Test Driving SafePup

Out of boredom, I tried to install SafePup from a seldomly-used flashdrive I have and I must say that I'm a bit impressed with the performance of the diminutive Linux distro.  SafePup is a variant of Puppy Linux, one of the so-called minimalist Linux distribution.  The whole SafePup system occupies a little less than 65MB of my unused 128MB flash drive.

Making SafePup boot from a flashdrive is as easy as formatting the flashdrive using FAT as its filesystem and simply copying the SsafePup files into it.  Then to use it, simply press the Esc button while the Eee is booting up and choose the flashdrive in the boot up routine.

SafePup seems quick and robust and may well be  a worthy alternative to the bundled Xandrox Linux.

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You Ask, NoypEee Answers part deux (Windows-less Eee PC)

My colleagues has been asking me why I have not "Microsoftified" (read: installed WinXP) my Eee yet. Here's the long and short of it:

My Eee is not my primary computer. I use Windows XP at work and I use OS X at home. I like to think that I am platform-agnostic and I take pride in my ability to work in whatever computing environment in front of me. Besides, the cost of "upgrading" my Eee PC from Xandros Linux to Microsoft (Windows XP + MS Office + MS Money) will end up being more expensive than my hardware!

In its out-of-the box state, the Eee PC is usable because upon its first boot up, it already has almost all the necessary applications for a person to be productive -- OpenOffice.Org for word processing/spreadsheets/presentations, FireFox for web browsing, Thunderbird for email, Pidgin for instant messaging, and a host of other **free** bundled applications.

With all these in mind, I see no need to change my Eee PC's operating system.

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