Eee on a Plane
Thursday, December 18. 2008
I bought my Asus Eee PC netbook about six weeks ago, mainly to use for NaNoWriMo. This week was my first opportunity to travel with it.
It's sweeeeeeeeEeet.
I'm writing this blog entry on it right now, as I sit at Dallas/Fort Worth airport waiting for my flight back to Orlando. I can pull it out anywhere and use it; it's only slightly more involved to use than my cell phone. My Eee is just the right size to strike the best balance between usability (screen and keyboard size are quite adequate) and portability (smaller than many DayTimers). I have Verizon Wireless broadband, so neither am I a slave to available wireless networks.
Best of all, it worked great on the airplane, even when the jerk in front of me in coach leaned all the way back. My old laptop was all but useless in that situation.
I got my Eee PC at Best Buy. It seems to be a variation on Asus' standard 900A model specifically made for Best Buy. It has 4 GB of internal static storage (like a hard-wired SD card), an SD slot (in which I have an additional 2 GB card), built-in wireless G (which I only use at home), and a serious coolness factor. It's white; everybody knows the good computers wear white.
It came with a version of Xandros installed that used almost the entire internal storage space, so I did what most people do and wiped that immediately in favor of Ubuntu Eee (soon to be rebranded "Easy Peasy," apparently). I have Firefox, StarOffice, and basic compilers. What more could I ask for? It does almost everything I need, and it weighs less than a kilo, even including the cool cover I bought for it.
Best of all, it cost under $300. As I said to a couple other tech geeks standing around in Best Buy, I "can't not buy it" at that point.
I'd be a lot less productive without it, with respect to writing. So now back to that task.
I bought my Asus Eee PC netbook about six weeks ago, mainly to use for NaNoWriMo. This week was my first opportunity to travel with it.
It's sweeeeeeeeEeet.
I'm writing this blog entry on it right now, as I sit at Dallas/Fort Worth airport waiting for my flight back to Orlando. I can pull it out anywhere and use it; it's only slightly more involved to use than my cell phone. My Eee is just the right size to strike the best balance between usability (screen and keyboard size are quite adequate) and portability (smaller than many DayTimers). I have Verizon Wireless broadband, so neither am I a slave to available wireless networks.
Best of all, it worked great on the airplane, even when the jerk in front of me in coach leaned all the way back. My old laptop was all but useless in that situation.
I got my Eee PC at Best Buy. It seems to be a variation on Asus' standard 900A model specifically made for Best Buy. It has 4 GB of internal static storage (like a hard-wired SD card), an SD slot (in which I have an additional 2 GB card), built-in wireless G (which I only use at home), and a serious coolness factor. It's white; everybody knows the good computers wear white.
It came with a version of Xandros installed that used almost the entire internal storage space, so I did what most people do and wiped that immediately in favor of Ubuntu Eee (soon to be rebranded "Easy Peasy," apparently). I have Firefox, StarOffice, and basic compilers. What more could I ask for? It does almost everything I need, and it weighs less than a kilo, even including the cool cover I bought for it.
Best of all, it cost under $300. As I said to a couple other tech geeks standing around in Best Buy, I "can't not buy it" at that point.
I'd be a lot less productive without it, with respect to writing. So now back to that task.
It's sweeeeeeeeEeet.
I'm writing this blog entry on it right now, as I sit at Dallas/Fort Worth airport waiting for my flight back to Orlando. I can pull it out anywhere and use it; it's only slightly more involved to use than my cell phone. My Eee is just the right size to strike the best balance between usability (screen and keyboard size are quite adequate) and portability (smaller than many DayTimers). I have Verizon Wireless broadband, so neither am I a slave to available wireless networks.
Best of all, it worked great on the airplane, even when the jerk in front of me in coach leaned all the way back. My old laptop was all but useless in that situation.
I got my Eee PC at Best Buy. It seems to be a variation on Asus' standard 900A model specifically made for Best Buy. It has 4 GB of internal static storage (like a hard-wired SD card), an SD slot (in which I have an additional 2 GB card), built-in wireless G (which I only use at home), and a serious coolness factor. It's white; everybody knows the good computers wear white.
It came with a version of Xandros installed that used almost the entire internal storage space, so I did what most people do and wiped that immediately in favor of Ubuntu Eee (soon to be rebranded "Easy Peasy," apparently). I have Firefox, StarOffice, and basic compilers. What more could I ask for? It does almost everything I need, and it weighs less than a kilo, even including the cool cover I bought for it.
Best of all, it cost under $300. As I said to a couple other tech geeks standing around in Best Buy, I "can't not buy it" at that point.
I'd be a lot less productive without it, with respect to writing. So now back to that task.
TRex on :
Is it Nucular...?
TRex-