The ASUS EeePC is fairly popular, and is really a decent tool, overall. The nice folks at ASUS threw in some educational applications, which is really nice. But is it suitable for use in schools? Well, certainly not in its default state. Let's look at some of the more important limitations on the ASUS EeePC, in terms of school use, and how to work around the problems.

The EeePC started as a niche product aimed at children. It was a huge hit, which surprised everybody - even Asus. Microsoft noticed it, and started putting pressure on Asus. While reading around, I came across this interview with Benson Lin, which proces once more that Microsoft is tying up Asus and effectively killing the GNU/Linux version of the EeePC.

And it came to pass. Asus saw the EeePC and it was good; it’s even better with a 9-inch display. Asus has officially named the 9-inch EeePC the EeePC 900 and has released some detailed specs about the low-cost laptop.

Until recently I thought Linux was just the domain of enthusiasts and cost-conscious corporates, who for whatever reason, wanted an alternative to Windows. I never thought Linux had a contribution to make to mainstream computing. However, after purchasing a ASUS EeePC, a Linux based subnotebook, I’ve realised that I was wrong, very wrong.

Although Asus has said that the Windows XP version of the EeePC will be available only by "special tender" (government and education), the writer of this article has been told by Asus' sales agents in Australia that it will be available to electrical retailers. This could be bad blow to Linux adoption on ultraportables if the price is the same.

"Now it’s finally official: the Asus EeePC (for Easy to Learn, Work, and Play) will be available from December in Germany and Austria for a recommended end user price of €299,- including tax. [...] The good news? Debian developer Ben Armstrong has realized that this is the perfect text editing device for himself and his wife, bought two of them, and is currently porting Debian to it! ..."

The battle for the inexpensive UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) market has begun. Several companies already have them; such as the CloudBook from Everex and the EeePC from Asus. Both look “okay” but it would be hard to call them aesthetically pleasing. ECS will be introducing its version of a UMPC and it looks like the smaller brother to the MacBook

I like clever things, and the EeePC is one of the few computer products of recent times that has struck me as being particularly clever. It is well thought out, well designed, and offers outstanding value for money.

It’s officially been a week since I purchased an Asus EeePC. I’ve been reading a lot about them since they were released last year and now that I’ve got it setup and tweaked to my liking I’m very pleased with my purchase. Over the last week of usage, my EeePC has morphed and evolved quite a bit.