“Steal This Wi-Fi”

Count me in as a supporter of open wi-fi!

Link to Wired article “Steal This Wi-FI“

Powered by ScribeFire.

EeePC at work: Day 2, Post 2…abort

ABORT!

I am aborting my “week” with the EeePC half way thru day 2.  The machine with 512mb of RAM is just too slow for using as my main work machine.  I am going to try to get Ubuntu 7.10 loaded and see if that helps at some point this week.  For now back to the MacBook!

Powered by ScribeFire.

EeePC at work: Day 2, Post 1

I want to start day 2 with some of my reflections from day 1.  I am still using the EeePC as my main machine.  That is a good sign.  The bad news though is that I feel I need to make a big change (see #3).

1. The machine is too slow for regular web-browsing and productivity apps.  I figured that becuase this thing was running linux, firefox, and openoffice, 512mb of RAM would be sufficient.  I was also trying to keep the price point down under $300 (I am using the base $299 model).   I think a full 1gb of RAM would do wonders for my experience, assuming it would speed up firefox.  I live in Gmail, Gcalendar, and Gdocs all day.  Anyone know if this thing is upgradeable?
2. The keyboard is still a problem.  My external usb keyboard solves that problem but I am very leery of writing anything more than a few notes and/or an email or two with the built in keyboard.  I am wondering if a 9-10″ model of the EeePC could accommodate a full sized keyboard?
3. I am ready to try a new OS for two reasons.  One, I am hoping I see a speed increase and two, I want a full OS not the “lite” version that comes preloaded.  I have two choices to do this.  The first choice would be to turn on the full version of the existing OS (Xandros I believe) or I could install a flavor of Ubuntu.  Yes, I could install others but I am partial to Ubuntu and PClinuxOS doesn’t have an EeePC version hacked together yet.  The key will be finding a different OS that can still handle the power mgmt features for this particular machine (stand-by, lid-shut, etc.)

I will continue thru day 2 as is and keep you posted on any OS changes.

Powered by ScribeFire.

EeePC at work: Day 1, Post 5

More thoughts:

Wobbly – If the screen is opened to far the unit can become a bit wobbly…not bad but a bit wobbly.

Battery – I know the battery has lower spec on the $299 unit (which I am using currently) with that being said I am not overly impressed with the battery life.  I will run a real test shortly.

Keyboard – still not very proficient on the “small” keyboard.  I think it might be more the key placement than the size!?

Powered by ScribeFire.

EeePC at work: Day 1, Post 4

Thoughts:

-Wireless works fine but MUST be manually reconnected each time…wondering if a more robust OS (Ubuntu 7.10) would fix this?

-The keyboard is small.  I am still not used to it.  Will be interesting to see how I feel at the end of the week?!

-Google Gears with FF would be great on this thing for Google Mail, Calendar, Docs…

Powered by ScribeFire.

EeePC at work: Day 1, Post 3

The EeePC is a little slow coming out of standby mode but if I put it that way by closing the lid and opening and hitting the power button it does come back.  One major issue however, when I come out of standby mode after previously having been connected to an open wifi access point, the connection doesn’t come back.  I have to manually reconnect…not good!

Powered by ScribeFire.

EeePC at work: Day 1, Post 2

Just had a emergency call from one of my Elementary schools.  Put the EeePC in standby mode hooked up to external monitor, keyboard, and mouse.  Tried to “wake up” EeePC at location with power button….unsuccessful.  Had to power down and up again.  The machine starts up in less than 30 seconds!

Powered by ScribeFire.

EeePC at work: Day 1, Post 1

So I have decided, to really put the EeePC thru its paces I must use it myself.  What better way than to use it exclusively at work (REMINDER: I am the Director of Technology for Stonington Public Schools in CT, USA).  I have hung up my MacBook, attached a monitor, usb keyboard, and usb mouse to the EeePC, plugged into the wired network and I am up and running.

I will post a blog entry today and everyday this week with my thoughts.

Success:
-Up and running using web-based apps in firefox immediately
-Installed ScribeFire add-on to blog (using it to write this)

Failures:
-Didn’t recognize manually configured 1024×768 resolution immediately.  Had to set it 3 times to get it to stick.  Problem was that bottom OS tray was stuck in the middle of the screen still displayed for native 800×400

Need to test more/MISC:
-Because I am testing with the minimum specs EeePC ($299 model) the 512mb of RAM seems a touch slow.
-I don’t miss OS X yet….haven’t done any multimedia work….

Powered by ScribeFire.

CLUMPC

Q: What is a CLUMPC

A: Cheap Linux Ultra Mobile Personal Computer

EeePC and the Rise of the CLUMPC

I personally own the Asus EeePC and feel as if I am using the first real device that can make it to the mainstream American classroom.  Linux is the key to making it cheaper (no MS Windows tax saving 20%-25% and cheaper components that Linux runs on just fine). FOSS is the key to making it usable (free software that can be installed with a click or two).

Will Asus dominate or will other (OLPC) take market share?

Will they run MS Windows or Linux?

Will they get bigger screens and larger solid state memory?

These are important questions but ultimately not the most important.  What is critical is how will instruction change (or will it) when for the first time most (if not all) students will be able to have a digital, Internet connected device at their finger tips 24/7.  The “CLUMPC” helps to solve part of the equation but certainly not all.