CloudBook

I stopped by the VIA booth at Computex today to see its menagerie of mini-notebooks. I had seen the newest version of the CloudBook Max behind glass at CTIA in April, but I was finally able to play around with the second-generation Everex mini-notebook this morning. So does it remove the bad taste in my mouth left by the original CloudBook? On the whole, yes.

As for hardware, the system feels a lot more sturdy. With a larger 8.9-inch footprint, the system gives you more real estate on the screen and keyboard. However, the trackpad is still extremely small. It is definitely smaller than on the Eee PC 701, but larger than the original’s finger-size pad located above the keyboard. I do not miss that odd thing.

The CloudBook Max on display was running Windows XP, which sure beats the gOS that was originally preloaded on the system. I have no complaints about the sizing of the windows on the 8.9-inch display; looks like they adjusted the OS for the system this time around!

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I wrote a few weeks ago about the potential that gOS Space had to improve the CloudBook experience. Unfortunately, my installation of gOS Space failed at the time. However, I received a comment on that post from David Lui, the father of the gOS operating system. He kindly offered to send me a gOS Space build made specifically for the CloudBook.

Today I got around to installing the sleek Linux OS on our battered CloudBook. I say this with a lot of joy: It hands-down improves the CloudBook experience. Like Jeff thought in his initial hands-on with gOS Space, the OS is really sleek and its rip-off OS X components are pretty damn cool.

Installation was a breeze and, unlike our original experience with the CloudBook, all the windows are properly sized for the screen.

The OS just makes the CloudBook look a lot nicer. The icons on the bottom of the screen become illuminated and rotate when moused over, and the starry desktop just gives the system a better aura.

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After reading Jeff’s post on the new gOS Space 2.9, I was psyched to try and port it over to the CloudBook. The operating system looked sick (as in awesome, not physically ill) on his desktop. The transparent dock on the bottom made the whole screen look sleek and the celestial wallpaper gave the system a more futuristic aura.

I figured if any system needed a refreshed gOS, it was the CloudBook (which came running gOS Rocket). Therein lay my mission: become the Joan of Arc of the CloudBook and get gOS Space to run on the ailing system.

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You’ve just filed your taxes and are now waiting for that $600 check from the government that’s miraculously going to improve the economy. Well, if you haven’t already allocated that money toward paying off your credit card or electric bill, what can you do with it? Some might encourage you to put it in an IRA, others might hide it in a mattress, but we say No! Spend it, and turn that trickle-down economy into a flood! We’re counting on you, Almighty American Consumer!

But what can you get for $600? There are plenty of companies entering the mini-notebook fray, but not all of them get the “low-cost” moniker. So let’s see how far those C-notes take you. Of course, money’s not the only determining factor here, but it’s interesting to see what a dollar gets you, computer-wise, these days.

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Despite the many, many flaws we encountered while using gOS on the CloudBook, this operating system, which relies heavily on Web-based applications, is, in theory, one that should be pretty kicking. So when news came across the wire a few days ago that Everex’ new, limited edition MyMiniPC packed a new version of gOS, we were instantly intrigued. Then, when we we took a gander at the screens, we nearly blew our collective morning beverages onto our monitors.

gOS Space 2.9 (a tweaked version of Ubuntu using Compiz-Fusion and GNOME) shamelessly takes a heavy, heavy cue from Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard. How heavy? Let’s see . . .

When we booted the OS, we were presented with a beautiful outer-space theme with stars twinkling in the background. Hmm.

Then, we noticed the reflective AWN dock that houses the system’s various open-source applications. Hmm.

Finally, we discovered that clicking on certain dock icons opens an elegant, arching fan of sub-icons. Oh my.

Okay, gOS is a little more than “inspired,” but it is without a doubt the most beautiful Linux distro that we’ve ever seen; icons become illuminated and rotate when moused over, and the starry, earth-orbit view desktop wallpaper is simply stunning. More importantly, gOS Space 2.9 offers a few decent features that help it stand on its own, particularly if you’re a fan of the MySpaces. Check out some of the deets after the jump.

