NeilTheStupidHead's Journal: Asus Eee Thoughts

I just got my brand new Eee home (purchased from The Source for $349) and decided to try breaking in my journal and the Eee together. First impressions are that it lives up to the claims of being small and lightweight. At less than 1kg, and with a footprint only slightly bigger than my hand, it's tiny enough to border on dangerously cute and trendy.Wireless setup was a breeze once I read the startup tips accessible from the smiley icon in the system tray.

It's been sitting on my lap now for a handful of minutes now and it barely generates enough heat to be noticed through my jeans. The screen, though small, is easy to read; the default fonts are crisp and clear. The small key board is not that difficult to adapt to for anyone used to typing on a 14" or 15" laptop. I notice that I am tying with only five fingers (Three left and two right) and my left thumb for the space bar. My biggest complaint about the keyboard is the size and placement of the up arrow and right shift key. I tend to use right shift much more than the left and several times while typing, I have brushed the up arrow instead of shift. I'm certain with a bit of practice, I shall adapt quite easily.

Overall, I'd say that I will be most satisfied with my Eee and that it will almost permanently replace my old, small form factor travel mate: a CF-25 Toughbook that has beat around in my backpack for nearly six years. While I don't know if Linux is ready for general distribution on home desktops, it has definitely found a very viable home in devices like the Eee.