geekhack

geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: hyperlinked on Mon, 01 March 2010, 23:43:29

Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: hyperlinked on Mon, 01 March 2010, 23:43:29: Thank goodness ASUS finally took out the dreadful two sized arrow keys!
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=8155&stc=1&d=1267508590)

The 1018 reminds me of the Sony Vaio line.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: keyb_gr on Tue, 02 March 2010, 18:58:22: Hmm, no nipple (trackpoint), and then those pesky glossy screens. The 12 inchers seem to have some anti-reflective coating at least. Guess I'll stick to Stinkpads[tm] when I need something portable.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: Specter_57 on Tue, 02 March 2010, 21:25:32: ..
These EEPCs seem to have a lot of mechnaical hacking info on the net, if you look around for it.

Interesting mods, some of them.

......
Spec57
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: bhtooefr on Tue, 02 March 2010, 22:32:17: If you want a nipple, there's rumors that Lenovo's working on an Atom-powered 10.1" ThinkPad, and there's always the ThinkPad X100e.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: ch_123 on Wed, 03 March 2010, 16:49:16: It's official - aloomanum is the new beige.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: Manyak on Wed, 03 March 2010, 17:46:56: Quote from: bhtooefr;161607
If you want a nipple, there's rumors that Lenovo's working on an Atom-powered 10.1" ThinkPad, and there's always the ThinkPad X100e.

I really, really, really, hope you're right about the 10.1" Thinkpad. I'm completely fed up with touchpads - the only reason I haven't bought a netbook yet (and the Vaio P is just stupidly overpriced).
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: microsoft windows on Thu, 04 March 2010, 18:46:03: Quote from: ch_123;161695
It's official - aloomanum is the new beige.

It'll look dated in no time.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: sethstorm on Thu, 04 March 2010, 19:12:09: Quote from: ripster;161411

Good that the laptop manufacturers are starting to pay more attention to the keyboard. Another one I like is the HP Mini 210 - they have a slight cylindrical curve to them but with a 90 degree twist.

The closest I'll get to netbooks is the Thinkpad x31 (http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:X31)(and similarly-costing non-netbook Thinkpad x** friends). It already has a good keyboard, 4:3 screen, and doesn't have the issue of poor construction. That, and they cost about the same as lesser-powered netbooks.

When I hear cheap being thrown around as a prominent benefit, I take that as a signal not to buy that product. It's just papering over what they had to cut out in final product.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: Nonmouse on Thu, 04 March 2010, 19:36:36: You know, I'd give up a few ounces and even a little thickness for a Cherry ML-41xx keyboard in my netbook...

I keep seeing 'em on fleabay and thinking "hey, how hard could the retrofit be?

With unknown connectors.

And logic.

And no specs available.

Hmmm.

Maybe not...
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: tamasrepus on Sat, 06 March 2010, 13:35:33: Netbooks became interesting to me when I picked up a refurbished EeePC 900A for $139.

The keyboard sucks (it's too small and the feel is terrible), the fan is noisy, and it's an ugly (IMHO) pearl white. But it's so cheap I have no problem mounting it outside for controlling and intervalometer/camera, in my car for recording journeys, etc.

People (including manufacturers) forget the point of netbooks: price/value > *.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: soloz2 on Sat, 06 March 2010, 14:04:03: I just ordered an Acer 1410 for my wife. dual core CULV cpu 2Gb RAM, 11.6" display, should be good.

Myself, I've got my eye on the Asus 1201T :D
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: sethstorm on Sat, 06 March 2010, 14:41:39: Quote from: tamasrepus;162179
Netbooks became interesting to me when I picked up a refurbished EeePC 900A for $139.

The keyboard sucks (it's too small and the feel is terrible), the fan is noisy, and it's an ugly (IMHO) pearl white. But it's so cheap I have no problem mounting it outside for controlling and intervalometer/camera, in my car for recording journeys, etc.

People (including manufacturers) forget the point of netbooks: price/value > *.

...when quality > price/value.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: kishy on Sat, 06 March 2010, 14:43:48: Netbooks will become interesting when they overtake my 5-year-old-midrange-laptop in some noticeable/beneficial way.

As it stands right now...

