Question About Asus Eee Pc?
I’m deciding whether or not i should buy the asus eee pc 4G. The main reason i am considering it is because i go to uni and don’t want to bring a heavy laptop. i will need it for mainly the internet in uni and typing notes.
First of all, if i buy one with linux preinstalled, will i be able to open MICROSOFT word documents using OpenOffice?
Secondly, can the laptop stream videos online comfortably? Does it lag or crash?
Also, does it connect easily with wireless internet?
Thank you
“First of all, if i buy one with linux preinstalled, will i be able to open MICROSOFT word documents using OpenOffice?”
OpenOffice is usually pretty good about handling M$ file formats so it should work for pretty much everything you try to open (while not being able to run Word Macro Viruses).
“Secondly, can the laptop stream videos online comfortably? Does it lag or crash?”
Haven’t used that computer but it should be fast enough to handle the decompression (provided you connect it to a sufficient net connection). Lag would probably only be a problem if you try using it over a slow connection (which would affect any computer).
“Also, does it connect easily with wireless internet?”
That’s where I really can’t say. Linux can connect to pretty much every wireless network out there but it might not be easy to set up for some of them, especially the more secure ones, it’d really depend on the distro and whether it provides easy access to wpa_supplicant.
Your intended use is exactly what the eeePC is designed for.
Internet and office don’t need processing power.
As for the software: yes, yes, yes and yes.
It will do Internet, stream video’s, play video’s from a USB stick, open Word docs, and connect to wifi internet, both open and protected.
The nice thing about this particular laptop is that it is so small that it fits in your regular bag. Any other laptop always requires its own bag – this one does not.
Buy the 8G version if you’re really decided on Asus Eeepc. I wouldn’t buy one though, but that’s my own opinion. I don’t like the small screen and the lack of a hard drive which limits your software choices.
You might consider buying a full-featured laptop with a smallish LCD screen like 12 inches (even 14 inches). They aren’t much larger and don’t cost much more than an Eeepc.
BTW Open Office does run on Linux and can open MS Office files like Word, Excel or Powerpoint.
OpenOffice opens .doc files, so yes, it supports MS Office Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Access files.
The ASUS EEE has no problems with streaming media. Expect your battery to drain fast while watching movies.
Wireless internet is a little weak, but its relatively hassle free to connect to a hotspot once you’ve found it.
If i were you, consider buying a low-end 13 inch laptop. They cost twice as much, but considering that they are much more comfortable to work with (fullsize keyboard and a much nicer touchpad), and not that much heavier than a EEE (a 13″ laptop without accessories would weight around 2-3 kilos).
If you don’t mind spending $500 on a EEE, then perhaps you should get the 8gb version with XP installed. The default Linux OS is a little too simple so if you want a little bit of customization you’ll want to go with the XP option.