Linux - Laptop and NetbookHaving a problem installing or configuring Linux on your laptop? Need help running Linux on your netbook? This forum is for you. This forum is for any topics relating to Linux and either traditional laptops or netbooks (such as the Asus EEE PC, Everex CloudBook or MSI Wind).
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The Eee is not yet available for purchase, though you might find some retailers doing preorders. ASUS was shooting for a summer release (which they obviously missed), but is now focusing on getting it out before the end of the year.
I will certainly be getting at least one of them, possibly more. If the thing is even halfway decent, it will be a perfect machine for many many tasks. Personally, I couldn't care less about the lack of an optical drive, beyond actually installing the operating systems, I have not used optical discs for anything serious in years; I do everything over the network now (and could even install that way if need be). Plus with USB, you could just plug an external in if you absolutely needed optical support for something.
You might also consider the XO-1, from OLPC. It's possible that this laptop will have the best Linux support, as every hardware vendor is working hard on it. Plus, you'll be donating to a good cause.
The Eee runs Linux as it's default operating system (ASUS has developed a custom version of Xandros for the machine) so Linux support is not going to be an issue.
It's true - the OLPC was intentionally designed as a kids toy/tool. They want it to look like that For most people, it just may not be something they can actually get their work done on.
On the other hand, with EEE you pretty much have Asus handling all the Linux development and support. They might not have the manufacturer of each chipset working to ensure complete Linux support, and I bet they're not testing the suspend/resume capabilities by suspending and resuming hundreds of thousands of times in a row (search for "suspend" at http://wiki.laptop.org/go/News). These are things the OLPC developers have.
Linux is the only operating system offered on the Eee (it can run XP, but the user must install it themselves if they want it, ASUS doesn't offer it as an option) why would they not test it throughly?
I don't doubt that Asus will test it thoroughly, but I'm not certain that EEE will receive the same amount of careful attention as OLPC. There are a lot of vendors cooperating on OLPC vs Asus all by itself.
People out there in France are waiting for it eagerly, judging by all the positive reviews it gets on so many sites/blogs. I, for one, have already pre-ordered one on an online vendor. Asus has a great reputation and no doubt this little laptop will get a lot of attention. Lots of hacks are in the way. Who wants to run XP on it ?
These eee's look great. I need an ultra-portable laptop. However, I don't care for the tabbed interface, and actually the entire supplied os is not something I would want. I would prefer a minimal window manager like fluxbox, and a debian operating system. Do you think it would be possible to install something like debian (or ubuntu, or gentoo, or slackware, etc) on it, just as you could with a regular laptop. I mean could it boot off an (external) dvd-drive, and just carry out the installation as normal, or would installation of some new os be more like a porting project to a new embedded device?
to answer my question above, I think the answer is a qualified yes. From what I read at http://forum.eeeuser.com/ it is possible to put alternative distributions on, but you need to be careful because of the solid state disk. See that forum for more details.
sorry for posting before properly researching (the classic error).
Today, the German magazine "Der Spiegel (online)" had a review (more from a user's perspective..) and the triple E seems to be available in the mid of December. (299,- Euro basic model)
I have to have one of those - that's the mobile editor with internet I always wanted for ... everywhere.
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