Performance? Nope.
Screen size? Nope.
Weight? Only marginally.
Features? Nope.
Battery life? If the netbook has a 3-cell, nope.
Storage capacity? In a lot of cases sure, but it's not really useful.
Keyboard you can actually bear to use? Nope.

Edit: of course, if a netbook gained all of the above, it would cease to be a netbook...which explains why I find netbooks overall very disinteresting and don't understand why they caught on.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: bhtooefr on Sat, 06 March 2010, 16:14:36: However, CULV is basically a 1-2 year old high-end ultraportable, underclocked by 100-200 MHz.

Similar performance, smaller screen size (but same or better resolution,) around the same weight, slightly less features (usually you lose PCMCIA/CardBus/ExpressCard, fingerprint readers, an accelerometer, and docking station support,) a little less battery life (due to smaller, cheaper batteries,) same or better storage capacity, and only slightly worse keyboards.

For $400 instead of $2000.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: Computer-Lab in Basement on Sat, 06 March 2010, 18:54:58: Netbooks are gay... end of story!
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: bigpook on Sat, 06 March 2010, 19:35:20: I kind of like them. I have an asus eeepc that we take with us on vacation. Its light and small enough to not be a bother. There is no way I would lug a laptop, its vacation not work. At home it stays in the tv room and is nice to have if only to add movies to the netflix queue, check email, browse the web, do my banking, manage my servers, and play farmville.....
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: microsoft windows on Sat, 06 March 2010, 19:50:03: I like laptops better. I can read what's on the screen, they have CD/floppy drives, and have trackpoints. Unless you're hauling around an old Compaq from 1985, a laptop really isn't much of a bother.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: bhtooefr on Sat, 06 March 2010, 22:45:42: My ThinkPad's LCD has higher pixel density than my netbook's LCD - read: it's harder to read. (2048x1536, 15") However, my netbook has much less pixels, so that's why it's worse - 1024x600 is ridiculously cramped. It'll get a 1366x768 panel, though, which will help.

I rarely use the optical drive on my ThinkPad, and honestly, last time I used a floppy drive on a modern system was 2003. (I use them on retro systems that require their use, of course.)

The point about TrackPoints, though, that's 100% valid.

And, a 2 pound $250 laptop is a quite handy thing for portability. They're quite handy when you don't want to carry much, or the computer might get banged around a bit, but still need the ability to compute.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: microsoft windows on Sun, 07 March 2010, 19:12:22: My laptop came from work, where they ordered the 16" screen running at 1280x800. It's a great laptop too. It's about 6½ years old and has withstood plenty of banging up, but at 2Ghz with 1GB of RAM it outdoes just about any netbook.

And, carrying a big heavy laptop (This one is 7 lbs, not too heavy) is good exercise, when you think about it. Never hurts to keep one's arms strong enough.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: DreymaR on Mon, 08 March 2010, 03:57:33: Quote from: Computer-Lab in Basement;162222
Netbooks are gay... end of story!

Netbooks are asexual, hence not gay. Don't make a fool out of yourself while insulting people. Keep those two separate.

I'd accept 'effeminate' if you really want to bring gender metaphor into the question. Wouldn't use it around the most militant women's lib folks, but I think it'd mostly pass and get your perceived point through far more elegantly.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: bhtooefr on Mon, 08 March 2010, 10:50:43: webwit: There are convertible Tablet PC netbooks, and then you could attach the digitizer to a Pixel Qi screen...

So, you have a netbook... twist the screen around, you have a tablet.

And the Pixel Qi screen is a color screen when the backlight's on, a monochrome screen when the backlight's off. And monochrome LCDs have surprisingly good contrast.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: JaccoW on Mon, 08 March 2010, 16:27:20: I have an Asus EeePC 1000H, which is great for travel. Sturdy enough, and I don't really have to worry about it.
If only we had wireless internet at home I could leave it in the living room and use it there.

For lightweight, long battery life and a reasonable keyboard real estate take a look at the acer timeline culv's. 1810 or 3810. 11" @ 3 pounds a good processor and gpu (on some models) look pretty good to me.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: hyperlinked on Tue, 09 March 2010, 06:10:57: Quote from: Julle;162514
The keyboard is on par with, if not better than its full-sized counterparts.

