC, is what it is, not what it is not. To be so bold as to make it part of the main board, where you need to heat up parts connected to main boards, with advanced surgery tools, in order to service or to play with this the Flash Storage… is an error on the part of ASUS.
Reminder for those putting other LINUX Distros on this platform:
Remember, you can’t use a “normal†install of UBUNTU , or Xbuntu, or other Distro’s default File System when you set up another OS on these Flash Based devices. The Flash needs some “wear leveling†to allow it to work for a acceptable period of time (of course the Flash in the next version needs to be Tech replaceable as the wear out of Flash or MTBF issues when out of warrantee, needs the Flash to not be on the main board, but instead is something that can be plugged in, easy service and upgradeability is NEEDED!
For info on Wear Leveling File system for Linux Read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JFFS
And you will need to eliminate the SWAP as well.
The reason the SSD is soldered-on is a marketing strategy: You don’t want users or resellers to replace the flash, as then everybody would buy the low-end config, and there’ll be no market for the higher-end configs. The fact is that there is a $100 delta between the 4G/512M and 2G/256M configs, and likely another $100 higher for the 8G/1G. If Asus allow field-upgradable SSD/RAM, it would destroy their market segmentation.
What this says is that there is a lot of “fat” in that $399 pricing (and likely $499 for the 8G/1G). This is normal early-adopter tax that geekhounds are willing to pay to have the first toy (see iPhone for clue). For the rational buyer who can wait for a few months, this present 4G config will be under $300 and all flaky BIOS bugs worked out.
The good news for everyone is that, if the story’s slant is true that this is the harbinger of a new mobile category (between Intel’s MID and the ultraportable laptop), then we’ll see more entrants into the market, which will force Asus to be more price competitive. While I’ve no interest in Asus’ present toy, I have to congratulate it for going outside of the box in creating new market opportunities.
Meanwhile, all you early adopters, get cracking on getting them bugs out.
There are a couple of wear leveling file systems:
one more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YAFFS
Does anyone know which is better?
RE: Flash needing service. If you read the linked article there is a mention of providing an upgrade for the 4GB units, via the FLASH_CON labeled mini PCIe slot under the same panel cover as the RAM. If a unit comes in with bad Flash it would be fairly simple to disable it via the BIOS and install a SSD Flash mini PCIe card and set the BIOS to boot from that. Much easier and it is doable by field service technicians in nearly any service shop or even an on site call. ASUS seems to have planned for much more than people are giving them credit for.
After reading the article they spent a year designing this thing. They have though ot the whole thing.. And knowing R&D in these companies. the next 1 to 2 generation are already being cooked on…
Love the part about MS! Would like to know if Asus will offer a 40 dollar copy of XP… Sign me up! Have a dual boot.
Frys this weekend after instant rebate has a 16gb flash drive I think will fit that slot for 200 dollars… Out the door!
Trust me… Some one will figure out the right flash memory and do a componet level switch shortly… Wont be for the faint of heart…
For example people are popping open PSP bat’s and lifting a certain pin that is almost the tip of an #11 xacto knife blade! Its done for a reason…
Some one will offer upgrade service. Places have done this for various computer over the years… The Big E wont be any difference.
The cost vs benefit remark reminds me of the ones made about the palm foleo. Some times i wonder if not those, and engadget’s hammering of palm, lead to it being canceled…
That Flash upgrade from Frys should be a mini PCIe card, and not an ExpressCard. The ExpressCard stuff is a whole different slot.
JDP: as a field service technician, I’ll tell you right off the bat that “fixing” bad SSD drives by disabling them and installing another drive in your only upgrade slot is a messy fix by any standard and I (and beyond that, my boss) would have a hard time allowing such a fix to leave the shop…it’s almost like repairing someone’s hard drive by giving them a Firewire drive with their OS installed and saying “Use this, your internal drive is dead”
I think what JDP was describing is definitely a band-aid fix. It is workable though especially if you loathe the concept of sending your laptop who-knows-where (Taiwan?) to get it fixed.
How messy is it to plug in and screw down a card through a built in panel, flip a couple BIOS options and then run a system restore? Fixes via INTERNAL hardware are much cleaner than sticking someone with an external drive. There is a free mini PCIe slot on the Eee PC, and ASUS has been planning upgrades via that slot according to the article. I wouldn’t call it messy to make use of it in the way the manufacturer built it.
Ok – then the thing to do is to buy the 2GB Eee PC, and NOT use it at all and instead, set up Grub to boot an other Linux OS of choice on this mini PCIe Flash that we could install… that way we never use the on-the-main-board soldered on flash at all, so it doesn’t ever get worn out (maybe only use it in case of emergency where the miniPCIe slot device screws up and we need to use something until we get that replaced? OK – Now what options do we have NOW for this mini PCIe slot on the Eee PC and how much will it cost us to set it up to use for our primary internal Flash storage drive – ANY suggestions? Include product ideas, and prices in your comments please.
