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My EeePC and Linux

Ranked #5,121 in Computers & Electronics, #94,712 overall

My EeePC

In August 2008 I bought a black Asus EeePC 901 with Linux. My widescreen laptop with Windows Vista was not very portable, or friendly, and I wanted to have web access while I was away. I discovered that my EeePC was the most portable and friendly PC I had ever had!


I was hoping to use my new EeePC for Skype on a cruise, but the cruise line had blocked its use. However, the small size of my EeePC allowed it to fit in my cabin safe (just!), and it was perfect for viewing my digital photos and sending emails back to the family at home.

What I like about my EeePC

  • It's easy to carry around. Weighing at under 1.2kg, and when closed only 22.5cm wide x 17.5cm deep x 4cm thick.
  • The battery life is amazing! I've used it intermittently running just on batteries from 10am to 5pm, and it still had enough power left to edit spreadsheets.
  • It runs an easy-to-use version of Linux, with separate pages of large icons for Work (office suite, PDF reader, etc), Play (games, media players, etc), Internet (web browser, links to Wikipedia, Google, several web mail clients, web storage, software downloads, etc), Learn (educational programs) and Settings (similar to Windows Control Panel), and you can copy any of these icons onto a Favorites[sic] page. I'm not a big fan of Windows, and least of all of Vista!

  • I've found a great synchronization program called Goodsync, which can sync up to 3 folders of 100 files each between my Vista laptop and my EeePC. That's more than enough to keep me happy on the road.

    January 2010: I've now using an even better open-source synchronization program called FreeFileSync, which has no file or folder restrictions, is free, and seems to be much quicker too.

    July 2010: I've now using an even better cloud-based synchronization program called DropBox, which has no file or folder restrictions, is free if you don't exceed your initial file space limit of 2Gb, and requires virtually no manual intervention once it has been setup. To synchronize a file, just copy it into your DropBox folder (My DropBox in Windows, and DropBox in Linux) and it gets copied up and/or down when you're connected to the web.

  • The disk space is split between system and user areas, so you can restore the Linux system without impacting your own files. I know that because I've re-installed Linux 3 times since I bought the EeePC!
  • When you shut the lid it goes to sleep, saving battery power, but opening the lid and hitting [Enter] brings the EeePC back to life again in seconds!
  • Wireless networks are detected and connected to really quickly. As it uses Samba, I've also had no problems connecting to Windows or Unix/Linux networks.
  • I've discovered that I can install Ubuntu onto an SDHC card and boot from that instead of Xandros by pressing [Esc] while it is booting. I'm now able to choose which I use whenever I boot my EeePC.

What I don't like about my EeePC

  • The disk space is split into 4Gb for system and 16Gb for user files, which means you can't install many extra system programs before you run out of space. An 8Gb + 12Gb split would have been better.
  • It comes installed with StarOffice, rather than OpenOffice.org, which I use every day. StarOffice is OK, but it has different defaults, which frequently tripped me up! I have now installed OpenOffice.org on it instead, but that means I have limited disk space left to installed other software.
  • I haven't found a way to add password security to the sleep mode, so anyone can restore your session. Shutting the EeePC down does mean that to boot it will require a password, but there only seems to be one user.
  • Ubuntu can be difficult to set up the wireless connections when used with my EeePC.

Useful EeePC Links

Which links have you found useful?

1

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http://wiki.eeeuser.com

A Wiki for EeePC users.1 point

2

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EeeUser ASUS Eee PC Forum

General and product-specific forums for EeePC users.1 point

3

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ASUSTeK Computer

Home of Asustek Computers.0 points

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http://eeedownload.asus.com

Download software for your Eee PC.0 points

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[Guide] Install Windows 7 on EeePC | bestnetbookpc

You can install the new Microsoft operating system on EeePC netbook without major problems. Currently, updates mainly seashell patterns,0 points

Related Lenses

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Rival netbooks

Vote if you own one, or add another, if its not already there!

Format:
Netbook name (OS, screen size, memory size, disk size)

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Asus Eee PC 901 (Linux, 8.9" screen, 1Gb RAM, 20Gb SSD)

1 point

2

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Samsung NC10 (XP Home, 10.2" screen, 1Gb RAM, 160Gb HDD)

1 point

3

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Asus Eee PC 901 (XP Home, 8.9" screen, 1Gb RAM, 12Gb SSD)

0 points

4

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Asus Eee PC 1000 (Linux, 10" screen, 1Gb RAM, 40Gb SSD)

0 points

5

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Asus Eee PC 1000H (XP Home, 10" screen, 1Gb RAM, 160Gb HDD)

0 points

6

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Acer Aspire One (XP Home, 8.9" screen, 512Mb RAM, 120Gb HDD)

0 points

7

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Advent 4211 (XP Home, 10" screen, 1Gb RAM, 80Gb HDD)

0 points

8

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Hi-Grade Notino UL100 (XP Home, 10" screen, 1Gb RAM, 160Gb HDD)

