Friday, November 30, 2007

Flock on the Eee PC

I've been a Flock user for the longest time now. Flock is a Mozilla-based browser that has a lot of bundled extras that makes my life easier... in fact, I blogged about it a few times on my *other blog*.

http://spread.flock.com/buttons/Join-my-Flock.gif

Dubbed as the "social browser", Flock was built to automatically connect to several social networking websites, media sharing sites, online bookmarks and other online services(including Twitter).

I was first a it afraid to install Flock on my Eee PC because I am not that adept with Linux yet but with a little mucking around with the Terminal window and some crossed fingers, I was able to install it by simply following the instructions at Flock's FAQ. Now posting to my blogs has become a piece of cake with my Eee!

What surprised me is that Flock seems to be more stable than the built-in FireFox installation on the Eee and I'm not sure if its purely circumstantial but I find browsing the web using this browser is easier on the eyes -- or maybe I'm just such a big fan of Flock. :)

Blogged with Flock

First Truly Mobile Blog Post!

I am posting this on a public wifi hotspot at the Festival Mall Alabang, specifically at the Globe WIZ hotspot at Seattle's Best Coffee.  I am here killing time while before I head on over to a get-together with my office colleagues.

The image “http://wiz.globequest.com.ph/img/wiz_logo.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

As expected my Eee PC is able to use Globe WIZ without any hitches whatsoever.  Connection is pretty fast considering that I am sharing the hotspot with two other laptops in the coffeeshop.  This is also my first post *not* using Eee's bundled FireFox.   I am using Flock!

Blogged with Flock

My Eee PC's First "Field Test" Today!

I will be attending a get-together with my office colleague later today and since I live in the middle of traffic hell, I plan to go out early and just chill in a mall early and then go on right ahead to our little party. I will, obviously, bring my Eee with me to help me while the time away at a coffeeshop with a wifi connection. I hope to test how this computer will connect to public hotspots (I personally use Globe WIZ).

I don't anticipate too much problems lugging this computer around considering that it weighs less than nothing and its charger is also quite small. I'll also be copying the ebook I'm reading to the Eee and see how it looks like on its built-in ebook reader (FBreader).

Eee PC Day 1

9 hours after picking up my Galaxy Black Eee PC.


Its been nine hours since I had my Eee PC and I'm still feeling my way around this little laptop. Since I started playing with this (I'm using the Eee to post now) I was able to enable the "Advanced Mode" (see graphics above)using the instructions I found here. I opted to use Eee's advanced mode because it offers me more flexibility in terms of using the machine. I, however, did not set it at that mode permanently because I'm sure a lot of colleagues will be curious to see how its "native" interface looks like.

I thought of installing WINE but decided against it since I don't see the need to run any Windows-only applications at the moment. What I'm looking for is a blogging application so I can update this and my other blog even if I'm "offline".

Thursday, November 29, 2007

FINALLY! The Galaxy Black Eee PC...



...in my grubby little hands!

After so much delay, I finally was able to pick up my very own black Eee PC. I'm still feeling my way around its built-in Xandros-flavored OS. I'm also adjusting to its rather diminutive keyboard. The keys are so small that I sometimes have to resort to peck my way to writing this entry.

I will be posting a more detailed review of the Eee PC in the very near future. In the meantime, I think I'll geek out with in... while watching Ratatouille
with my kid and my wife. :)

(note: the graphic shown above is a screenshot from my Eee)

In Two Hours...



I was supposed to get my Eee PC (Galaxy Black) yesterday when a failed coup d'etat attempt prevented me from picking it up.  But around two hours from now, I should get my hands on *my* Eee PC and no amount of roadblocks and stupid former soldier can stop me now!

Blogged with Flock

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

My Galaxy Black Eee PC: Delayed by Fricking Trillanes!


I was supposed to pick up my spanking brand new Galaxy Black Eee PC an hour ago.  I took a taxi from my office and en route to the pickup point when we encountered an army truck blocking the road.  It turns out that an esteemed gentleman from the Philippine Senate, the honorable Senator Trillanes is leading yet another attempt to oust the Philippine President! *bummer*

I sure hope that my friend's store remains open because I still intend to pick up my Eee PC within the day...

UPDATE:  The coup attempt was squashed like a bug

Blogged with Flock

Bluetooth for the Bluetooth-less Eee PC (thanks to tnkgrl)

Modding the Asus 701 (Eee) - Bluetooth « tnkgrl Mobile

The title says it all!  Hardware hacker extraordinaire tnkgrl was able to hotwire a bluetooth adapter to her Eee PC!  Click on the link above to see how she did it.

Blogged with Flock

You Ask, NoypEee Answers



Aja asks:

I've been wanting to have one as well after I've read your (possibly) first post about the Eee PC. If I may ask, is the 4GB model good enough or would the 8GB model (or the second generation models) be worth the wait?

If you intend to use it for writing (documents and/or blogs) *and* you don't replace the built-in OS to WinXP, the 4GB model should be more than enough internal storage.  I emphasized the word "internal" because I know that the Eee PC can use USB Flashdrives and external hard drives as secondary external storage.

--------------------

MiGs, on the other hand says:

Maybe your friend still has one left.

i'd love to have one.

I'm not sure if my friend still have stocks of the Eee PC because this little computer is literally selling like puto bumbong!  If you are set on buying one, you can visit my friend's brick & mortar store -- Digital Walker at VMall in Greenhills.

Blogged with Flock

The "Galaxy Black" Eee PC

Newegg.com

The Eee PC that I bought will look like this! And no, I'm not getting it from Newegg :)

Instead, I'm getting it from my good friend Bogs of Digital Walker/Digital Hub.

Blogged with Flock

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

OS X on the Eee PC: What's the Point?

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A few weeks ago, news broke out about someone who successfully installed OS X on the Eee PC.  The guy was able to install OS X Leopard to the Eee but there was a lot of skepticality on its usability.  As a Mac user, I researched on this and see if it is indeed viable to run my favorite OS on my soon-to-be-favorite laptop and during the course of my research, I stumbled upon this wiki: How to Install OS X Tiger on the Eee PC.

The process is pretty straightforward, if not a bit dubious (considering the legality of the activity).  After reading the rather long procedure, in the end, the wiki states:

WiFi, audio, webcam and microphone are confirmed not working initially. There is no published fix yet, but we are working to get these working as quickly as possible.

So, what's the point?

I personally would rather have a fully-functional Linux-based machine than a partially-functional computer.

Blogged with Flock

An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

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A good friend of mine called me up yesterday and told me that his store has the Asus Eee PC on stock. He also told me that his special price for me is waaay below the SRP. After a few minutes of contemplating, I decided to take the plunge and place my order.

I should be able to get my Asus Eee PC tomorrow. Hopefully the unit would be in "Galaxy Black" (the first batch of Eee PCs were white). While waiting for my Eee PC, I'm making an inventory of the things I have that will work with this diminutive computer:
  • an 80Gb external hard drive so I'll have more than enough semi-permanent data storage
  • a 1Gb flashdisk which I intend to use whenever I'm on the road
  • several SD cards (one can never have enough storage)
  • wifi access point at home (which, btw, has no security whatsoever)
  • wifi access point at work with WPA encryption
  • retractable UTP CAT5 cable for connecting to my clients if needed
  • retractable mouse
I *may* need to get a DVD drive for this but that is an expense for next year. I'll also need to get a new (and smaller) gear bag to carry this little thing in. Anyway, based on my list, I think I'm all set.

can't wait for tomorrow...

Blogged with Flock