Eee!

One of the saddest commentaries on life today is the absolute reliance on the personal computer. What twenty years ago was still considered a tool for the nerdy, a toy for the rich, and a device that was slowly making the workplace better is now so much a part of our everyday lives that most people can't function without them. As a society we've become so reliant upon the PC and what it brings us, that many of the functions that we need have sneaked their way into other devices. Cell phones, GPS units, PDAs, and other devices sport many of the same tools and functions that our PCs provide us, so there is no escaping the grasp of the computer. And while most have cast off the shackles of the desktop computer in favor of the more portable laptop, even it has failed those needing a truly portable platform. Laptops have become nothing more than a compacted desktop computer, certainly more portable than it's big brother, but not really all that practical.

Enter the ultra mobile personal computer, or UMPC.

UMPCs provide those that have them a much smaller and more compact version of the PC. Often the size of a paperback book, UMPCs sport most of the same functions as it's bigger counterparts, from operating systems, to wi-fi, USB functionality, and more. The big problem with UMPCs has been the price. You pay for the convenience of portability and many UMPCs today cost upwards of $1800. But that's all changed courtesy of the Asus Eee PC.

I've followed the development of this new breed of UMPC for months, and after staring at the specs, weighing the pros and cons, and considering how useful it would be, we took the plunge. And when I say we, I mean HH6. 6 needed something more portable than our beat to death Toshiba Satellite A65-S1065, and since it was the only functional computer in our home, a second computer was a must. I sold her on the idea of not only having a second computer around the house, but also something she could take with her to her graduate classes to use for notes, presentations, checking e-mail, surfing the web, etc. The little powerhouse that is the Eee does all of that and so much more.

For some comparison shots of just how small the Eee is, check out this set on Flickr.

For starters, the Eee comes packaged with the Xandros version of Linux in a tabbed format. For those that have lived their entire lives in the grip of the Microsoft machine, this new interface and new operating system can take some adjustment, but if you are willing to give it a try chances are you'll love it. It's extremely simple, quite intuitive, and it's not bloated with all of the garbage that comes prepackaged on a computer running a Windows operating system. What it does come packaged with is Firefox, Open Office, Pidgin, Skype, and a host of other programs.

All of this is squeezed on a 4 gigabyte solid state drive. Yup, 4 gigs, at least for this model. (There are also 2GB and 8GB versions available.) In a world of 180GB hard drives being available as an option in many laptops, 4GB may not sound like much, but believe me, it's plenty. Storage can easily be suplimented via the onboard SD card slot (capable of reading SDHC cards) or via a USB hard drive thanks to the three available USB 2.0 slots.

The Eee sports a 7" screen showing 800x480 resolution. At first this seems ridiculously low, but keep in mind most web pages have their most important information within 800 pixels worth of screen real estate. The Eee does have a VGA out port that is capable of displaying resolutions of up to 1600x1200 externally. (I tested this via a ten plus year old Gateway 14" CRT monitor. The monitor maxes out at 1200x1024 and the Eee looked beautiful on it.)

If there is one complaint I can level at the Eee, it's the keyboard. Granted it's small, but my issue with it is the placement of the right hand shift key. It's location to the right of the up arrow key has caused the cursor to jump up a row several times in the course of writing this. (Yup, typing this on the wife's Eee. She left it home today so i could play with it. Thanks baby!) Keeping in mind that the keyboard is small, those with fat fingers may have some initial difficulty with it, but the learning curve is quick and I find myself typing on it faster than I do my regular keyboard.

The simplicity of the Eee is marvelous. If for whatever reason you don't like the Xandros operating system you can easily change it. If for whatever reason you are more comfortable tied to the bonds of the Microsoft machine, you can even install Windows XP on it. It does take some tweaking, but if you know a competent geek, it can be done. There probably is some merit to having XP on the Eee (you'll have an easier time with some of your peripherals that either aren't supported in Linux or aren't done so easily), but there is a host of resources on the web for any assistance you'd need with your system. Most notably among them is eeeuser.com.

I'm so sold on this little machine that not only am I getting one for myself, but I'm probably sending one with 7 when she moves to California. The Eee sports an onboard webcam and thanks to Skype we'll be able to see each other as often as we want (on screen that is). Available currently for $399 for the 4G model with the webcam, it's an absolute bargain. In fact I'm so sold on the Eee that I may try to get one for my sister and her kids so they can keep in touch with 7 too. My own plan for my Eee is to use it on the road and around the house for couch surfing, etc. and hooking it up to an external monitor, keyboard, mouse (a mouse would be nice for everyday use as well as using the touchpad can get tiring), and networked hard drive for heavy duty home use. And probably for photo editing via GIMP too.

In short, 6 loves it. I love it. You'll probably love it too. Buy one, you (probably) won't regret it.

And for those curious souls out there, part of the reason for the new format around here is it looks really pretty and fits nicely on the Eee's screen.