Price of MIT professor's "$100 laptop" hits $200

[Sporkman]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071029/tc_nm/laptop_cost_dc_2


Price of MIT professor's "$100 laptop" hits $200

By Jim Finkle 2 hours, 17 minutes ago

BOSTON (Reuters) - A computer developed for poor children around the world, dubbed 'the $100 laptop,' has reached a milestone: Its price tag is now $200.

The One Laptop per Child Foundation, founded by MIT Professor Nicholas Negroponte, has started offering the lime-green-and-white machines in lots of 10,000 for $200 apiece on its Web site (http://laptopfoundation.org/participate/givemany.shtml).

Two weeks ago, a foundation executive confirmed recent estimates that the computer would cost $188, which was already higher than the $150 price tag in February and $176 in April.

The laptops are scheduled to go into production next month at a factory in China, far behind their original schedule and in quantities that are a fraction of Negroponte's earlier projections.

It is unclear when the machines will be ready for customers, as the Web site said version 1.0 of the software that runs the machine will not be ready until December 7.

Foundation spokesman George Snell declined comment on the pricing or release schedule.

When Negroponte said he could produce the laptops for $100, industry analysts said it had the potential to shake up the PC industry, ushering in an era of low-cost computing.

He hoped to keep the price down by achieving unprecedented economies of scale for a start-up manufacturer, and in April, he told Reuters he expected to have orders for 2.5 million laptops by May, with production targeted to begin in September.

But that has not panned out. So far the foundation has disclosed orders to three countries -- Uruguay, Peru and Mongolia. It has not said how many machines they have ordered.

Wayan Vota, an expert on using technology to promote economic development who publishes olpcnews.com, a blog that monitors the group's activities, estimates orders at no more than 200,000 laptops.

"One-hundred dollars was never a realistic price. By starting with an unrealistic price, he reduced his credibility selling the laptop," Vota said.

Negroponte, a charismatic technologist who counts News Corp (NWSa.N) chief Rupert Murdoch and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim among his friends, has attracted a lot of attention for the foundation.

He has met with leaders around the globe and promoted the introduction of computers into classrooms in the most impoverished regions of the world. As he has done that, big technology companies have boosted spending on similar efforts.

The laptop features a keyboard that switches languages, a video camera, wireless connectivity and Linux software.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is trying to tailor Windows XP to work on the machine and recently said it is a few months away from knowing for sure whether it can accomplish that task.

The display switches from color to black-and-white for viewing in direct sunlight -- a breakthrough that the foundation is patenting and may license next year for commercial use.

The laptop needs just 2 watts of power compared with a typical laptop's 30 to 40 watts and does away with hard drives. It uses flash memory and four USB ports to add memory and other devices.

Earlier this year the foundation teamed up with Intel Corp (INTC.O), which is developing a rival machine. The two may work together on a second-generation laptop. This first machine runs on a microprocessor developed by Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N).

[thx11381974]

Why bother it's already obsolete.

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/asus-cheap-linux-laptop.html

[Depressed Man]

Why do they even need a webcam? o.O That's gotta be driving up costs somewhat..

[thx11381974]

Apparently they need mosquito nets allot more than the internet.

http://www.nothingbutnets.net/?gclid=CKSp06GEtY8CFQltZQodhxrgEw

[mysticrider92]

Why bother it's already obsolete.

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/asus-cheap-linux-laptop.html

That looks like a much better laptop for $12 more...

They have had the price of this $100 laptop at ~$188 for a few weeks. And now that MS wants to put Windows on it, that will raise the cost at least $50...

[thx11381974]

$199 is a buck less.
It's twice the clock,ram, and 4 to 8 times the storage.

[RussianVodka]

$199 is a buck less.
It's twice the clock,ram, and 4 to 8 times the storage.

But what happens when you cover it in sand, and then drop it on the ground? You have to shell out another $200 for a new laptop. Not with OLPC.

[thx11381974]

But what happens when you cover it in sand, and then drop it on the ground? You have to shell out another $200 for a new laptop. Not with OLPC.

You know what this laptop is actually in production in fact you can buy them on ebay right now. The $199 price is for the overseas market not America, But it's not a non profit venture either. they intend to sell this machine for $199 and still make a profit. Is the OLPC machine more rugged? alittle maybe, But the Eee PC can run a real OS.

