I open a birthday gift and what do I find? A black 4gb Eee PC from Asus. I’m thinking, hey this is great. A perfect way to use something to do internet email, apps. Small, easy to travel with (for vacations) and so so so nice to have in a tv room or bedroom. Just tiny. I honestly could not have asked for a better gift, only thing is I did not ask for it and it was perfect for me, which made it all the better!

First use

So I open it up. The boxing is very Appleish, (which I think is a rip off of a company that is now called Red Envelope). I’m shocked at how small the thing is, it has a fast boot time and I can actually type on it. I mean, I’m typing this entry right now on it, and it is going pretty good. Easier than the Blackberry, harder than a Thinkpad, practice makes perfect. The Eee PC OS is nice, clean, quick and does all the basic tasks plus a lot more (internet streaming audio, video, etc) right out of the box. Anyone can use this, it’s Linux, but its Linux for the masses. Underneath all the colorful icons is Asus’ version of Xandros OS. Xandros is a Debian based OS (like ubuntu). It’s pretty neat to have a linux computer have support for Atheros wireless, audio, webcam, etc right out of the box, no drivers to download. I’ve never actually just got a new computer, put Linux on and had everything work (not with the Thinkpads at least using a base OS). The EeePC has a built in web cam, and I have tested it with Skype to make a video call. Support for IM video can be enabled, I need to get the camera to work in Pidgin first, thankfully there are plenty of docs out there on how to do it. If you are not a Linux person, Asus now sells the EeePC pre-loaded with Windows XP (8gb flash drive). You can get XP or even Vista working on the 4gb model, but I’m keeping mine Linux for now.

Time to do some changes

My first “hack” was to remove the basic theme and get to the ‘advanced’ screen. This gave me a default Xandros look and feel. I also ordered and then added 2gb of memory and a 32gb pen drive. Now I started to wonder…. I travel a lot…..Thinkpad is nice, but…..would be useful if I could just enter my hours in ILC, or do a quick hit on Lotus Sametime…..or maybe take a look at my next assignment through Lotus Notes. Honestly, it’s not going to be a work machine. I just prefer to use Lotus Symphony over OpenOffice, and having Lotus Sametime on it allows me a quick way to say hello without booting up my laptop. What I have now is, and Eee PC with:

1. Ubuntu 7.10

2. Lotus Notes 8.02 (Symphony, Sametime, Widgets, Activities enabled)

3. Itranet Labor Claiming (gotta put my hours in)

4. IBM Mobility Client (my connectivity back to blue)

I offloaded a lot of the Ubuntu packages that I did not need and moved my Lotus Notes data directory off to a flash drive (install on USB is coming soon for Linux I’ve heard). After adding all the necessary packages, and adding a little compiz for some clean cut graphics, I still have 915mb of free disk space available.

In closing

The Eee PC is a cool little device. It’s quiet quiet quiet (No hard disk, just flash). Its perfect for travel, for the quick check of Sametime or Pidgin. It’s the computer that does a lot, in a very small form factor. Do I use it for some work stuff, yes. But it absolutely is going to be a lot less than if I am on my Thinkpad. Honestly, a lot of times I am at a customer site, my Thinkpad needs to be on their network to remote access some of the servers I am working on. This leads to not being connected to IBM at all, beyond my Blackberry. Having the Eee as an option allows me to be on Lotus Sametime and Pidgin for IM. That said, the EeePC is not meant or designed to be a laptop or desktop replacement. It’s meant to be an ultra portable internet device, that has the ability to do a lot more. Who knows if I will keep it this way, maybe I will wipe it all and go back to the default Eee PC os. Maybe I’ll put Windows XP on it (ha ha ha ha) or maybe I’ll keep it as is, or scale down a version of the Open Client for it, or maybe the strategic Open Desktop we sell with Novell. If you were thinking of getting an Eee PC but did not think it could be useful, think again. It’s a very capable, very customizable laptop companion that can unleash you from your Thinkpad.