I've tried the Samsung netbook keyboards before and they are indeed very nice feeling. Like all the other netbook keyboards, they're a bit shrunken, but it's not even noticeable after after you get a little practice in.

For me there's also a psychological factor in play with how I use devices of different sizes. I don't know if it's something that other people experience too, but sometimes after I've spent too many hours working on very large screens and my mind is totally shot, there is something underwhelming about a tiny screen and that is precisely what I need at that moment. I need something that doesn't remind me of work and only allows me to see a little bit at a time.

Granted, I really notice this effect with my Blackberry more so than my Netbook which I mostly use as a quick way to access various PC browsers to check my design work. There are days in which I find it overwhelming to check my inbox, but have an easier time reading if it's on my Blackberry.

If this psychological effect to using different types of interfaces is widespread, it could portend a healthy market for the tablet style devices that have been the subject of so much debate lately. Perhaps the reason why I don't feel quite as escaped on my netbook as I do on my BlackBerry is because the netbook is just a smaller form factor of my main laptop or my desktop.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: ricercar on Tue, 09 March 2010, 15:05:47: Quote
Samsung netbook keyboards ... a bit shrunken, but it's not even noticeable after after you get a little practice in.

(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=8255&stc=1&d=1268168678)

Some Samsung keyboards require LOTS of practice.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: hyperlinked on Tue, 09 March 2010, 20:11:54: Quote from: ricercar;162811
Show Image
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=8255&stc=1&d=1268168678)

Some Samsung keyboards require LOTS of practice.

b-b-b-but that device is obviously for happy hackers! Lookit the key combos and how they managed to fit in all the keys you'd ever need into that tiny grid.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: EverythingIBM on Tue, 09 March 2010, 20:28:28: Quote from: hyperlinked;162841
b-b-b-but that device is obviously for happy hackers! Lookit the key combos and how they managed to fit in all the keys you'd ever need into that tiny grid.

Keys like that are reminiscent of my TI-83 plus SILVER (discontinued) edition.

They should put little buckling springs in there.

I have some samsung MP3 player, it's alright, but I find its file management really dumb. It only groups music based on album. Even if you put it in folders, it doesn't recognize them.

My ECC RAM is samsung though! And it works perfectly fine.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: kishy on Tue, 09 March 2010, 22:00:00: Quote from: EverythingIBM;162843
Keys like that are reminiscent of my TI-83 plus SILVER (discontinued) edition.

They should put little buckling springs in there.

I have some samsung MP3 player, it's alright, but I find its file management really dumb. It only groups music based on album. Even if you put it in folders, it doesn't recognize them.

My ECC RAM is samsung though! And it works perfectly fine.

Heh, TI graphing calculators FTW. I've got a TI-83 Plus.

Loaded that sucker up with all the games I could find then proceeded to play them in math class.

The USB adapter was an interesting deal. $15 purchase price with a $15 mail-in rebate. Sadly the rebate expired the month before I bought it.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: EverythingIBM on Tue, 09 March 2010, 23:13:10: Quote from: kishy;162852
Heh, TI graphing calculators FTW. I've got a TI-83 Plus.

Loaded that sucker up with all the games I could find then proceeded to play them in math class.

The USB adapter was an interesting deal. $15 purchase price with a $15 mail-in rebate. Sadly the rebate expired the month before I bought it.

The USB adapter came boxed with mine; I wonder why yours wasn't.

There's a few people who didn't know the 83 series was in silver. AND, the TI 84-plus silver has the same inner workings as the TI-83 plus silver (the 83 silver is faster due to the smaller OS). Although, it has a lack of few commands, oh well.

I always found the shiny tinfoil kind of strange. There were a few blue/purple TI 83s, which, is really weird. Mine of course is the standard clear.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: kishy on Wed, 10 March 2010, 07:32:33: Quote from: EverythingIBM;162858
The USB adapter came boxed with mine; I wonder why yours wasn't.

There's a few people who didn't know the 83 series was in silver. AND, the TI 84-plus silver has the same inner workings as the TI-83 plus silver (the 83 silver is faster due to the smaller OS). Although, it has a lack of few commands, oh well.

