Windows XP in December, Desktop Eee PC in 2008?
November 9th, 2007 by antAccording to this article on DigiTimes, ASUS is planning on introducing a low cost desktop version of the Eee PC sometime in 2008. Furthermore, they will begin selling Eee PC’s running Windows XP rather than the Xandros Linux variant this December.
November 9th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Ok, but will they sell a windows cd to people who have already bought an eee pc?
November 9th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Windows on SSD sucks
Windows on virtually any PC sucks
November 9th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I hope that doesn’t mean they’ll up the price (to pay the windows key fee)
November 9th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I hope that means they will up the price…
So people could start to understand that they could have something better for a lower price.
But sure, it’s always bad to pay the windows key fee !
November 9th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Will they continue to ship with Xandros or are we about to see the price hiked up to accommodate the Microsoft costs and Xandros being bundled as an alternative for the user to install?
November 9th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
I don’t see anywhere on that article where it says they will stop shipping the Linux Variant? If so that would be really sad. The EeePC is a great launching pad towards getting Linux more accepted in the Desktop Market Place!
November 9th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
What would be the point of a desktop version of the eee?
The great thing about the PC710 is the combination of its small size and low price point — the achievement of which implies a certain set of compromises between price, performance and minaturization — but there is no compelling reason to make a desktop machine small. A desktop requires a very different set of compromises, and so should have a very different design — it need not (and should not) have an “eee-like” design.
A key part of the eee design is that the device can run with minimal hardware and very low power consumptiom, and this is largely made possible by the use of an operating system that is not bloated and not power-hungry — it’s Xandros that makes the eee possible. A desktop machine is a different proposition: it can have mains power, and this means that the design can have more storage (a conventional hard drive) and need not employ such frigal software — it may be a very different beast indeed.
That’s not really interesting, though; inexpensive desktops are commonplace. What’s special about the eee is that it slashes the price at which portable computing can be realized. I’m looking forward to a future eee that has a larger display and better battery life without compromising on the size or weight.
November 9th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Maybe the desktop eee will be an all-in-one? That’d be pretty sweet.
November 9th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
The hardware of the 701 is ok, yes screen here, ram there, but it is doing a good job,
But the best part is the Linux on the top of it, making it shinning.
If only we could vote.
Honestly XP… for my big desktop or my other laptop maybe, but not on this one.
November 9th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
I totally don’t want a price hike to have windows… there isn’t a program I can think of that I’d need windows for that wouldn’t run like junk anyway.
If the desktop eee is mac mini like I think it could work. In the future though I was going to take my current 15.4″ laptop as a media center and have a normal desktop plus eee for mobile.
November 9th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Going to sound weird but love the simple interface…
Would be nice to be able to go with a low power desktop unit that’s a simple as the eee..
November 10th, 2007 at 4:06 am
Hooked up to a large screen or a TV the eee pc variant would make an excellent internet appliance for the elderly, or anyone who just wants email and web access without the hassles of dealing with Windows.
I can see this unit replacing a number of hand-me-down windows 98 and ME boxes that are still in use that I’m asked to maintain.
The Eee software package is one I’d be confident to place in front of anyone who just want basic PC usage,
November 10th, 2007 at 4:17 am
I’d love to see the Eee with XP. It has been reported that the cost of XP for the Eee will only be around USD 20 so it will not be a significant factor in the overall price.
November 10th, 2007 at 6:36 am
To me having Windows XP on this device doesn’t make sense at all. The current offering comes with all kinds of software preinstalled already. I heavily doubt that a Windows XP UI will have
- the same simple device oriented interface
- an equally rich amount of software ( You don’t expect that Microsoft Office will get bundled as well, do you?)
- Will have still the same price tag. It will be at least $20 more expensive. Given that the exceptional part of the Eee PC is its price making it 5-10% more expensive would simply make the Eee PC less appealing.
November 10th, 2007 at 7:40 am
All that XP offers is a lock-in to Microsoft only non-standard applications, with far less security than Linux.
I have been using LINUX now almost fully for the past 4 years. Fedora, K12LTSP has it’s uses to bring older machines into current use, we used Novell SuSE -until they went into the MS deal that is only for 5 years then it leaves a user with no deal and Movell’s directions with Microsoft are not the “open directions” that we are taking this company, and we are using Ubuntu more and more - with and without LTSP parts. The only reason why I am sticking with Red Hat’s family is that Security Enhanced Linus or SELinux is built-in out of the box. For non-mission critical systems, then non-SELinux distros are ok.