PS – anyone know the power stats on the battery in the Eee PC, is there any third party out there doing a better more long lasting option for that? Geeze I sure wish they has licensed the OLPC LCD screen for this, much better as it is viewable in sunlight, and saves a lot on battery time.
Khem, it’s not 16:9 – no fullscreen movies… And that’s actually my number one want-to-use-it-for-point…
Ok, it’s not a 21″ widescreener, but still far better than a IPod or the sort aand it has more usages than a simple dvd player
Be nice to find out if when the 40 dollar XP copy may be available…
I’m more interested in knowing when the 8GB model will be out
Hmmm, it will also be interesting to see what ASUS’s competitor, “QUANTA” (who makes the laptops for Dell, HP, and Acer) who makes the OLPC as well, comes out with as they have announced a $200.00 laptop that will be a commercial version of the OLPC. Now, if Quanta has the size the same as ASUS does, well that will be interesting too (as they will have the Dual Mode LCD and the power saving features of the OLPC as well). I just hope tQuanta will have tech service/ and upgrade capable flash storage and RAM.
Isn’t the OLPC underpowered compared to the EEE?
That Windows XP for $40 is probably the “basic” version they sell to third world countries…once you get over the fact that it’s a crippled windows xp, you are left with the blatant fact that…you are indeed using Windows…and then you’ll have to wonder when your life starting going downhill….maybe failing that last English exam wasn’t exactly your best life decision…
just kidding btw, mostly
No proper anti viruses will work nicely on this piece and WinXP has SSD wearing formats sooo – crapo.
Windows could only be used for games… As the EEE isn’t meant for hardcore gamers we deduce that Linux is the best for EEE…
The only reasion I would put XP on a SD/Micro CF HD as a dual boot is to run some software…
There is that S&T package from MS. Another “Trap you into our amber program” from MS.
Else this flavor of Linux is good.
PS. For those running XP { ugh } use AVG. Very light and really works.. Beside you can get a real free copy from them…
you should be able to get most of your windows apps working with some mods to Wine (or even that proprietary one if you need full support)
Has anyone installed XP successfully? I can’t find anyone who has posted that they did. And I thought Asus CEO Jonny said that they were gonna support it. How does that work? I know its an Intel CPU but is 4GIG drive space and 512 MB RAM enough? And are there Win32 drivers for the internal Wifi?
As an XP user I’d be getting the EEE for a second PC. But it runs Xandros Linux. Does that mean that the file system on the flash is Ext3? Won’t that make it impossible for me to share files with my “main” PC? And if not, would I need to set up a Samba share to network the XP PC?
fadumpt: Actually it for a client that getting a eee. The only thing they need so far is to run Streets & Trips…
For another will uses the remote desktop….
Can Wine run S&T? Have no clue…
Can someone tell me whether you can get to a Linux terminal/xterm/cli screen on this device? It’s Linux, so one might assume so. In comparison, the Nokia tablets allow it, but you have to jump through some little hoops to get there.
Yes it is enough – I have launched XP on P3 ~0.9Ghz 320MB RAM and 32MB of VGA memory (Geforce 2 MX) aand a 3.5GB HDD (OS) and 120GB (other stuff).
Beep – it was shown that ypu can get the menu bar (tray or how the heck it’s called) and i reckon there should be the terminal…
The SD card slot is also bootable, so that’s another option for playing with different OS’s.
danny, I have installed XP Pro on my EEE. It’s actually surprisingly easy, with detailed step by step instructions provided in the documentation. The 4GB is enough space for XP, and a few of the most frequently used application.
If your feeling a bit adventuresome though, my suggestion is to create a custom installation of Windows (www.nliteos.com) with just the drivers and applications you need. This will help milk the most out of your 4GB
nightwing: Streets and Trips might work with Crossover office…but then again, who knows if the hardware can handle any of the extra work, if any, involved with working with a windows program in Linux….I know RDP/VNC works awesome in Linux and it shouldn’t be too hard to get Gnome RDP or something like that.
Did anyone have any thoughts on Danny’s point on access to networked files from a ‘main’ XP PC? cclinco makes the case for installing XP on the EEE but keeping the Linux install, how easy is it to share files from an XP PC on the network?
With Windows XP, samba is probably the easiest, especially nowadays. Setup your samba share and off you go. Complete windows network. You can also setup a FTP server on one of the systems and connect to it with an FTP app on the other to transfer data, not as nice but it also works.
Are there particular portable harddrives that work better with the EEE PC than others? What if anything special do you need to make them work. A lot of the portable HD manufacturs only support Mac and Windows.
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