anyone else here play with the EEEPC?

[Gaelen]

well...in keeping with keeping things small and fast, I've left mine Linux, and am now investigating some web-based recipe analysis software to see if it will work when I'm on the road. My recipes are all in Mastercook, and I haven't found a linux compatible recipe analysis software yet.

I'm going to experiment with the Kpilot software--Geron, I know you had trouble with it, and I can't afford to mess up my Tungsten E2. My PDA is my extra brain cells. It would be good if I could sync it to my eeePC, but the reality is that I can back it up to an SD card and charge it from an external USB charger. But Vista doesn't like some of my PDA programs either (notably--Vindigo--a lifesaver program when I'm in NYC or traveling elsewhere.) So right now it only completely syncs to my work laptop, and that won't do. I'm hoping Kpilot or some of the orasync desktop solutions might work...but don't know yet. I may have to install wine to see if it will allow me to run Palm Desktop, and a limited Mastercook.

So what's installed to date? Nothing much but a couple of wallpapers and themes (yep, converted to Advanced Desktop yesterday, using the browser link/download/execute file method instead of termina). That allows me to boot up in easy mode for quick checks, but switch on the fly to Advanced Desktop to get behind things as neededl--very very nice.

[Geron]

well...in keeping with keeping things small and fast, I've left mine Linux, and am now investigating some web-based recipe analysis software to see if it will work when I'm on the road. My recipes are all in Mastercook, and I haven't found a linux compatible recipe analysis software yet.

I'm going to experiment with the Kpilot software--Geron, I know you had trouble with it, and I can't afford to mess up my Tungsten E2. My PDA is my extra brain cells. It would be good if I could sync it to my eeePC, but the reality is that I can back it up to an SD card and charge it from an external USB charger. But Vista doesn't like some of my PDA programs either (notably--Vindigo--a lifesaver program when I'm in NYC or traveling elsewhere.) So right now it only completely syncs to my work laptop, and that won't do. I'm hoping Kpilot or some of the orasync desktop solutions might work...but don't know yet. I may have to install wine to see if it will allow me to run Palm Desktop, and a limited Mastercook.

So what's installed to date? Nothing much but a couple of wallpapers and themes (yep, converted to Advanced Desktop yesterday, using the browser link/download/execute file method instead of termina). That allows me to boot up in easy mode for quick checks, but switch on the fly to Advanced Desktop to get behind things as neededl--very very nice.

Gaelen,

You may have better luck with the Tungsten E2 than I did with the Treo 700p. Seems IIRC when i was visiting forums trying to get Kpilot to work most where having success with the T E2.

That's the reason I went with stripped down XP. I had some programs that just weren't supported by Linux.

I tried Mastercook and just couldn't get past the cluttered GUI. MealMaster is free and runs out of a DOS window (the download is 329 kb)- how uncluttered can you get The MM file format seems to be a common link between most recipe programs for export and import.

Are we having fun yet

Good computing and cooking

g

[Dave Bob]

Looks like Lenovo is coming out with a couple of netbooks, the IdeaPad S9 and S10. Click

Rumor has it Dell is calling its netbook the Inspiron 910 and will be released Aug 22nd. Click

Dave

[MrBuzz]

The Lenovo (IBM) machines are supposed to be very nice looking. The reviewers who have seen pre-release models have said that they are easily the best looking, most professional appearance of the current netbooks. Not that looks is that important but many times it does say something about the functinality. Lenovo is only going to be selling the 10" in the US to start with. The 9" is ear-marked for some foreign markets.
Another one that gets really good grades for overall looks & features is from a company I have never heard of, ECS...model G10IL. And last week Sylvania released a 9" netbook called the g-Meso. Initially it wasn't supposed to amount to much, but a noted reviewer at Laptop Magazine surprised everyone and had lots of good things to say about it.
I hope the Dell Friday Release rumor is correct, I would like to see what they come out with and if they can hit the "rumored" price of $299. If they don't I'll probably order an Acer One. At this point the whole Dell thing might turn out to be a huge red herring...it's odd that so far Dell hasn't said ANYTHING official about the mini/910 at all. Other than Michael Dell was quite conspicuously carrying one around at tradeshow earlier this summer...Dell hasn't said anything about a netbook, price, release...nothing officially at all!

