I thought I’d use my final day to try something a little more radical: installing a new operating system on the Eee PC. With Everex’ Cloudbook set to arrive in-office any day now, we figured there was no better time than now to give the gOS operating system a preview.

Installing gOS on the Eee PC

Acquiring gOS was simple. I downloaded the iso from Think gOS, burned the file to disc as an image using a desktop PC, and popped it into an USB An optical drive allows you to play or record to DVDs, CDs, or Blu-ray discs.
Learn MoreDVD drive. I then connected the USB DVD drive to the Eee PC, held the ESC key as I powered on, and chose to boot from the external drive. About a minute later gOS was running from the live CD and looking quite sexy, I might add.

 
I decided to install the OS proper, which I did by double-clicking the “Install” button. A few minutes later I was inside of gOS. It wasn’t until I took a gander at gOS’ dock that I realized jut how much I use Google’s products: Gmail, Docs & Spreadsheets, GTalk, Reader, and of course Search, are tools I use daily. It was nice to have them presented before me in a well-organized fashioned.

What wasn’t quite as nice, however, was that gOS didn’t recognize my wireless signal, and with mounting deadlines, I didn’t get much time to search for a quick fix. Fortunately, connecting an Ethernet cable proved successful, and I was able to get all Web 2.0 within gOS. Hmm, maybe getting the wireless to work will be my next project with the Eee PC. Whatever it takes to get more hands-on with this small wonder, my friends.

Final Thoughts on the Asus Eee PC

I used to tote my MacBook everywhere with me in case I wanted to hop on the Web in a pinch, but in these 5 days with the Eee PC I discovered it to be the perfect companion. Weighing just 2-pounds, and with dimensions that rival a paperback book, the Eee PC makes my MacBook feel downright clunky in comparison; I even adjusted to the small screen quite nicely, although the keyboard’s still a roadblock for me when trying to type with speed. But you can bet that the next time I travel to a big trade show, I’ll have an Eee PC in tow; whether it’s a loaner from Asus or one of my own.

If you’re on the fence about purchasing an Eee PC, don’t be. It’s a marvelous little device that will fit excellently into your mobile lifestyle. Let’s raise a glass in unison to the low-cost ultra-portable revolution.

I recalled someone telling me (or perhaps I had read it online) that there was a way for Eee PC users to quickly and easily change the desktop layout, so I did a quick Google, which once again brought me to the Mecca of all things Eee PC, the aptly named Eee User. As someone who hasn’t inputted any code since the heyday of BASIC and the almighty Commodore 64, I was a wee bit intimidated as I didn’t want to brick the lappie. Nervously, I took a sip of my Coke and Redbull (aka geek nectar), and went to work. And it was far easier than I had imagined.

• I pressed Ctrl+Alt+T to open the terminal.
• I keyed in “sudo-i”, and hit Enter.
• I keyed in “apt-get update” and hit Enter.
• I keyed in “apt-get install ksmserver kicker” and hit Enter. I then restarted the Eee PC.

The original desktop booted up. I clicked the Settings tab, and then Personalization. I changed the Login Mode to Full Desktop. I once again restarted the Eee PC.

The Eee Pc took about 10 seconds longer than usual to boot up, but I was presented with a spanking new windowed interface that I immediately tricked out with a sweet Linux wallpaper. Pimp!

My girlfriend labeled me “the biggest geek in the universe” when I e-mailed her a screen of the new desktop in a bout of bliss. Maybe she’s right! As I deleve deeper into the Eee PC and learn of of its flexibility, I realize it’s going to be hard to give this beaut back when Asus comes a-knockin’. Until then, I’m going to see if there are any hacks available that will give the Eee PC a Mac-like dock.

While I must admit that I’ve somewhat adjusted, nothing beats the comfort of a full-sized keyboard (and a trackpad and mouse buttons that don’t feel as though they were crafted by a team of designers with the smallest hands in known history). My breaking point arrived today while trying to swiftly type up an article, so I could join a couple of co-workers in some after-hours shenanigans. It seemed that the Eee PC’s keyboard did everything within its power to slow me down.

As my tensions mounted, I turned to our Editorial Assistant for, well, assistance. She heard my story of frustration, disappeared into our storage room, and returned with the Logitech G15 USB keyboard. I nominate her for sainthood. Remembering that I had a USB mouse stashed away in my apartment, I figured I could put one and one together to form a dynamic duo that would replicate the feel of a larger notebook quite nicely. I joined my colleagues for an after work get together confident that I would be able to blow through work at home.

I did, and it was triumphant. The Asus Eee PC instantly recognized both input devices and I rocked on. My fingers stroked the keys with the accuracy of a well-honed marksman as I finished my assignment in OpenOffice. It may come off as a bit odd to use a keyboard that dwarfs the notebook it’s attached to, but it’s all good. The addition of the keyboard and mouse felt so much like the desktop experience that I now want to cobble together a makeshift desktop. The Eee PC has a VGA port. Monitors offer VGA connections. Oh, this is going to be so, so sweet.

After I woke up and did the normal morning scrubbing and grooming, I made like a bullet to the Eee PC in order to check my e-mail. I encountered a problem, however; the Eee Pc would not connect to the Web via my secure home network.

