[SOLVED] To eeePC or not to eeePC is THE question...

[gn2]

I have a Toshiba Portege 3440CT. It's a P3 500.
Eight years old and good as new.
Better in fact because with Zenwalk it's faster than ever.
I really like the Eee, but if you can find a Portege 3490CT on ebay it will be a fraction of the cost, have a far better screen and can accommodate a big hard drive.
There's an extended life battery for the 34xx available that runs for 3.5 hrs, combined with the main battery, life is 5hrs, although there is a weight penalty....

[smartalecks]

I have a Toshiba Portege 3440CT. It's a P3 500.
Eight years old and good as new.
Better in fact because with Zenwalk it's faster than ever.
I really like the Eee, but if you can find a Portege 3490CT on ebay it will be a fraction of the cost, have a far better screen and can accommodate a big hard drive.
There's an extended life battery for the 34xx available that runs for 3.5 hrs, combined with the main battery, life is 5hrs, although there is a weight penalty....

have a thinkpad 600e from 2000, runs good as new as well (well, have to replace the battery sooner or later)

they just dont make laptops like they used to :/

[kyphi]

The eeePC is not designed to be used as a main computer, in my opinion.

It does come in very handy for travelling and can fit into a lady's handbag (good for swinging at muggers).

It can do everything a full sized laptop can do. Everything on it is fully functional. It even responds to voice commands.

It is a delightful little machine - my wife loves hers but for main work she uses the Brute, her desktop computer.

There are all sorts of rumours about a bigger screened version - they are pie in the sky hopes denied by Asus. The idea was to make a cheap, fully functioning laptop so that everyone can have one.

[gn2]

they just dont make laptops like they used to

Very true. In 2000 mine would have cost it's first owner £2000!
In those days laptops were primarily aimed at businesses and they had to be built well to withstand the intended use.

You can still get well built "business" laptops but they tend to be a bit more expensive.
Some current low priced laptops I've seen appear very flimsy.

[MattBD]

I don't think you'll have any issues with the screen. If you mean "Is it fragile?", I thought it was pretty robust when I tried my friend's one.
If you're more concerned about the size of it, that might depend on the mode you'll be using it in.
The size certainly won't be a problem in the default mode - it's got big icons and is really easy to use thanks to a well-designed tabbed menu, but I haven't seen what it's like browsing the web. I haven't seen the advanced mode either (which I imagine you might be more inclined to spend time in if you're used to desktop Linux), but it's basically a modified Xandros desktop - you can install things using Synaptic just as you would in Ubuntu.

[Presto123]

Very true. In 2000 mine would have cost it's first owner £2000!
In those days laptops were primarily aimed at businesses and they had to be built well to withstand the intended use.

You can still get well built "business" laptops but they tend to be a bit more expensive.
Some current low priced laptops I've seen appear very flimsy.

My Compaq FEELS like it is...but I dropped it from 4 feet onto the side of it's screen and it is okay. Man I was ticked about that...and worried I would have broken it.

I almost thought I lost about $500 for it.

[mendieta]

My answer to the OP:

I have an EEE and I love it. I don't think I've ever been so excited with a computer. But I really wanted an Ultra Mobile (UMPC), it is exactly the kind of machine I wanted. Icluding: no windows tax, and Linux preinstalled and working perfectly. If you are looking for a regular laptop you'll be disappointed on screen size and hardrive size. But, again, this is an UMPC, not a laptop.

Now, even if you do wantan ultra portable, since you have a laptop and you're fine with that, I'd suggest you wait a couple months. The next generation eee is said to be around the corner (google for it). It seems it'll come with a 9 inch screen, which is the only thing the eee needs to be a dream ultra portable IMHO. If they do release it' I'd buy it instead. Also, the existing generation will drop in price, so you'll have that choice, too.

Hope this helps, cheers!

[mthakur2006]

My answer to the OP:

I have an EEE and I love it. I don't think I've ever been so excited with a computer. But I really wanted an Ultra Mobile (UMPC), it is exactly the kind of machine I wanted. Icluding: no windows tax, and Linux preinstalled and working perfectly. If you are looking for a regular laptop you'll be disappointed on screen size and hardrive size. But, again, this is an UMPC, not a laptop.

Now, even if you do wantan ultra portable, since you have a laptop and you're fine with that, I'd suggest you wait a couple months. The next generation eee is said to be around the corner (google for it). It seems it'll come with a 9 inch screen, which is the only thing the eee needs to be a dream ultra portable IMHO. If they do release it' I'd buy it instead. Also, the existing generation will drop in price, so you'll have that choice, too.

Hope this helps, cheers!

ah kk, advice taken.
marking this thread as solved