0 points

9

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HP 2133 Mini-Note (Vista Business, 8.9" screen, 2Gb RAM, 120Gb HDD)

0 points

10

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Medion Akoya E1210 (XP Home, 10" screen, 1Gb RAM, 80Gb HDD)

0 points

11

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MSI Wind U100 (XP Home, 10.1" screen, 1Gb RAM, 80Gb HDD)

0 points

12

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Asus Eee PC 900 (XP Home, 8.9" screen, 1Gb RAM, 16Gb SSD)

0 points

13

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Asus Eee PC 4G (Linux, 7" screen, 512Mb RAM, 4Gb SSD)

0 points

14

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Asus Eee PC 900 (Linux, 8.9" screen, 1Gb RAM, 16Gb SSD)

0 points

15

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Asus Eee PC 1000H (XP Home, 10" screen, 1Gb RAM, 80Gb HDD)

0 points

16

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Asus Eee PC 2G (Linux, 7" screen, 512Mb RAM, 2Gb SSD)

0 points

17

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Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (XP Home, 8.9" screen, 1Gb RAM, 8Gb SSD)

0 points

18

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Asus Eee PC S101 (XP Home, 10" screen, 1Gb RAM, 16Gb SSD)

0 points

19

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IMOVIO iKIT (Linux, 2.8" screen, 64Mb RAM, no disk)

0 points

20

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LG X110 (XP Home, 10" screen, 1Gb RAM, 160Gb HDD)

0 points

EeePC videos on YouTube

Asus Eee PC X101CH review
by BradLinder | video info

30 ratings | 7,742 views
automatically generated by YouTube

EeePC on Amazon.com

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EeePC on Amazon.co.uk

The prices seen next to the Amazon images can take time to refresh when the prices change, so please check the prices on the web site before making your final decision on whether to purchase.



ASUS Eee PC 901 W006 Netbook, Linux Preloaded, 1GB RAM, 20GB SSD (White)


ASUS Eee PC 901 BK006 Netbook, Linux Preloaded, 1GB RAM, 20GB SSD (Black)


ASUS Eee PC 901 W007X Netbook, Windows XP Preloaded, 1GB RAM, 12GB SSD (White)


ASUS Eee PC 1000 W003 Netbook, Linux Preloaded, 1GB RAM, 40GB SSD (White)


ASUS Eee PC 1000 BK002 Netbook, Linux Preloaded, 1GB RAM, 40GB SSD (Black)


ASUS Eee PC 1000H BK007X Netbook, Windows XP Preloaded, 1GB RAM, 80GB HD (Black)

EeePC on eBay

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EeePC photos on Flickr

A new sticker by xmacex
eeepc-turtle-05 by miguelb
eeepc-turtle-03 by miguelb
eeepc-02 by miguelb
eeepc-turtle-02 by miguelb
eeepc-turtle-04 by miguelb
eeepc-01 by miguelb
eeepc-turtle-01 by miguelb
eeepc-03 by miguelb
eeepc-04 by miguelb
automatically generated by Flickr

Eee PC and Linux advertising

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What do you think about EeePCs?

  • Mar 30, 2011 @ 12:19 pm | delete
    I love netbook computers also! I have an Acer Aspire One, installed Jolicloud, and everything's running smoothly. I don't really recommend running Windows on netbooks because of their smaller screens and lower specs. But I think Windows 7 should run fine on your netbook.

    But I really recommend installing Ubuntu, Jolicloud, Linux Mint, or any other Linux distros on your netbook.
  • hollandnumerics Jun 10, 2010 @ 4:45 pm | delete
    In Windows you can use Power Management in the Control Panel to change the lid-closing action from Sleep to Hibernation.
    Unfortunately, in Xandros (the EeePC Linux) there is no option.
    However, you can use Ubuntu on an SDHC card (Squidoo lens: Ubuntu-Netbook-Remix) or on an USB drive (Squidoo lens: EeePC_Ubuntu_USB), where you can also update the lid-closing action from Sleep to Hibernation in the Power Management facility in the System menu.
  • Misha Jun 8, 2010 @ 9:10 am | delete
    I have Eee PC too and I want to say you about when you shut the lid it goes to ¨safe mode¨ (it words from Windows), the electrity from battery uses. And this mode never may protects with password. I do not know how it may goes to hibernate mode. Before hibernate the computer saves the results of your work and opened applications (apps). When hibernate came, the computer does not uses the electrity. When you press the power button, the computer turns on and restore opened apps. After outing of hibernate the computer questions your user´s password. If you understood nothing, my E-mail is misha092000@yandex.ru.
  • messel Mar 10, 2009 @ 5:16 pm | delete
    Hooray for Netbooks, great site!
    I put together a brief netbook review site (and added it to your group)
    http://www.squidoo.com/NetbookReview
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hollandnumerics

Holland Numerics Ltd is a computer consultancy owned and run by Philip and Angela Holland in Royston, Herts, UK. It is involved in lots of activities,... more »

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