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Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

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Re: Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

#171

Post by Random_Person »

wirrbel wrote: post #163
Sunspark wrote: post #15

The Eee PC 701 was amazing. It was really good for students who needed something small and light that they could take to the library, etc. The alternative back then was a heavy power-hungry full-size laptop. This is before all the stuff we take for granted today like tablets, etc. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 was the next really good netbook. After those, Apple introduced the Macbook Air which came in a 11.6" size. Even…

I think I have never seen a chromebook in real life.

I've got one. I use it only for writing. It's been great for that because it's terrible at everything else. It is essentially a modern-day word processor for me. I can work for hours and hours unplugged and if I need to do a bit of research, I can without having to pull out my distraction machine (phone).

Re: Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

#172

Post by UncleSlacky »

I've still got my 701 4G (it was my daily driver from 2008 to 2016) - I've had to replace the keyboard and power supply and upped the RAM to 1Gb. It runs Haiku OS currently (really well, despite the screen resolution being "officially" below requirements). It'll also run antiX, Q4OS Trinity, Refracta, Void, Alpine and FreeBSD reasonably well.

Re: Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

#173

Post by amadeuspagel »

Sunspark wrote: post #15

The Eee PC 701 was amazing. It was really good for students who needed something small and light that they could take to the library, etc. The alternative back then was a heavy power-hungry full-size laptop. This is before all the stuff we take for granted today like tablets, etc. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 was the next really good netbook. After those, Apple introduced the Macbook Air which came in a 11.6" size. Even…

You have a linux container on chromebooks, where you can run anything. Doesn't feel locked down to me.

Re: Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

#174

Post by marssaxman »

Marazan wrote: post #122

The 901 was the sweet spot (if you got it with the 6600 battery) Samensize as thr 701 but bigger screen. Powerful enough to rin Eclipse (i kid you not, did a lpt of development on that thing), massive battery life. It was a great machine, rugged, took a hell of a beating.

I did the same, though I wasn't running Eclipse. That machine was the beginning of my shift from using Mac OS in daily life and Linux on the server, to... using Linux everywhere all the time. It was so light, rugged, and cheap that I felt comfortable tossing it in a bag and taking it anywhere. It got more use than my Macbook.

Re: Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

#175

Post by 999900000999 »

Back in 2015 I had a Chromebook I installed Ubuntu on.

It was slow, but looked amazing with an HD screen before they were super common. Plus it was only $300.

I always thought Microsoft could have absolutely owned the ultra low end market If they had the right people in charge. Smart people work there, it's just like there's more ideas floating about than focus.

Re: Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

#177

Post by jollyllama »

I had one that I was glued to during my adolescence, constantly IM'ing with friends during the twilight of IM, before smartphones became dominant. Extremely durable, it was more capable than you would think. The lack of devices of a similar quality and form factor is extremely dissapointing; everything's lighter now but also flimsier. They were one of the greatest consumer devices of the era.

I still keep an old EEE PC around running XP, airgapped, for compatibility with old hardware I collect that VMs run into USB issues around. Runs great, parts are still available.

Re: Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

#178

Post by jollyllama »

jabbany wrote: post #161
cstross wrote: post #126

The physical form factor is still around today, if you want a notebook PC that's smaller than an ultrabook. Current flag carrier is probably the GPD P2 Max from Sheznhen's Gamepro Devices, a firm who started out making linux-based handheld game consoles around 2013 then branched out into netbooks. The first GPD Pocket stuck a maxed-out version of the Intel netbook spec sheet in a machined aluminum body with a 7" scre…

Was about to say this. The netbook (and in extension UMPC) niche never really died. It was a niche a decade ago and it's still a niche today. One thing I will say is that, these tiny devices never fail to seem magical to the general public. I own (and from time to time use) a OneMix 2S Yoga, and even in this day and age with our smartphones and thin-and-light laptops, every time I pop it out on a bus or plane or at a…

It never died, but the durability and modularity of the EEE PCs has no analogue today.

Re: Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

#179

Post by marttt »

themodelplumber wrote: post #104
Sunspark wrote: post #15

The Eee PC 701 was amazing. It was really good for students who needed something small and light that they could take to the library, etc. The alternative back then was a heavy power-hungry full-size laptop. This is before all the stuff we take for granted today like tablets, etc. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 was the next really good netbook. After those, Apple introduced the Macbook Air which came in a 11.6" size. Even…

You got me thinking...I still run my MSI Wind netbook (RIP Zareason!), and it's worked great with both Haiku and Q4OS recently. The keyboard is a near-disaster in some ways but after configuring a bunch of workarounds it's reasonably comfortable. I took it on a trip to Sicily soon after purchasing and have fond memories of using it and my n810 "media center" for that trip. I didn't have WiFi at the guest house where…

"... I still run my MSI Wind netbook ..."

Were the MSI Winds fanless, or did they have a fan? And the hard disk, I assume, wasn't a SSD? I ask because I just noticed kids of our relatives using an abandoned Wind as a toy (to play "work"). They claim it is "broken", but who knows. I sneaked behind their back and tested the keyboard for typing -- it felt really good! A pity to see a potentially useful machine simply lying around like this, especially when my country needs to help out close to 50,000 war refugees from Ukraine. Our CS students refurbish laptops for the refugees -- this one could make an excellent machine for an Ukrainian hacker, or any other user with modest needs.

Another excellent netbook was the Samsung NC10 [1]. Really good keyboard (93% of full size), sturdy build in general, screen hinges reach about 180 degrees, and a "fanless mode", that is, you can adjust the fan speed with a hotkey. Unfortunately, the one I tested suffered from its symptomatic "white screen problem" (described in the Wikipedia article).

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_NC10

Re: Asus put out like 40 models of a laptop called the “Eee PC” (2021)

#180

Post by marttt »

ryukafalz wrote: post #46
Sunspark wrote: post #15

The Eee PC 701 was amazing. It was really good for students who needed something small and light that they could take to the library, etc. The alternative back then was a heavy power-hungry full-size laptop. This is before all the stuff we take for granted today like tablets, etc. The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 was the next really good netbook. After those, Apple introduced the Macbook Air which came in a 11.6" size. Even…

As for why manufacturers don’t make netbooks… it’s a fair point if you’re only looking at the major PC makers I guess, but overall they actually do! Think GPD Pocket series, One Mix series, (soon) MNT Pocket Reform. It’s a niche, but the hardware exists!

I wonder if this indicates that refurbished netbooks actually would have some aftermarket value, for "niche people" or more capable Linux users at least. Maybe they would run into driver issues, though.
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