|
|
23 Jul 2007
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London, England
Posts: 706
|
|
Laptop virtually perfect for the road
Just came across this
ASUS Eee PC - official site
Asus Eee PC: £199 Linux laptop - Crave at CNET.co.uk - more details
ASUS Eee PC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - even more details
It's virtually ideal for travelling - solid state hard drive - so no moving parts to get trashed - and it's dirt cheap £199.
It has wi-fi, 4,8 or 16gb solid state hard drive, 4 usb ports, ships with a nice little linux variant (very easy to use) that boots in 15 seconds and comes pre-loaded with open office, skype and firefox.
It's exactly what I've been looking for - they come out next month... time to put some cash aside I think!
m
Last edited by mattcbf600; 23 Jul 2007 at 16:49.
Reason: added wikipedia link
|
24 Jul 2007
|
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Posts: 1,362
|
|
The first site .. looks to be all flash photos and stuff .. the wilpeadia is more useful .. looks like it will run windows XP .. so could be used for Garmin GPS Mapsource stuff .. nice find.
Note some criticism on the wilpeadia site ..
"Video resolution of the Eee PC-701's 7 inch screen is only 800x480 pixels, the same as Nokia's N800 4.1 inch screen. This will prevent usage with some software and will likely make navigating many web sites much more difficult."
__________________
---
Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S
|
24 Jul 2007
|
|
Contributing Member
HUBB regular
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Hampshire, UK
Posts: 52
|
|
Difficult but not impossible. Have you ever tried browsing on a 320x240 PDA?
|
24 Jul 2007
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London, England
Posts: 706
|
|
Yes it's certainly not a fully featured laptop with stunning resolution - but that's what makes is perfect for travelling I think...
It would be good to have a larger screen resolution and it looks as if the 10'' version will - but what people have been saying is that on a 7'' screen anything larger than 800x600 is almost impossible to read - which makes a certain amount of sense I suppose.
Big ticks for me have to be..
* Solid state hard drive - it aint gonna break
* Small form factor - I can tuck it away anywhere
* So cheap if it dies, it's not the end of the world
* Built in wi-fi
* USB ports so I can connect my phone, camera etc
I guess it's that in-between step from a PDA (less than 800!) and a laptop - I'm sure I'm not going to be surfing the apple trailers site whilst I'm out on the road - but I'll certainly be ploughing through my various RSS feeds, maybe booking ferries etc, and updating my blog and sending emails.
I don't have a Garmin so I don't have to worry about MapSource I guess - I'd also be very hesitant about running XP on it - it's got very good specs for an OS that takes up less than 500mb of disk space - but it's going to struggle with one that takes up 4gb!
Last edited by mattcbf600; 24 Jul 2007 at 12:03.
Reason: Formating was all to pot
|
26 Jul 2007
|
|
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Wirral, England.
Posts: 5,673
|
|
Me likey a lot.
Shame the 10" isnt out until 2008.
__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.
|
26 Jul 2007
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London, England
Posts: 706
|
|
Yes I know what you mean - I've got a pre-order in on the 7'' - I'll report back when I've had a play.
m
|
26 Jul 2007
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London, England
Posts: 706
|
|
Just spotted this... now... it's a 'normal' laptop - standard moving parts hard drive and other bits - it runs linux and its..... £73.. yes... £73
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/07...son_celebrity/
now - I'm not sure it'll last very long on the road - BUT at that price - with a 14'' screen and 1280x768 resolution.... seems reasonable.
m
|
27 Jul 2007
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London, England
Posts: 706
|
|
Well as ever you should only buy from a trusted source - I wont buy on in Europe yet as there's no supplier - but BBC America has placed an order for 10 of them as cheap machines to use in the field - let's see if they turn up!
|
29 Jul 2007
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Coventry
Posts: 126
|
|
great find, hope its released before I leave.
video of Asus
YouTube - Asus Eee PC 701 News Video
|
29 Jul 2007
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London, England
Posts: 706
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by DarrenM
|
Cool - thanks for the link - most informative - yes I'm crossing fingers it comes out before my Sept 4th departure.
m
|
29 Jul 2007
|
Registered Users
New on the HUBB
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Northern Ireland/England
Posts: 14
|
|
anyone manage to spot if the Eee PC had a DVD/CD drive in it??
|
29 Jul 2007
|
|
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Wirral, England.
Posts: 5,673
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by ashmax
anyone manage to spot if the Eee PC had a DVD/CD drive in it??
|
Nope. Everything would have to be installed via USB using package files or by using an inexpensive USB CD/DVD RW.
LITE-ON Dvd Dual Drive Dvd+/-rw 20x8x16x Dl 8x Dvd-ram 12x Usb 2.0 External LH-20A1PX-500C
Once things are installed on linux, they dont go wrong (usually).
You can put a DVD image onto a flash drive and install off that or just make sure you have everything that you need pre-installed on the trip.
The only downfall is not being able to burn dvd's on the road but I dont think thats an issue these days seeing as USB flash memory is so cheap now and the Eee's 16mg memory wont allow much storing of video/pictures/music etc.
Think of it like a camera where you need to buy Memory cards.
__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.
|
29 Jul 2007
|
|
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: London, England
Posts: 706
|
|
Yes I couldn't agree more... and the thing is of course that linux software is generally downloaded rather than installed from CD - unless of course you want to play that very latest CD Single!
anyhow... as you say flash memory is so cheap - in fact it's free when you've been to as many tech conferences as me and have as many USB memory sticks as I do!
m
|
30 Jul 2007
|
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Denmark
Posts: 140
|
|
If this thing can handle my mapsource for Garmin, I'm definately buying.
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 4 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 4 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
Next HU Events
ALL Dates subject to change.
2025 Confirmed Events:
- Virginia: April 24-27 2025
- Queensland is back! May 2-4 2025
- Germany Summer: May 29-June 1 2025
- CanWest: July 10-13 2025
- Switzerland: Date TBC
- Ecuador: Date TBC
- Romania: Date TBC
- Austria: Sept. 11-15
- California: September 18-21
- France: September 19-21 2025
- Germany Autumn: Oct 30-Nov 2 2025
Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!
Questions about an event? Ask here
See all event details
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Lots more comments here!
Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook
"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.
Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!
New to Horizons Unlimited?
New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!
Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.
Read more about Grant & Susan's story
Membership - help keep us going!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
|
|
|