Eee: Linux notebook for $200
Great reviews are coming in for Asus’ “Eee”, a tiny (less than one kg) Linux notebook that is selling between $200 and $400, depending on the configuration. Ars Technica points out that this is a big deal:
The device does support Windows XP, but Linux seems to be the OS of choice for all of the reviewers for performance and ease-of-use reasons. In this respect, Microsoft has well and truly blown it, because this device is poised to introduce a few million Best Buy shoppers to a pleasantly usable, non-embedded Linux distro.
It’s a lot like the One Laptop Per Child machine, but for sale at Best Buy. I’d get my kids one of these, if I had kids.
Nov 6 2007
8:21 am
I’m really hoping to get one for Xmas. (and by that I don’t mean “I hope somebody buys one for me”, I mean “I hope I can find somebody to sell one to me”.)
It actually seems ideal for a low-impact travel laptop: checking email, taking a few quick notes at a conference, viewing photos on something bigger than the camera screen, …
I’m also hoping it will be a good platform for dropping on top of a iRobot Create and running Player: <$500 for a robotics platform we can use for a high school contest.
Nov 6 2007
10:32 am
Reminds me kinda of the gPC coming out at walmart, the $200 linux PC with google branding and apps bundled for the linux using grandmas from alabama
Nov 7 2007
11:29 am
I have one. It is -awesome-.
Clear screen, long battery life, ample power, peppy response, very little HDD IO-Wait, runs Linux perfectly, etc etc.
But what really defines a machine are what sucks about it:
1) The Keyboard is Wee. Not as much of a problem as I thought it would be (I prefer the original X-Box controller). Surprisingly, the main issue is not size, but some weird placement of certain keys.
2) The Screen is Wee. Again, not so much of an issue. That it is 800px wide makes just about everything usable, and it’s certainly quite usable for my target usage pattern: hacking in a terminal through Emacs.
3) Xandros. Xandros sucks. Xandros sucks harder with a crappy default APT repository. I will be installing Arch later.
Nov 7 2007
11:41 am
Actually, it reminds me of my first laptop.
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:560X
But much, much faster. ;)
Nov 7 2007
12:53 pm
That’s awesome Dan, I’m looking forward to checking it out next time I see/visit you.
Nov 19 2007
5:47 pm
I have since installed Arch.
Wonderful little system! So peppy for such a small, light package!
Dec 14 2007
9:29 am
On the subject of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), they have a “deal” on until December 31st called “Give One Get One”. You can purchase the laptop (called the XO) for a child and get one delivered for yourself (or your child) while you’re at it. This is only a “deal” because they don’t sell these to the general public (ie: it still costs as much as buying two). So if you’ve ever been curious about these and wanted one now is the time.
http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php
Specs are available at their site.
http://www.laptop.org/en/index.shtml