The Unlawyer

In an earlier entry I contemplated on getting an Asus Eee PC ultraportable laptop computer for myself to replace a broken machine. After briefly dithering whether or not I should wait for the 8 GB version of this popular computer or even its new 9-inch cousin, I finally took the plunge and purchased an Asus Eee PC 4G model and thus had the opportunity to test it for real on the road.

To begin with, the Eee’s manufacturer wasn’t kidding when it claimed that Eee was light. Well, it really is light, tipping the scales at just 0.92 kg., as compared to my MacBook which weighs at a hefty 2.27 kg. I immediately felt the difference as I humped the Eee on my backpack and brought it on my recent overseas trip. It was, literally, a weight off my shoulders.

Notice how the Eee fits very well on the tray table of a cramped economy-class airline seat with room to spare, and can still be used even if the passenger in front decides to recline his seat. Compare it with how a larger laptop like the MacBook barely fits on a similar tray table.

I let one of my field auditors examine the Eee and she appreciated how unobtrusive it was. She said she could safely store it in her handbag as opposed to carrying a much bigger machine in its own bag and making her an easy target for robbers while she makes her rounds. I’m going to let her use the Eee on her next business trip.

Since the Eee doesn’t have a fragile hard drive that a user must protect, I didn’t have to lavish as much care on it as I have to with my other laptops. Just last night my Eee fell off my lap and landed on the living room carpet – an event that would ordinarily cause me to seize in fear had it happened to another laptop. The Eee came out none the worse for wear.

I found it easy to support the Eee on my lap because of its light weight but its lack of heft at its CPU-keyboard-motherboard base makes it prone to tipping over, especially if its lid with its small LCD monitor is opened at more than a 90-degree angle, tilting the machine out of balance. Solution: balance your Eee against your lower leg and ankle in the manner illustrated by the picture.

Ah, the keyboard. I’ve been warned about it. Yes, it’s cramped, but it isn’t as bad as some make it out to be. I was able to touch-type a blog entry using the pre-installed OpenOffice Writer. It does take a little getting used to, though.

One thing I observed is that the Eee gets hot – really hot – after just a few minutes use, despite the presence of many vents, and I suppose it’s a result of its small size: it has less of an area for its heat to dissipate in.

What I haven’t figured out yet is how to mount a SD memory card on the Eee and run apps off it, as well as how to install a Bluetooth dongle and let it run off its Xandros O/S.

A word about the sensitivity of the Eee’s built-in Wi-Fi radio: yes, it’s sensitive enough. So far, I don’t know how to make my Eee automatically log on to my preferred Wi-Fi hotspots, like at home or at work.

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Instapundit says the Eee is “not bad” as an inexpensive portable blogging tool, and I agree.