Let me ask these Questions.
Why do kids in the third world need a computer if they don't have electricity?
Why didn't the OLPC project base it's laptop on a cpu that could run a modern OS like Edubuntu?
Why didn't they build their machine with off the self hardware like ASUS did?

[n3tfury]

Why bother it's already obsolete.

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/asus-cheap-linux-laptop.html

soooo tempting, but as i stated in another thread, the comments of actual users/reviewers and the repeated mention of a squishy keyboard kind of ruins it for me. who knows, for $200ish, all i need is 4GB anyway.

[popch]

You know what this laptop is actually in production in fact you can buy them on ebay right now. The $199 price is for the overseas market not America, But it's not a non profit venture either. they intend to sell this machine for $199 and still make a profit. Is the OLPC machine more rugged? alittle maybe, But the Eee PC can run a real OS.

Let me ask these Questions.
Why do kids in the third world need a computer if they don't have electricity?
Why didn't the OLPC project base it's laptop on a cpu that could run a modern OS like Edubuntu?
Why didn't they build their machine with off the self hardware like ASUS did?

Let me ask this question:

Why don't you read the doc of the project which explains all of this and more in quite objective and understandable terms?

[EdThaSlayer]

I wonder how much money those governments will lose because of this. I think that they should have given every teacher one of these laptops instead of giving every kid one. Also, why don't these 3rd world economies try to invest a bit more in their economy instead of buying all these laptops that will make China even richer?

[popch]

I think that they should have given every teacher one of these laptops instead of giving every kid one. Also, why don't these 3rd world economies try to invest a bit more in their economy instead of buying all these laptops that will make China even richer?

They do not give the computers to the teachers but to the children because they want the children to become able to use the information available in the internet for their education. Presumably, the teachers already are educated. Also, as a side effect, they want the children to learn how to use information technology, not the teachers.

In fact, they do so as an investment into the industry and infrastructure of their countries. Intelligent governments have recognized that they have to massively raise the level of the education of their populations if they want to improve their economies. Just attracting foreign investors and workers will not be of much use.

[PartisanEntity]

I wonder how much money those governments will lose because of this. I think that they should have given every teacher one of these laptops instead of giving every kid one. Also, why don't these 3rd world economies try to invest a bit more in their economy instead of buying all these laptops that will make China even richer?

I don't agree with you concerning giving the laptops to teachers, because that is not what this project is about. It's called the One Laptop per Child for a reason :)

But I do agree with you when it comes to certain developing nations not investing in their own industrial and educational infrastructure. One example, Arab states, that invest billions buying goods and services instead of investing some of the money into making their own products. Of course I do realise that it is not the fault of the people, but of the regimes which aren't interested in furthering the development of their people but lining their pockets with commissions from purchases and sales.

[n3tfury]

Why bother it's already obsolete.

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/asus-cheap-linux-laptop.html


why am i not finding this thing for $200 anywhere. more like twice that.

http://www.directron.com/eeepc4g.html

http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=158478&partner=froogle

[happysmileman]

Why bother it's already obsolete.

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/asus-cheap-linux-laptop.html

First of all... I love the header "Few advantages", maybe they meant "A few advantages"?

Secondly

a) Cost - anyone can afford such system
b) If you use laptop for web browsing, e-mail and a ssh; this is a good system.
b) Almost no noise

Thirdly:

What do you thing? Would you go for such cheap latptop?

Who writes this stuff :P

[smoker]

why don't these 3rd world economies try to invest a bit more in their economy instead of buying all these laptops

isn't educating your population an investment in your economy?

whatever the ultimate price of the olpc xo, the kids are getting them free, so at least kids in remote regions, or developing countries will have access to knowledge, knowledge they might otherwise never be able to attain.

plus, there are a whole host of technological advances that have come about because of this project, advances that will benefit everyone as they're adopted by other manufacturers.

[HermanAB]

They should reprice it in Canadian Dollars, then the price will be going down.

[az]

Read Being Digital by Negroponte.