[MrBuzz]

ECS G10IL
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/09/ecs-g10il-stateside-september-for-399/

Sylvania g-Meso
http://blog.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-the-sylvania-g-netbook-meso

[Dave Bob]

Well, Lenovo has the S10 Ideapad for sale on their site shipping listed at 2 to 3 weeks. Specs are 512mb ram 80 gig HD and xp home os. Price is $429 to $439 depending on color, but if you use this code USPIDEAPAD15 in the eCoupon at checkout you can get 15% off limited time offer.

Check here

Dave

[mikeschn]

investigating some web-based recipe analysis software to see if it will work when I'm on the road.

Let me know if you come up with some good recipe software for Xandros!

Mike...

[Mike B]

Computer Geeks has the Asus EEE PC 4G 701 on sale for $299. Two gotchas, though: they are refurbished and they are pink.

Personally, I have bought a lot of refurbished equipment from these folks and never had a problem. The pink thing would be my hangup. I'd rather have lime green.



http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid ... -R&cpc=HPM

Mike
Hayden Lake, ID
(Actually, I have a black one)

[MrBuzz]

MikeB; Wow, good info about the Lenovo site/discount. I ran a trial cart up to the checkout and it works...$364 after the coupon for the black one and it didn't add anything for shipping. The site now lists the models I looked at as shipping in 3-5 days.
For some reason the Lenovo site would add $20 state/local sales tax. I hadn't run into that when shopping online before.
Acer has let it slip that the price on the Aspire One will "be adjusted" after Dell announces their $299 mini 910 model on Friday.
I guess most of the netbook industry has been waiting to see the new models from IBM & Dell...hope Dell gets this release off the shelf OK so the waiting is over and we can all buy some new toys!
BTW...not sure if a Lime Green 4G Surf is any better choice than Hot Pink

[MrBuzz]

Hey all you Netbook-heads...
Today might be the day...I just found out that Best Buy has the Blue Acer One with 1GB or RAM, a 120GB hard drive and Windows XP for $350 !!!
If it's still there at noon I'm buying it. I would like to have Linux on it but since it's a good sized harddrive I can just resize the Windows partition and install whatever Linux I want...I do still use Windows for some things.
Still no word from Dell on the when they will introduce their netbook. Could be smoke & mirrors...but it must have been the catalyst for Acer to drop their price.

[Geron]

Hey all you Netbook-heads...
Today might be the day...I just found out that Best Buy has the Blue Acer One with 1GB or RAM, a 120GB hard drive and Windows XP for $350 !!!
If it's still there at noon I'm buying it. I would like to have Linux on it but since it's a good sized harddrive I can just resize the Windows partition and install whatever Linux I want...I do still use Windows for some things.
Still no word from Dell on the when they will introduce their netbook. Could be smoke & mirrors...but it must have been the catalyst for Acer to drop their price.

It's on their website for that price also -- but shipping and tax runs it up to $395

Geron
ed.
btw - Brenda/wife picked up my Eee Sunday afternoon and fell in love with it. Don't know to buy another Eee or the Acer One. I've read that the wi-fi on the Acer One is buggy/fails.

Geron

[MrBuzz]

Update: The usualy Best Buy Buggaboo's strike again...they were sold out and no rainchecks! The guy said that they had about 100 of them on Sunday and they were almost all gone in the first hour!
This is a good deal with the 1GB RAM, big SATA HD and XP...but, Acer just announced that their next WinXP version will have a 6-cell battery for $399...so I might as well wait for that.
The new list price for the base Linux model is $329...NewEgg has either the blue or white ones Linux models for that price...that's 512MB RAM with 8GB SSD.
I did get to play with the display model at BB...really sweet. I had not had my hands on one yet. Wow, really small and light...nice looking too. Great display, bright and clear (didn't even need my reading glasses), good keyboard w/ function keys...even the trackpad with the odd side buttons worked just fine for me. It was running WinXP SP3 and it was just as snappy as anything I have seen lately...no processing issues that I could see.
Now if Dell would just release their Inspiron 910 netbook I would know what to do!