I tinkered with the system’s Wi-Fi settings, and after 10 minutes of withdrawl symptoms, hopped on my MacBook to search for a solution. I stumbled upon the Eeeuser.com forums, where a quick search revealed that many, many Eee PC users experienced similar frustrations. I learned that one of the quick and dirty fixes is to delete all preferred networks and enter a Wi-Fi set-up manually, which I did. After a quick reset, I was connected and a happy camper. At least for now.

Multimedia Fun With the Eee PC

I have most of my digital music backed up on an external drive, so when I wanted to listen to some tunes while ironing my clothes, I simply attached it to the Eee PC via USB 2.0. I transfered only a dozen or so songs to the Eee PC as I wanted to preserve some free space on the 4GB solid-state drive. Although the Eee PC’s music player isn’t exactly easy on the eyes, it offers a nice array of options like the ability to create playlists, listen to the most frequently played songs, and subscribe to podcasts.

I was pleasantly surprised with the sheer volume that the little guy could pump out; I actually preferred the Eee PC’s integrated speakers over my MacBook’s. The speakers flank the display, so audio is shot directly at you. Cool. Then in a moment of genius, I pulled out an old set of Logitech 2.1 speakers and connected it to the Eee PC via the headphone jack-WHOA. My floor began to vibrate as bass and drums of Sound Garden’s “Black Hole Sun” kicked in.

While in a multimedia state of mind, I decided to transfer over some photos and video with a SD card, which, by the way, made me realize just how much Apple stiffs owners of the consumer MacBooks. How is it that this $349 mini-notebook has an SD card slot and my MacBook doesn’t? Seriously, Apple, step it up. Video, for the most part, looked solid on the 7-inch, 800 x 480-pixel display, as did photos. Nothing spectacular, but not too shabby, either.

Takin’ It To The Streets

I usually have my 5-pound Apple MacBook ($730.00) in tow when I head out for some good times, just in case I want to check e-mail, find a new comedy spot, or write a piece in a pinch, but today I opted for the Eee PC. Typically, the MacBook would go into a notebook bag, but with the Eee PC’s small footprint and light weight, I carried it in-hand with no ill consequences.

While riding the subway to meet a friend at a coffee shop, I’d reckon no one noticed that I was even carrying a notebook until I opened it, powered on, and began to play several of the bundled casual games; it was then that I could feel the curious stares from the people sitting across from me. One of them made eye contact and asked if the Eee PC was a new version of the Nintendo DS, to which I gave him a run down on the system. I don’t think he knew what Linux was, but he seemed pretty awed by the machine as I gave him the explanation.

At the coffee shop, my friend Lauren was completely enamored with the built-in Solitaire. For her, the Eee PC is an oversized Nintendo DS. I guess the same could be said about our waitress who asked us about the “cute toy.”I kindly delivered another explanation, and began to wonder if I should charge Asus for all of this free marketing. It should be noted that I had no problems connecting to the Web using the shop’s open Wi-Fi.

More Home Networking Problems

After I arrived back home, I decided to jump online to check show times for the new Rambo flick, because, after all, nothing ends a day like mindless the violence issuing forth from someone old enough to be my gramps. Once again my home network would not play nice, and once again I jumped on my MacBook to find a solution. This is getting very, very irritating. Very irritating.

My initial impression? This is one travel-friendly notebook. It’s a little larger than a paperback, and about as heavy-it just feels perfect in hand. When I popped the top on this puppy and powered on the unit, I was quite impressed with the startup time; it took about 15 seconds for the system to boot courtesy of the lightweight Xandros Linux operating system and a small, but peppy, 4GB solid-state drive.

Arriving at the home screen is quite a different experience than with Mac OS X, Windows, or even other versions of Mac OS X. Instead of arriving at the traditional spacious desktop environment with small icons or a dock for launching applications, the Eee PC opts for a tabbed interface (Internet, Work, Learn, Play, Settings, Favorites) with relatively huge icons.It makes navigating and launching programs a cinch, but has a strong “in your face feel” that made me want to just clear the icons and work within a traditional desktop.I guess that was a wise way to go, as Asus originally positioned the Ee PC as the tool for children and grandparents, not 30-something year old tech writers with a fetish for all things electronic.

As expected, the keyboard is small-very small. Large-bodied, lion-pawed typists like myself will inevitably come to resemble Quasimodo as they hunch over the machine to peck away at the keys, and the tiny mouse button and touch pad didn’t help matters.

The miniscule Tab and Delete keys nearly drove me to the brink of insanity as I crafted this very post in OpenOffice (trying to write directly into the CMS was a visual nightmare). While on the topic of software, the Eee PC comes nicely packed with some of the best free tools on the web: the Firefox browser, GIMP photo editor, and fast links to all of the popular web-based e-mail services (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc).

I was able to swiftly connect to our office Wi-Fi signal to check mail, read the latest tech-related headlines, and “test out” the Eee PCs compatibility with YouTube and other Flash-based websites. Eee PC 4G Surf? $349. Firefox browser? Free. Slacking off on company time? Priceless.

Although the Eee PC aced the Flash test, the web-surfing experience was not perfection. Many sites optimized for higher resolutions required horizontal scrolling to take in everything-even on our very own www.laptopmag.com. Quite the annoyance. But as there was some copy due to the editors, I decided to once again assume the hunchback position and get to work as keeping my job was a tad more important than reading The Gothamist on Asus’ small wonder. Tomorrow I take the Eee PC to the streets, and also attempt to turn it into a multimedia hub.