Eee PC Screen vs OLPC XO Screen- Side by Side
January 22nd, 2008 by antI was reading this review of the OLPC XO device, and I came across some interesting photos on page 5.
First, there’s a great photo of a white ASUS Eee PC side by side with an OLPC XO. You can see how the XO is slightly larger than the Eee PC, and how the Eee PC design is a lot more… well… (let’s just say) understated compared to the XO.
However, what’s really interesting is the next set of photos. They show the screens of the two devices, up and close, looking at the exact same website. You can see how much more you can see with the 7.5″ diagonal XO screen running at 1200×900. It’s not much more, but it does make quite a difference.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:21 am
Doesn’t change the fact that the XO is a toy, and the Eee is a usable notebook.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:58 am
i love page 6 of the review … “One Coredump Per Child? Etoys crashes”
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:08 am
A few things that also should be pointed out.
The OLPC is missing a few features that i like on my EPC.
1. VGA port (yes i use it at home)
2. external ethernet port (seems faster then wi-fi)
3. wont get giggles when walking into a metting with a EPC
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:10 am
Does the OLPC come with free sick bags?
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:53 am
The OLPC is not a CE device, most of them are not for sale to end-users, and its interface is not for everyone to use. So enough with the dumb comments, of course it misses some connectors and has a funny color: IT WAS DESIGNED THAT WAY.
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:14 am
I bought an XO on day one of the G1G1 and received it on New Years Eve. I had considered the EEE but opted for the OLPC. As a multipurpose device, the XO is currently unusable. It has tremendous potential and the hardware, in particular the screen, is impressive, but the software is unfinished and unusable. Like the reviewer, I found that even with a degree in computing I was left scratching my head at simple tasks like opening the case and connecting to a wireless network… As for the Journal filing… I plugged in a 4gb flash drive with several thousand files on it and it quickly crippled the journal. Nice!
I ordered and received an EEE PC 2 weeks ago and it has hardly left my side. Quite a different experience. My EEE can do everything I can on a windows desktop, plus geeky unix things, plus it even has some fun educational programs!
IMHO the OLPC team have got rather lost in a crusade to force open source on the world (as honourable as this may be) and in the process may have lost the bigger picture. Features such as being able to watch video from the BBC news website on an EEE out of the box is more likely to spread linux to the masses than anything OLPC is doing.
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:46 am
I like the big enter button.
To be honest, the one on my EEE is a bit small.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:41 am
Wow, what a difference half an inch makes! But man, that thing looks like it came from fisher price!
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:24 am
I love these comments. I remember them from windows users laughing at Macs and Linux. People always have to prove that whatever it is they bought is the best, regardless of whether it is or not.
I actually think the OX is a nice hackable linux box, which I was not expecting. I’m bias, as I won’t use anything that doesn’t have some sort of unix back end unless someone’s paying me a lot of money (I teach with XP and Vista.
It will be fun seeing what millions of unix boxes in the hands of children lead to. I’m sure it will be more interesting than a bunch of windows users.
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:42 am
Green keyboard, LOL.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Well, the “hard to open” thing is probably an intentional feature, like child-proof pill caps. You don’t want it opening accidentally, and you don’t want kids opening ‘em until you’ve gotten them to sit still long enough to explain how to start.
I’ll still be going for an EEE once my tax refund hits, though.
But I know a few people who’d love to get one of the OLPC machines that has hand-crank power, to take on long trips and stuff (i.e. no power outlets on a trans-oceanic flight).
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:18 pm
In the images, you can also see that the Firefox toolbar is visible at the top of the Eee shot while there is no toolbar in the OLPX shot. Not that it makes a huge difference. My biggest (and pretty much only) complaint with the Eee PC is that it needs a higher resolution screen, which the OLPC clearly has.
January 22nd, 2008 at 3:46 pm
The EEEPC is not usable in it’s current form. While some are putting up with it’s sorry resolution I want a screen that compares to other computers not a cell phone. Asus really needs to boost the resolution to something usable like 1024×600. Currently their competition doesn’t “get it” but it’s only a matter of time before a competitor releases a decent UMPC that’s both affordable , uses a decent Intel chip and has the right resolution. I would own an 8gb EEEPC right now if they had better resolution.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I really don’t have a problem with the resolution on the eee, and using some of the tools you can get now (at least for XP) you can adjust the resolution whenever you need it to something that is a little big bigger.
