My Asus Eee PC

Digsby is now netbook-friendlier

Ade Magnaye — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:00:13 +0000

As you may have noticed, I’ve been complaining more and more about my Eee’s increasingly faltering reliability in keeping apps running. I know, the 701 wasn’t made for multitasking, and that I should really upgrade my netbook.

So I ditched Pidgin for Miranda IM, and frankly, even if that IM client has been stable, it’s so barebones I felt like I was back in 1999.

That was until I heard that Digsby, formerly the memory hog of web IM software, has cut its usage by 50%. So I reinstalled it, and yes, it is working way faster than ever!

I still haven’t uninstalled Miranda in case Digsby goes wonky on me, but so far it’s been good to me.

Windows 7 on thumb drives for netbooks?

Ade Magnaye — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:00:56 +0000

So apparently, Microsoft is considering several options to make it easier to sell Windows 7, especially to netbook owners. In the light of the Vista fiasco, MS has promised that Windows 7 will be a netbook-friendly OS, the one that will probably give Linux the death blow (sadly) in the mini-laptop segment.

And USB thumb drives are being considered. I say go, this is a nifty idea.

But one-time use thumb drives would be a pretty weird thing to see, right?

Eee Seashell 1101HA Review

Ade Magnaye — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:00:37 +0000

Eeeuser has posted a review of the brand-new Eee Seashell 1101HA. And here are the things they liked :

1366 x 768 resolution - which is obviosuly a huge step forward from other netbook resolutions
Intel GMA 500 graphics chipset - capable of processing high definition video if you have the right software
The new Intel Atom Z520 processor
160GB hard drive storage
1GB RAM
Bluetooth 2.1
Draft-N Wi-Fi
4,440mAh battery (8.5 hours!)

Sadly Asus apparently took a step backwards with their keyboards and the right shift key is back to being small.

Check out the entire review here.

Fotografix: The best photo editing software for the Eee

Ade Magnaye — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:00:32 +0000

If you’re like me, you’re probably trying to push your Asus Eee to its hardware boundaries. Okay, I’ve tried to surf with it, multitask with it, and yes, I’ve even tried to edit photos with it.

So I’ve used both The GiMP and an old copy of Adobe Photoshop 7 that’s been lying around, and obviously I’m not satisfied with how my Eee works with the photo-editing software I’ve been running so far. That is, until I’ve discovered Fotografix.

This lightweight image editor takes two seconds to download, and an even shorter time to start up. No pesky splash screens! It even runs as a portable app.

Now it goes to say that it’s definitely not going to be as powerful as Photoshop or even GiMP. Well, we’re working on a small screen, what else do you need? But if you need quick and easy photo editing on the fly, Fotografix would work perfectly.

It’s an open-source app and runs on Windows. For you Linux users, I don’t see why it won’t run with Wine. Download it here.

Who wants a Disney netbook?

Ade Magnaye — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:00:47 +0000

So. Yeah, Disney is making a Disney-branded netbook, called the Netpal. It’ll be due out in July and it will run about $350. It’s targeted at kids between the ages of 6 and 12.

It will come in a couple of different colors and include custom Disney-themed desktops. It will be available in a floral “Princess Pink” color or “Magic Blue” with Mickey mouse pictures. Also, it will also include a Disney browser, a Radio Disney widget, and parental control software, among other applications.

Asus Eee PC 1005HA unboxing – Video

Ade Magnaye — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:00:59 +0000

Read the full review at Liliputing.

Corel’s netbook-ready Home Office

Ade Magnaye — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:00:18 +0000

So Corel is following Thinkfree Office’s lead and is releasing a Home Office suite that will play nice with netbooks. According to Corel, Home Office is:

a new office suite designed specifically to address the needs of consumers and home-based businesses. With its low memory requirements and small footprint, Corel Home Office is also ideally suited for netbooks - portable, mini notebook computers that comprise the fastest growing PC segment. Corel Home Office includes Corel(R) Write for word processing, Corel(R) Calculate for spreadsheets, and Corel(R) Show for presentations.

Also it’ll set you back around $70.

Meh, I’m still working with Google Docs and OpenOffice.org.

Should I switch back to Linux? What distro should I go for?

Ade Magnaye — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:00:23 +0000

So I’ve been using Windows XP on my ancient Eee 701 for almost a year now. I’ve had no complaints with it. Well, not until lately. Somehow Firefox has been crashing on me so much that it’ll be a miracle to surf the web without my favorite browser crashing on me within an hour. I tried to use Chrome, but somehow it gave my beloved Eee a bout of BSODs that disappeared after I uninstalled it. Frankly, I’m getting fed up with all the software crashes I’ve been getting here.

It’s gotten so bad that I’m planning to switch back to Linux after months of convincing myself that Windows XP is the way. Now the question is: what distro should I use? I’ve been hearing good things about CrunchEee, but I want to make sure I’m getting the best Eee-made distro out there.

What do you guys think? Help me out here, and recommend a great Linux distro for me.

Microsoft to create new anti-virus

Ade Magnaye — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:00:55 +0000

I know this isn’t really netbook news, much less Eee news, but Microsoft’s currently trialling a new anti-virus that’ll be given away for free. It will be released, um, “soon”.

Called Morro, the software will tackle viruses but lack the broader range of utilities, such as parental locks, found in paid-for security suites.

Morro will be Microsoft’s second venture in the highly competitive security market.

Microsoft’s first attempt revolved around the Windows Live OneCare service that did not succeed in turning many customers away from rivals such as Symantec and McAfee.

I still have nightmares about Windows Live OneCare (almost killed my girlfriend’s laptop) and I really advise people to consider a different free antivirus when setting up your netbook’s security.

[via BBC]

Netbook-specific security suite from Kaspersky

Ade Magnaye — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:00:52 +0000

That’s right, you guys. Kaspersky has introduced a security suite made just for netbooks. It’s designed to work on netbooks and other small notebooks with Intel Atom, Celeron-M, or VIA-C7-M processors that are running Windows XP. It’s been tested to work on netbooks from Acer, Asus, MSI, and Samsung.

Kaspersky says that the security suite was designed for screens with low resolution, and that it’ll run with high performance, even on low-end systems.

It will set you back $29.95.