EEE PC or Laptop - Page 3 - maemo.org

gompers | # 21 | 2008-01-21, 01:31 | Report

Originally Posted by skeezer65134 View Post

I don't own an Eee, nor have I played with one. I can say, though, as a person interested in getting into IT or programming, the Eee is a really bad choice. Yes it's a computer, and it's cool in its own right, but it's not made to be a replacement for a desktop or laptop, instead it's geared as more of an "on the go" system. That alone should be enough to make you pick a budget laptop over an Eee. Plus, the Eee may be fast enough to do what most people want to do, but a budget laptop will be much faster and will therefore likely make for a better "every day" computer, not a travel companion. Plus, the screen resolution is the same as the N800/N810, it's just a bigger screen. You already have the portable computing angle covered with the N800, now you need a real computer.

If you're not hooked on the portable, whet polossatik said is absolutely brilliant. Build (don't buy) a desktop. You learn quite a bit from researching components and putting it all together, and in the end you'll spend less and get more than if you built a laptop. His/her suggestion about VMWare is also brilliant; the best way to learn anything is to do it. If you chose Linux as your main OS, you could also use VirtualBox for a lot of your needs (an OSS alternative to VMWare). Virtual environments aren't quite the real thing, but they are a great learning tool. You could probably do the same with a laptop that's slightly better than budget, but building your own system definitely has a lot of merit; again, if you can deal with your machine not being portable. That's my 2 cents I guess.

As an aside, why does every topic involving the Eee have to degrade into a debate about the Eee vs a budget laptop? The guy asked a simple question, why can't anyone give him a simple answer? The Eee has its place, and it fits the need of some people very well, others not so much, and still others not at all. Fanboy vs. anti-fanboy helps nobody....

His simple question was laptop vs. eee

I'm not a fanboy or anti-fanboy. I actually want an EEE. I just wouldn't want one over a laptop. I think in his case, he's probably best served by a new desktop, but if he's not amiable to that, a laptop is his next best choice. He's already got an ultra-portable machine in the n800, which can do much of what the eee does with a few modifications and a 30 dollar bluetooth keyboard. Obviously he's financially constrained, so that's a consideration as well.

I agree with you, though.

thoughtfix | # 22 | 2008-01-21, 01:32 | Report

Originally Posted by chrisblessing View Post

Walmart, January 25th - Everex Cloudbook (http://www.everex.com/). Same essential dimensions as the EEE but with a 30 GB hard drive.

I played with a Cloudbook at CES. My only significant gripe about it was the touch pad. It's near the right hinge and only about one square inch of surface area - intended to be operated with the thumb. Ow.

But then - I am an Eee owner and welcome the 30 GB drive. Especially since it's running gOS on shipping so Ubuntu linux drivers are already sorted out.

thoughtfix | # 23 | 2008-01-21, 01:35 | Report

Regarding the original question: Choose a machine based on what you want to do with it. If you want a web browser, Email reader, and music player, go low end with either a super-cheap Dell or an Eee or Cloudbook. If you want to edit video, write music, and bag college girls, get a Mac. If you want to run high-end games, you can't afford that laptop. Don't worry - neither can I. If you want a good all-around laptop, look for a cheap Pentium M or Core Duo from last year on clearance.

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polossatik | # 24 | 2008-01-21, 02:00 | Report

Originally Posted by gompers View Post

His simple question was laptop vs. eee

..

The whole point is just that IMHO he's asking the wrong question

I suggest to let's see what's mooler's idea after all the input and take it from there

sgosnell | # 25 | 2008-01-21, 03:15 | Report

Yes, he's asking the wrong question. I agree with that. But people who have never seen a device saying that it's too slow, or too small, or won't do something, are out of line, IMO. The Eee is faster than my HP laptop. It certainly isn't for heavy graphics or gaming, but for the things most people do, including programming, it's better than a budget laptop, because it's faster, especially running Linux instead of Windows, it's smaller and lighter, and it's cheaper in the long run. Flash memory is getting cheaper, and you can plug a USB stick in and have plenty. Optical drives are only good for making permanent backups now, because you can get far more memory on a USB flash drive than is available on a CD or even a DVD for very little money, and it's easily and quickly rewritable. DVDs are going to be obsolete rather soon for most uses. Lack of a DVD drive isn't a major drawback any longer, and neither is lack of a hard drive, which uses battery power quickly. I've been looking for exactly what the Eee provides for some time, and would have been willing to pay more than double the price. It's not for everyone, and that's why they sell so many different types of computer, from handhelds to huge desktops. Everybody's needs and wants are different, and they vote with their pocketbooks, or at least their credit cards. The OP can use what he has to do what he needs, but doesn't want to. An Eee is the cheapest way to get a new computer that has the capabilities he needs. You don't need a huge screen for programming, or learning networking. If you want something you can use anywhere, anytime, and can easily take with you wherever you go, it fits the bill. You can get a new desktop much cheaper, and the one he has will do the job, but it's pretty much stuck in one place. Whether money or portability is more important is an individual decision.

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drizek | # 26 | 2008-01-21, 03:47 | Report

None of that makes it better than a Thinkpad X series though. It has similar dimensions/weight to the eee(not quite as small, but small enough) without any of the sacrifices. 12" LCD with a usable resolution is pretty important IMO.

The eee has the same resolution as the n800, and using a full KDE desktop isnt possible without running into issues of windows being too large. At least on the NIT the limitation makes sense, but a 2 pound $400 laptop should be able to run a modern OS and desktop. Asus had originally intended to make a 10" version of the eee(which I fully intended to purchase) but when they got rid of the 10" WXGA version and jacked up the price, the n800 became a lot more attractive for ultraportability and regular subnotebooks started being much more practical in comparison.

