the eeeNote - it’s a serious threat to...everything - Page 10

joenunya · 07-22-2011, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarah11918

OK, so here's my pdf experience, including getting the pdfs on to and the resulting documents off of the Eee Note.

very nice review Sarah. I have a question and that is do you have a Dropbox account? If ya do have you had time to test downloading as well as uploading PDF's to a Dropbox or even Google Docs account?

If not, cool and don't go out of your way for this as I am sure the info is out there somewhere or will be by the time I am ready to actively consider this device.

I hope they come out with a multicolor , four maybe eight color version as I would predominantly be solving equations and doing work in mathematics. I use multiple colored pencils to indicate related substitutions or changes on a give line when solving a system. It's a neat trick I picked up decades ago in college while learning all about Bessel functions among other things. Even a few decades later I still use them for about everything. But could easily make do the old way of rewriting lines more often and noting changes specifically. Multiple colors just saves paper (in this case pages and memory space) and time.

sarah11918 · 07-22-2011, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joenunya

very nice review Sarah. I have a question and that is do you have a Dropbox account? If ya do have you had time to test downloading as well as uploading PDF's to a Dropbox or even Google Docs account?

I don't use Dropbox because I have private online storage, but since I can download from the default browser, I don't see why downloading from dropbox would be any different from downloading from other sites with PDFs.

I have not tried uploading anything from the default browser, but I can try. Note that you can't just upload pdfs (if you intend to upload markups) because you'd be editing a pdf and taking a snapshot (.gif or .png). So it would be uploading those graphic files from the Eee Note. Since the Evernote upload is built in, that's a lot simpler than trying to navigate the browser of a website where you'd upload, then trying to get the browser to recognize the Eee Note's file system to find the file in question (which won't be intuitively named, necessarily.) So I have my doubts about browser uploading, but I'll see what happens when I do. The Evernote works really well, so I'm sure I would just stick with that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joenunya

I use multiple colored pencils to indicate related substitutions or changes on a give line when solving a system.

Yup, I make math notes for students, so I use colour extensively. That's why I say for creation, the Edge or a tablet PC is better. But at least in "Notes" you can alter the shades of black/grey when you write, and the pen thickness/style, so you can make some differentiations that way. The Edge is much better suited to that, though; even though the device itself only displays in black and white on the e-ink side, you can choose different colours for pen strokes and export simply to PDF. The resulting files are just fine.

sarah11918 · 07-22-2011, 01:49 PM

I stand corrected! I could (using Lightweight browser - regular one kept crashing) view and upload to google docs! Very slow, but it worked.

Will write more details after I've played around with it.

sarah11918 · 07-22-2011, 04:38 PM

OK, more on the Google Docs experiment:

DOWNLOADING FROM GOOGLE DOCS:

Downloading using Lightweight 2 browser was similar to my experience downloading from a regular website that had pdf links on it. I could choose to download any of my docs in a variety of formats (I chose PDF) and was allowed to navigate through and choose a destination directory. The document downloaded successfully. But again, the Eee Note's Reader program will not detect that a new PDF file exists. (I currently have one copy in the default "download" folder, and one in the var/ebooks folder (where my other PDFs that can be detected) reside.

I suspect that if I were to download with the default browser that the Eee Note would be able to see this file. But, that browser kept crashing before I could complete the process. I don't think it's stable enough to handle logging into google and staying there. Lightweight is quite stable (sometimes hangs while attempting arduous tasks) but doesn't seem phased by trying to navigate through Gmail, Google Docs, Google Reader etc. The default browser will sometimes work long enough to let me log in. Sometimes it crashes just at the site of Google.

UPLOADING TO GOOGLE DOCS FROM EEE NOTE:

I have to admit, this surprised me, but it worked. I tried two separate actions: uploading a note and uploading a screenshot of a note. When I selected "upload", Google Docs asked whether I'd like to convert text in my file to text. (I guess this is standard, but I don't typically upload to G Docs, so I had never seen this option before.) I was hoping this might mean that if I wrote clearly enough, it would recognize my handwriting and convert to text! Well, no. (Although I'll try again writing REALLY neatly and see, because it "sort of" worked.)