The point is that the investment of these laptops means that you don't have to print millions of copies of schoolbooks which will become outdated. Kids is remote locations won't have to actually travel to school to get an education. There are a lot of advantages to this technology.

And it was first called the $100 laptop because that is what the laptops will eventually cost. I don't think it was every expected that they would cost $100 each at the beginning. Once they are mass-produced, the price should eventually come down to $100.00

The other laptop mentioned is not an option. The OLPC has an extremely low power consumption. It also has features that are not standard in what we know of laptops (e-book mode, high-contrast screen, mesh-networking, wind-up power supply). You can't compare something you would buy off the shelf here with the OLPC.

In the context of a third-world country, a conventional laptop may as well be a paperweight.

And that article is old news.

http://laptopgiving.org/

"If you'd like to donate an XO laptop today, simply click the donation button on the right, above the photo. A donation of $200 will pay for and deliver one XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, $400 will pay for and deliver two XO laptops, and so on.

Starting November 12, One Laptop Per Child will be offering a Give 1 Get 1 Program for a brief window of time in North America. For $399, you will be purchasing two XO laptops—one that will be sent to empower a child to learn in a developing nation, and one that will be sent to your child at home. If you're interested in Give 1 Get 1, we'll be happy to send you a reminder email. Just sign up in the box to the left and you'll receive your reminder prior to the November 12 launch date. "

[n3tfury]

why am i not finding this thing for $200 anywhere. more like twice that.

http://www.directron.com/eeepc4g.html

http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=158478&partner=froogle

anyway, i guess whoever posted it being "obsolete" is incorrect, since it's twice the price.

[JBAlaska]

Is it just me or would the Eee PC be ultra sweet for a mediaserver remote / VNC client?

I'll be grabbing one of these puppies.

[thx11381974]

why am i not finding this thing for $200 anywhere. more like twice that.

http://www.directron.com/eeepc4g.html

http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=158478&partner=froogle

My understanding is the $199 price is not for the American market. Also their's a lot of demand which is driving up the price. If you look for it on ebay you'll see they want $420+$100 shipping this is clearly a heavily inflated price. My guess is once demand dies down a bit overseas units will start showing up on Ebay around 200.

[phrostbyte]

Yes the E-PC or whatever is not $199, just like the OLPC is not $100. The OLPC however is a marvel of modern engineering. E-PC is just a cheap laptop.

[thx11381974]

I remember when it was the under $100 laptop for every child, and they expected the price to drop well below 100 once they went into full production.

The OLPC PC was designed so kids without electricity could use it which is why it was to have a hand crank. The whole design centered on the idea it would be self powered. The first thing to go of course was the hand crank. Really when they ditched the hand crank they should have stared over, it was the limiting factor for the whole design. The hand crank meant they needed a week CPU and a display that had not been invented yet. The fancy display drove up the cost drastically, reducing what they could spend on memory further crippling the design. If they had just stopped to evaluate their design goals they could've come up with a much more capable pc at a lower price.


OLPC's machine maybe a marvel of modern engineering,but as far as I know it's not in production yet. The Eee pc is just a cheap Linux OS laptop that's in production & cheaper than OLPC.

[popch]

If they had just stopped to evaluate their design goals they could've come up with a much more capable pc at a lower price.


OLPC's machine maybe a marvel of modern engineering,but as far as I know it's not in production yet. The Eee pc is just a cheap Linux OS laptop that's in production & cheaper than OLPC.

I take it, then, that you are qualified to judge the design of the device? What, exactly, should they have put in or left out?

How is USD 399.-- for the eee cheaper than USD 200.- for the OLPC?

[apfsdsdu]

I think they replaced the crank with something else and moved it to the AC adapter. It can still be human powered if necessary.

The EEE doesn't really compare to the XO. Yeah, it has a better CPU, so what. The XO uses significantly less power and has a longer battey life, it has a sunlight-readable screen, it's a lot more rugged and it has mesh networking that works even when the computer is turned off. Because it has the mesh networking ability, it doesn't need a lot of communications infrastructure. An EEE would be useless to someone who has no reliable electricity and no internet connection.

I'd like someone to make a better performing laptop that uses the stuff developed for the XO, but sell it in rich countries. It wouldn't help the kids in Uruguay, but I'd buy one. Now I have to get the EEE.