These days, I just don’t see the need for Microsoft at all. We have a license still for Windows (retail) for every computer, and every employee out into the future (so we have bought and paid for the use of Microsoft IP, if that ever mattered at all), but we can strip down a machine, run what we only need to run, and with the Linux Terminal Server Project stuff all the old Machines that Microsoft wants us to throw away to upgrade then to XP, and even more machines would need to be tossed in the garbage to run Vista, well those machines run perfectly well as LTSP client machines.
Eee PC laptop. I am waiting for the Eee-Ubuntu version, that installs everything off the .iso CD that we need for drivers (note that I can’t figure out why, since use of the drivers are paid for in the Xandros install, why the same drivers can’t be used for an Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, GOS, or other distro install. It’s Linux, if the drivers are proprietary, we have paid for the use of those drivers when we buy the system with Xandros OS, so we can still use the same drivers freely with any other distro. An Eee-Ubuntu distro CD install would just look for those drivers or have you insert the Xandros Reinstall CD, to install the correct drivers… AND you are good to go.
Given this case, where we can freely use any of the proprietary (if any) drivers that Xandros OS installs (because we paid for them already), it should only take a few days for someone to build a Eee-Ubuntu Distro, that has the full support of Ubuntu as well (of course Ubuntu would have to agree to do this).
November 10th, 2007 at 9:10 am
if done right, as a low power, tiny platform desktop computer….the EEE could be very awesome. Think solid state car pc, home theater pc, no space for a pc PC, kid’s pc (that they can’t screw up and has a ton of learning programs), portable desktop (care a 15″ LCD with you and cordless keyboard and mouse with small dongle), etc
I’m personally excited about the possibility of an inexpensive car pc (another market where it gets really expensive really quick) I can hook up a small LCD to it and put it on my dash to handle Navigation, music, video, and whatever else.
fun stuff
(oh yeah, Windows XP offered installed on the EEE is dumb, they need to offer Ubuntu (with no easy mode) on the EEE instead, screw the Windows nuts
Give the Linux nuts some lovin’ finally!!!)
November 10th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
I am running XP on the eeepc, and have to disagree with those against the OS. It works very well. I have 2gb’s free, I have OpenOffice 2.1, all new updates inc IE7, yahoo ad msn messenger. vlc, irfanview, anti-vir, and can run an extended desktop across the internal and 19″ lcd screen. Xandros was very good, but I wanted to try XP, so far…no problems at all, and opens up many used applications. Xandros was ok but can be improved on.
November 10th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Why not? What do any of you who already have an Eee care if the price goes up even another $50 because of XP? It’s an *option* for people who *haven’t* bought. And Asus just knows they will gut the sales of *similar sized* units from Sony, et al. For the price of some of those other units, people could buy at least *two* Eees and have a spare for emergencies — and still *lots* of saved cash left over.
November 10th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
When will they announce the release of the 8GB version ?
November 10th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Phil, Yes XP on the EEE works well, not great, but well, but I would have to say that Linux really shines on the EEE. It’s a smaller and more controlled installation that does not waist you resources (and on the EEE they are precious). Why bother to take an already slow processor and bog it down with a relatively slow OS, that forces you to keep applications that you will not use (Movie Maker, Outlook Express, IE etc.) on your minuscule hard drive. While yes creating your own custom installation of the Windows CD corrects SOME of this, it does not address all of Windows constraints.
I personally installed XP on mine so that I could play WoW on it (more as a joke then anything, but it works surprisingly well). But outside of joking with my friends about WoW on such a mini computer there is nothing that I could want to do on my EEE that requires the Windows bloat. What are you doing with your EEE that requires Windows?
November 10th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Any news on the 10 inch version (expected release date in US and price point?)
November 10th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
cclinco, to answer some of the points, firstly, I am OS agnostic, I don’t care which I run, USABILITY is something that I put high in my list. many Xandros programs have been designed for a large screen and you find that OK buttons are usually somewhere off the screen. Joe Bloggs doesn’t want to learn all about Linux just to make the adjustments. I found with my EeePC a few irritating issues. First the Longman Dictionary reverted to totally chinese menus after updating, the above mentioned window size problem. The inability to use an extended desktop over an additional LCD at full resolution was a real pity. Switching to XP resolved this. I currently run the full blown Xandros Desktop4 at home and am very hapy with it. The ‘locked’ down version is OK, but ‘clunky’ compared to XP. I hope the use of XP AND Xandros willl be of benefit to ASUS sales and broaden the market, and hopefully lower the prices. I will certainly be buying a second one early next year, with a 10″ LCD and hopefully 8/16GB SSD. The concept is wonderful. A low cost SILENT ‘home’ PC with no fans and lower power consumption is ideal for those of us that don’t play games.
BTW, I got Apple X86 Darwin running on the EeePC too.