When I uploaded a plain note (all I did was open up a new note, write by hand, save), the result was a .zip file in G Docs. G Docs allowed me to click on the zip file to reveal a gif. It wouldn't let me view the gif directly, but it did allow me to download the gif. Here is the gif if you want to view it. Notice that although I had the lined background, the lines did not export, only the text strokes. (And don't worry about the phone number. It's ticket sales for our local arena.)

I also tried uploading a snapshot of that same note. Google imported that as a .gif (not .zip) but when you click on it in G Docs, you're in a regular word processing document with (a) that gif imported into the word document and (b) an attempt at converting the text below it. This is what possibly gives me hope that if I write neatly enough, maybe it will attempt to convert my handwriting. (But as you'll see, my handwriting is far from horrible as it is, so you might have to have text-quality writing to get conversion to work.)

Because this is a snapshot of the page, it includes the menu bar across the top and the menu items along the bottom (Back, Home etc.) It is those words that it actually DID successfully convert. I downloaded to my laptop this file as a pdf, and you can view it here. Again, this is a snapshot of a note (so a graphic file on the Eee Note) uploaded to G Docs with both "convert to the closest/appropriate G Doc format" and "convert text found within graphics/pdf to text" options checked.

So, if you don't use Evernote, you certainly can upload to G Docs through the Lightweight browser. It's a much slower process than just clicking the button to upload to evernote, but of it does allow you to upload the snapshot (but you're going to get all the menu stuff included) and possibly convert text (?).

Assuming you just want to upload a note to the cloud somewhere, the main difference is that uploading to evernote keeps the background of your template (lines etc.) whereas uploading a note to G Docs, resulting in a .zip that becomes a .gif when you download it locally, does not. Also, note that with Evernote, you can view your .gif online directly. In G Docs, you can't view the uploaded note directly (although you can upload a snapshot of a page of your note directly.) As a final point of comparison, here's the Evernote-added version of the note (also a .gif)

Just to summarize:

Note added directly to Evernote results in THIS gif.

Note uploaded to G Docs becomes a .zip file which unarchives as THIS gif.

Snapshot of a Note uploaded to G Docs becomes a word doc within G Docs, but printed as THIS pdf.

joenunya · 07-23-2011, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarah11918

I don't use Dropbox because I have private online storage, but since I can download from the default browser, I don't see why downloading from dropbox would be any different from downloading from other sites with PDFs.

I have not tried uploading anything from the default browser, but I can try. Note that you can't just upload pdfs (if you intend to upload markups) because you'd be editing a pdf and taking a snapshot (.gif or .png). So it would be uploading those graphic files from the Eee Note. Since the Evernote upload is built in, that's a lot simpler than trying to navigate the browser of a website where you'd upload, then trying to get the browser to recognize the Eee Note's file system to find the file in question (which won't be intuitively named, necessarily.) So I have my doubts about browser uploading, but I'll see what happens when I do. The Evernote works really well, so I'm sure I would just stick with that.

Thanks for the feedback on Dropbox I'll have to wait and see. Somewhere there will be a Dropbox person who uses the device.

I have private servers as well but I find I also like Dropbox for other uses as well. Plus it's just fun to keep up on the newest stuff.

I used to use Evernote myself. But I am forced to be very Microsoft centric and actually enjoy using OneNote 2010 (was not thrilled with previous versions). But no problem using Evernote for some things as well. I wish the device was not geared toward one app though as it does limit some uses for me. I am not wanting to add a layer or two of complexity but, instead, want to occlude a layer or two from the process. So maybe I need to take a look at the newest version of Evernote. I used it from it's early days when there was really nothing close. What great tools either Evernote or OneNote are once you really get a feel for them.

