Entries for March 2008

Monday, March 24, 2008

Impressions after the first few hours with an Eee PC

Damn, this thing is light.
Damn, this thing doesn't fit my pocket. It's a computer, not a phone.
The keyboard's tiny! How will I ever learn to touch type on it?
This thing is light. It doesn't stay put when I type.
Where's the keyboard backlight? I'm supposed to adjust ambient light now?
It froze! Thrice! Ah, the community forums have the answer. Something oddball with the wired network settings seeking a network. Turn it off. Who plugs in anymore anyway?
Why doesn't this thing just connect to my wireless network when I turn it on, like my Mac does? Why doesn't Apple make this thing?
It's so tiny, it won't sit on my lap like a laptop. I need new postures.
Look ma, it's so small, I can hold it with both hands and thumb-type! Just like with my phone!
I think I can get used to this keyboard. I typed this entire post on the Eee PC itself!
Eh, why don't my Mac keyboard shortcuts for extended characters work? How do I get smart quotes in this post? Why doesn't Apple make this thing?
I see major lifestyle changes happening.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

ASUS Eee PC vs HCL MiLeap Y

I’m in the market for an ultralight laptop to serve half-way between my cell phone (Nokia E61i; very portable and always on me, but painful for anything more than a few hundred words) and regular laptop (Apple MacBook Pro; all round performer but not a joy to lug around). The primary use will be for email and extended note taking. There appear to be only two suitable candidates available for purchase in Bangalore today.

The MiLeap Y or Eee PC, oh which one will it be?

Feature	ASUS Eee PC	HCL MiLeap Y	Advantage
Size	7"	7"	Match
Display	800×480. Painfully inadequate. The dialog boxes of several apps are too large to fit on screen.	1024×600. Feels comfortable when apps are maximised.	MiLeap Y
Build	Traditional laptop design. Feels solid.	Tablet PC design. Feels like an accidental drop could break it.	Eee PC
Finish	Matte. Leaves no smudges.	Glossy. Fingerprint magnet.	Eee PC
Weight	920 grams	980 grams. The 60 gram difference may seem paltry but is noticeable.	Eee PC
Battery Life	2.5 hours as per reviews. This is pretty much what makes or breaks a device’s usability. ASUS has announced plans for higher capacity batteries.	2 hours as per reviews. Poor show. (I wouldn’t go with manufacturers’ claims of battery life in idle mode.) No news on better battery availability.	Eee PC
Startup Time	15-22 seconds cold, lesser from suspension	1:30 minutes cold, 45 seconds from hibernate	Eee PC
Power Adapter	Feels like a large cell phone charger. You could tuck it into a pocket and carry the Eee PC like a notebook when moving around.	Brick with cables both ends. Major fashion faux pas to be seen toting one, besides being unwieldy.	Eee PC
Storage	4-8 GB. The 8 GB versions don’t appear to be available in India.	80 GB. Serious advantage here. Solid state storage’s perceived reliability isn’t so much of a plus point for me as disk crashes aren’t all that common, replacement disks are easy to obtain, and disruptions can be minimised with regular backups.	MiLeap Y
Trackpad	Relatively large. Single button with separate left and right sensors. Not possible to press both together.	Relatively small, but with separate left and right buttons. Separate scroll buttons on screen.	MiLeap Y
Touch Screen	No	Yes. The touch screen is pressure-based however, and unusable for actually writing on unless you don’t mind scratches. In my testing, it failed to recognise writing unless I pressed hard. High quality write-on screens use a special pen with a conductive coil that requires a very light touch.	MiLeap Y
Alternate Form Factor	None	The MiLeap Y in tablet form factor makes a great ebook reader / web browser. The screen’s sides have a fairly usable button mouse, arrow direction pad, scroll buttons and a few extra (hopefully) reprogrammable buttons.	MiLeap Y
OS	Linux. You can choose your own distro and UI. Dedicated community providing customisations tailored for the Eee PC.	Windows Vista Home Premium. The UI is still toyish (WinXP’s UI was like a candy factory meltdown) and switching is not an option, as parts of the hardware are unsupported on Linux.	Eee PC
Pedigree	ASUS, which is committed to first class Linux support. Everything just works.	Also available as the Kohjinsha SH-series. HCL is a licensee. I wouldn’t expect HCL to build high quality hardware given they have neither the track record nor market presence, so this is good news. The upstream manufacturer, however, appears uninterested in Linux support and HCL’s voice will remain unheard unless they have enough demanding customers.	Eee PC
Processing Power	900 MHz, but underclocked to 630 MHz.	800 MHz, but Vista’s sluggishness makes it feel slower.	Match
Cost	Rs 16-20,000	Rs 35,000	Eee PC
Obsolescence	Given the rapid pace of improvements in small form factor computers, the Eee PC will be very obsolete in a year. It will, however, have a second life as that little network file server tucked away under the desk. It is also cheap enough to give away.	The MiLeap’s spotty Linux support makes it a less likely server, and far higher cost makes it harder to give away. The touch screen could however mean it’ll turn into some kind of a wall mounted device, although its hard disk won’t survive on a treadmill (which is where I’d want a touch screen).	Eee PC
Final Tally	10	5	Eee PC