Yes, it's been that long since I upgraded my netbook, and I can honestly say there has not been one second of regret. Looking at the prices you can get them for today, it might have been worth waiting until after Christmas, but that is always true of all technology , and you would probably end up getting nothing.
In my previous post on this great little machine , I mentioned that I had upgraded from my original 701 model to get a couple of issues sorted, screen size and keyboard size being the main ones. These have proved to be successfully cured and are now a none issue on this netbook. One major added bonus is the increase in battery life , which really does deliver 5.5hrs after every charge.
The operating system that came pre-installed worked effectively enough , Xandros, and had all the applications one could possibly want in a netbook style computer. It would make sense for most people who just want a netbook to get some work done effectively and without much fuss to leave it at that.I however have now switched all my machines over the last twelve months to using Debian derived Ubuntu Linux, and I really wanted to install this on my 1000.
After much searching of the web and playing with various versions, I have now become formally involved with Eeebuntu Linux for the eeepc's and I have to say it really makes this little PC shine. I think one of the unsung heroes of the efforts to successfully using Ubuntu on this platform is Adam, who has put in a considerable amount of effort to make sure as much as possible works out of the iso.
To be fair , the main Ubuntu project has also made our lives over at Eeebuntu HQ much easier with the introduction of the USB key installer with the latest release of Ubuntu, 8.10. This utility makes trying out as many distro's as you like on the Eeepc as simple as possible. I would certainly recommend people to test drive the new environment from a USB stick before installing to make sure they like it.
Have I found any problems with this netbook? Well not with the unit itself, but with the fact that the very latest netbooks now have 3G capabilities built in, rather than having to use a USB modem. The 1000 works perfectly with them, but it does make it so much tidier to have the SIM card internal to the device, but thats being really picky. Apart from that, I can't think there is much I would change. The black case can show your figure marks from time to time, but nothing a cloth can't rectify in moments and I'm really straining here to make that point.
So in conclusion, I'm very glad I bought this unit, use it regularly and will continue to do so until someone comes up with a netbook that has everything this one does , plus some features that make me take notice. That hasn't happened yet, and I suspect it will be a complete technology refresh from the underlying components, like a new more efficient Intel processor that will cause this to happen. It could be a touch screen, although I'm not convinced that would be that useful on these machines, but I would be prepared to take a look.
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6 comments:
I got the Eeepc 1000 about 3 months ago and like it a lot - very convenient to carry around and excellent battery life.
However, a few weeks later I also got the 1000H, running on XP.
With both these machines, which I use regularly and more or less interchangeably, I find I can do most things. For each I have a 16GB SD card and get most of my data (files and photos) on those.
I've relegated my Vista-equipped machine to the junkheap (newish as it is, too) and usse an older 17" XP, exclusively offline, to do things I want a large screen for.
All in all Asus have some clever products in the Eeepc range.
Bill, have you thought of installing eeebuntu on your 1000H, a lot of the team use that model. I'm the same with my Dell XPS laptop with Ubuntu, it's a great machine, but the 1000 is just so easy to carry around , and it does everything I need it too.
Nick
I've vaguely thought about it, but not yet done anything. Some of my most useful (non-Microsoft) software runs on XP (but not on Vista) and are not being updated, so I am reluctant to abandon them until I can find user-friendly equivalents.
For example, although I have PhotoShop Elements, I find it difficult to use, but the older (also Adobe) Photo Deluxe v2 is perfect for what I require and I know the software backwords so I can get things done quickly. I also like the FTP client I use on XP (Ipswitch Pro), whereas I find the Komposer on the Linux unit less easy to use.
Anyway, both the Asus 1000 and 1000H are great little machines with very decent battery life and so easy to carry arounnd in the nice covers supplied with them. The screens are remarkably bright and legible. The chargers are nice and small, too. They are good for most things I need to do.
You might want to take a look at filezilla that works on both Linux and XP and is a fantastic FTP/SCP utility. You can then migrate far more easily.
Ah, that's very interesting; I'll check it out - thanks.
Funnily enough I use StopZilla on a couple of machines; I presume it's by the same people.
Not sure Bill, I think the zilla appendix is being by lots of people, riding on the coat tails of Mozilla, the guys behind firefox.
Nick
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