- RE: eeepc

- RE: eeepc

- Yet another EEE user

- Re; #1213 eee PC

- nConvert

- PAYG dial up account,

- Flash card study aid program reqd

- Win XP on Asus Eee

- nConvert - Keith Giles

- eeePCs

Date: 15 Apr 2008 03:54:42 +0100
From: Bob <address truncated>
Subject: RE: eeepc

I love my eeepc.  I have no problem with the keyboard.  I do have to make an adjustment from my PC but that is ok.  I had to do the same with my Psions too.  I bought the 4gb and put in the 1gb memory card and have an 8gb SSD card and it works fine.  I can do anything that I want to do with it.  The Wifi works great and very easy to set up.  It is Linux but all the regular work I do, its transparent to what I am doing.  I am able to save documents in Word, Xcel and other things I normally us on my Windows Vista PC.  I haven't tried to link up like I would on PSiwin but if I want to move documents around I just take out the card and put it in my card reader and transfer to my PC or visa versa and it works just fine or I email to myself. If some one knows some way to sync that would be even better but it works great as is.  Shows photos and movies just fine with no problem at all.
The 8gb might have been nice but the 4gb with my additions works just fine. No matter what we do it is a lot more memory and hard drive space then our venerable old Psions.
It's a great machine and I like it very much.  I have a DVD player case and that works great to carry my eeepc in along with my extra stuff.  Oh, I also bough a 100gb portable hard drive and it works great too no problem so I have copied many of my files from my PC to the portable hard drive and have all the space and files I need and it all fits very easily along with some pads, pencils/pens some of my meeting paper work and all my little peripherals.  It's like a small portable office.

Thanks,
Bob

Date: 15 Apr 2008 04:09:57 +0100
From: Bob <address truncated>
Subject: RE: eeepc

Hi Ajai,
I just saw this on eeeuser.com that one of the others on the digest mentioned and I found this that might be helpful for you.
"This goes hand in hand with Best Buy now offering a version of the Eee PC 4G (the 4G-X) that comes with Windows XP preinstalled. It is available in black, and apparently is (or will be?) available in actual stores. I ran a couple zip codes into the store availability/inventory part of the Best Buy website, but none seem to be in my area at least."

This person is talking about zip codes and stores.  I bought mine on line at bestbuy.com.  I do have Linux but you might see if they do offer the Window one there.  I understand its not a big deal or you can order a kit to do it yourself.
Thanks,
Bob

Date: 15 Apr 2008 12:15:08 +0100
From: Thomas F. van der Zijden <address truncated>
Subject: Yet another EEE user

Dear all,

Having played with other people's EEE's as well I decided to buy one myself. This week-end I was in Paris and it just so happened that Surcouf Hausmann was having them on stock. The salesman told me, that he received 20 that morning and at 15h00 he had only 5 left... make that 4.

It is a white 4 Go version with webcam. What I did not know when I bought it, is that it is the badged version from SFR, a mobile network in France. Fortunately, it is not very noticeable: the homepage is www.sfr.fr (which can be changed) and it did not contain Skype. SFR apparently does not like Skype. Fortunately I have it installed now.

The machine is indeed very nice. The keyboard is smaller than the keyboard of the netBook, but I can get used to it. I typed this e-mail on it.
The start-up time of this PC is amazing. I think I will stick with Linux. What is slightly disappointing is that the programs of this particular Linux distribution are not well adapted to the size of the screen. I can only see 5 lines of text of this e-mail when I type it. The EPOC OS was much more adapted for the netBook's screen.

If you decide on which memory version you want (2/4/8) keep in mind that the EEE is a real computer. It cannot be compared with a netBook. I took the 4 Go version, but if the 8 Go version was available I would have taken that. There is also something weird with the original Linux on the Asus. All programs are installed on a protected part of the hard disk, a bit like it is on a netBook. If you download an update of one of these programs, it does not install itself on that protected part, but on your own user space. This means, that the hard disk will fill up quickly.
If you instal eeexubuntu or even Windows XP you will not have that problem. For the moment I am staying with the Xandros Linux, but eventually I may switch over to something else for that reason.

It is a big advantage, that this machine has the size of a netBook, but the power of a real laptop. It can play music, show movies, the word processor and spreadsheet can do everything and the Firefox webbrowser shows all sites, including my webbanking or things like Youtube.

The EEE user community is amazing: everything you need can be found on the web. There are wiki's and documented instructions all around the place. If you want to go only slightly further than the EEE right out of the box you will need those communities. Linux is still a lot of hocus pocus and far less intuitive than EPOC.

