eee PC debate

[chris]

Thanks Mercury. Looks like thats another few hundred quid spent then.

[jellied]

901 has appeared

http://www.superetrader.co.uk/asus-eee-pc-901-black-intel-atom-cpulinux-20gb-umpc-p-3426.html

£328

once i get my roof fixed, finished paying for my kitchen, got the back garden sorted, repainted the house, new carpet for the dining room. then i'm allowed to buy one.

[Wendy]

0 in stock mate.

[PrettyBoyTim]

I notice that the Acer Aspire One is available for pre-order through Play.com now:

http://www.play.com/HOME/HOME/6-/Search.html?searchstring=acer+aspire+one&searchtype=PCSH&searchsource=0



Prices:

512Mb / 8GB SSD / Linux: £230
1Gb / 120Gb HDD / Linux: £250
512Mb / 120Gb HDD / XP: £280
1Gb / 8Gb SSD / XP: £300

They're released on the 25th of July.
I should have a bonus arriving in my paypacket at the end of this month, I'm very tempted by one of the Linux ones. I wonder what the battery life differential is between the SSD and HDD versions?

[mattc]

[to avoid opening yet another eeePC thread ... ]

My "2G Surf / Linux" seems to have a 2.5mm headphone socket.(ALthough the docs claim it's 3.5, which doesn't fit properly, but gives a signal). So 2 questions:

Is this right? I've never had headphones outside of the two old standards.

Can anyone recommend a cheap set of phones to suit my meagre needs?

Cheers,
M
p.s. the machine has done a good job in the months we've had it. Does what it says on the tin.

[TimO]

Hmm, that's odd, my bog standard 701 EeePC 4G has a pair of normal 3.5 mm jacks on the left hand side.  One green one for Audio Out, and one red one for Audio In.  I'm quite surprised if the 2G one has a different connector.

If you've got a 2.5 mm socket, a 3.5 mm jack will not fit in at all, the hole will simply be too small for it.

[andygates]

Aye.  It it's tight, it's just a tight socket.

[mattc]

Are you sure about this guys? Two different jacks fail to achieve full insertion (missus), even with quite some force. And the signal I get is just mono. I really don't want to break anything ...

I suppose I could take it back to the LBS* and say:
"Should I just keep shoving?"

(*Dunno what you call the compooter equivalent )

[border-rider]

<goes and checks>

Yes.  My 701 4G has standard mini headphone/microphone sockets, exactly the same as on the laptop I'm using now

[TimO]

If the jack is partially inserting, but even under significant force is not going the whole way, then it's probably damaged internally.  I would think that there is probably little you can do aside from take it back to the supplier for repair or replacement.  You can't really easily damage these connectors by inserting them badly, so it was probably like this from the start.

If you had some electronics experience, and could find a very similar socket (mechanically), you could probably fairly easily replace it, but that would invalidate any guarantee that it has.

[frankly frankie]

Since the thread's resurfaced ...
I got a new eeePC 901 (Linux installed) last week - but to be honest I'm finding this thing dog-slow.  And its not as though I'm comparing it with a cutting-edge desktop machine -

connection speed is OK - its the keyboard response that just feels as though the machine is only here part-time.  And yes I've tried switching off the power-saving - makes no difference.
I note the smaller SSD is very nearly full - should it be?

[hellymedic]

Probably. My Windoze eee PC frequently reports C drive to be almost full.
I've not found my eee PC low but I'm a very slow typist.

[frankly frankie]

My Windoze eee PC frequently reports C drive to be almost full.

Yes, but - on a brand new install?

The hardware checker widget seems to think everything's there.
The Task Manager shows no untoward activity (only process using significant resources is the Task Manager itself).  It shows memory usage well under 50% of available but also 'no page file' (or whatever Linux calls it - I'm on a different machine now).

And I noticed, that if I go into a StarOffice document (a place I wouldn't normally go) all the responsiveness I expect is there - every keypress is coming up on screen straight away.
But in Thunderbird, Kate or typing into a forum post in Firefox - the 3 apps I most want to use - there's this lag of >.5 sec on everything.  Is it some kind of generic spellchecker I wonder?

I've got a 'lite' Linux (SliTaz) which has all I want, I'm going to try that on a USB stick.  Of course, wireless won't work ...

[hellymedic]

Not *quite* a brand new instal but I hadn't piled much in. C drive is a titchy 4GB IIRC and I only have to surf without deleting temporary internet files a while before reachig 'nearly full'.

I run Firefox briskly and my Eee PC is very much faster than my ancient PC (not giraffe  ) and no slower than the hp laptop I bought last year.

[Jezza]

Sorry if this is a daft question, but without wanting to start a new thread, I'm wondering about wireless on the eeePC. Would I need to get an account with somebody to use it? When I fired up the machine the blue wireless light came on, but of course it can't connect to anything as I don't have any details to enter into the Network Manager - no WEP codes or whatever. If I do need to sign up to a wireless package, are there any recommendations?

