Just a quick note prompted by spotting an Asus Eee PC on the shelf at Target. The $299, 2 lb. laptop (“netbook”) is available with WindowsXP or Linux. I notice at the Target web site that more models are available. Actually, the units for $359 look like the best choice — larger screen (8.9 vs. 7″ with 1024×600 resolution vs. 800×480 resolution) and more solid state drive capacity (8GB vs. 4GB). There are other compact “netbook” computers that include conventional hard-drives in lieu of solid state drives, but the battery life must suffer. The reviews I’ve read have been very positive, and for web surfing, email, home or school document creation (word processing and spreadsheet), and photo viewing these seem very capable. An external USB drive or online server could provide archival storage if a full blown computer is not available. An external keyboard, mouse, and monitor could be connected for desktop (docked) use. Drool. Drool.
Click on the picture for a cool demo.
Eee PC
I guess what I really like is the design elegance of these little machines. By stripping out excesses in hardware and software, they satisfy 99% of most people’s computing needs (my unscientific observation) with an inexpensive, attractive, compact, and energy efficient solution.
Tags: Computers, Linux, Technology, Windows
