MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Docking the Asus EEE for use as a desktop machine

mogui · 05-18-2008, 01:04 AM

Last week I picked up an Asus EEE while I was in Shanghai. The price in US dollars was $428. maybe not a spectacular buy given western pricing, but with VAT here in China prices are a shade higher than in the west. I found it very convenient to carry in a backpack while traveling, but I was wondering how far I could take it as a desktop replacement machine. Here is my adventure.

I use the EEE in the simple mode of Xandros Linux. It lets me do everything I want to do, and the tabbed interface is easy on the eye and does almost everything I need to do. For those functions that do not have icons in the user interface, I have created favorites in the file manager. It is easy therefore, to start the FBReader and a few other applications. I tried the full desktop and it is nice, but I like running lean with the simple interface. If you think you need Windows, take a look at the rich selection of open-source apps you can download for Linux.

I tested a soft rubber keyboard. It seemed to work pretty smoothly with the new Asus EEE running from a USB port. The keys were mushy, but this keyboard has the advantage of being rollable and will go into a backpack without taking up too much space. Why don't I use the EEE's keyboard? Because I keep making mistakes with it. The keys are too small for me, but for occasional use they are OK and much better than those found on a UMPC.

I am quite pleased with the rollup keyboard aside from a tendency to hit the caps lock key accidentally. I think I miss the space bar sometimes too. Can I adapt to these? It is quite portable so I will try.

I attached a USB mouse as well. Now this tiny computer has more of the comforts of a big machine.

I attached a small external USB hard drive. I am fairly sure any small drive that is powered from USB will work on the EEE. I notice I am getting a feel for the keyboard now too and making fewer mistakes. With this combination the EEE will be very comfortable for writing.

I attached an external LCD monitor to the VGA port. Under the "settings" tab there is an icon for "Desktop Mode". You can select up to 1024x768 for the external monitor. There is a function button combination on the keyboard that will allow you to select 1/ Internal LCD, 2/ External monitor, or 3/ both. The EEE's 800x480 resolution is displayed when choosing #1 or #3. This results in a poor font display on the external monitor. But by selecting #2 the EEE switches the display mode to a better-looking 800x600 with nice fonts. The ability to use an external screen has been well thought out to provide extended functionality.

The EEE is quick and responsive-- more so than my 2GHz AMD desktop machine running XP. This is quite a surprise to me. This little machine runs it's Celeron processor at 630MHz. For a writer or a web surfer, this machine is quite enough. The limitations on storage are moot, as you can attach an external hard drive. Plus the SDHC slot in the EEE will hold a 32G SD card, if you can afford it. For my everyday needs I carry an iPod-sized 15G external hard drive that comfortably holds all my working files.

A better test was to connect my 500G NTFS USB drive. I was able to read anything and play a video (of Jessica Alba) from the drive. It came up full screen and played smoothly. So to complete the test I connected my sound system to the EEE. Now I can listen to music while I finish writing this post.

I opened an MP3 -- Gene Ammons on Hittin' the Jug. Pretty Cool, with lots of base. One small thing. It does stall momentarily on the MP3 if I am doing something in the browser, like writing this email. It happens especially during saves and sends and scrolls.

The next day: I went out and bought a better USB keyboard and another USB mouse, as yesterday's mouse was borrowed. The keyboard is an improvement over the rubber one. Now the keyboard and mouse have a normal feel and my typing is at its limited best. I created a docking station of sorts by adding a USB hub so I can have my two hard drives, the keyboard and mouse all connected and only have to plug one USB plug into the EEE when I "dock" it.

Conclusion? The EEE makes a pretty good desktop machine if your needs are simple. I can watch movies, listen to internet radio and MP3s, read ebooks, write articles and email, surf the web, use office applications, have a huge amount of hard drive storage, and use WiFi or ethernet. Best of all when I undock it I can have all my important storage and a decent eBook reader with me wherever I go. Now what will I do with all my other computers?