[thx11381974]

I take it, then, that you are qualified to judge the design of the device? What, exactly, should they have put in or left out?

How is USD 399.-- for the eee cheaper than USD 200.- for the OLPC?

I feel a little trapped here I don't want to be defending the Eee pc ASUS should be trying to sell you one not me, But as far as I know the 199 price still holds for overseas markets.The prices you are seeing is because of high demand. The Eee pc just went into production month or two ago. You can bet your *** their production cost are far below $200.
So yes it's cheaper than OLPC who's cost is now projected at $200 and still not yet in production Prices almost always go up not down when a product is first produced.

I think I'm as Qualified as you or anyone in the the general pubic to offer an opinion. Maybe if OLPC had listened to the many critics instead of attacking them they would have had a more viable project. I think they should have made a laptop very close to what ASUS has.

[thx11381974]

I think they replaced the crank with something else and moved it to the AC adapter. It can still be human powered if necessary.


Don't think so

[popch]

I think I'm as Qualified as you or anyone in the the general pubic to offer an opinion.

Why, thank you. :lolflag:

I have read up a bit on the OLPC and therefore I know that they still supply the possibility to power the thing by muscle. It's not a crank but a thingy with a string to be pulled.


Maybe if OLPC had listened to the many critics instead of attacking them they would have had a more viable project..

They would certainly have had a longer lived project, but certainly no product as yet.

[apfsdsdu]

Don't think so
The OLPC people seem to disagree with you:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Battery_and_power
"The units will ship with some kind of human-powered charger that plugs into the DC socket."

[thx11381974]

The OLPC people seem to disagree with you:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Battery_and_power
"The units will ship with some kind of human-powered charger that plugs into the DC socket."

Cool! We'll see if it dose or not. I'm an armature machinist I've had allot of fun making human powered generators that never really worked or worked reliably anyhow. I do find it suspect that their saying "some kind". How do you estimate the production cost of "some kind" It had better be pretty reliable if their going to sell it to people for whom it will be the primary power source.

[az]

The first thing to go of course was the hand crank. Really when they ditched the hand crank they should have stared over, it was the limiting factor for the whole design. The hand crank meant they needed a week CPU and a display that had not been invented yet. The fancy display drove up the cost drastically, reducing what they could spend on memory further crippling the design. If they had just stopped to evaluate their design goals they could've come up with a much more capable pc at a lower price.


OLPC's machine maybe a marvel of modern engineering,but as far as I know it's not in production yet.

1. They decided against the hand crank in favor of one of three different sources of human generated power. The had crank was not practical since the wrentching force was prone to breaking the base.

I think two of the three choices will be a pulley and foot pedal.

2. The screen is very low-cost. It costs $5 per unit. It happens to be the most expensive single piece, but it is not by any means expensive. It saves on power by reflecting light instead of filtering it. That's why the OLPC's screen is much brighter than a standard laptop's.

3. Negroponte had always said that laptops today are overweight. You don't need a laptop to do the same job three different ways to get the job done. That's why the modest ram and processor speed are just fine for the tasks that the OLPC needs to do.

As I said before, you can't compare a traditional laptop to this.

[kragen]

I dont think you can compare any laptop to this one - the whole thing is designed specifically for an enviroment that no other laptop is suitable for and is still cheaper (if not $100). Anyone who says "its underpowered" is missing the point!.

Besides, as far as I was aware they always said that the price was initially going to be above $100, and although I dont think they meant this far above $100, but I still think its a fairly amazing achievement.

[thx11381974]

3. Negroponte had always said that laptops today are overweight. You don't need a laptop to do the same job three different ways to get the job done. That's why the modest ram and processor speed are just fine for the tasks that the OLPC needs to do.

As I said before, you can't compare a traditional laptop to this.

Overweight maybe, on the other hand a faster pc doesn't need special software or hardware. The Eee pc an off the shelf item loaded with Edubuntu an off the self OS can do anything OLPC can and more at a lower price. the only thing OLPC PC has over Eee pc is it's more rugged.
This how you keep the Eee pc or any normal laptop for that matter from being damaged by weather or transport.

