Templot Club Archive 2007-2020
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posted: 12 Jul 2008 16:30 from: its_all_downhill
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Hello fellow temploters  After having to give back my last work laptop and moving on to new work, I thought I would treat myself to a new one that I would be able to do what I wanted with. As I travel around alot and am often away from home for extended periods I wanted something that would be portable and yet capable of doing what I wanted. Being a mac person I thought about getting a Macbook, and running parallels so I could run Templot. But looking at the size and weight I thought that this was a bit too heavy and besides I have a 12" PB. So thoughts turned further a field. As I didnt want anything with Vista on due to PC tech support friends having varying views from mild acceptance to severe disdain I started to look far and wide. Finally I came across the eeePC and with a new version out with a 9" screen I thought that was a strong contender. There are 2 versions one with Windows (13Gb) and one with Linux (20Gb) I opted for the Linux model as I thought that I could then install Windows at a later date. Once my new toy arrived, I have to say that it was very well packaged and came with its own little carry sleeve. I set about configuring it to dual boot. Predominately I use the Linux side for mail and web etc. and then when not plugged into net I switch to Windows to run Templot. This way I don't have to worry about constant updates to system and virus apps etc. On looking on the forums I also found that some have configured the little one to run OS X so that is something I will look into as that would be really cool to have an Ultra Portable Mac Laptop. Moving on to the operation of the eeePC. As it is all solid state the boot up time is very quick compared to my old Vaio, in fact it takes around 20secs from power on to ready to use. Models come with 1Gb RAM memory but again looking on the forums you can upgrade to 2Gb but this is not for the faint hearted! And SSD size is 4Gb and then then 16Gb on a memory card. Although advertised as having silent operation the fan does kick in after some use and I have found that having a number of applications open usually kicks the fan into life. However it is not too intrusive even when on. No louder than a normal laptop with drive and fan ambient noise. One major flaw is the battery life and ASUS is apparently going to swap the current batch of batteries for the longer life ones, due to a fire at the factory. But as I don't really use it on battery it is not to much of a problem for me. Much can be read about this on the forums. As said before the 9" screen is perfectly adequate for browsing, creating emails and watching movie's  and is much better than the 7" version on the 700/1 models. There is an VGA port for driving an external monitor, which I thought would be in mirror mode but to my surprise is extended mode so double up on monitor real-estate.The keyboard is the one area which is problematic. For most people it is going to be difficult to type more that the odd url or password, so I have invested in a travel keyboard that you can fold up. It is OK if you take your time but as it is not really design for heavy weight and fast typing. The track pad is hypersensitive in certain areas, mainly in browsing, and you find it easier to click the trackpad buttons. I also tend to use a mouse where every I can which makes life a whole lot eaiser, specially when using Templot. Other features include WiFi, which works really well and in a lot of places better than my good old powerbooks airport card. This is all out of the box so apart from connecting to router the linux stuff is all done for you and not like when I first started using WiFi on Linux. There is also an inbuilt RJ45 network port for when you can get cable access. There is a webcam which is hooked up to Skype, which I have found to be very useable in all but the worst low light conditions. There is also a space SD/MMC slot for use as extra drive etc. All in all this is a very nice laptop and I can not recommend it enough. It may not be the fastest or the most stylish, but in terms of doing what it says on the tin I can't fault it, and for around 300ukp it is certainly one of the cheapest if not the cheapest UPLP. Oh and here's a pic. Thanks Martin for speedy code request |
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posted: 12 Jul 2008 17:39 from: Martin Wynne
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Hi Tom, Many thanks for that detailed report. It looks a great little computer, it would be ideal as a remote capture monitor for a digital camera. I like the idea of no moving parts, it should be quite rugged for outdoor use, and on the workbench too? Although advertised as having silent operation the fan does kick in after some use and I have found that having a number of applications open usually kicks the fan into life. However it is not too intrusive even when on. No louder than a normal laptop with drive and fan ambient noise. There's a setting in Templot you can change for better battery life and less fan activity. On the control room / program panel window, click the program > expert > cpu usage > allow full idle (slow) option. Read the > ? cpu - help menu notes for more info about this. You might care to report if this improves matters, and how much difference it makes to the mouse response in Templot? regards, Martin. |
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posted: 12 Jul 2008 21:07 from: its_all_downhill
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Martin Wynne wrote: Hi Tom,Hi Martin Indeed it is the work bench, well space on a desk that I am allow to use, but dire warnings about damage etc so having to be ultra careful Unfortunately not much work going on at the moment due to many things. Yes have been using it out and about for the last couple of weeks and the size and weight of it is great, no great laptop bags etc.. and have watched movies quite happily on NXEC. Lots of people infact have asked me what it is..Will report back on fan noise and Templot. Regards Tom |
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posted: 28 Aug 2008 21:52 from: Peter Ayre click the date to link to this post click member name to view archived images |
Tom, How is the little laptop doing and is a 9" screen OK for Templot? There appears quite a few of these "ultra portable" laptops now available for about £200, I've even found one with XP, (but as it has a VIA C7m processor it may not be suitable). I'm not that interested in Email on the move, but Templot on the move, that would certainly make my breaks more interesting. Regards, Peter |
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posted: 4 Sep 2008 03:48 from: its_all_downhill
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Hi Peter The eeePC is going great, the more I use it the more I like it. So far I haven't found any down sides, apart from the obvious screen size. But I think it is a great laptop for on the move Temploting. I know there are other models but the eeePC is definately worth considering. Mine came with XP but I have Linux running on it too and alledgedly you can put OS X on too! I use a travel mouse with it now and if I have lot of typing to do I have a folding keyboard. I believe Dell are bringing one out very shortly.Regards Tom |
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