Which OS for the Eee PC?

In previous posts we established that the Eee is a great machine for you providing that two criteria are met:

1. You only have relatively simple computing needs (Internet, e-mail, IM, Skype, word processing).
2. It really needs to be hooked up to an external monitor, keyboard and mouse to make it usable.

Nothing can be done about point 2, the Eee’s physical characteristics are set in stone (or hardware), but we can address point 1. Is there an optimum OS for the Eee, one that allows easy installing of new apps, isn’t resource hungry, works well with the small screen and encourages keyboard access (as the trackpad is terrible)? Let’s look at a few options.

Full Desktop Linux
Asus have made it easy the enable a full desktop mode, and my initial response was that the UI feels faster and more responsive than the default Easy mode. You’ll also discover other apps that are installed on the Eee that were hidden from the Easy UI. So far so good.

Eee PC full desktop mode.

However, the same problems as Easy mode still remain, let’s remember that we haven’t changed the OS yet, just the UI. Key issues:

1. Screen resolution on an external monitor is restricted to 1024×768.
2. The linux distro can’t see my 16GB flash memory drive.
3. I can’t use the Eee on an external monitor with the lid closed. There have been various hacks described for this including how to remove the magnet from the lid that detects the lid closed state. I’m a software guy, I just want a option in my display preferences.
4. Even though I’ve 2GB RAM installed, linux just sees 1GB.

This is enough to make me look at an alternative OS. I have heard of people installing OS X on the Eee, but there are problems there also. This leaves us with Windows XP.

Eee and XP
Installing XP on the Eee went very smoothly, the instructions provided by Asus are easy to follow and accurate. I used a Freecom external CD drive a copy of Windows XP SP2. Once installed I made the changes recommended by Asus. I was pleased to see that my full 2GB RAM was recognized (well, 1.99GB is reported, it is Windows after all), my 16GB flash memory pen was seen, I could use the Eee in lid closed state, and thanks to better drivers, I could use the external monitor at higher resolutions (I’m using 1400×900 now). However, despite all of this working fine, one new problem has been introduced, Windows. If I was in product marketing I could provide a list of features that Windows now offers the Eee; more memory usage – tick; larger flash pens – tick; higher screen resolutions – tick, access to more apps – tick. One feature is missing, user experience, and that’s one box Microsoft have never been able to tick for me. I can say without any hesitation that Windows offer the worst user experience of any OS out of the big three (OS X, Linux, Windows).

Friction
The amount of friction that I encounter when using Windows just wears me down. Let’s look at what happens when I installed XP on the Eee. Firstly, I wanted to go online, my first reaction is that I need a virus checker installed as soon as possible, let’s go get one of those. Once installed, it wants to scour the hard drive at regular intervals and insists on updating me on its progress. Once online, Windows XP needs to update itself with alarming regularity, with no perceivable benefit to the user. Again, it wants to grab my attention so that I know what a good boy it is. Connecting any new devices (memory cards, mice etc) results in even more balloons popping up to tell me they now exist. Why does Microsoft insist on notifying me when things go right, that’s what I expect! It’s as if the OS is saying, wahey your new mouse works, we can’t believe it either.
All of this balloon popping / auto updating / virus checking is just too much of a waste of my time and attention. Using either OS X or Linux just doesn’t require any of this completely unnecessary nonsense. I also strongly dislike the look of Windows XP, I find it a very uninspiring place to spend my time. So despite solving some of my technical issues with linux on the Eee, I just don’t think I can stomach XP.

I’m really not sure where to go from here, perhaps I can try some other versions of Linux or maybe tackle the OS X install? But hang on a second, I like the size and weight of the Eee, but want an OS X environment in which to spend my time, isn’t that called a MacBook Air?

Eee PC – power on

The last entry detailed the unboxing and first impressions of the Eee, let’s take a closer look.

Boot-up
Noted for its fast boot-up times, I couldn’t help but think how slow it was, I’m used to my Mac being ready for use as soon as I open the lid (MacBook Pro), or touch the keyboard (iMac), having to wait for around 15 seconds will certainly not impress any Mac users. For PC users however, the Eee probably feels like an improvement.

Interface
As soon as the custom version of Linux has loaded (Xandros), the user is presented with a novel interface. The UI has six categories, each having its own tab (see below)

If all you want is to surf, write e-mails, IM, Skype etc, then this is fine, but if you want to expand the features, it can start to feel quite limiting. I was delighted to learn than a terminal window can be brought up by pressing ctrl+t. No more having to type simple notes in the bloated and sluggish OpenOffice, unix vi is just fine by me.
The UI also feels like a hybrid, the tabbed menus may be unfamiliar at first, but once an app is loaded, the window will have an XP look and feel.