Quote:

Yup, I make math notes for students, so I use colour extensively. That's why I say for creation, the Edge or a tablet PC is better. But at least in "Notes" you can alter the shades of black/grey when you write, and the pen thickness/style, so you can make some differentiations that way. The Edge is much better suited to that, though; even though the device itself only displays in black and white on the e-ink side, you can choose different colours for pen strokes and export simply to PDF. The resulting files are just fine.

The color really helps a lot doesn't it? I took to it right way. My prof introduced it in class where he used colored chalk to save time and rewriting so we all just adopted the method for notes. I took it further into all my courses. I think I scared my Abstract Algebra prof though, I don't think he ever ran into color used in those proofs.

For now I will stick with paper or my old tablet PC (a pin really). Color for me is pretty much a deal breaker and I can wait. I figure the Asus people must want to use color, who would not?, and it's only due to the lack of decent color at the time this device was designed prevent it from being a color device. Maybe next year. Of course I've been saying that for ~20-odd-years and they just keep teasing me. Evil people they are!

As for the Edge, it's a nice curiosity at this point. I know you like yours but it's dead in the water for the foreseeable future. I won't invest in a device using hardware that is a good two years old not. When I buy as I expect to get use for a minimum of 4-yrs of reasonable useful life. I would not invest $100 in even the Pocket Edge not because it and it's older and larger sibling are bad but because they are using, by today's standard, antique hardware. Moves fast today as you know. On second thought I probably would be happy to find a Pocket Edge for $100. I think the idea of the Edges is fantastic. I even think the devices were pretty well made and thought out. Unfortunately the company was under capitalized from the beginning and never found that needed cash to move further. I do hope they find it because a large format device like the full sized Edge would be ideal for a research tool.

But I am fascinated with this Asus device and thanks to your info will keep an active eye on it. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions.

joenunya · 07-23-2011, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarah11918

OK, more on the Google Docs experiment:

Just to summarize:

Note added directly to Evernote results in THIS gif.

Note uploaded to G Docs becomes a .zip file which unarchives as THIS gif.

Snapshot of a Note uploaded to G Docs becomes a word doc within G Docs, but printed as THIS pdf.

Very interesting. I like that it works well enough. I think I like the zip'd version uploaded to G-Docs the most, especially if the GIF is transparent so it's an easy overlay in a PDF. But Google does odd things with docs at times.

Not sure I like the printed output from G-Docs though but for a fast edit and save it's pretty OK.

Thanks so much for taking all that time to check it out for me and everyone else. From what you've demonstrated here, I think Asus has a true winner device here. One that would make it not so bad to have a dedicated note taking device along side a tablet device. Certainly very worth following up on and heck it might be fun to buy one just because it sorta works for me. Not sure if it's worth the domestic discord on yet another device laying around the house.

Valentino · 07-23-2011, 03:05 AM

Whoa.. bit of tldr. so the eeNote has taken over?

sarah11918 · 07-23-2011, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joenunya

As for the Edge, it's a nice curiosity at this point. I know you like yours but it's dead in the water for the foreseeable future. I won't invest in a device using hardware that is a good two years old not. When I buy as I expect to get use for a minimum of 4-yrs of reasonable useful life.

I think I just lucked out with discovering the edge a few months before it went on pre-sale. I had one of the very first shipments, so it's been just shy of 17 months for me already with the edge, and it shows no signs of stopping. (My personal device, I mean; not the company!)

There is no doubt I'll get another couple of years out of it, as outdated as it may be by that time. I completely understand why people may not want to buy them now, but a lot of the owners here on the forums are keeping sharp eyes out to buy second ones for spare parts or as an insurance against their main one failing. The devotees are really devoted to it!