XP is not any slower in use for me. I don’t find it slower than Xandros. It is very stable too I haven’t had a crashed application, but on Xandros I did have to ‘kill’ some. I have NOT USED Nlite yet to make the OS even smaller, just deleted all the installation and update cabs from the windows directory, leaving 2GB’s free. But use which OS you feel comfortable with. Full Xandros has been the Linux choice for me at home for a couple of years now. XP I tend to use every day at work, so for me, the more suitable choice on the EeePC.
November 10th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Phil - How did you handle the need with the Eee PC Flash Storage to have an OS File System that is doing wear leveling? I didn’t think that XP would allow you any other file system but, Fat, Fat32, and NTFS (all 3 not friendly I thought to a SSD and it’s wear leveling needs). With Linux you can just not have a SWAP partition (but with Windows this I thought not to be possible). What about the wear leveling File System on the Eee PC and Windows? Are you worried about excessive wear of the Flash with the XP file system choices?
November 10th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
I think the wear leveling is not as big a deal as its made out to be. These cards are at millions of writes and only getting better as the technology improves.
With regards to whether I am going to do Windows XP, at this point I really so absolutely no need. The Eee just rocks with Linux. Not only is it such a similar experience to Windows, but everything works as I expect it to. Everything is quite familiar and easy to get through. Even my Verizon USB720 broadband modem installed NO PROBLEM, and it didn’t even need drivers! I can’t believe it installed more easily than it did on Windows which required me to jump through hoops. I might be the first Linux conversion here….. uh oh, I am about to drink the Linux cool-aid?!?!
November 10th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Windows has many hops of driver installs and updates and reboots to get everything working. Linux is easier to run on “supported” hardware than Windows. Most distros I’ve tried have instant support for the Aureal Vortex 1 sound card in a system I have. I have yet to come up with a working set of drivers for Windows. I looked for a while, got bored and just slapped Linux back on it — everything works. I just use the Restricted Driers Manager (Ubuntu-based OS) to enable the accelerated video and it’s golden. A single driver update on a 7 year old system and it was one that isn’t even needed to run the system. Linux rocks!
November 10th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Totally agree with Phil I am running XP on my Asus eee and it’s great. Cclino asked question what can I do that I can’t do with linux. Well I can plug in my 3g USB wireless modem and have anyway internet for a start. I know XP well so don’t have to learn new apps. Linux is great but XP is easy!
November 11th, 2007 at 4:24 am
Personally, I never thought that XP, or any Microsoft product that was so vulnerable to viruses, was “great”? So, what are you running for an email client, Outlook (if so, then you are really not aware of what a problem you are getting into).
And, MS keeps changing formats all the time, so that they can maintain their monopoly position over anyone else. So, I will not ever use MS Office at all, but I will use OpenOffice.org… and I would hope that if you are using any MS OS that you choose to go and get OpenOffice.org as well (if you gotta run a MS OS, and all the hassles it has, that it…).
We do run MS OS, but never on the internet. It is ok, once you can run it off the internet for some application that is not available in Linux yet.
November 11th, 2007 at 8:17 am
I really hope we won’t have to pay the MS tax on the next version with the extended screen. I will be buying one of these as soon as the ugly speakers are removed from the side of the too small screen. This thing is great otherwise!
November 11th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
All I’m waiting for that doesn’t exist yet is a price drop back to where the eee PC was when I got excited about it.
November 11th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Michael - This price reduction might happen. But, as you know the OLPC costs have gone up just about the same as the costs for the Eee PC.
Metal cost money to take out of the ground (prices change according to supply and demand). Yes, the price could go down, but the energy cost to take the metal out of the ground needs to drop for this to happen. To take the pressure off of fossil fuel, we need massive solar projects such as the sterling engine solar project to be mass produced, and plug-in Hybred Electric Vehicles PHEV to be widely used, and this will leave a glut of oil, and machines that need this to run, will find that because the supply of this fuel is larger that the price of the fuel will be less.
Until then, energy costs for this fuel will increase with the increasing world-wide demand (China is just *starting* to use this fuel too), as fuel prices increase, the costs of things like OLPC and Eee PC will increase.
November 11th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
@ Groklaw,
What makes you think that a “wear-leveling mechanism” isn’t included in the controller that makes the standard Flash modules communicate over SATA (PS, I would be more upset that it is using SATA, I think PATA uses less power for transmission/encoding.)
Secondly, even if your point is valid (I still don’t hold it as the last word), what is wrong with wearing it out? Is 4GB of Flash suddenly so expensive? It can be replaced using the onboard Express Mini-Card, or even the soldered-in modules could be replaced.
Yes, XP can be run without a swap file, and I hear the EEEpc can take 2GB modules, so just run it with no swap, problem solved.
PS, “Embedded XP” is just a service and a DLL called the “Enhanced Write Filter”, if I gave a rat’s ass (amount of ass giving still undetermined) I would install that.
