eeeMac: Sleep working after all!

I thought sleep wasn't working on my eee PC 901 running OSX, but it turns out that it was working all along. The problem is that the screen backlight is off when it restores from sleep, so I have to hit the screen brightness key after hitting the power button to wake. The computer came on, I just couldn't see the screen. I haven't tried the wired ethernet port or the microphone in port. The wifi driver works but the program you have to run isn't as transparent as the native wifi driver. All in all, it's a brilliant success. What I like about the instructions I followed is that it works with the standard retail Leopard DVD and you can install all updates. I really like my Apple netbook.

The eeeMac: Installing OSX on EEE PC 901

OSX Leopard is happily running on my EEE PC 901 with a RunCore 64GB SSD and 2GB RAM. I followed these helpful instructions:

Link At first, I was having problems with some software because I somehow didn't set up the video card right for Quartz Extreme. I found this in the MSI Wind forums that fixed me up.

The only problem I'm having is that the eee doesn't recover properly from sleep. I know that was an issue and I installed the supposed fix for it but it's not working. More work to do. Otherwise, I'm really enjoying the experience.

Awesome guide for installing OSX on EEE PC 901

I've been working the Google while watching football.  Here's the most current guide I've found for installing Apple OSX on an EEE PC 901.  Here's the link.

Upgrading EEE PC Disk Drive

Yesterday, I received my 64GB Runcore SSD from www.mydigitaldiscount.com. It was easy to replace the 8GB SSD that came with my EEE PC 901 and replace it with the Runcore drive.  What I didn't expect was the difficulty in reinstalling the OS.  I wanted to use the XP Support DVD that comes with the EEE PC to reinstall Windows XP on the computer, but no matter how I changed the BIOS settings, every time I reinstalled it, it would put the system disk on the remaining 4GB SSD and other files on the Runcore.  I've changed the temporary internet files and the my documents folder to the D:\ drive.  I've also changed the default directory for installing programs to D:\Program Files.  But, XP is still on the 4GB C:\ drive and I've only got 1GB free.  This is not what I wanted.

I tried to install a fresh copy of Windows XP Home on the Runcore.  I got it installed, but I could not get wifi to work even though I installed all the Asus drivers from the XP Support DVD.  Later, when I tried to reinstall the same version of XP, I kept getting a BSOD (blue screen of death).  I've not given up on the hope of installing the entire system on the 64GB on the Runcore  SSD, but I am taking a break.

The Runcore SSD is way faster than the 8GB drive that I replaced.  It was definitely a worthwhile upgrade.  The system is, well, you know... snappy!  I've read the forums at www.eeeuser.com but so far, I've not found a solution that I have the skills and software to implement.   More on this later...  Please leave me a comment if you have any ideas on how I can get this to work.

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dave Winer's Post was "The Last Straw"

Dave Winer wrote about his experience taking only his Asus EEE PC 901 on a cross-country business trip. I had been teetering on the brink of buy for weeks. Rodfather recently bought the Asus 1000H, which initially upped my lust meter. But, what really got me considering a new netbook was running across the Acer Aspire One in Microcenter for $349. Wow! I thought. I was so tempted to buy one for the massive 120GB HD and Atom processor and 1024x600 res screen. I probably could have and saved about $150 compared to the 901. But, I didn't. Why?

For one, the 3-cell battery in the Acer means that you won't be untethered from the grid for long. I've fallen for that limitation too many times. It means buying an extra battery or always carrying the power brick (which they call a brick for a reason). A second reason was the hard drive. It's a pacifier. This isn't the machine that stores all my music and photos. If it were, I could put them on an external HD. Take away music and photos, and HD requirements aren't really that critical. Owning the original eee pc made me aware that we only *think* we need a big hard drive. So, I said no. Not this time. Aside from the hard drive, the Asus is a better spec'd machine in a few areas. Finding it for around $500 was enough to get me off the ball.

This isn't my only machine. In fact, it's about time for me to have some sort of electronic garage sale. Still, I appreciate the small form factor, and this machine is powerful enough to run my business applications away from the office and it's a great cloud computer too.

Take-away from this experience? Challenge your inner voice that says you need a big hard drive. Check out a netbook in a retailer near you. Cheap, ubiquitous computing is here. Forget about whether you prefer Windows or OSX or Linux. Find a device that does what you need it to do in the smallest possible form factor you can tolerate because you will use it more and take it more places.