Maybe I am getting to a point in my life where I am trying to minimalize stuff, but having a small desktop is actually refreshing for me!
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Well, i wouldnt call XO a toy, its not EEE, thats for sure, but it does what its supposed to, calling XO a toy is as dumb as slagging EEE off for its size and features in favour of huge desktop replacement notebooks.
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I don’t care how much bigger the screen is.. the XO is one ugly machine. Not to mention its only 4:3. If you are buying an Eee or XO to use as your daily machine then you need to go make some more money and buy yourself a normal laptop! Its meant to be ultra portable for use on the run, holidays etc.. so why would you want to run a bigger resolution?
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Actually.. that brings me to my second argument. I know it comes down to personal preference, however some people are totally retarded. I don’t understand why people want to put XP on the Eee!?!? I have read that alot of people install XP because they are familiar with it… Well if you couldn’t figure out the standard xandros simple mode then you shouldn’t be using a PC.
The best thing about the Eee is that it focuses on opensource s/w and webapps. Who is going to want to use photoshop on the go anyway? It couldn’t be that important, and if it is, then it means your a professional so wouldn’t you be using a normal PC with a bigger screen?
well thats my 2 cents.. I just hate to see people ruining the eee with xp.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:05 pm
That XO design is far too ugly. Five year child will definitly love it, but i will thik twice before using something THAT horrible on public.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
“It will be fun seeing what millions of unix boxes in the hands of children lead to. I’m sure it will be more interesting than a bunch of windows users.”
Just wait till they find MySpace!
The colour scheme of the XO will appeal to young children, but when they grow out of using it or grow beyond it’s capabilities, I suspect they’ll want a laptop that looks like a grown-ups machine.
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
You do not need a puke bag. You can puke right on the keyboard. Its plastic sealed, and there is no other electronics in the base - its all in the screen area. Can not do that will an EEE PC.
There is little to compare between the XO and EEE PC in my opinion. I have both.
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Well, in the browser screenshot comparison, the XO is in full screen mode and the EEE is not. Full-screen mode makes a difference; F11 key in Firefox on the EEE
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 am
The resolution thing:
Do you read that the horizontal resolution is the same in the XO and in the eeePC?. It’s 800.
The only diference (and the one that requires that .5 inch more) is that the XO is 600 vertical and the eeePC is only 480.
The sensation of more resolution on the XO is because (is you look closely), the font in the XO is smaller that of the eeePC, and the XO render the page to fit on the screen; the Firefox don’t. Very convincing trick.
The 1200×900 resolution is a special monochrome one that is used for ebook mode.
Personally, I also doesn’t have problems with the eeePC resolution (nobody remembers when the computers used the big 800×600 resolution?).
An 8.9 screen with 1024×600 could made the font too small to my eye’s confort. But I will wait to try that display.
The big problem in the eeePC is Firefox, that doesn’t adjust to the horizontal screen resolution, but it appears that version 3 will fix that.
January 24th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Beau wrote:
“The best thing about the Eee is that it focuses on opensource s/w and webapps. Who is going to want to use photoshop on the go anyway? It couldn’t be that important, and if it is, then it means your a professional so wouldn’t you be using a normal PC with a bigger screen?”
Thank $DEITY for that! Totally agree with everything you say Beau, in fact I posted exactly the same thoughts to my blog half an hour ago. I thought I was alone in thinking this way
My eee is a great travel/sofa companion, but I wouldn’t use it all day every day, and I really cannot see the point of installing Windows on it; it works perfectly as it is, for everything I want to use it for.