Also, instead of the cloudbook, everex sells a $199 desktop at wal mart, that is about as low as you can go, and it is an excellent machine. You can buy a 19" LCD for another $130 and be all set.

sgosnell | # 27 | 2008-01-21, 04:15 | Report

Well, we can disagree, I guess. Price is an object for many. The lack of a HD is a plus for me. 12 inches is far too large for me. The windows aren't that big a problem, because you can drag them anywhere by holding the Alt key while dragging. Most are fine, but some apps require it because they've hard-coded the window size. Poor programming, but we have to live with it. It runs any modern OS around that any other Intel box will run. I agree that you can get a desktop cheaper. I got my desktop at Fry's for under $200 at Fry's, several years ago. I had to install Windows on it, though, because Windows costs more than $200, even on an OEM box. I wasn't up for Linspire at the time. I'm seriously considering putting some version of Linux back on it, though. Windows takes forever to boot, while my Eee go from completely off to ready to go in about 20 seconds, to the full desktop. From standby, it takes maybe 5. There are lots of choices, and making the correct choice is more difficult when people with no actual knowledge obfuscate things with uninformed opinions. I couldn't be happier with my Eee, but not everyone feels the same way. You need some computer knowledge to do more than the basics with it, but that doesn't bother me. It does some who only know Windows.

Last edited by sgosnell; 2008-01-21 at 04:18.

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gompers | # 28 | 2008-01-21, 04:21 | Report

Originally Posted by sgosnell View Post

Yes, he's asking the wrong question. I agree with that. But people who have never seen a device saying that it's too slow, or too small, or won't do something, are out of line, IMO. The Eee is faster than my HP laptop. It certainly isn't for heavy graphics or gaming, but for the things most people do, including programming, it's better than a budget laptop, because it's faster, especially running Linux instead of Windows, it's smaller and lighter, and it's cheaper in the long run. Flash memory is getting cheaper, and you can plug a USB stick in and have plenty. Optical drives are only good for making permanent backups now, because you can get far more memory on a USB flash drive than is available on a CD or even a DVD for very little money, and it's easily and quickly rewritable. DVDs are going to be obsolete rather soon for most uses. Lack of a DVD drive isn't a major drawback any longer, and neither is lack of a hard drive, which uses battery power quickly. I've been looking for exactly what the Eee provides for some time, and would have been willing to pay more than double the price. It's not for everyone, and that's why they sell so many different types of computer, from handhelds to huge desktops. Everybody's needs and wants are different, and they vote with their pocketbooks, or at least their credit cards. The OP can use what he has to do what he needs, but doesn't want to. An Eee is the cheapest way to get a new computer that has the capabilities he needs. You don't need a huge screen for programming, or learning networking. If you want something you can use anywhere, anytime, and can easily take with you wherever you go, it fits the bill. You can get a new desktop much cheaper, and the one he has will do the job, but it's pretty much stuck in one place. Whether money or portability is more
important is an individual decision.

Flash drives are a non-starter for me, since I cannot use them at work, or take them anywhere I have work to do. The ONLY way for me to transfer files from one machine to another, or even from home to work, is via optical non-rewritable media. Hell, a floppy drive is still a bonus for me sometimes, as there are machines I work on that do not have a CD ROM. A hard drive might use battery power more quickly, but can store a heck of a lot more data than any SSD in a reasonable form factor. Plus, the form factor of the EEE makes it difficult to put a reasonable battery on it, so it's really not a matter of it being better, but a matter of necessity.

Also, I want XP on my laptop. I don't WANT to run Linux. I don't WANT to use openoffice. I want to run Windows XP, and office 2007. It's what I use at work, it's mostly what I use at home and it's what I want to use when I'm on the road. I have plenty of mobile-optimized devices for when I don't want to pull out a full-fledged device (Treo, n800, ipod etc). When I pull out a laptop, I want a full-fledged computer with all the capabilities of my desktop. I don't foresee a machine with 512MB of RAM and a very limited amount of storage being able to run a very robust XP desktop. My outlook mailbox alone is over 2GB.

I want an EEE, I'm not bashing it. I'm just saying, as most people do, that it's not a full-fledged desktop replacement for most people. It's a compromise at the moment, a good one at that, between capability, usability and form factor. It's somewhere between the n800 and a "real" computer. Maybe by EEE 2.0 they'll have addressed some of the limitations. I'm glad it fits your needs, but I can assure you that it doesn't come close to addressing mine at the moment.

As far as the OP, he hasn't defined the capabilities he needs, but I would presume that running a windows-based OS would be part of that, if he's looking to learn about how to fix computers, since 90%+ of the world uses MS products. You can learn networking or programming on an n800 too. Or a TI-92. Or an Atari 800. Heck, you really don't even need a computer to learn networking. I think, as others have posted, that what he really needs is a big beefy desktop that can run multiple OS images and can be tinkered around with quite a bit without the form factor limitations and concerns that come with a mobile device.

Last edited by gompers; 2008-01-21 at 04:23.

morrison | # 29 | 2008-01-21, 06:14 | Report

Originally Posted by sgosnell View Post

The Eee has replaced both my desktop and my laptop.

I would never replace my desktop computing experience with a system such as the eee, or anything where I can't upgrade the m/b and CPU.

morrison | # 30 | 2008-01-21, 06:25 | Report

Originally Posted by thoughtfix View Post

If you want to edit video, write music, and bag college girls, get a Mac.

My friend, no computer in this world will help you "bag college girls" or impress any chick to consider going out with you. For that, you need a set of balls and to know how to talk to women.