Monday, Scary Monday! [Webcam non-problem]

I was fiddling with my Eee PC at home yesterday when I switched to Easy Mode on a whim and clicked on the webcam app.  Well, the application only showed me a black screen!  I fiddled around with my Eee PC trying to see what's wrong with it.  The unit I was playing with was barely two weeks old and I was thinking of the hassle of having to drive to the store where I got it to have it fixed/replaced.  I was also fretting that if the store decides to simply repair my unit, I'd be left with no computer!

Well, just as a friend found a solution to a much bigger problem after dinner, so have I... I decided to check my Eee PC's BIOS setting (by pressing F2 during boot up) after dinner and I found that my webcam was disabled on the BIOS!

A big sigh of relief escaped from me because now I have a fully working Eee PC and the problem that I was trying to fix is not even a problem at all.

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Testing BloGTK 1.1 from the Eee PC

This is a test post using BloGTK 1.1 from my Eee PC.

Although this blogging client is not as full-featured as the one that is built-in to Flock, BloGTK may be of some use for me whenever I get the blogging "itch".

I will soon post a short how-to on installing and configuring BloGTK in my coming posts so keep... um... posted :)

Can *Real* Work be Done on an Eee?

As I've mentioned, this is my 2nd Eee PC.  I've thought long and hard before getting this because a week before I actually purchased my 2nd Eee PC, Intel's "Classmate PC" (locally known as the eXporer X1).  But after a short look at it, I deemed it unfit for my work-related needs.

Anyway, back to topic:  Can one really do *real* work on an Eee PC?  I primarily use the Eee PC in the office as my quick-reference machine -- it is always connected to the 'net so that if ever I need to look up something, its ready to consult Google and Wikipedia.  To date, I already did a couple of magazine articles on the Eee but in relation to my real bread-and-butter, I have yet to use it to earn *real* money.  But I do use it to track my projects using a TiddlyWiki variant called MonkeyGTD.  Most of the stuff written in this blog was also done on the Eee PC.

This Eee PC is also the repository of my personal financial data (as if I need one :) ) using a nifty program called Buddi.  I also store notes on it through TiddlyWiki.  I am looking forward to using this Eee PC to do a presentation to my clients and hopefully I can do it within the next coupe of weeks.

So, can real work really be done using the Eee PC?  I still think that the Eee is not meant to be a primary computer.  I can live with the Eee PC because I have a full-sized laptop at home and a desktop computer at the office.  If push comes to shove, I think I can live using the Eee PC exclusively but I shudder at the thought of how it will affect my hands -- its keyboard *may* cause Repetitive Stress Syndrome (RSS) because of its size but then again, its the size that makes it an attractive complementary computer for me and for a lot of people.

Note: this post really has no point.  I just wrote this to kill time while waiting for my car to get fixed :)

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A Word of Warning to Eee Users Out There...

A good friend (you know who you are) called me yesterday asking for help with his Eee PC problem.  He filled up his Eee PC's internal SSD storage and the Eee simply refused to boot anymore.  This is the first time that I've encountered this problem and I tried to help him the best I can -- like telling him to mount his internal SSD from his eeeXubuntu-bootable SD/MMC card to using the "su" command so he can access the files from his home directory in the internal SSD.  I'm sure he'll blog this interesting experience himself and I'll eagerly await how he resolves this little conundrum.

You see, despite my apparent knowledge in Linux, I have yet to consider myself an expert but there's one thing I learned from this... never ever fill up your Eee PC's internal storage!!!

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3-D Desktop for Eee!

While waiting for a client to call, I browsed around my Eee PC's Synaptic Package Manager when a particular application caught my eye: It was called "Xandros 3ddesktop". Its description says "This package contains configuration files to make the 3D desktop program activate under the Xandros KDE desktop when F12 is pressed." Throwing caution to the wind, I installed it and after a restart, I was greeted by the picture shown above when I pressed F12! I was so amazed by the effect that I added an additional virtual desktop to my configuration because having *only* two virtual desktops makes the effect less... um... effective. :)

I must caution that my Eee is running with a 1Gb RAM and this 3D effect may cause machines with less RAM to slowdown considerably.

GameboyEee - Eee PC becomes a Gameboy Advance

vba_eee_full.JPG

Here's how to convert your Eee into a supersized Gameboy Advance:

• Make sure that you have added the necessary repository on your Eee's Synaptic package manager.
• Open a console window and invoke the command "sudo apt-get install visualboyadvance"
• You will then be prompted that VisualBoyAdvance will be installed, together with two library files.
• Once the installation is done, invoke the command "VisualBoyAdvance -F YourRom.GBA"

And that's it! A supersized emulated Gameboy Advance for your gaming pleasure!

Note: Before you install VisualBoyAdvance, make sure that you have some GBA ROMs ready for use.  Also, your ROM must be saved on the folder where you invoke the last command I mentioned above.

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Intel NetBook Gets a Specsheet! [Know Thy Eee-nemy]

Well, stop sniffing on the vavor(ware) and read the complete spec sheet for the Intel NetBook. According to Gizmodo, the Netbook will be manufactured (at least in the US) by CTL and should be available within the next 60 days(?). I wonder if it will become available locally through a different vendor?