To all the nay-sayers of XP, I have tried several times to switch to Linux, every time I have run into nothing but problems, and a dual-boot eventually gave way to XP.
I do like the new feature on ASUS motherboards: built-in Firefox onboard that you can use instead of loading an external OS, 90% of my PC usage is Firefox anyway.
Viva la XP (PS, MS is just including XP because they know people would be using pirated copies, nobody is likely to pony up $150+ for a $200-400 lappy, so selling it cheap is a way to keep a finger on the money, as well as making sure they are installed on all PC’s)
November 11th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
@ Miles,
You clearly need to buy an eee system, it works great as is. You shouldn’t be afraid, just try it. You don’t really need Windows on an eee, it’s not like you buy an eee for playing games. So I would recommend you trying the system and then tell me it’s just trouble.
I’m a first time Linux user, and the eee works very well for me. But then I’m not afraid of stuff that isn’t Windows.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Look Manatlan.. If you want a full size laptop and care to suck up to Windows, go ahead. You have missed the point of this computer and operating system.
Many of us want a small computer, a responsive operating system free from MS, reasonable mobile internet access, etc.
If you dont, go buy yourself a gamers laptop, and go play with it.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:15 pm
It’s less about “Linux is better on the EEE than Windows” and entirely about the fact that Linux just plain owns…screw Xandros…I haven’t tried it but I can still say that btw…a fully working Gutsy is all you need on this thing…and you can have it sync up over the internet with your Gutsy box at home
Beyond the fact that it does everything you’d want for the most part somehow without *too* much effort.
I just can’t find any good in windows, sorry…after using and repairing it for all these years, it just doesn’t make any sense to me (not it’s operation, read deeper) To have to protect your self from harmful things, on your own, and pay people to remove it all when it’s gotten in there, and all the pain and suffering involved in repairing a windows box…and all the things that pop up demanding your attention and things done in the background that you have no say over, and the issues that you run into where it’s like WTF? this shouldn’t even be an issue!!!……all and all….it’s just a horrid experience…
I guess if you don’t have the joy of having to repair windows systems that have been broken while people were using them, then you don’t truly understand the extent of how awful it all really is…and you can say “well certain people will mess it up more then others and I’ve been using mine for a year (or more) with no issues and all that rubbish…but it shouldn’t matter who uses it, some things just shouldn’t happen…
P.S. Don’t even get me started on how stupid their Licensing laws are…wow
November 11th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
my bracket thing was removed on send….the above turned into a rant, have fun :-/
November 11th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Thank you Larrys
That’s exactly it, granted I did find a good 12″ laptop finally, I’d still be stuck with a $200 or so Windows license that I didn’t want or need and linux laptops seem to be more expensive in general…so this ended up being perfect
November 12th, 2007 at 3:29 am
I’ve been following threads on this site for weeks, and what I don’t get is why people who install XP have to apologize for doing so. We get comments like, “installing XP is dumb,” or, “You don’t need Windows on the Eee,” and similar comments. I’m beginning to feel like I teleported into a Mac forum.
I don’t have a “favorite” OS, and run seven computers at home with a multitude of OSes on them. The bottom line is that each system runs the OS that is best suited for the task I’ve assigned to that system. Thus my public web/ftp server runs Linux, my file servers run Vista (my large RAIDs use the GPT file system), my workstation runs XP, and all work the way I want. I’ve decided that the best OS on the Eee FOR ME is XP.
No one is in a position to say to someone else here that they “shouldn’t need” XP, or that “Xandros does everything you’d want on the Eee.” How can anyone know what I want? How can they know that Xandros does everything I need. It may do everything YOU need, and maybe you might infer that a noob would be happy with all that it does, but my needs are complex.
As it turns out I played with the Xandros setup for awhile, then installed XP on my Eee. Why? Because I want my Eee to be easy to use FOR ME, and that means I have to be able to open all my data files without conversion or export. So my ancient contact manager (not Outlook, btw) gets installed on the Eee and I can just copy the data files. I can run Quicken on here without converting or exporting. I can use some of my tools without having to relearn all the tricks I’ve learned over the years. I also have a full drive encryption program I trust that I can use to safeguard everything.
My point is this – stop trying to tell other people what they “should or shouldn’t†run on their Eee or any other system. If I am highly trained on Excel macros and OO doesn’t run them properly, why should I be made to feel bad for wanting Excel? If I know XP inside and out and don’t have the time to learn Linux,that’s my business. Feel free to smirk at me on your own, but keep your negative comments to yourselves. Saying that installing XP is “dumb†or “stupid†is implying that I am dumb and stupid, and as someone who has been in computers for 40 years and who cut his teeth on CP/M and administers Linux servers, I can tell you that I am neither.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:22 am
My personal thoughts are that its your Eee, do as you please with it. No one should have anything bad to say about how you use your personal hardware/software. That being said, I am staying with the Linux distro on the unit. It handles all my needs. At first I was skeptical because I have a USB720 broadband modem, I have applications that I need to run, and other things, but aside from a few quirps the Linux machine handles it all nicely. The USB720 modem installed WITHOUT drivers, my applications run just fine and I have no need to install Windows XP. But for anyone else who wants to…. more power to ya. It’s all love among us geeks with our new toys.
