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Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 7 Feb 2008
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Couple of updates

Obviously the Eee PC is winning hearts and minds (mine included) I'm going to wait for the next revision before buying... but in the UK actually getting your hands on one is a little difficult... fortunately someone pointed me in the direction of an automated 'in stock' page for all the major suppliers

So page found from this site / forum sub-page

EeeUser ASUS Eee PC EeePC Forum / Prices, Preorders, and Where To Buy

actual page here

ASUS EEE PC Stock

And also, very interesting discussion going on over at slashdot this morning about this very topic - if you want the real geek insight into this issue - check this out

Slashdot | Best Laptop for Going Around the World?

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Old 7 Feb 2008
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Ahhh the great EEEPC shortage.

Same thing here in France, they're rare as hen's teeth. SFR (vodaphone) are doing a deal of an EEEPC with a 3G card for €199 plus €24 a month data/voice connection, which is a right old rip-off. Unfortunately for them they also have to sell the EEEPCs alone under French law. So they're €299 for the 4Gb webcammed ones and they've all gone. Hoefully by the time it comes to buy the novelty will have worn off.

And Matt you'll be buying the pink one of course, wont you mate?
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Old 7 Feb 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alexlebrit View Post
Same thing here in France, they're rare as hen's teeth. SFR (vodaphone) are doing a deal of an EEEPC with a 3G card for €199 plus €24 a month data/voice connection, which is a right old rip-off. Unfortunately for them they also have to sell the EEEPCs alone under French law. So they're €299 for the 4Gb webcammed ones and they've all gone. Hoefully by the time it comes to buy the novelty will have worn off.

And Matt you'll be buying the pink one of course, wont you mate?
of course! Order already in ;-) tart.
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Old 7 Feb 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mattcbf600 View Post

And also, very interesting discussion going on over at slashdot this morning about this very topic - if you want the real geek insight into this issue - check this out

I kinda wonder the usefulness of it if you're not a geek. The fact that it runs linux and has a bunch of crappy tools on it by default just doesn't make the thing very useful.

That being said... I got my eeeeeeeee 4G a few days ago and I _love_ it.

BUT I also have tons of Linux admin experience and write software for a living. I upgraded to 2GB ram, rebuilt the kernel, setup KDE, shrank all the fonts and window dressings, and am now starting to wonder what kind of scripts I should write for photo management.

The only downside with the machine is that the keyboard is tiny. I have a hard time typing at full speed on the thing. I've regressed into 2 or 3 finger typing. I'm sure I'll get better over time.
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Old 7 Feb 2008
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Yes know what you mean about the keyboard - but as they say practice, practice, RSI.

RE crappy tools though... tbh you require no Linux experience to use the machine and the software you use is identical to it's windows counterpart - Skype, Firefox, Mail, etc....

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  #6  
Old 8 Feb 2008
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Hi all
Matt,this has been a great thread...cheers.
I have been looking at tough compact travel computers and first came across the Asus eeepc on this thread...i tried getting a good look at one here in Spain but nobody seems to stock them...maybe looking in the wrong place.
Anyway,on a recent motorbike trip to Morocco i finally got to see one in the flesh after bumping into another biker who was traveling with one.It felt great to handle and the screen size was good as was the picture.The owner seemed very hapy with its wifi and toughness...he even dropped it on the floor from waist height to prove its ruggedness.It bounced twice and carried on working.I know nuffink about computers...which could be a blessing,but this little baby could be perfect for my basic needs on the road.
Anybody know when or if the newer 10" screen version is out.....is it worth waiting for? I hear it will have bigger screen,will it have bigger memory etc?
Gonna order a machco black one

Eee PC in Tan Tan,Morocco.4,000kms on a motorbike,dropped and kicked and played with and still working.
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Old 9 Feb 2008
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Asus originally said April for the 7'' and 8'' versions of the eee PC but have now pushed that back to 'Q2'. They are having problems getting hold of the processor by all accounts.

My trip isn't until September so I'm going to hang off until nearer the time to see what comes along before I go.

Whilst reading the Register yesterday I canme across the new HTC umpc -

HTC Vista UMPC to hit the UK within weeks | Reg Hardware



It'll be available from Expansys at around $1720ish from 19th Feb and there's a rumour that Orange may also sell it with a contract for much less.

Specs:
So what other features does the pricey device have? The Shift has a 7in touchsensitive display that tilts up to reveal a Qwerty keyboard. It runs Windows Vista Business edition, and hides 1GB of DDR 2 memory and a 30GB hard drive under its shell.


For data connectivity, the Shift has quad-band GSM/GPRS/Edge, 3G HSDPA for connections of up to 3.6Mb/s, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0. There's a fingerprint reader to stop unauthenticated users from easily gaining access.

So some significant improvements over the eee PC - but still a traditional HD rather than flash - and that's the killer for me. Not to mention the price.




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Old 9 Feb 2008
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woot i just bought one, its great
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Old 9 Feb 2008
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Ooooh, the HTC, I got my hands on one yesterday, I teach people from Orange how to speak English and they show me gadgets. It is lovely, BUT:

It's smaller than the EeePC, and that means a smaller keyboard, it really is back to one or two finger typing - OK so the touch screen obviates this a little bit, but then why not just go the whole hog and get an HTC Touch? The hard-drive as Matt said is a vulnerability although being smaller it should be easier to pack securely. It does run Windows though which means GPS compatibility should be easier.

The big killer for me is the price, why pay thousands for it when you can pay hundreds and have something which is probably better suited for travelling?
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