I fear this Eee Note is going to end up similarly obscure by not being released in North America, but the difference is that there's a small, active dev. community surrounding it. (The devs never got the source they needed from Entourage in order to really run with it.) So as long as there are crazy enthusiasts, the device will continue to have some life. If, as they were rumouring last year, there is a second device planned (larger screen, colour), then presumably it would be built off of the same OS and the advancements made by the community could be imported to that device as well. It will be interesting to see whether a colour one ever surfaces.

sarah11918 · 08-02-2011, 02:56 PM

(Also posted to the e-ink notepads thread)

So, I did a comparison annotating pdfs on my Entourage Edge, Asus Eee Note and Nokia N810. I rewrote the same annotations 3 times (math solutions) using the same initial PDF on all 3 devices.

In case anyone is interested, here are the results:

https://www.strongspace.com/rainsber...ercentEDGE.pdf
https://www.strongspace.com/rainsber...entEEEnote.pdf
https://www.strongspace.com/rainsber...tNokiaN810.pdf

Note re: file format - the Asus Eee note only allows you to take snapshots of each page, which are then graphic files. It might look better if I could get the graphic files directly off the device (which I can't without synching or getting a browser not to crash during upload). What I've done is inserted each of these graphics into a page in a Note, which can then be uploaded to evernote, which makes yet another graphic file, and then I can print as a pdf. Both other devices allow exporting as pdf, annotations intact.

Note re: zoom level - only the Nokia allows me to zoom in to annotate, then zoom back out. So, I can make finer annotations because of zoom level. But, the Nokia is also the only touch device (not wacom), so although I can make finer notations, I must do so without otherwise touching the screen.

pendragginp · 08-02-2011, 06:14 PM

Wow, the Edge is def. better than the Asus. And I like Asus products.

sarah11918 · 08-02-2011, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pendragginp

Wow, the Edge is def. better than the Asus. And I like Asus products.

I call the edge my "pdf workhorse" for a reason. The zoom on the Nokia lets you zoom in and write smaller, then zoom out (which tends to look neater), but otherwise, the Edge is the clear winner.

A large part of that, though, is because the Eee Note won't generate a pdf file itself. So it's kind of unfair to compare a screen shot, converted to gif, inserted into a note, uploaded to evernote as a new gif, printed as a pdf to a regular pdf!

sarah11918 · 08-04-2011, 01:11 PM

Another quick observation: battery life is excellent (it can sit around for a few days without charging) and it's instant-on for grabbing it while on a phone call to take down notes with no delay.

I've never had a conventional e-reader that lasts for weeks without charging, so for me this is pretty fantastic. And my other writing devices often need to be "turned on" and take a minute or two to boot, unless I have them on (in which case, they've probably run out of batteries because I haven't kept them to plugged them in).

I'm really satisfied with the fact that this is ready to go immediately for days at a time.

Tome Keeper · 08-04-2011, 03:16 PM

Not really a threat - LCD, touchscreen (fingerprints are a no-no) and 13 hours battery is not so good compared to my Kindle, not dedicated e-reader (too tempting to surf etc.), also looks like a bigger screen.

I wouldn't buy it.

sarah11918 · 08-04-2011, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tome Keeper

touchscreen (fingerprints are a no-no)

The EEE Note is not a touch screen. It's only activated by a Wacom stylus.

nprnncbl · 08-05-2011, 09:47 AM

Sarah-

Great review and follow-ups!

I'm glad you mention battery life, as the 13-hour battery scared me off a little. It's good to know that it has an efficient sleep mode, and that it wakes up quickly. These were some of my biggest gripes about the EE, that even in sleep mode it uses enough power that the battery dies in a day or so. Inevitably, I forget to shut it down, then don't use it for a day, only to realize that I can't until I charge it again.

How do you like the screen for reading, as compared to the e-ink screen on the EE?

And how is the speed of pen input-- does it lag a little, like on the EE?

