RasterWeb!

I have not yet gotten an Asus Eee PC, but at this point, I still plan to. The budget for this year allows for it, but right now I’m sitting tight watching all the fun the folks who do have an Eee PC are having. I figure by the time I have one, there will be tutorials all over the web on how to tweak, customize, and hack the thing.

In other news, I saw that the Everex TC2502 Green gPC is available at Wal-Mart for $200. It runs Ubuntu, has OpenOffice, and other open source apps, as well as a focus on connecting to the net and using online apps from Google and others. See a trend here? Is the network finally the computer? Could this be the beginning of the end for Windows?

And what about those Mac people, wait… I am still one of those Mac people! I do love the user experience of using a Mac, and as a creative professional, I can’t imagine a better platform. But… From a consumer standpoint, meaning “running a machine for consuming, not creating” I’m set to go with something besides a Mac. I can’t justify the cost of a Mac laptop, but an Asus Eee PC for $400 or a Nokia N800 for $250, yeah, totally doable. I’d still push it to the limits of what the machine can do, but I wouldn’t try to complete a big client project with it.

My big fear now is that the Eee PC’s will sell out, and I’ll have to wait. As I said, I’d still really like to get one before 2008. I think it’s worth waiting a few weeks to see what happens… Will they release a new model? Will they run out? Will they appear in stores? Heck if I know…

Ok, if the local Best Buy has an Asus Eee PC tomorrow, I’ll get one. I’ve done a whole lot of reading this week, and for the price, and what you get, it’s a good match for what I need.

As I mentioned, I want a very portable device, that does not cost too much, and lets me connect to the net and do basic things. Even if I pay $400 for an Eee PC, a new MacBook would cost more than twice that, be more than twice as heavy, and probably break. Don’t get me wrong, I love my iMac, and all the other Macs around me, but I’m comfortable with Linux, and a portable internet appliance is just what I need. If Apple could make an under $500 small laptop (think Mac-mini + iBook) they’d probably sell a zillion of them, but until then, Asus is the one to watch.

Still, there are questions… If the system gets mucked-up, can you do a reinstall? Can it do it over the net somehow? Does it come with install disks? It has no optical drive, so would you need a USB optical drive? Could you backup the entire system to a USB device or SD card for re-install? What can you install on the Eee PC? On the internal storage versus an SD card or USB stick? Apache? MySQL? PHP? Is gcc on there? Can you easily add it? Many of these questions don’t have answers yet, but might in the next week or so.

I ended up calling Best Buy yesterday and asking about the Eee PC, and they suggested calling back on the 1st or 2nd, since Thursday and Friday are when new shipments come in. I’d prefer to just go buy one rather than order online, but if that’s not an option (I’ve read somewhere that Best Buy may not be selling them now?) I’ll figure something else out…

I’m interested in the Asus Eee PC. Very interested. In fact, if I can get one before the end of the year for around $300, I probably will.

Since the iBook died, and the Wallstreet is pretty much useless, I’ve been thinking about what I’d like (and what I need) in a mobile computing device. Since I manage servers, and really need to access the net at various unknown times, and on occasion need something to take with me, I first looked at the Nokia 770. I saw this device when it was released, but didn’t really look too closely because of the price. Once the N800 came out, the 770 dropped in price and I looked a bit more closely. Technology moves fast, so when the N810 came out, the price on the N800 dropped and I considered that over the 770. I still think they are great devices, and I’m a big Nokia fan, but I’m not sure any of these would suit my needs.

At BarCampMilwaukee2 I had heard Matt and Blake talk about the Asus Eee PC. Once I looked at it, it looked sweet! Since Matt and I are both victims of Apple lack of quality in building laptops that last, it seems we are both looking at the Eee PC as a small, cheap alternative to a traditional laptop.

Yes, I did say cheap. While I’d love a MacBook or MacBook Pro, I cannot easily justify the cost. I work on desktop machines most of the time, probably 95% of the time, but for that 5% where I would really like to be mobile, I can justify $200-$500. That amount won’t even get a used/reliable Mac laptop.

I’m still waiting for reviews to roll in, but so far, things are looking good. This may be the first new non-Apple computer I’ve bought in the last 10 years or so.