I always found the shiny tinfoil kind of strange. There were a few blue/purple TI 83s, which, is really weird. Mine of course is the standard clear.

TI-83+ didn't come with USB adapter included...AFAIK never did either. The Silver Edition did though, I remember seeing them nearby. However the price difference (nearly $100 difference IIRC, in something like 2003) was a firm put-off considering the only real improvement was additional storage.

You could buy a kit with the screwdriver and replacement case panels so you could make the unit be one of those weird purple ones, if you felt like it. TI might still offer those kits but it seemed kinda dumb to me.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: spolia optima on Sun, 14 March 2010, 16:36:14: Netbooks are amazing. So useful. My Dell Latitude 2100 is basically bulletproof. it's coated in rubber which also makes for safer traveling, and to top it off the thing lasts 9 freakin' hours on battery. That's pretty much all day for me, no wires.

Never have I owned such a useful tool for taking notes and jotting down ideas. Netbook + OneNote + Sync = organizational paradise.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: spolia optima on Sun, 14 March 2010, 16:38:13: Prior to my netbook, I had several other laptops that never got used because they weighed 10 ****in' pounds and only lasted 2 hours on battery.
Title: Re: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: Computer-Lab in Basement on Sun, 14 March 2010, 17:26:39: Quote from: kishy

Heh, TI graphing calculators FTW. I've got a TI-83 Plus.

Loaded that sucker up with all the games I could find then proceeded to play them in math class.

The USB adapter was an interesting deal. $15 purchase price with a $15 mail-in rebate. Sadly the rebate expired the month before I bought it.

I like my TI-83+ Silver, mine even has a Viewscreen port for use with overhead projectors. However, it can't match up to my trusty TI-86. The 86 is so much more usefull, especially for Algebra II. It can solve quadratics and systems for you. The only upside to the 83 + is the imaginary numbers and applications.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: datamonger128 on Sun, 14 March 2010, 19:25:16: Netbooks are gay.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: bhtooefr on Mon, 15 March 2010, 00:10:24: There's always the HP 50g. $150, has a standard mini-USB port (and comes with the cable,) and is more powerful than even the TI-89 Titanium. And it has RPN. ;)

Anyway, my netbook is asexual, although it does say "I lost to a girl at pinball" on the lid. (And yes, I willingly put that sticker there.)

Edit: Huh, this was my 2000th post.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: msiegel on Mon, 15 March 2010, 00:14:39: when you lose to *that* girl at pinball, the sticker is a badge of honor
:)
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: bhtooefr on Mon, 15 March 2010, 00:17:57: Although I did beat her on her own Black Knight 2000 machine, 4 times in a row. ;)
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: msiegel on Mon, 15 March 2010, 00:18:40: muahahahahaaa :D
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: Nonmouse on Mon, 15 March 2010, 00:56:35: What is this "pinball" you speak of? o.O
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: bhtooefr on Mon, 15 March 2010, 00:59:13: It's this highly addicting game in which you insert quarters into a machine, push a button, pull a lever, push a couple of buttons a bunch of times, and then, a few seconds later (with skill, the "few seconds" become longer,) pull the lever again, and push the buttons again, and repeat either once or three times more, depending on machine and configuration. ;)
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: itlnstln on Mon, 15 March 2010, 07:34:46: Pinball is the greatest. Videogames are for lames.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: Computer-Lab in Basement on Mon, 15 March 2010, 15:18:11: I haven't played a pinball machine in years. Think its about time I did.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: microsoft windows on Mon, 15 March 2010, 16:35:03: Well, there's always Space Cadet pinball.
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: ricercar on Mon, 15 March 2010, 19:50:50: I remember Gorgar - the first speaking pinball.

I
AM
GOR
GAR!
Title: Netbooks starting to get interesting - Asus Eee PC 1018P
Post by: bhtooefr on Mon, 15 March 2010, 20:08:53: Vista and 7 don't have it, though. (Then again, there's always Visual Pinball and PinMAME, but Visual Pinball 8 is buggy as hell and slow, and Visual Pinball 9 is still buggy as hell, and is unplayable without a TON of CPU and RAM.