Thanks, and sorry if you already addressed this in your review. ;-)

07-22-2011, 04:38 PM	#139
sarah11918 Tablet Enthusiast Posts: 335 Karma: 30400 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Aura One (formerly: Asus Eee Note, enTourage eDGe EE, Nokia N810)	OK, more on the Google Docs experiment: DOWNLOADING FROM GOOGLE DOCS: Downloading using Lightweight 2 browser was similar to my experience downloading from a regular website that had pdf links on it. I could choose to download any of my docs in a variety of formats (I chose PDF) and was allowed to navigate through and choose a destination directory. The document downloaded successfully. But again, the Eee Note's Reader program will not detect that a new PDF file exists. (I currently have one copy in the default "download" folder, and one in the var/ebooks folder (where my other PDFs that can be detected) reside. I suspect that if I were to download with the default browser that the Eee Note would be able to see this file. But, that browser kept crashing before I could complete the process. I don't think it's stable enough to handle logging into google and staying there. Lightweight is quite stable (sometimes hangs while attempting arduous tasks) but doesn't seem phased by trying to navigate through Gmail, Google Docs, Google Reader etc. The default browser will sometimes work long enough to let me log in. Sometimes it crashes just at the site of Google. UPLOADING TO GOOGLE DOCS FROM EEE NOTE: I have to admit, this surprised me, but it worked. I tried two separate actions: uploading a note and uploading a screenshot of a note. When I selected "upload", Google Docs asked whether I'd like to convert text in my file to text. (I guess this is standard, but I don't typically upload to G Docs, so I had never seen this option before.) I was hoping this might mean that if I wrote clearly enough, it would recognize my handwriting and convert to text! Well, no. (Although I'll try again writing REALLY neatly and see, because it "sort of" worked.) When I uploaded a plain note (all I did was open up a new note, write by hand, save), the result was a .zip file in G Docs. G Docs allowed me to click on the zip file to reveal a gif. It wouldn't let me view the gif directly, but it did allow me to download the gif. Here is the gif if you want to view it. Notice that although I had the lined background, the lines did not export, only the text strokes. (And don't worry about the phone number. It's ticket sales for our local arena.) I also tried uploading a snapshot of that same note. Google imported that as a .gif (not .zip) but when you click on it in G Docs, you're in a regular word processing document with (a) that gif imported into the word document and (b) an attempt at converting the text below it. This is what possibly gives me hope that if I write neatly enough, maybe it will attempt to convert my handwriting. (But as you'll see, my handwriting is far from horrible as it is, so you might have to have text-quality writing to get conversion to work.) Because this is a snapshot of the page, it includes the menu bar across the top and the menu items along the bottom (Back, Home etc.) It is those words that it actually DID successfully convert. I downloaded to my laptop this file as a pdf, and you can view it here. Again, this is a snapshot of a note (so a graphic file on the Eee Note) uploaded to G Docs with both "convert to the closest/appropriate G Doc format" and "convert text found within graphics/pdf to text" options checked. So, if you don't use Evernote, you certainly can upload to G Docs through the Lightweight browser. It's a much slower process than just clicking the button to upload to evernote, but of it does allow you to upload the snapshot (but you're going to get all the menu stuff included) and possibly convert text (?). Assuming you just want to upload a note to the cloud somewhere, the main difference is that uploading to evernote keeps the background of your template (lines etc.) whereas uploading a note to G Docs, resulting in a .zip that becomes a .gif when you download it locally, does not. Also, note that with Evernote, you can view your .gif online directly. In G Docs, you can't view the uploaded note directly (although you can upload a snapshot of a page of your note directly.) As a final point of comparison, here's the Evernote-added version of the note (also a .gif) Just to summarize: Note added directly to Evernote results in THIS gif. Note uploaded to G Docs becomes a .zip file which unarchives as THIS gif. Snapshot of a Note uploaded to G Docs becomes a word doc within G Docs, but printed as THIS pdf. Last edited by sarah11918; 07-22-2011 at 04:42 PM.