5 Ways EEE PC (4G) Beats HTC Advantage

1. I can update my blog with the EEE PC. Blogger won't work with Windows Mobile browsers (either Opera or PIE).
2. Bigger screen and keyboard. It's still small enough to carry but provides a better computing experience.
   
3. Firefox on the EEE PC is way better than either Opera or PIE on HTC Advantage. I can run real websites with Flash.
4. Better OS. Any flavor of Linux provides a better computer experience Windows Mobile.
   
5. It's a lot cheaper!
   

What's it Like to Run Windows without a Hard Drive?

This whole EEE PC phenomenon has been very intriguing for me. A computer without a conventional hard drive running a desktop operating system seems counter to all that is holy. I've been taught to buy the biggest hard drive you can afford. I hear about the "bloating" of operating systems and applications software. Yet, people are buying a small notebook with a 7"inch screen at 800x480 resolution with a 4G solid state drive? How does that work?

Quite well is my conclusion after finding a deal on an open box Asus EEE PC 4G Surf. I first spent a couple of days using the included Xandros Linux operating system. I think Asus has done an awesome job of configuring a user-friendly Linux experience. The device is extremely useful right out of the box, even in the default "easy mode". Yet, even still, Linux is a confusing mix of a graphical user interface (GUI) and old-school command line typing of text commands to install software, connect to other computers. It reminds me of a Hollywood movie set. The front facade of the buildings are all very impressive, but when you walk through the door you discover that the front is just plywood propped up by 2x4's. I'm not saying that Linux isn't substantial or stable, but that GUI is just a facade. It seems to my Noobie Linux brain that to get real work done in Linux, you ultimately have to get cozy with the Console or Konsole or whatever they call it.

So after a few days of experimenting with Linux, I decided to try a different experiment. I decided to install Windows XP on my 4G Surf. My original plan was to leave the standard OS on the EEE PC and install Windows on an SDHC card. I found instructions on the web but I decided in the end that it was just too much work when I didn't even know if the payoff would be worthwhile. Asus has this great recovery disk too. If I screw up my EEE PC by installing something wrong or something that I get tired of and want to return to factory default OS, I can boot the recovery disk from an external DVD drive and "bam" in minutes I'm back to my original EEE PC. I tried this just to make sure it works, and Dang! It does.

So, I ended up installing Windows XP onto my 4GB SSD in the EEE PC. I followed the instructions in the Asus user guide and installed the Windows drivers from the Asus recovery disk. I then followed the instructions in the Asus user guide for reducing the size of Windows' footprint. I installed Word, Excel and Powerpoint on an SD card. That's where I'll store documents and Internet temporary files, and virtual memory too. I ended up using about half of the internal SSD with the Windows install.

I'm just starting to mess around with it, but everything seems to be working extremely well and quite snappy, even though I haven't upgraded the RAM from the factory 512MB. One plus is that when you are ready to go, you can start hibernating the computer, shut the lid and go. You don't have to worry about whether your hard drive is "parked". This experience brings back fond memories of the old Toshiba Libretto computers, the 50CT and 75CT. I used one of these briefly when I was on crutches for 3 months and the Toshiba rep for my company loaned me one. I just loved that tiny little Windows machine. Asus takes it up a notch by showing me to let go of my hard drive hogging ways and embrace the cloud (or at least removable flash memory). An eye opener for sure.

That's my 2 cents. Your mileage may vary. What is your experience with the EEE PC or the HP Mini? Catch me on Twitter at Taxman45 or leave a comment.

Jumping on the eee PC bandwagon

I got a good deal on an open-box eee PC 4G Surf ($297) at MicroCenter. I decided to go for it after the Sambutu experiment. I really enjoy messing around with Linux. Even after reading about the eee PC on numerous blogs and seeing lots of photos, I was still surprised at how small this puppy really is! Also, the 7" screen doesn't look as out of proportion as I thought it might from photos. If you have a Microcenter store in your area it's worth a visit. They had lots of gadget goodness, including all several models of the eee PC, a Samsung Q1 Ultra running XP Tablet, an OQO model 2, a Fujitsu U810 (or whatever that little Fuji model # is), the Nokia N800 and N810. Lot's of stuff! It was fun to check them all out in person. Oh well, I digress.