[Mrs Pingu]

If you mean wireless for using round the house, then assuming you've already got broadband you need a wireless router.
Out of the house I guess you'll be wanting one of those mobile internet jobbies.....

[border-rider]

Since the thread's resurfaced ...
I got a new eeePC 901 (Linux installed) last week - but to be honest I'm finding this thing dog-slow.  And its not as though I'm comparing it with a cutting-edge desktop machine -

connection speed is OK - its the keyboard response that just feels as though the machine is only here part-time.  And yes I've tried switching off the power-saving - makes no difference.
I note the smaller SSD is very nearly full - should it be?

If you've got disk-swap enabled and the disk its swapping to is full - maybe.

I've been careful to install all the new stuff to an SD drive and not dump anything much on the internal drive

My eeePC 701 is just as fast as my duo core every day machine.

[hellymedic]

If you have broadband at home, you will need to enter the router's WEP key into your eee PC (as with any laptop).
After that it works fine.

I've manage to get my Eee PC to work wirelessly at two hotels (at a price  ).

[TimO]

...But in Thunderbird, Kate or typing into a forum post in Firefox - the 3 apps I most want to use - there's this lag of >.5 sec on everything.  Is it some kind of generic spellchecker I wonder? ...

I don't know about the 901, I've just got an old 701, but the responsiveness of this is fine.  Firefox (with spelling checking enable) works exactly as I would expect on any machine.

Sorry if this is a daft question, but without wanting to start a new thread, I'm wondering about wireless on the eeePC. Would I need to get an account with somebody to use it? When I fired up the machine the blue wireless light came on, but of course it can't connect to anything as I don't have any details to enter into the Network Manager - no WEP codes or whatever. If I do need to sign up to a wireless package, are there any recommendations?

Erm, most people use the Wireless with their own Wireless Access Point and ADSL Router.  You can buy access to WiFi through Hot Spots, which are sometimes found in Cafes, Hotels, Airports etc, but if you're at home, this probably won't help you.  You'll either need a WAP and ADSL (or similar) to connect it to, or a Dongle to access the mobile phone network (and subscription).

[frankly frankie]

connection speed is OK - its the keyboard response that just feels as though the machine is only here part-time.  And yes I've tried switching off the power-saving - makes no difference.
I note the smaller SSD is very nearly full - should it be?

If you've got disk-swap enabled and the disk its swapping to is full - maybe.

I haven't installed anything (apart from some of the updates that it downloaded before I could stop it) - just took it out of its bubblewrap and switched it on.  Task Manager (invoked immediately after booting) says 207Kb memory used, 820Kb free, and "No swap space available".  The smaller SSD has only 371Mb free (the larger one is almost empty of course).
BIOS confirms the hardware's all there.

Its very odd - as I say in StarOffice its right as a trivet - but in other 'lighter' (I would have thought) apps like Kate or Thunderbird its crawling.

[Jezza]

Erm, most people use the Wireless with their own Wireless Access Point and ADSL Router.  You can buy access to WiFi through Hot Spots, which are sometimes found in Cafes, Hotels, Airports etc, but if you're at home, this probably won't help you.  You'll either need a WAP and ADSL (or similar) to connect it to, or a Dongle to access the mobile phone network (and subscription).

OK, that's useful to know. I'll use it here sometimes - although I'm not sure if my router here has a code for a Wireless Access Point, or how I'd find it - but also in London, where I have no broadband or phone. Looks like I'll need a Dongle then.

[Mrs Pingu]

Erm, most people use the Wireless with their own Wireless Access Point and ADSL Router.  You can buy access to WiFi through Hot Spots, which are sometimes found in Cafes, Hotels, Airports etc, but if you're at home, this probably won't help you.  You'll either need a WAP and ADSL (or similar) to connect it to, or a Dongle to access the mobile phone network (and subscription).

OK, that's useful to know. I'll use it here sometimes - although I'm not sure if my router here has a code for a Wireless Access Point, or how I'd find it - but also in London, where I have no broadband or phone. Looks like I'll need a Dongle then.

Do you have a wireless router? This is the same as a wireless access point.

[Mrs Pingu]

On a different point, anyone got the new 1000 model yet?

[Jezza]

Erm, most people use the Wireless with their own Wireless Access Point and ADSL Router.  You can buy access to WiFi through Hot Spots, which are sometimes found in Cafes, Hotels, Airports etc, but if you're at home, this probably won't help you.  You'll either need a WAP and ADSL (or similar) to connect it to, or a Dongle to access the mobile phone network (and subscription).

OK, that's useful to know. I'll use it here sometimes - although I'm not sure if my router here has a code for a Wireless Access Point, or how I'd find it - but also in London, where I have no broadband or phone. Looks like I'll need a Dongle then.

Do you have a wireless router? This is the same as a wireless access point.

I don't think it's wireless. It's plugged in. 

[hellymedic]

Many broadband routers are wireless and wired. (The wireless ones may have a lickle aerial on them.)
Can you find the manual which came with yours?
Sometimes the wireless key is put onto a sticky label on the router.