What I have and still use on the netBook are Jotter and the Trueterm dictionaries. I hope to find something like that for Linux soon.

In general, finally something has arrived that may be a replacement to my netBook.

Yours sincerely,

Thomas van der Zijden

Date: 15 Apr 2008 16:55:30 +0100
From: Kate Head <address truncated>
Subject: Re; #1213 eee PC

Date: 10 Apr 2008 23:51:48 +0100
From: Elizabeth Baker
Subject: RE: The Digest V1 # 1212_1
Subject: eee PC

"And just one more question -- can you run Psion files on Linux? Can you putPsiWin on the eee PC? I'm still totally dependent on my Psion Agenda & Datafiles, & have several Psion machines which I hope will last until somethingcompatible with Psion comes along. Would welcome info on this very much!"Betsy Baker

Hi there Betsy,
I also am trying to get my Psion to access my Linux PC; I've found asuggestion from an old "Complete Linux Handbook 2" that
recommends going to
http://plptools.sourceforge.netand downloading plptools which enables aserial link between the PC and Psion - sounds like it was designed to workwith the 5mx, so it should be OK for the later Psions.

To use GoToMyPC you have to install the software on the pc you want toaccess, then you can use most web browsers to access the pc from
anywhere, so you should be OK to access your XP pc with Firefox on
the eeePC.

All the best,
     Kate!!

Date: 15 Apr 2008 20:59:31 +0100
From: Jean Guillonneau <address truncated>
Subject: nConvert

To Keith

I don't think you can convert Data Files with nConvert. To what would you like to convert Data files ?

Jean Guillonneau

Date: 15 Apr 2008 23:19:46 +0100
From: Itamar Engelsman <address truncated>
Subject: PAYG dial up account,

Att.: John Wetton

Re.: PAYG dial up account - Have a look at http://www.saynoto0870.comwhether or not you can find the phone number there. It is anyhow a good website to know about.

Best regards,

Itamar

Date: 16 Apr 2008 00:31:27 +0100
From: Fergus Flanagan <address truncated>
Subject: Flash card study aid program reqd

Was wondering if anyone could recommend a flash card study aid program for the Psion 5mx or Revo. Am looking for something which will allow display of quiet longquestions and answers with scroll bars and will show either Q or A butnot both one screenful at a time. A quiz program which would alsorepeat wrong answers at the end of the test. I have quiet a few Q&A files which could be imported and are stored in a text file format. Any suggestions would be appreciated Gus

Date: 16 Apr 2008 03:58:02 +0100
From: Dick Chatjaval <address truncated>
Subject: Win XP on Asus Eee

Hello,

I have the 4gb version and decided after 3 months of using (non-use) Linux to install Win XP. Installed are MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Firefox, Synchromat (backup program), F-Secure antivirus, Real Player, and Slingbox. Those are 'my' essentials and I plan not to install any others. There is 1gb memory free. I save all work/document/media files to an 8gb sd card.Bootup takes about 1 min, and shutdown approx 15 secs. I do not enable hibernate because it uses too much memory.

My main reason for switching to XP was the Synchromat program (we have a multi-user Windows XP license) which automatically synchronizes all important files at the work server to my Eee. Finding work stations on the network in XP is effortless. With Linux, it was a hit and miss affair with several reboots needed to be recognized on the network. I started using my Eee less and less due to this because backups became such a chore.

Win XP runs very smoothly on the Eee. All drivers are found on the Eee cd. The trick is probably not to install any unnecessary programs from the start and clutter up the system directory with wasted dll files. The only thing that does not work in Win XP is the scrolling function (right side on touchpad). Otherwise, mouse, video, sound, lan and wifi drivers are excellent.

For Jim:
Since you have the 8gb version, you could probably install Publisher as well. No need to transfer files to your desktop to use Publisher (unless that is your preference). All your work can be done on the Eee. Typing takes abit of practice. Keyboard not as nice as S7, but if you can type on a 5mx, then the Eee will be no problem.

For Betsy:
If you need 'GoToMy PC' and it runs better on Windows, I would suggest you get the Eee and switch to XP. You will need to install it yourself and there are several forums that give instructions. My friend who is a techie did it for me with his usb cdrom machine. Even in Asia, most shops sell the Linux version only, but some will install Windows XP as a service if you buy the machine from them and the Win XP program.
I do not consider the Eee a replacement for the Psion when it comes to Agenda and Data. Slow booting and form factor is too large. I used the 5mx and Revo for that until they broke. Now, I switch between a Blackberry or WIndows mobile phone (like Treo).