January 24th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Bottom line after reading the review, I think even children in third world countries will quickly outgrow this OLPC XO toy. It was well intentioned, but the fact that it performs so poorly even by low low standards is a shame. The OLPC does more teasing than it does satisfying. Just like giving the starving kids a picture of food rather than food itself, the OLPC gives them the promise of a true computing experience but ultimately doesn’t deliver the goods. It has crippled performance, zero multimedia capability and browsers and interface that are light years behind current. I know, beggars can’t be choosey, but as they say the better the teacher the better the learning. The better the laptop the better the child. Even a 2G surf stripped of half its barebones memory, throw in a water resistant case and keyboard and its still a better alternative.
January 27th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Read a real-world case study of the XO used as intended to inform your opinions of its design. As I wrote in a comment on a review on The Register’s website ( http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/17/review_xo_laptop_hands_on/comments/ ):
Read the “Case Study” of Arahuay Before Opinionating
ROC • Tuesday 22nd January 2008 04:00 GMT
Go
As posted by “Jansen”:
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Peru/Arahuay
I find it impressive in detailing the XO’s impact, but it also highlights the importance of structural preparation and support within the country receiving the XO’s. There has to be some kind of educational infrastructure and context in which to integrate the XO. These machines cannot just be “thrown” at the students in hopes something magical will happen - it does take supporting effort, and it seems Peru is making that effort, as well as providing valuable feedback to OLPC to improve the XO, which it seems to have taken seriously.
My wife teaches first grade at a North Carolina inner-city school, and had her eyes opened a bit as to what “underprivleged” means in a non-American context. She has kids on welfare with no parental interest (or often even presence) who would be considered “wealthy” by the Peruvian kids who have received XO’s with a great deal of gratitude and keen interest.
I doubt a number of her students would be nearly as appreciative or motivated by an XO because they have been spoiled by ready access to technology for purely entertainment purposes even if they don’t have decent housing/clothing/medical care/etc by (US “standards”). It is all a matter of context.
We have ordered an XO with the “Give One, Get One” program to see if it could be of use in her context. I can provide the Linux support, and she uses Mint Linux at home on an almost constant basis (strictly as a “Gnome end-user” ;-), so it should be “interesting”.
Think outside the box, but focus on the objective here of bringing the enabling technology to those who have not had any such exposure before. The Arahuay example is very instructive in how much can be accomplished when done right. It remains to be seen how sustainable the effort is, and how well it can be replicated in other locales. It needs CONSTRUCTIVE criticism to succeed, and not just nay-saying based on pre-conceived notions.
ROC
P. S. I sold my eee after trying it for a month. It seemed to thwart my efforts to make it “fit” my uses: screen and 4GB SSD smallness; difficulties with booting and porting wifi driver for setting up alternate boots on SDHC or USB flash/microdrives of XP, PCLinuxOS, Sabayon, Linpus, Puppy; tweaking Easy and full desktop modes to work with gpsd/gpsdrive/roadnav/Earthmate LT-20 (killed by Ubuntu(?)-broken cypress_m8 kernel module), touchpad overly touchy from heat (gimme a Thinkpad Trackpoint, and make the keys bigger). I just got tired of it being an endless “project”, but might give an 8- or 9-inch screen model another try if/when they come out, and maybe only if they have bigger SSD’s (and better not go over 500 U$D)…
January 30th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
ROC, Newegg sells 16 GB SDHC cards on sale right now for $80 … I already got mine
February 9th, 2008 at 12:49 am
As I wrote, I got tired of all the hacking to try to get the SDHC alternate booting to work. If Asus comes out with a bigger screen, it might be worth my while to have at it again with one of those … if I don’t find something equally suitable on eBay first like a nice Fujitsu Lifebook P5000 series or B3000 with the right config and for the right price (and not “Paypal Only” while I’m feeling curmudgeonly ;-).
Cheers
March 27th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
hi does anyone know how i can fit the entire screen display on my asus eee pc notebook i tried all available resolution but still i cant make it fit i have to scroll drag my mouse to see the entire screen any help will be appreciated thanks.
September 12th, 2008 at 1:41 am
I’ve downloaded and installed Firefox 3 and installed quickzoom. Every time I try to use Quick zoom it says it is not installed and if I click the button goes ahead and re-insalls. Nothing I do seems to help in my objective to be able to scroll to the right side of the screen to see content otherwise hidden - esp problematic if that includes login/pw fields!