Have Laptop Will Travel

Asus introduces new E line products

Originally posted on January 31, 2008 @ 11:55 pm

With ASUS’ competition in the ultraportable market now heating up, the company has decided that the only way to combat it is to actually increase its offering in the E line.

The company has announced that it will be releasing three new products this year, these products are a desktop PC called the E-DT, the E-TV (a TV based PC) and the E-monitor — a versatile gadget that has similarities to either the Dell One and the Apple iMac.

The E-DT has a preliminary price that range from 200 to 300 dollars and will use a Celeron chip. Of course, this PC won’t have a bundled monitor to really keep the price down. The E-TV and the E-Monitor may be the more interesting devices in the E line but at present exact details and specifications about these products are still not available.

Three new E line products and I still haven’t bought my Asus EEE…

Windows SP3 available for download now

Originally posted on May 7, 2008 @ 11:09 pm

Windows XP Service Pack 3 is now available again after it was delayed because of issues found with users who have Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System in their computers.

According to Microsoft, the one-file update is 316.4 MB. They are recommending that those who only need to update one computer should just consider using Windows Update as it will be smaller there.

Going back to the bug with DRMS, a hotfix has been released to fix the error and it is recommended that the hotfix is applied before updating to SP3. The funny thing here is that when you click on the hotfix, you get a 404 error, which means that the hotfix is not there. Hopefully, this error has been rectified by the time you read this.

The hunt is over…

Originally posted on February 13, 2008 @ 11:56 pm

Finally, after badgering computer stores and even online retailers, I got my hands on an ASUS EEE ultraportable laptop. It’s the best purchase I’ve made in the last two years, even beating my purchase of a Nintendo Wii just a couple of months ago.

I just love how light it is. It is relatively feather light compared to my very heavy Acer laptop. It’s so small that I can actually use an old leather organizer I have and use it as a cover for the EEE. It actually looks like I only carry a planner when I’m out. It’s that small and light.

The Xandros OS is something that I have to really get used to. I still don’t even know how to install programs or even format a USB drive. But as a handy workaround, I’ve also installed Windows XP using an 8GB SDHC card, which means I can dual boot between Xandros and WinXP whenever I want to. Who would think that a machine as small as this one with slightly compromised specs would be such a robust performer?

I am now saving up so I can buy my wife the green EEE that she wants for her birthday. At the rate things are going I might even buy my three year old son an EEE just to give him an early taste of technology and how to love it.

MSI looks to release ASUS EEE competition

Originally posted on January 28, 2008 @ 11:03 pm

The ASUS EEE PC has really opened the floodgates for the low cost ultraportable market that other PC manufacturers are following suit and trying to carve their own niche in this new booming sector.

MSI looks like it is going to utilize Intels new 45nm Diamondville processor for its rumored ultraportable. The new Intel processor has been specifically engineered for low power portables but it looks like MSI may be the first out of the gate with an actual product with this new chip inside. The Diamondville will be officially announced in April yet but MSI has already gave word that when the chip is “ready” then their own project will be “ready”, too. Expect the new MSI ultraportables to be in the market by July or August this year.

A friend’s impressions on the Asus EEE

Originally posted on January 14, 2008 @ 9:52 pm

A friend of mine finally bought the Asus EEE ultraportable notebook, the gizmo that I’ve been dying to get since last year.

Getting second hand information on a laptop that is on my wishlist can be frustrating, especially since I just helped another friend acquire her Macbook Pro a week ago. But curiosity can still be a good cure to technological envy so I went ahead and asked my friend what he thought of his new lappy.

What I got was mostly praises. The Asus EEE was very fast, very efficient in loading programs and, surprisingly, did not have any issues with Windows XP. My friend decided to remove the Xandros Linux OS that came with the EEE because, as my friend put it, he is too chicken to try out Linux.

His only complaint were the tiny keys, which will really be an issue with touch typists who have big fingers. I fall in this category so I’m eager to find out if it would really affect productivity.