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We’ve given the Everex CloudBook a thorough once-over and, frankly, found it a rather subpar derivative of the Asus Eee PC, but we have to admit that the news that’s just crossed the wire is quite intriguing.

Today, Via Technologies announced that Everex has adopted the Via C7-M ULV processor for its new 2.2-pound CloudBook Max, a 9.4 x 6.8 x 1.0-inch mini-notebook sporting an integrated Mobile WiMAX solution for use with Sprint’s Xohm network.

But wait, there’s more. Lots more.

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This week, Wal-Mart announced that it would cease selling Everex’ Linux-based gPC desktop due to poor sales. Because we wild’n'crazy folks at LAPTOP focus on mobile technology, we couldn’t help but wonder if this is an omen of things to come for the CloudBook. We spoke with Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at The NPD Group for his thoughts on the CloudBook’s (and other low-cost Linux notebooks) chances of survival.

This week Wal-Mart announced that it was pulling Everex’ Linux desktops from its shelves. Is this the result of a market shift from desktops to notebooks, or the fact that the computers ran Linux?
The sales weren’t very good and I suspect that, as it’s been in the past and as it’ll continue to be, Linux isn’t ready to be sold to a mass market audience.
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I’m really psyched, because, after some effort, I found a way to assign keyboard shortcuts in Ubuntu 7.1. Now, I can launch my favorite programs — Firefox, GIMP, etc — with one swift keystroke, no mousing required. This same trick works both on my laptop with Ubuntu 7.1 and on my CloudBook with gOS (which is based on Ubuntu anyway).

The instructions I found online yesterday, which suggested using a program called XBindKeys to create shortcuts, didn’t work for me. However, today, I found another site called which explains how to use a feature of the Gnome desktop to configure up to 12 keyboard shortcuts. Why only 12? I’m not sure, but that’s probably more than enough. I’ve already assigned CTRL+ALT+s to open Firefox, CTRL+ALT+m to open my e-mail program, and CTRL+ALT+f to open my FTP software.

Here’s how you can create your own keyboard shortcuts in Linux.

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When we first got our CloudBook last Friday, we were wondering if we had gotten a preproduction unit with a preproduction version of the OS, because we initially found that some of the buttons in certain configuration windows were appearing below the screen. When we wrote to Everex’s Paul Kim about the problem, he initially responded:

I found the same issue with the initialization screen as you did: It looks like the gOS team loaded the wrong size opening windows on a few of the press samples. I’m talking to them now to try to see what happened but will keep you updated.

So we spent all weekend playing with the CloudBook, but unsure of whether we had the same CloudBook that other users were receiving. As we waited for a reply from Everex, other users started receiving their CloudBooks and noticing the same issues we were having with buttons below the screen, with slow booting, and with Wi-Fi connectivity (which gets better after you download some updates). Yesterday, Paul Kim confirmed that we have the same software as all the other users who received a CloudBook.

So now that we know we’re dealing with the same hardware and software as our fellow CloudBook users, I’d like to focus our coverage on making the most of the machine through tips, tricks, and hacks. I’ve gotten some great advice in the comments section from other users and I’ve seen some interesting tips posted on the forums at CloudBooker and on Jamfish’s CloudBook blog.

Please drop some of your tips or things you’d like someone to try in the comments section below and I’ll get to them in the days ahead. I’d like to start by doing things that don’t involve replacing the OS so we can offer advice to users they can use without replacing the operating system. After that, I’ll be happy to try installing Xubuntu or Windows XP.

Everex’s CloudBook has finally showed up on Wal-Mart.com. Not sure how the unit is already out of stock and how you can still manage to buy a 2-Year service plan. Any ideas?

We confirmed with Paul Kim of Everex yesterday that there is no real delay of units coming stateside:

The next round should arrive in the states the end of this month and be available for sale by the first week of March. The Digitimes article refers to the Taiwanese version of the CloudBook which really was delayed from the blizzard.

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