Applications
For most people, the default apps should be all they ever need. Firefox, Skype, an IM client, OpenOffice, PDF reader, eBook reader and others are ready to use out of the box. One app that did surprise me was a virus checker … on Linux? I guess this was here only to somehow reassure Windows users.

Usability
So you’re thinking that I’d be happy, it’s small, light, quite cheap, and comes with all the apps for general purpose computing. However, there are a few key issues.
The keyboard. It’s small, and for anyone who touch types, they’re not going to like it. It’s not the size that is the main problem, it’s the awkward layout. In particular the right-hand shift key is too small (not full length like a normal shift key), and more critically, it’s placed beside the up cursor key. This means every time I try to capitalize a letter, I miss the shift key, and instead move the cursor up and start writing in the middle of my previous text. Annoying for the first few times, but after the thousandth you want to give up using it.
The trackpad is also frustrating to use, it’s very unresponsive and you have to push on it harder than seems necessary to move the cursor. The right hand edge of the trackpad allows for scrolling the active window vertically, technically it works, but horrible to use in practice.
Finally, the screen is too small for using some of the apps like Thunderbird. The main problem is that they’ve taken a standard UI and used it completely unmodified, and that just doesn’t work. I wish they’d taken some time and made a Linux distro specifically for the Eee.

The best solution I found for the limited screen space was to try and do as much work as as possible from within Firefox. With Firefox’s full screen mode (F11), this removed any unnecessary toolbars / taskbars and focuses on the content. So instead of using OpenOffice I would try to use an online word processor, instead of Thunderbird I would use a webmail client. This will lead to a theme of a future thread, but could Firefox be my next OS?

There were also some other issues. My USB memory stick is a 16GB Corsair unit and it wasn’t recognized by the Eee. I also upgraded the memory from 512MB to 2GB and it would only recognize 1GB RAM.

However, there are some good features also. The home button returns the user to the main screen if they ever get lost or confused (a la iPhone). There are also dedicated buttons for selecting the right mouse button.

Light at the end of the tunnel
So for the first few days I didn’t like the Eee much. I took it a few places (trains, cafes etc) and it was ok, but I wasn’t feeling any love for the machine. The Eureka moment came when I connected an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. Wow, the Eee makes a great desktop. Even here there are limitations however, the external resolution only goes to 1024×768, far too restricting, but at least I can use all the bundled apps without difficulty and the dedicated mouse and keyboard solve the ergonomics issues.

In its new ‘desktop’ mode, I could quite happily recommend this machine to people who only have basic computing needs. If it was this or a bottom end Vista laptop, then I’d recommend this. No need for daily virus updates or the even more annoying Windows updates, the Eee will let you get on with your task.

However, I’m still feeling restricted by the bundled apps, next time we’ll start changing the OS itself.

L(eee)onardo

Leonardo Da Vinci would carry several notebooks of different shapes and sizes with him in order to capture ideas when inspiration strikes. Today, many people would use the digital equivalent by capturing thoughts and events via mobile phones, PDAs or laptops.

When the Eee PC was released near the end of 2007, it was smothered in glorious reviews by the press and also became a commercial success. From reading reviews I just didn’t get it, I thought the journalists were being woo’ed by the small size and cheapness and actually forgetting to ask if it’s any good or not. I don’t think it’s that cheap either, at £219 for the 512MB RAM / 4GB storage model, it’s only £30 cheaper than a bottom end PC laptop that comes with Vista Basic. Admittedly, the bottom end PC would be large and heavy, and you’d have to use Vista Basic. Miniaturization has always come at a price, so I’ll not dwell on price too much.
I kept reading the rave reviews, and so I decided to get one of these for myself and live with it for a while.

I purchased my white Eee at Toys R Us, itself an indicator of who this laptop is aimed at. On the box there are four images of people with their eee; a scantily clad woman on the beach, kids playing with it, a young couple on the grass enjoying it and finally a woman holding it (possibly) on holiday. They seem to be suggesting that the eee is desirable, easy to use, more social than a typical pc and easy to travel with. I think I’d agree with all of those.

The box the Eee comes in is tiny, giving a clear message as to the key feature of this laptop. The box for the MacBook is no bloater, but the Eee is substantially smaller.

Out of the box, the Eee feels quite solid, certainly robust enough to travel with. Only the basics are included in the box, but unlike other laptops, a soft case was included. I did like that the power supply was also small, possibly the smallest for any laptop I’ve seen.

I’m curious to see where the Eee will fit into my digital life. For full functionality when travelling I have a MacBook Pro and my iPhone is with me everywhere, so where will this fit in?

First impressions of the Eee are quite positive, but I don’t think Leonardo would use one, I’d like to think of him as more of a Mac user.

Next time – using the Eee and views on the OS.