Oh, and the good news? It seems to have a way to connect to an external monitor/DLP projector via "Digital LVDS" (whatever that is...).

Back to Eee!

Well, it looks like the universe is conspiring so that I will have no choice but to go back to using an Eee PC.

A few weeks ago, I lost my MacBook. To help me get through the loss, I opted to get an el cheapo laptop so I can continue working. A few days before that, I sold my old black Eee to my sister on a whim -- bad decision coupled with bad luck huh?

Anyway, yesterday, my almost 4-year old Apple iBook's display seems to have conked out. I sense that it still boots up but but its LCD screen refuses to turn on. So today, Easter Sunday, I brought my family to an Easter Mass and we strolled around the Bonifacio High Street. After a hearty lunch, I noticed a small store called "Portable1" and found that they have stocks of the Eee PC at a price that is too tempting to pass off. So I went home with a white Eee PC (4GB SSD, 1GB RAM).

So now I spent the afternoon configuring it as near as my previous Eee PC (which I dubbed Macbookquito). In the weeks that I got out of touch from the Eee "scene", a lot of things has already happened. There is now a script that makes it quite easy to activate the Eee's "advanced mode", but the current version of Flock (Flock 1.1) doesn't seem to work well. Anyway, I don't want to invest too much time customizing this Eee because I plan to install Windows XP to it -- just to make things a bit... well... interesting.

Oh, and one more thing... I plan to call my new Eee "Macbookqui2", in honor of my first Eee PC. :)

Classmate PC and NetBook Side-bySide Photo

Flickr: Photos from mgminthu

To doubters who claim that Intel's Classmate and Netbook are one and the same, here's proof to debunk them.  The one on the left is the Netbook (notice the rectangular trackpad and larger screen) and the one beside it is the Classmate (circular trackpad and obviously smaller screen).

Too bad it doesn't show if it has VGA-out.  Anyway, here are some more pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/minthu

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The Intel NetBook Is Coming? [Know Thy Eee-nemy]

Is This the Intel Netbook?

Suspiciously looking like the Classmate PC (retailed locally as the Neo eXplore X1), the Netbook is set to be released by mid-2008.

Hopefully, the Intel Netbook will fill the gaps that has been opened up by the Classmate PC especially its lack of USB ports (the Classmate only has two) and VGA port (the Classmate has none).  I also hope that Intel gives potential Netbook users the option to run Linux from it because, IMHO, Windows is simply too bloated to run on such machines.

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Intel Classmate PC in the Wild [Know Thy Eee-nemy]

This might well be the first "in the wild" picture of Intel's Classmate PC reference design.  It is now available for sale at a store in Park Square 1  Makati.  It is branded as "Neo" and the model name is Extreme X1.

I was able to convince the store personnel to show this little beast to me and from what I have gathered, it has a 30Gb hard drive, 512 MB RAM and obviously it is running an Intel Processor.  It comes preloaded with Windows XP Starter Edition.  Screen resolution defaults to 800 x 600 but it can be maxed out to 1024 x 768.  The keys are as cramped as that of the Eee PC and I had trouble right-clicking on stuff on the desktop.

It is definitely thicker than the Eee PC and its folder-like cover (which doubles as a carrying case) makes it look like a child's toy.

I almost whipped out my credit card to get this but lucidity immediately came into play when I saw how ridiculous I'd look lugging this to a meeting with my clients.

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Know Thy Eee-nemy: The MSI "Wind"

Engadget

Although not much details were released on this new eeep on the block, what's known for now makes it a rather attractive alternative because:

• 8- or 10-inch display
• 1024 x 768 screen resolution
• option for SSD or traditional hard drive
• Intel Atom CPU
  

But then again, who knows? Maybe the wind will turn out to be yet another "vaporware".

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Know thy Eee-nemy: ECS ‘G10IL’ is a pretty Eee with 3G wireless built in

CrunchGear » Archive » ECS ‘G10IL’ is a pretty Eee with 3G wireless built in

And look at the cutesy keyboard!



Release date is still up in the air but at this early in the game, the G10IL looks pretty solid.

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Whoa Mama! The 9" Eee PC is So Near, I Can Taste It!

Engadget

Some of you may already heard of the bad news... my 13" MacBook was stolen last week... a few days after I sold my 4G Eee PC 701 to my sister.  Yeah, I know... big bummer!

Anyway, looking at the silver lining of this cloud that had formed over my head, I find it serendipitous that Apple had released a new line of MacBooks days before my MacBook was stolen.  Then barely weeks after I sold my old Eee PC, this comes along.  Is the universe conspiring so that I can refresh my gear?

I am blogging this using an El Cheapo, no-name generic laptop running both Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP (dual boot) and I am quite thankful to my Eee PC experience because I now know my way around Linux to make me use my Ubuntu installation more than WinXP.  A friend (or a relative) may look forward to another bargain laptop for sale once the 9" Eee PC becomes available locally because this is just to sweet to pass up.

And as for this blog, well, it just had a new lease on life, thanks to the 9" Eee.

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Why I *really* Sold my Eee PC

Hands-on with the 9-inch Eee PC - Engadget

Do I still need to elaborate? :)  

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