November 12th, 2007 at 6:16 am
Miles - Re: “what is wrong with wearing it out”?
Well for one, the Eee PC has that Flash soldered, as in “can not service it if broken” onto the motherboard of the unit. So, if this happens when your unit is out of warrantee… well, YOU ARE SOL.
So - you had better look before you leap. Note - that some device makers are putting in Flash that is cheaper and that does not have “wear leveling or ECC built-in”, so they are using the LINUX OS with a wear leveling file system to do it cheaper.
Do you know what Eee PC is doing with their Flash?
Anyone? Is the Eee PC Flash module that is soldered onto the MB, is it capable of wear leveling AND ECC as part of the device (like you can buy from SanDisk, Samsung and their SSDs these days). What is the Eee PC design, as it seems that ASUS is not publishing this important detail?
November 12th, 2007 at 10:17 am
having not read anything but Mark’s first paragraph: initial thought:
Don’t apoligize, it’s your EEE, and it’s up to you to put on it what will allow you to use it most…it’s your choice and your opinion, if we don’t like it, all we can do is state our opinion…and use what we think is best for our purposes…granted both sides of this will have very opposing views that are forced on others, but it’s all in good opinionated fun
November 12th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Personally, I’d probably be happy with the default OS installation.
But it leaves me with a question that I don’t know the answer to, but I’m sure those reading do:
With the Firefox version on the Eee, can I use the same extensions (Download Helper, for example) that I use with the XP version on my desktop?
November 12th, 2007 at 11:26 am
M$ Windows XP, Linux, OSX I don’t care I run them all on diferent machines scattered about my house. But on this machine the fully optimised version of Xandros that a team of people worked on for a very long time works the best. It boots quicker, writes less to the drive, doesn’t grow bigger suports the hardware with the smallest drivers, and now the webcam works with Skype 2.0 beta. When the Pidgin Messenger team sort themselves out and suport video all my requirements are met. I’m not even annoyed by the big icons any more, I’m starting to like them, they make sense with a shakey mouse pointer on a moving train.
November 12th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I bought the EEE to take in our motorhome and had to install XP so that our broadband card would work.
Had no idea that installing XP would cause us to lose all of the software that came with it, plus the camera, wi-fi, & sound.
Was this software proprietary to Linux? or did I do the installation wrong?
Please help a beginner.
November 12th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
When you install XP, you DO NOT lose access to Wifi, audio or the camera. You have to install the drivers from the DVD that comes with each EeePC. I have Webcam, Wifi, and sound. You do lose Linux specific applications. However it is possible to use Pidgin chat client, and many more free applications online to replace those ‘lost’.
If you read the manual there are very clear instructions on installing XP on the EeePC, and making it leaner and meaner. I have the above applications Office, Foxit PDF, Irfanview, Gimp, CCleaner, Firefox, IE7 and all updates, leaving 1.77Gb free on a 3Gb XP partition, with a 800Mb D: holding user documents, 256MB page file and temp internet cache. Total around 2Gb’s free space.
On a final note… these are comment areas. I will continue talks on this on the forums.
I think a desktop version would be interesting, however, so would a docking station for the EeePC with extra storage.
On the point of SSD wear…I can’t find anything definate on lifespan. I did look up the SSD chips and the data sheet, which talked about 100,000 operations…but I cannot believe ASUS would tell you how to install XP in the official manual IF the lifespan would be a couple of weeks usage! Should I worry ….LOL… I don’t know.
November 12th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
slktek1: which broadband card didn’t work for you specifically? I’d be interested in getting broadband cards working on the Eee PC.
November 12th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Any news about the 8g ?
November 12th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
I betcha most of these broadband cards install just fine in the Linux distro the unit came with. Mine did, WITHOUT drivers needed. It’s really quite easy.
November 12th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I had a windows XP desktop for five years, because I thought there was nothing better (all the linux versions I had tried didn’t work well with my pc). Now that I have an eee pc, my windows machine only comes on when I need to work with some software on it… love that 15 second boot time.
-Bucky24
November 13th, 2007 at 2:22 am
Miles (and others), there has been talk about using the mini PCIe slot on the Eee PC to put Flash Storage on it. I just went looking for a Flash on miniPCIe and found none (I spoke with Samsung and Sandisk tech and they don’t have Flash on the mini PCIe footprint at all.
