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One Month Of Using My Asus Eee PC Review

Last month I got an Asus Eee PC as a gift, it was very impressive since the beginning. You can read about it in my post “Asus Eee PC First Impression“. Now it has been a month of owning it, I think I should write a brief review for fellow Eee PC owners and future buyers. Even though Asus names the Eee PC as Easy to learn, Easy to work, and Easy to play, if you want to explore its true potentials, things can get really advanced. To stay on topic a little, the Asus Eee PC helped inspire me with a lot of niche store ideas too! I’ve actually built an Eee PC niche store using Build A Niche Store and it became an instant success.

Really Easy Out Of The Box

When I first used the Asus Eee PC out of the box, it was very very easy to use. Don’t be freaked out because it runs on Linux and you’ve heard only super geeks play with Linux. The factory Linux running on the Eee PC has been modified by Asus so that a 5 year old can manage to use it with no problem. Because of this, I got bored of the system after my first week of using it. It’s just too damn simple! I also don’t like the fact that there’s hardly anything that can be customized. Even change the wallpaper requires me to modify some system files. However, if you are looking for a stable and easy to use platform without distractions, the default system may be best for you.

Opening The Doors To Ubuntu

After reading some tutorials and guides from Eeeuser.com, I’ve decided to switched to use Ubuntu instead. Installation was quite difficult since the Eee PC doesn’t come with an optical drive. I’ve spent endless hours trying to get Ubuntu to boot from my USB thumb drive. I got Ubuntu installed but then found out I also need to modify it in order to make it work with the Asus Eee PC. Ubuntu also runs quite slow on my Eee PC.

My Asus Eee PC running Xubuntu.

EeeXubuntu Works Great On My Asus Eee PC

Users of the Eee PC community had developed a custom version of Xubuntu that works best on the Eee PC. It is called eeeXubuntu, you can find out more here. I installed it and most of my headaches were gone! It fixed all the problems associated with drivers and performance. This is what I am using now and I will probably keep it as a permanent solution. It leaves lots of room for me to customize and learn. Most of the features are there and it is very similar to Windows. There are 2 problems I encountered while using eeeXubuntu. One is that the Asus keyboard FN keys won’t work. It is impossible to change my screen brightness and volume level without FN keys. The problem is now fixed with a fix script here. Another problem is the default network manager is very mediocre. It won’t remember profiles and it is a pain for me to connect to my school’s secure network. I’ve tried using WICD and WIFI-RADAR but they can’t connect at all. I am still finding a solution for it.

Windows On The Asus Eee PC?

I know it is possible to run Windows XP on the Eee PC but haven’t yet try it. I don’t think it is a good idea because I already have an Asus laptop running windows and the Eee PC is just not designed for it. However, I am planning to install Windows on my Eee PC the next few days just to see how it will turn out. It’s going to be a fun task with no optical drive.

I am a Asus fan!

Conclusion and Niche Ideas

The Asus Eee PC is a great little laptop for anyone. If you intend to use it to surf the web and create basic office documents, the default Linux system is perfect for you. For tech-savvy users like me, you may want to explore other Linux options or even getting Windows to run on it. The learning path is endless! Since the past month of using my Asus Eee PC, I learned a great deal of things about Linux and the Eee PC. I also explored many niche store ideas from using it. I’ve set up a niche store targeting the Eee PC and planning to set up another one targeting SD memory cards. (A SD card is a must have for Eee users.) If you are planning to buy an Asus Eee PC, don’t wait, get it now!

My 4GB SDHC Class 6 memory card.

Asus Eee PC 8GB for as low as $400 on BuyAsusEee.com!

16GB ADATA Turbo SDHC Class 6 memory card as low as $15!

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Tags: 8gb, asus, asus eee, buy, class 6, eee, eee pc, eee pc review, eeexubuntu, idea, linux, Niche, niche store, review, sdhc, ssd, ubuntu, xubuntu

Asus Eee PC Carrying Bag and Niche Idea

Today my friends invited me to their house for dinner. I decided to bring my Asus Eee PC with me. The problem is I didn’t know what to carry it with. I have a leather laptop carrying bag but it is too big for the Eee PC. I usually use it for carrying my Asus A8 around like going to friend’s house and the coffee shop. Now I don’t have anything to protect the small laptop during the commute. Since Best Buy and Future Shop don’t carry the Asus Eee PC, it is a it difficult to find a case or bag for it. The only option for now is to buy it online.

 

I’ve done some searching and found out there aren’t many websites that focus on Asus Eee accessories. In fact, there aren’t many websites that are focused on laptop carrying bags. That is a good Build A Niche Store niche idea. The Asus Eee PC will be available in more and more countries and the potential for its accessories market is huge. I have bought a new domain: BuyAsusEee.com. The new Build A Niche Store will showcase Asus Eee PCs and accessories.

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Tags: asus, bans, eee, laptop, pc

Asus Eee PC First Impression

Got a Asus Eee PC 4GB Surf Edition for birthday. I was very happy because I have always wanted to buy one. What got my attention on this laptop is its portability. The whole computer is smaller than my mouse pad. However, I decided to wait and see if it is worth the investment. Now I finally got it so I opened the box and took it to school today instead of my Asus 14.1″ A8. It took a lot of weight off my bag because with my usual A8 and some accounting books it was heavy. My first impression for this little PC is amazing. The A8 would take a big chunk of desk space in class, the problem is solved with the Asus Eee PC.

What a wonderful computer the Eee PC is for school. The operating system is very fast and has no nonsense. Menus and programs are very easy to use. Most software I need for school are preloaded already. For example, Firefox, dictionary, mail, PDF Viewer, appointments, and notes. If you want to play games on it, look else where. The Eee PC has a Celeron 800Mhz processor which is not capable of running today’s games. However, with the size and full suite of useful applications, it can certainly boost your productivity. I will do more reviews on the Asus Eee PC as I get more comfortable with the Linux system it runs. Right now I am still trying to figure out how to change the wallpaper.

The 7″ Asus Eee PC comparing to my 19″ widescreen monitor.

The Asus Eee PC comparing to my Microsoft wireless mouse.

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Tags: asus, computer, eee, laptop, pc