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=298212&x=10&keywordNtt=Notebook%20bag&Nr=200000&N=200001&y=5&An=browse

cheaper versions can of course be made, probably for a dollar or two.It can also protect the rest of the child's school supplies.

As far as the handcrank string thing goes. My opinion is that you can only expect a kid to turn the crank or pull the string for 5 minutes for a hour's use. If this is the case you have to generate 24 watts for 5 minutes, Thats without any mechanical losses a more realistic estimate would be 35 to 40 watts. Not hard work for a horse, But one heck of a workout for a child. I honestly doubt any kind of human power will be shipped with OLPC's PC it's not a realistic possibility.

[kragen]

Overweight maybe, on the other hand a faster pc doesn't need special software or hardware. The Eee pc an off the shelf item loaded with Edubuntu an off the self OS can do anything OLPC can and more at a lower price. the only thing OLPC PC has over Eee pc is it's more rugged.
This how you keep the Eee pc or any normal laptop for that matter from being damaged by weather or transport.

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=298212&x=10&keywordNtt=Notebook%20bag&Nr=200000&N=200001&y=5&An=browse

cheaper versions can of course be made, probably for a dollar or two.It can also protect the rest of the child's school supplies.

As far as the handcrank string thing goes. My opinion is that you can only expect a kid to turn the crank or pull the string for 5 minutes for a hour's use. If this is the case you have to generate 24 watts for 5 minutes, Thats without any mechanical losses a more realistic estimate would be 35 to 40 watts. Not hard work for a horse, But one heck of a workout for a child. I honestly doubt any kind of human power will be shipped with OLPC's PC it's not a realistic possibility.

You can put the XO inside a bag as well you know - there is however more to it than that.
http://laptop.org/laptop/hardware/highlights.shtml
http://laptop.org/laptop/hardware/features.shtml

Also, 5 miniutes of cranking for 50 mins, or even 30 mins of power for a laptop is a remarkable achievement, and as I understand it, the battery can also be charged off things like car batteries and solar panels as well anyway. OLPC never said that hand-cranking the laptop would be fun, but at least with the 2W power consumption it is possible.

[macogw]

why am i not finding this thing for $200 anywhere. more like twice that.

http://www.directron.com/eeepc4g.html

http://www.mobileplanet.com/p.aspx?i=158478&partner=froogle

Maybe you're seeing higher prices because you're looking at it where there's a middle-man involved instead of looking at buying direct from Asus

[az]

Overweight maybe, on the other hand a faster pc doesn't need special software or hardware. The Eee pc an off the shelf item loaded with Edubuntu an off the self OS can do anything OLPC can and more at a lower price. the only thing OLPC PC has over Eee pc is it's more rugged.
This how you keep the Eee pc or any normal laptop for that matter from being damaged by weather or transport.

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=298212&x=10&keywordNtt=Notebook%20bag&Nr=200000&N=200001&y=5&An=browse

cheaper versions can of course be made, probably for a dollar or two.It can also protect the rest of the child's school supplies.

As far as the handcrank string thing goes. My opinion is that you can only expect a kid to turn the crank or pull the string for 5 minutes for a hour's use. If this is the case you have to generate 24 watts for 5 minutes, Thats without any mechanical losses a more realistic estimate would be 35 to 40 watts. Not hard work for a horse, But one heck of a workout for a child. I honestly doubt any kind of human power will be shipped with OLPC's PC it's not a realistic possibility.

I think you should familiarize yourself with the OLPC before we continue this conversation.

[n3tfury]

Maybe you're seeing higher prices because you're looking at it where there's a middle-man involved instead of looking at buying direct from Asus

ya think? except that for the past week i've been trying to find out retailer or purchasing info from asus.com and that page is blank.

http://usa.asus.com/products1.aspx?l1=24

[runningwithscissors]

It's actually a relief to see that a lot of third world governments aren't plumping for these laptops.

Hiopefully they can put those funds to better use.

Why aren't cheap laptops being made available to students in developed countries? Surely, they have the basic education and facilities to make full use of personal laptops.

[thx11381974]

In production since March selling for $225 expected to drop to $200 by years end.

http://www.classmatepc.com/

The Eee pc is based on the same design Asustek makes both.
The key word is "makes" not will make some time in the future yet to be determined for a price not yet known.