Does anyone know who does have a SSD on a mini PCIe Flash card (with wear leveling and ECC)?
November 13th, 2007 at 8:09 am
“Furthermore, they will begin selling Eee PC’s running Windows XP rather than the Xandros Linux variant this December.”
I didnt get the same info out of the article that you did.
That is, it does not say they will exclude Linux, just that they may make XP available.
I would like to know for sure, because I would order NOW to avoid Windows.
November 13th, 2007 at 11:05 am
http://www.koolu.com with a solid state hard drive … tada..
November 13th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
wil wrote:
http://www.koolu.com with a solid state hard drive … tada..
Interesting, but -again- does not offer what the eee does in terms of mobility.
November 13th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
@ Larrys
Where does that article state that the idea behind their desktop was mobility ?
and when have people begun thinking that a “DESK”top is MOBILE ?
Some people just do not read.. @@
November 13th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
BREAKING NEWS!
The 8GB will have a 10 inch display
source: http://www.i4u.com/article12818.html
November 13th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Is it possible to boot from SD card or USB on the eee pc? That way you could switch between linux and XP by switching cards. Personally I have always thought that this is the way to go with changing OSs.
November 13th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Re: 8G models w/ 10″ LCD - Yay, sucks to be early adopters. iPhone yaps at least have 2 months before soiling their shorts. As Steve J sez, dems the breaks when ya toy wid tech.
November 13th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I for one am not worried at all that there will be an 8GB 10″ model coming out. I already have mine and the $446.02 that I paid was on the tip-top outer level of pricing I was going to pay anyway. Anything higher than that and I would have balked even for a nice slick 10″ screen. Not saying its not worth it, but budget-wise I just can’t justify spending more than that for 4GB more and 3 inches.
November 13th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Hah, looks like those who’ve already bought one are already in denial mode: Oh, it’s not real, it’s only a rumor! Oh, they can’t possibly fit a 10″ into the E3! Oh, it must cost a lot more! Heheh, buyer remorse strikes again.
November 14th, 2007 at 2:11 am
RE HP: Right. Make a comment on how it sucks to buy early (as if it never happens to any one but Eee and Apple customers), then make another trying to rub salt in the wounds you supposedly made in the first comment. If that is how you get your kicks on the internet you need to grow up and get a life. If you get pleasure watching other people spend money on things they want, when they want/need them, and *speculate* that they are hurt by *possible* future product releases - you are a sick fool.
In less feed-the-trolls-mode, a 10″ would be great, esp. if they can keep the form factor.
November 14th, 2007 at 4:06 am
Wow, somebody is getting his panties knotted up.
JDP, dude, buyer’s remorse is a fact of life. I’m merely commenting on the irrationality of the buying decision, e.g. how people tend to rationalize after the fact. If you think that’s “rubbing salt” then you need to look in the mirror. I’m not the one responsible for your stupidity or impulsiveness.
Frankly, at $500 for the 10″/8G/1G form factor, it won’t be any great deal insofar as the mainstream is concerned. The American consumer market has always favored larger screen/more power than other markets. The ASP for notebooks is around $500-600, not counting the holiday discounts (which takes it down to the $400+ level). At 10″, the E3 will find better acceptance than the initial model, but it’ll still be limited to the technogeek set. Once the base model (4G) drops to the $300, and this 10″ to below $400, then we’ll see more mainstream adoption (cf the Wal-Mart $200 desktop for clue).
November 14th, 2007 at 4:07 am
Amen JDP thanks for the observations. HP, the most important thing is, if you are always waiting for the next best thing, and the latest greatest well.. I guess you are never going to buy anything. You have to take the plunge sometime. And hey, if the 10 incher is “all-that” and a bag of grits when its released well then maybe I will buy it and give the one I got to my son. Who knows? I say take the plunge, early and often, and you will be happy.
November 14th, 2007 at 4:28 am
HP, I just read your post after putting my last message up. I saw your rather strident response to JDP and I have to admit you are a little rude.
Bottom line is this, I am 100% satisfied with my Eee and not one bit remorseful. I have been waiting so long to get one that I am not going to second guess myself over some other unit coming down the pike. The Eee is a groundbreaking “first of its kind” device and its only gonna get better so there is absolutely no need for calling people stupid and impulsive.
By definition, an impulse decision is something you do quickly, and most people who bought Eee’s have planned to do so for at least five months. We all made the decision carefully, weighing all our options. Stupid an impulsive - I don’t think so HP.
If you feel this strongly about the Eee in so much as saying that even the 10″ one is a bad deal compared to other regular laptops then maybe you should just leave the Eee website entirely and start bothering people on “cheapbutlargerlaptops.com” or some other website.