05-18-2008, 01:04 AM	#1
mogui eNigma Posts: 503 Karma: 1335 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Philippines Device: HTC G1 Android FBReader	Docking the Asus EEE for use as a desktop machine Last week I picked up an Asus EEE while I was in Shanghai. The price in US dollars was $428. maybe not a spectacular buy given western pricing, but with VAT here in China prices are a shade higher than in the west. I found it very convenient to carry in a backpack while traveling, but I was wondering how far I could take it as a desktop replacement machine. Here is my adventure. I use the EEE in the simple mode of Xandros Linux. It lets me do everything I want to do, and the tabbed interface is easy on the eye and does almost everything I need to do. For those functions that do not have icons in the user interface, I have created favorites in the file manager. It is easy therefore, to start the FBReader and a few other applications. I tried the full desktop and it is nice, but I like running lean with the simple interface. If you think you need Windows, take a look at the rich selection of open-source apps you can download for Linux. I tested a soft rubber keyboard. It seemed to work pretty smoothly with the new Asus EEE running from a USB port. The keys were mushy, but this keyboard has the advantage of being rollable and will go into a backpack without taking up too much space. Why don't I use the EEE's keyboard? Because I keep making mistakes with it. The keys are too small for me, but for occasional use they are OK and much better than those found on a UMPC. I am quite pleased with the rollup keyboard aside from a tendency to hit the caps lock key accidentally. I think I miss the space bar sometimes too. Can I adapt to these? It is quite portable so I will try. I attached a USB mouse as well. Now this tiny computer has more of the comforts of a big machine. I attached a small external USB hard drive. I am fairly sure any small drive that is powered from USB will work on the EEE. I notice I am getting a feel for the keyboard now too and making fewer mistakes. With this combination the EEE will be very comfortable for writing. I attached an external LCD monitor to the VGA port. Under the "settings" tab there is an icon for "Desktop Mode". You can select up to 1024x768 for the external monitor. There is a function button combination on the keyboard that will allow you to select 1/ Internal LCD, 2/ External monitor, or 3/ both. The EEE's 800x480 resolution is displayed when choosing #1 or #3. This results in a poor font display on the external monitor. But by selecting #2 the EEE switches the display mode to a better-looking 800x600 with nice fonts. The ability to use an external screen has been well thought out to provide extended functionality. The EEE is quick and responsive-- more so than my 2GHz AMD desktop machine running XP. This is quite a surprise to me. This little machine runs it's Celeron processor at 630MHz. For a writer or a web surfer, this machine is quite enough. The limitations on storage are moot, as you can attach an external hard drive. Plus the SDHC slot in the EEE will hold a 32G SD card, if you can afford it. For my everyday needs I carry an iPod-sized 15G external hard drive that comfortably holds all my working files. A better test was to connect my 500G NTFS USB drive. I was able to read anything and play a video (of Jessica Alba) from the drive. It came up full screen and played smoothly. So to complete the test I connected my sound system to the EEE. Now I can listen to music while I finish writing this post. I opened an MP3 -- Gene Ammons on Hittin' the Jug. Pretty Cool, with lots of base. One small thing. It does stall momentarily on the MP3 if I am doing something in the browser, like writing this email. It happens especially during saves and sends and scrolls. The next day: I went out and bought a better USB keyboard and another USB mouse, as yesterday's mouse was borrowed. The keyboard is an improvement over the rubber one. Now the keyboard and mouse have a normal feel and my typing is at its limited best. I created a docking station of sorts by adding a USB hub so I can have my two hard drives, the keyboard and mouse all connected and only have to plug one USB plug into the EEE when I "dock" it. Conclusion? The EEE makes a pretty good desktop machine if your needs are simple. I can watch movies, listen to internet radio and MP3s, read ebooks, write articles and email, surf the web, use office applications, have a huge amount of hard drive storage, and use WiFi or ethernet. Best of all when I undock it I can have all my important storage and a decent eBook reader with me wherever I go. Now what will I do with all my other computers?