[tbeau]

anybody else read this?
[url]
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/08/ ... war_1.html[/url]
might just hold off a little longer. Been waiting on a 6 cell wind that is not over inflated price, in something other than pink.
rumurs of dell releasing one too

[Gaelen]

I have to say that, despite the problem I had with my first eeePC 900 (failed SSD drive), the new unit I received from Asus to honor its DOA full replacement warranty has been everything I found the first time, and more.

Although the options offered by the other manufacturers may sound like you should wait (the grass is always greener method of computer buying...) it's a fact of hot new markets (like netbooks) that the grass will ALWAYS be greener in the next-promised products.

Asus ain't perfect, but they do have the longest track record with these mini-notebooks, unlike other manufacturers like HP, Dell, Lenovo/IBM, etc. MSI is the only exception there, since they were the original manufacturers of Averatec's 10 inch machines several years ago (another line of ultralights I really loved.)

And for the record, I'd take any weight claims made by HP with a grain of salt--the 12in diagonal widescreen HP I bought over Memorial Day weekend, rated at 4.5 lbs., only weighs 4.5 lbs without the battery + DVD/CD-RW drive, or without the power brick and DVD/CD-RW drive. Neither of those configurations makes a very good travel machine. When I packed that 12in machine into my smallest, lightest notebook sleeve with its drive and power brick, a couple USB sticks and a very light riser to help it run cool, the thing weighed in at over seven and a half pounds -- almost three pounds more than the listed 4.5 lbs. I hated schlepping it through train stations, up subway stairs, and all over NYC the one time I traveled with it.

By contrast, my complete eeePC 900 kit, including power adapter, the same notebook riser I use on my other machines, a couple USB sticks and SD cards (including one that is my disaster/recovery media), put into the same ultralight Eagle Creek small notebook sleeve, clocked in around 2.75 lbs. During its inaugural four-day road trip to NYC, it found wireless in several hotspots, found and connected to the Memorial Sloan Kettering network, and connected with my brother's fruity home wireless network without a single hiccup. Battery life remains between 3 and 3 1/2 hours, depending on whether I'm on wireless or not (a little shorter on wireless.) Recharge time is quick. And I was completely productive--did research, wrote a couple articles, edited and pdf'd some stuff, tapped into my work emails and checked out a server that was acting up, did a little shopping and a little banking and a lot of web-surfing to pass the time. And offloaded the pics on my camera. And played more than a few rounds of Crack Attack (damn, that game is addictive!)

Don't let Linux scare you off--so far, this has been the easiest (and most fun) machine I've played with...I mean, used...in years.

But be warned, a netbook is the teardrop of notebooks. Every time I pulled mine out to work, somebody had to see it up close, and ask questions and wanted to get a 'hands on'. [/b]

[Gaelen]

rumurs of dell releasing one too

Dell's Inspiron Mini9 is now showing up on their website, loaded with Ubuunto and at various prices under $450. The XP version, with 16GB hard drive (not clear if it is a true HD or an SSD), a 4GB USB thumb drive, 3 year warranty and a bunch of miscellaneous software is being 'premiered' on QVC right this minute. It is being sold on advance orders only, shipping date Sept. 25 2008, for $579. Item number E-06206. It comes with 2GB web based storage from Box.net, in either black or white, has the 8.9" dia tru-brite glossy screen. The rep is claiming a full size??? keyboard, weight under 2.2 lbs, and 4.5 hours of battery life.

I'm still happy with my eeePC 900.