I respect your right to voice your opinion but not using the language you did. We all have our viewpoints on whether the Eee is good or bad, and all of us who bought paid a premium to do so. But I think that regardless of whether we like it or we don’t, we think the price is too high or just right, the one unifying factor is that for the most part we all are totally down for this machine. So brutha, if you ain’t down fo’ da Eee then what you doin’ here playa? Translation: It’s all love among us technology hounds, so if you can’t respect that, then close your browser.
November 14th, 2007 at 10:05 am
wil wrote:
“@ Larrys
Where does that article state that the idea behind their desktop was mobility ?
and when have people begun thinking that a “DESKâ€top is MOBILE ?
Some people just do not read.. @@”
I read and understood, Wil..
Maybe I did not make my point clearly. This is an eee comment board. The eee is not a desktop, nor if Asus makes a desktop variant will it be of interest to the people who have been so enthusiastic about the size, portability, and function of the eee.
So I fail to see the relevance of the the Koolu. If you want one, buy one. What does it offer that turns you on?? Cheap price?
November 14th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
LOL @ Lee’s idea for cheapbutlargerlaptops.com
November 15th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
@koolu.com Hah!
They don’t have SSD, they are “SSD compatible”, due to the fact that they have a 2.5″ HDD bay, feel free to add your $1,000+ 80GB SSD to the $300 model (overpriced, the GeodeNX ITX mobo/cpu combo is $130 at newegg, the Koolu is using a crap GeodeLX with no processing power to speak of. GeodeNX is a ultra-low power AthlonXP, pin compatible with all Socket A mobos, GeodeLX is an embedded system joke.) Either way you slice it the Eeepc desktop is something I will keep an eye out for, anything with no moving parts (STANDARD, Boo koolu), is cool by me, and @3.5w dissapated for the Eeepc processor, I like it already. For a front-end Media center it might work out.
November 16th, 2007 at 9:00 am
Question: Witch Version auf Windows XP works on EEE: Windows XP or Windows XP Professional? Thanks!
November 18th, 2007 at 11:02 am
I was at a big department store in Taipei today and there was an eee display and 3 sales reps. They had 2 eee’s running. One with linux and the other with xp. The Asus reps said the 8g xp version was coming out in December 07.The exp ran well. I dont realy care what os i use, but what is causing me to require xp is that I want to be able to run some software that doesnt come for linux.It was a nice surprice for me to see xp running so well and demoed by Asus themselves.
November 18th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
That’s good to know. My reasons for wanting XP are simple: DX9 and familiarity. The drawbacks aren’t an issue for me because I know how to wrangle them. If I was giving an eeePC to anyone else as a present I would give them the Xandros OS.
November 22nd, 2007 at 10:38 am
What I’m wondering about is what happens in June 08 when MS stops selling XP (assuming they don’t extend the selling date again). Have Asus said what their plans are?
November 22nd, 2007 at 1:56 pm
How about using a cellphone for an internet connection on the Eee? I have broadband using a Sprint Mogul cell that connects using pda.net software. This will not work on Linux unless it has bluetoogh dun. Anybody have any ideas on the workaround?
November 22nd, 2007 at 2:11 pm
If you have a WM device, there are insztructions out there on how to set it up so you cN share your 3G connection by setting up a wifi peer to peer network. Of course this assumes you have wifi and I don’t know how easy it is to do with all devices.
This is one of many reasons I’ll be getting the 8GB model and puting XP on it. I’ll just use the super easy BT PAN.
November 22nd, 2007 at 3:26 pm
I’d agree~
November 22nd, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Hi guys,
I want to buy one for my daughter (11) for school work but she uses PowerPoint, Word and Excel in the main. Do I have to wait for the XP version or is there a way to run these programs on a Linux machine?
Thanks,
Ian
November 23rd, 2007 at 4:41 am
@Ian King, yes , there is openoffice installed in EEE , hopefully your daughter not using office 2007 since it used proprietary format, if it does, teach her to convert to office 1997 format so it can be readed anywhere.
I not sure if openoffice can read the OOxml format…
November 23rd, 2007 at 9:47 pm
If you’re worried about the flash drives being worn out due to the page file in XP then turn off your page file. Of course, you will need to upgrade the RAM in your EEE. A 2GB XP system doesn’t need a pagefile, a 4GB XP system definately doesn’t.
And wikipedia (not the greatest source, but it is backed up here) states: “With these mechanisms in place, some industry analysts[1] have calculated that flash memory can be written to at full speed continuously for 51 years before exceeding its write endurance, even if such writes frequently cause the entire memory to be overwritten.”