The Eee is on my office desk everyday next to my desktop, automatically synchronizing files at 3 hours intervals. I am based in Hong Kong and during work use it as an internet radio player (Capital Fm and Virgin Radio UK). In the evenings I take it home with all essentials files backed up. Small and lightweight, I hardly notice it in my briefcase. Linux would do everything that Win XP does but for my purposes for networking and syncs, windows works better. Plus, I am familiar with XP and is very stable (now, with Vista, that is another issue...).

Best regards,
Dick

Date: 16 Apr 2008 15:26:20 +0100
From: John Spillett <address truncated>
Subject: nConvert - Keith Giles

I have found that nConvert and PSIWIN need to be used to complement each other.
PSIWIN will convert a Psion data file to a delimited .csv text file with the field descriptions in the first line.
This format can then be used to transfer the data to other platforms and file formats
Hope this helps.

John.

sent from psion 5mx via nokia n73.

Date: 16 Apr 2008 22:58:20 +0100
From: Ian Colvin <address truncated>
Subject: eeePCs

Hello all,
I'm a lurker here, but am interested in all the recent discussion about the eeePC. I picked one up a month or two ago in the hope it would replace my 7book, 5mx combo. What I've found is that I'm no longer using my 7book except as a bedside alarm, but that I'm still carrying the 5mx around for access to my agenda and contacts. The keyboard is just fine. The keys are not quite as large and comfortable as the netbook, but they are of a similar quality in terms of springiness and ease of typing, and you do get a few extra keys whose absence on the netbook I'm only noticing now I've got them available here.

The Xandros OS is ok. The one brilliant thing about it is that it starts up in 15 seconds or less --- which I realise is actually a retrograde step by comparison with the Psion's instant on capability but beats any other laptop I've ever had. It can be slept which takes mere seconds to shutoff and the same to start up again, but unlike the Psion which holds charge whilst sleeping, the eeePC continues to run down its battery alarmingly fast if it isn't shutdown. So if you don't plug it in overnight you'll find there is no charge left when you wake it up in the morning. Furthermore one only has 2 hours or so of battery available, compared to the several days I could usually eke out of a 7book by switching it off between typing sentences -- i.e. during the pause to think about the next thing one wanted to type. Of course you can't do that with the eeePC because it isn't instant off-on.

It will apparently run Windows XP (I've seen a friend's doing so). What intrigues me is the possibility of getting it to run the Psion emulator that comes with the SDK. I haven't heard of anyone trying this yet, but should have thought it would be a good solution to Psion compatibility -- perhaps easier to do when the eeePC 900 comes out in May with a bit more storage space (20GB instead of the 4GB in the eeePC 701). If anyone give that a go and can comment on how it works, please let us all know.

The other thing I would say, is that the screen is very bright and readable. Better than my Psion 7book in sunlight for example. But, the screen is very
small; although it has more pixels than the netbook it is physically small which tends to make one crane one's neck rather to read text, and for browsing the web one has to sideways scroll a lot of webpages. The eeePC 900 should correct this as it fits a bigger screen into a package almost the same size. (The 701 has a large screen bevel into which they've crammed the speakers - which by the way are of quite reasonable quality for something so small in my opinion.)

In summary there are some things that the eeepc still can't match the netbook on, but the wireless and the benefits of Open Office Firefox (or Opera if you prefer) and Thunderbird, and three working USB ports all mean that overall I am using it in preference to the netbook. If I could get it to read Agenda and Contacts files then I might even stop carrying my 5mx around.

For questions and support there is the excellent www.eeeuser.com site. I do hope, however, that the eeePC and its competitors in the ultraportable laptop category will continue to be discussed on this list as I believe they are moving into the space that Psion occupied with the netbook.

I hope my thoughts are useful to some of you.
Thanks to everyone for making the diges such an informative and enjoyable list to lurk around.
All the best
Ian

---------Betsy Baker wrote
----------
Since my office PC is running Windows XP Pro, I'm wondering whether I
should wait for an eee PC that will run that program, thus making the
eee
PC compatible with my office system. But then, the tech support people
at
Asus tell me that Windows XP (1.) is available on the eee PC in Asia,
or (2.) is not, and that (depending on who I'm speaking to) it either (1.)
will soon or (2.) will never be available in the US. I'm wondering if
you,
or anyone reading this, might have any ideas or solid information about
this!

And just one more question -- can you run Psion files on Linux? Can you
put
PsiWin on the eee PC? I'm still totally dependent on my Psion Agenda &
Data
files, & have several Psion machines which I hope will last until
something
compatible with Psion comes along. Would welcome info on this very
much!

Many thanks in advance,
Betsy Baker