Their's this too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinomanic

[popch]

not will make some time in the future yet to be determined for a price not yet known.

Oh - you have information about yet further school computer projects which might going into production some time in the future? Will you please share your knowledge with us?

[thx11381974]

Oh - you have information about yet further school computer projects which might going into production some time in the future? Will you please share your knowledge with us?

OLPC's XO machine is not in prodution yet won't be until next month maybe. Until they actually start producing them the real cost of production can't be known.

[thx11381974]

ya think? except that for the past week i've been trying to find out retailer or purchasing info from asus.com and that page is blank.

http://usa.asus.com/products1.aspx?l1=24



Try this link.

http://eeepc.asus.com/en/

Directron only has it as a preorder they won't even have them until the second week of November. I looks like ASUS has a huge hit here thats whats drive up the price.

[az]

Why aren't cheap laptops being made available to students in developed countries? Surely, they have the basic education and facilities to make full use of personal laptops.

The OLPC will be deployed in a few school boards in the US, AFAIK, in Massachusetts and Maine.

[n3tfury]

Try this link.

http://eeepc.asus.com/en/

Directron only has it as a preorder they won't even have them until the second week of November. I looks like ASUS has a huge hit here thats whats drive up the price.

yep, i've seen that link. i'm looking for prices from asus, not gouging from retailers.

[Warpnow]

The eee has not launched in the USA yet.

It has launched in Taiwan, and people are reselling them.

Should launch in the USA any day now.

[aysiu]

The eee has not launched in the USA yet.

It has launched in Taiwan, and people are reselling them.

Should launch in the USA any day now.
Really? I saw it for sale on NewEgg just yesterday.

[n3tfury]

he did say "any day". oh, and look at that. $400. pfft.

[Lexam]

Hey guys found some updates on OLPC as well.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/olpc/heroes--star-hiro-nakamura-named-olpc-ambassador-317803.php
Heroes Star Masi Oka "Hiro Nakamura" is the OLPC global ambassador now.

As well http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13505_1-9810360-16.html?tag=cnetfd.blogs.item
Tmobile has said that if you donate an OLPC you will get a free year of wifi service at thier hotspot locations. An annual subscribtion is $29.99 times that by 12 and it comes to $359.88. So if you buy an olpc for yourself and the other gets donated, and you use this service you've practically paid for both laptops!


* My views or opinions do not reflect those of T-mobile Usa.

[Sawta]

I'm sorry if I'm regurgitating what some others are saying, but do keep in mind that if you plan on buying the OLPC during the "Give 1, get 1" plan, I hope that you are doing so for different motivates over why some are planning on buying the Asus Eee.

Many of the pro's and con's boil down to this.

OLPC's Pro's:
Nobel goal of trying to educate children in under developed countries on getting used to using a computer while they are young.
VERY long battery life.
"Drop proof"
Has an additional 10$ solar power charger to keep it running even longer.
Environmentally friendly computer parts.
Very light weight and small.

Con's:
To keep these laptop's from being targeted by theifes and the like, the XO laptops keyboard is purposely smaller than a normal keyboard. It would be fairly uncomfortable for a grown up to use.
Looks a tad ridiculous..but unique.
Unfamiliar OS, which might present quiet a few problems for the average user later on, as well as very tiny XO support on forums such as these..unless there is a huge amount of people that plan on buying it.

Asus Eee Pro's:
Very nice looking.
(Relativity) cheap.
Claims to make it easy to install XP, which would mean Ubuntu and others shouldn't be a problem.
More space than the XO.
The keyboard was MADE to be comfortable to use.

Con's:

It doesn't have the same goal's as the XO. When you buy this, the money is going to a for profit company, not to further a child's education.
Has more power than the XO because it costs as much as two XO's (although you don't have the choice of buying JUST one XO anyway, so you would be spending the same amount of money either way.)

Essentially, if you're buying an XO, you should be buying one because you're trying to help give third world children an education, and shouldn't expect much out of your investment (slower load times, etc).

If you're buying an Asus Eee PC (like myself), you are looking for a very affordable micro laptop to essentially "play around with" and comfortably surf the net, rather than have a secondary noble goal in mind.