Off course that’s in a perfect situation, but I doubt anybodys drive is going to die within 3 years, unless they are doing something stupid…
December 1st, 2007 at 3:10 pm
For what its worth Ian, Suprie is right to remind everyone that Office is not the centre of the universe anymore. Also take a look at Google Docs. The same as OpenOffice but not restricted to one PC. I create all my docs with Google and save as Office docs when appropriate.
December 5th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
Damn, I was looking forward to getting one of these sometime next year, but if Asus is going to put Windows on there instead of Linux, I think will have to pass. I do pretty much all my computing on Linux these days, and the last thing I want is yet another unused copy of Windows sitting around.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Windows is a piece of shit, only retards use it instead of Linux.
December 13th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I have just installed the advanced desktop on my Eee.It came right up and works fine. The problem is that when I move an application short cut, such as the calculator to the desktop, the icon comes up on the desktop just fine and is fully functional when double clicking it. The problem is when I shut down the machine and come back later, all the icons I installed to the desktop are gone, except for the original “home” icon. There must be a way to cause the desktop to stay populated with the icons, otherwise, the desktop is useless to me. How do you save the short-cut icons on the desktop so they will come up everytime the machine is booted up, as in Windows?
Thanks….Jerry
December 16th, 2007 at 5:29 am
okey,,,
i wanna to buy EEE PC,,,
but i start to doubt about it, because i wanna buy it if it’s use windows OS. Will EEE PC come in Indonesian with Windows OS
December 16th, 2007 at 9:28 am
I have used Windows laptops for years, and have tried Linux before and gone back to Windows. What I can’t understand is why anyone other than a geek type would want to replace the pre-installed Linux OS with either Windows or another Linux. The pre-installed Linux OS is light years ahead of either Windows or other Linuxes in terms of ease of use, user friendliness, boot time, and speed. The ability to install thousands of new apps with a click of the mouse in the case of Linux rather than install boxed shrink wrapped applications from CD ROMS is a real bonus for a laptop that comes without a CD/DVD drive.
Wear levelling IS a major issue for flash storage. If you don’t know how to set Windows or other Linuxes without swap, then DON’T do it. Swap re-uses the same portion of the drive very heavily and will wear out the inbuilt storage very quickly rendering you eeePC useless (thousands of rewrites is no sufficient for swap). By the way Windows does not do wear leveling at all and other Linux distros do not do wear levelling by default. It is the filesystem that does wear leveling, and Windows does not have to option of using a wear leveling filesystem. This is much less critical of course than the swap usage, but will still reduce the eeePC’s life.
December 16th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Ian King:
Yes OpenOffice will will read and write MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint binary files for MS Office 95, 97, 2000, 2002/XP, 2003. It won’t run MS VBA macros (which in 99% never use except to inadvertently run macro viruses). It also won’t read MS visio files.
OpenOffice is a superb MS Office compatible product product which my company uses at work in preference to MS Office.
What you can do is try out the Windows version of OpenOffice(with JRE) which downloadable and usable for free from http://www.openoffice.org
on any Windows PC, before you buy the eeePC
December 16th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Just one point for anybody considering buying an eeePC. If you want a Windows PC to run your existing heavyweight Windows shrink wrapped applications and into which you want to plug in lots of peripherals, you should think about buying a low cost luggable heavyweight Windows laptop with an 80GB hard drive and a DVD drive. You can get these at only slightly higher cost.
If on the other hand you want a ultra portable, ultra rugged, ultra connectivity laptop which you can take anywhere, and you are going to use it for email, Skype, web conferencing, web browsing, using the office suite etc, using LAN, WiFi or G3 phone (with the G3 add on card), then go for the eeePC.
Even if you already have a heavyweight laptop like me, you might want to get an eeePC as a primary laptop to carry round with you always, because most of the time, my other laptop is too heavy to carry around.
Trying to stuff too many applications, OS options and expansion into the eeePC destroys the beautiful simplicity, ease of use, and functionality of the eeePC that makes it so unique and appealing.
A non partisan review from Laptop Magazine:
http://laptopmag.com/Review/Exclusive-First-Review-Asus-Eee-PC-701.htm
December 26th, 2007 at 8:16 am
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January 29th, 2008 at 1:24 am
windows vista home premium network…
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June 24th, 2008 at 12:41 am
You cannot tether your Blackberry (mine, an 8700g), through eee pc without win XP installed. Just for anyone else wanting to wonder why “XP” on eee. It means that you will have unlimited wireless connectivity wherever, and whenever your cell phones network is available (I have the unlimited data plan, 19.99/month.). Sorry to all of you linux supporters/XP bashers out there. Nothing personal. I want my eee to perform like my XP desktop, and it does so beautifully! Tethered to my Blackberry while on the road, even better than being at home! = ) (Hope this helps someone else)