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07-22-2011, 01:49 PM	#138
sarah11918 Tablet Enthusiast Posts: 335 Karma: 30400 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Aura One (formerly: Asus Eee Note, enTourage eDGe EE, Nokia N810)	I stand corrected! I could (using Lightweight browser - regular one kept crashing) view and upload to google docs! Very slow, but it worked. Will write more details after I've played around with it.

07-23-2011, 03:05 AM	#142
Valentino Connoisseur Posts: 86 Karma: 999999 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: some.	Whoa.. bit of tldr. so the eeNote has taken over?

08-02-2011, 02:56 PM	#144
sarah11918 Tablet Enthusiast Posts: 335 Karma: 30400 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Aura One (formerly: Asus Eee Note, enTourage eDGe EE, Nokia N810)	(Also posted to the e-ink notepads thread) So, I did a comparison annotating pdfs on my Entourage Edge, Asus Eee Note and Nokia N810. I rewrote the same annotations 3 times (math solutions) using the same initial PDF on all 3 devices. In case anyone is interested, here are the results: https://www.strongspace.com/rainsber...ercentEDGE.pdf https://www.strongspace.com/rainsber...entEEEnote.pdf https://www.strongspace.com/rainsber...tNokiaN810.pdf Note re: file format - the Asus Eee note only allows you to take snapshots of each page, which are then graphic files. It might look better if I could get the graphic files directly off the device (which I can't without synching or getting a browser not to crash during upload). What I've done is inserted each of these graphics into a page in a Note, which can then be uploaded to evernote, which makes yet another graphic file, and then I can print as a pdf. Both other devices allow exporting as pdf, annotations intact. Note re: zoom level - only the Nokia allows me to zoom in to annotate, then zoom back out. So, I can make finer annotations because of zoom level. But, the Nokia is also the only touch device (not wacom), so although I can make finer notations, I must do so without otherwise touching the screen.

08-02-2011, 06:14 PM	#145
pendragginp Guru Posts: 985 Karma: 4567263 Join Date: May 2009 Location: The End Of The Earth Device: Several	Wow, the Edge is def. better than the Asus. And I like Asus products.

08-04-2011, 01:11 PM	#147
sarah11918 Tablet Enthusiast Posts: 335 Karma: 30400 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Aura One (formerly: Asus Eee Note, enTourage eDGe EE, Nokia N810)	Another quick observation: battery life is excellent (it can sit around for a few days without charging) and it's instant-on for grabbing it while on a phone call to take down notes with no delay. I've never had a conventional e-reader that lasts for weeks without charging, so for me this is pretty fantastic. And my other writing devices often need to be "turned on" and take a minute or two to boot, unless I have them on (in which case, they've probably run out of batteries because I haven't kept them to plugged them in). I'm really satisfied with the fact that this is ready to go immediately for days at a time.

08-04-2011, 03:16 PM	#148
Tome Keeper Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 1001201 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3 Keyboard, Surface Tablet, Android Smartphone, Laptop, Netbook	Not really a threat - LCD, touchscreen (fingerprints are a no-no) and 13 hours battery is not so good compared to my Kindle, not dedicated e-reader (too tempting to surf etc.), also looks like a bigger screen. I wouldn't buy it.

08-05-2011, 09:47 AM	#150
nprnncbl Member Posts: 18 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Entourage Edge	Sarah- Great review and follow-ups! I'm glad you mention battery life, as the 13-hour battery scared me off a little. It's good to know that it has an efficient sleep mode, and that it wakes up quickly. These were some of my biggest gripes about the EE, that even in sleep mode it uses enough power that the battery dies in a day or so. Inevitably, I forget to shut it down, then don't use it for a day, only to realize that I can't until I charge it again. How do you like the screen for reading, as compared to the e-ink screen on the EE? And how is the speed of pen input-- does it lag a little, like on the EE? Thanks, and sorry if you already addressed this in your review. ;-)