Asus EEE Pc

[Nomadic1]

Ok, so I see some people singing their praises - please I need your help.

I'm a ludite when it comes to computers. Currently I've got an acer travelmate, and I do feel its coming to the end of its useful life. I'm really liking the idea of having a pc that has no moving parts, as I feel this is where my acer is failing having been on the bike around europe, and being bought in malaysia.

So, how do I use it? Im used to seeing 100's of gb's of hard disk, and gigs and gigs of ram, but none seem to be that impressive. And what about these quad core cpu thingies?

The spec of the eee doesnt seem to ring any bells, and without a dvd player, how do you install stuff (can you tell im a windowsaphile?). Also, does it work with one of these huawei mobile internet dongles, as supplied by vodafone, orange, 3 etc?

I want to say right now, that I want it as a direct replacement to my travelmate, safe in the knowledge that its going to survive a ride on the bike without knackering the hard disk. Is this the right choice? Office, internet, music, photos - I need it to do it all..except games.

If not, I've got about £500 to spend. Whats the next best alternative?

Ta.