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Asus eeePC as a temporary laptop substitute?

B

Bogie

macrumors regular
Original poster
I was considering getting an eeePC to use for the next year or so as my laptop while saving up for the next rev of the MBA or MBP. Would any of you recommend them? what are your impressons? I only need it right now for the Internet, word processing and email.
 
I just bought one to play around with. Haven't spent more then 20 minutes with it so far but....

  • The screen is TINY
  • The OS is pretty good
  • It's fast, for what it is

The rumored (or maybe it's been released by now) 8"-9" screen should make it useable everyday for the average user.

Just my .02 cents
 
I recommend them very much because they're exceptional machines for what they do, but it might not be the best solution for the long term because of the small screen, small hard drive and lack of optical drive. If that doesn't deter you then it could very well work for you but my recommendation would be to pick up a used 12" powerbook around the 400-550 price region which isn't too hard if you look through ebay a couple times a day.
 
Really? You can get a 12" powerbook that low? I've been watching every so often but they all seem to go for 700-800 and that's just out of my range.
 
If you've got the time and skills you can put a full Linux distro on the eeePC; which should make it much more versatile. Xubuntu would be a great lightweight distro.
 
Bogie said:
Really? You can get a 12" powerbook that low? I've been watching every so often but they all seem to go for 700-800 and that's just out of my range.
Click to expand...

Most definitely. I actually picked up a 12" powerbook a couple weeks ago for $450 for my girlfriend on ebay. You just have to know how to look. If you need any help I can explain the search settings I use on ebay if you PM me.
 
Its a fine machine, you can always plug it to a external display with large screen and higher resolution.

It has firefox for internet

thunderbird for email

openoffice for documents

skype for video chat

Adobe reader 7 for PDF reading

SMPlayer for video (you can install vlc if you want to, but smplayer is a better option)

Amarok for music/podcast manager

GAIM for IM

tetis, penguin racing, bubble for games
 
i know they will be selling it with windows xp soon 😱, friend has one, i like it, the screen is small compared to the overall size of the thing, but it is SMALL, and very nice and CHEAP! (in a very good way) especially if your a traveling student!
 
This talk about the 12" powerbook changed my mind. If I can find one for between 400 and 500 I'm buying. Assuming it's in good condition of course.
 
wightstraker said:
So it comes with KDE packages? Can you use kdm, or are you stuck with the stock GUI?
Click to expand...

KDE is already there, you just need to install two small packages to run full kde desktop. but all I mentioned above are easily run in "EASY MODE"
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:getkde

* Open a console window (Ctrl-Alt-t).
* Type the following to install ksmserver and kicker, the two programs we need (answer Y if it asks you if you're sure you want to install anything):
o sudo bash
o apt-get update
o apt-get install ksmserver kicker
* Exit the console
* Restart (should go to Easy Mode)
Click to expand...
 
the Eee looks awesome, and I want one.

But I already have a MBP and an iPhone, so it will serve no real purpose for me, so I'm telling myself "no."

😉
 
The Eee is a great secondary computer, but I wouldn't want to use it as my only computer for extended periods (certainly not for a year), mainly due to their very small and low res screen and small storage. I guess it's not too bad if you already have spare USB keyboard, mouse and monitor and external HD lying around.

If you don't mind Windows too much or have the skills to do your own Linux install, you could consider a ThinkPad X31. There are tons of those on eBay, at around the same price as the Eee, which is cheaper than most PBG4s. They're very good machines, and far less painful to use as a primary computer than the Eee.

You know the usual story of how well most used Macs hold their values. Well, the flipside is that many used PCs can be had very cheap. Granted, many of those are really junk, but ThinkPads are usually very good.
 
em500 said:
The Eee is a great secondary computer, but I wouldn't want to use it as my only computer for extended periods (certainly not for a year), mainly due to their very small and low res screen and small storage. I guess it's not too bad if you already have spare USB keyboard, mouse and monitor and external HD lying around.
Click to expand...

i agree you will need a display+a mice if you plan to use it for long period of time. keyboard is fine.
photo011808001wd9.jpg
 
wightstraker said:
I'd probably install ubuntu just for the repo. Do you have an eeePC?
Click to expand...

your best option is to copy the ubuntu ISO to USB flash (there are TONS of how too's)

boot from USB flash, install ubuntu, and your good to go, 4GB is minimum, but 4 gives you enough to dual boot ubuntu and XP+nlite
 
My 12" PB is turning 5 this year and I recently gave it a facelift by upgrading it to a new 120 gig drive, maxed out 1.25 GB RAM and Leopard. (If Leopard turns out to be a mistake, I can always roll back to Tiger, and it would feel even faster).

I'm impressed by how well it is still holding up. I'm especially impressed by the current resale value (you mean I can STILL fetch $500-700 for this thing?!)
 
well, I bought an Eee (4G) to bridge the gap between now and when I can finally get a chance to see a MacBook Air in person. My PowerBook has been going strong for more than four years, but the motherboard is finally starting to get iffy, and I no longer trust it. I figure I can float by on the Eee for a few weeks until the Air shows up in stores. If I like the Air, then I'll get one, if not, maybe a MB Pro. I see the Eee as a perfect temp. laptop. I'm not planning on lasting a year on it, but a month or two of light use, maybe. Of course, if I'm blown away by the laptop, I'll just hold off on the MacBook a little longer and build up a little larger cash reserve.

Once the Eee shows up (in a few days), I'll know better where I stand.
 
I'm thinking about getting one just to check emails and web surf during my lunch breaks at work. i read that only some models have user changeable ram is that true? Was the 8GB version ever released? It's on Asus's site but don't see it at any online stores.

Still wish Apple had something like that, just to make syncing everything real easy and simple.
 
Foxglove9 said:
I'm thinking about getting one just to check emails and web surf during my lunch breaks at work. i read that only some models have user changeable ram is that true? Was the 8GB version ever released? It's on Asus's site but don't see it at any online stores.

Still wish Apple had something like that, just to make syncing everything real easy and simple.
Click to expand...

Only the 2GB version can't have its ram upgraded. I think the 8GB version isn't out yet. I would rather recommend the 4GB with a 16GB SD card.
 
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