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Life with the Asus Eee
New Year, New OS (Jolicloud Pre-Beta, to be exact)
Jan 2nd
I finally went through with something I was planning a few months back. I installed a Linux distro on my Asus Eee PC 701. Actually, the main reason I didn’t push thru with installing Linux is that I didn’t want to leave the comfort of a Windows installation. I know there are a lot of Linux fanboys among you readers, but I really depend on Windows a lot and I really can’t afford turning Linux into my main operating system.
Once I was able to get my hands on a brand-new laptop, I didn’t hesitate removing the Windows XP installation on my Asus Eee PC so I can put Jolicloud on it. As I have the only the 4gb Eee PC, I went for the Pro Install. I downloaded a Jolicloud ISO and was able to quickly mount it on a flash drive. The Jolicloud website has the easiest instructions, and because of that I was able to get Jolicloud up and running on my mini laptop in no time.
Jolicloud Pre-Beta’s interface does not differ significantly from Ubuntu Netbook Remix. In fact, save for a couple of shade changes, it’s exactly Ubuntu Netbook Remix. But the biggest difference would be the installation process. Just like the app store on an iPhone or iPod touch, you’d get to an App Directory and all you need to do to install them would be to click on the install button, and the app of your choice would be downloaded and installed immediately.
The apps available on the directory are a bit of a mixed bag. We’d get apps like Pidgin and Google Chrome, which are must-have programs to install on any computer, regardless of operating system. I saw an app for Twitter, and I promptly installed it. I was hoping for a TweetDeck-like experience where Tweets are integrated into the Jolicloud UI, but I only got a Mozilla Prism window leading to the Twitter website. Meh.
I’d be satisfied with Jolicloud if the audio didn’t keep on disappearing on me during random intervals. I can’t find anything anywhere that can help me out with that issue. Also, the fact that I never once upgraded the RAM on my Eee PC (I’m holding on at 512mb!) made running Jolicloud a not-so-pleasurable experience. Everything is choppy and lag time is a bit huge. Ok, I know it’s my blasted 701’s fault more than anything else, so I’m giving Jolicloud the benefit of a doubt here.
The audio problem’s a really big pet peeve though. Restarting my Eee PC doesn’t guarantee the audio will go back – in fact it took around three to four restarts just to get it back, which is annoying. I’ll try my luck with CrunchBang Lite one of these days.
RunCore 64GB SSD on the Asus Eee PC 901
Nov 29th
Test Freaks recently was able to replace the built-in SSD on the Asus Eee PC 901, benchmark it.
Now, installing it (on the 901 at least) is a breeze, because you can just use the built-in screwdriver to open your 901’s guts and remove the current 4GB SSD. Putting it back in would be the easiest thing in the world I would presume. Well, according to Test Freaks, it’ll just take two screws, and then we’re ready to go.
But why upgrade the SSD in the first place? 4GB obviously isn’t enough to do anything. I practically do most everything on my Eee 701, and dealing with 4GB is a pain in the neck. 64 gigabytes gives you more leeway with space. And apparently, the stock SSD is sluggish.
According to Test Freaks,
The SSD that comes with the EEEPC is slow as molasses, even running the ASUS Linux operating system. For whatever reason automatic update is turned on and when you power up the EEEPC it will start to download updates even if you don’t need them, and even if they aren’t for that particular model of EEEPC. There’s also really no way to delete the updates either, at least not an easy way. So when all of this happens the system bogs down to the point that you’re waiting upwards of 30 seconds sometimes for the system to respond because there’s just no more room on the SSD.
And after installation of the SSD, you can go and put XP on your Eee 901. And benchmarks will prove that you can turn your Eee PC into an actual workhorse. Now if only the SSDs of Eee 701s are screwed-in as well as opposed to soldered. Meh.
Install Google Chrome OS on your Asus Eee PC
Nov 24th
Okay, I’ve said time and again that I am not impressed with Google’s Chrome OS, but I guess I need to try it out hands-on before I pass my final judgment on the new Linux distro.
Fortunately, TechCrunch has created a guide to install Google Chrome OS on your Eee PC. Well, actually, it’s not a real installation because it requires a virtual machine. I don’t think there’s actually a way to run and install the OS like any other traditional Linux distro, and because of the cloud nature of Chrome OS, I don’t even think we should even attempt installing it.
Anyway, to try out Google Chrome OS on your Eee PC, you need to download the .ISO file first via this torrent. Or you can even download it directly here. It’s archived in .BZ2 format, so you probably need 7-Zip if your OS can’t handle it natively.
There’s a caveat, though. TechCrunch warns that they didn’t make the .ISO themselves, and it’s possible that this particular build may have been modified to send a hacker your Google account information. However, it’s unlikely.
Then it’s time to download and install VirtualBox. Once you get VirtualBox running, click the button that says “New” in the upper left hand corner. Go through the New Virtual Machine Wizard. You can title the OS whatever name you’d like. For the operating system, choose Linux, with Ubuntu as the version.
Just finish up the wizard, load the Chrome OS ISO into your virtual machine, and you’d be able to run Chrome OS beautifully (well, not exactly since we’re talking about a virtual machine here).
I’m going to try this out soon on my Eee PC, so stay tuned, sports fans!
[via]
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