MoogleViper Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Technology keeps getting smaller these days. Personally I like the big computers. But then again I am compensating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caris Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Question. The EEE PC 900. How do you reinstall Windows on it, just use a USB DVD Drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raining_again Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 recovery boot partition on the hdd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 It probably is, the Eee PC doesn't have one either. Asus are going for cheap with these machines, if they can knock a few quid off their costs by dropping an optical drive then they will And people were complaining about the MacBook air. Although, the objective of MacBook air was slim, not cheap. Nevermind, then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCK Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 This thing is just a basic internet portal, if you need anything outside an ethernet connection and a USB port or two, then you're using it wrong, probably. A recovery partition will do fine then, I guess. Some Linux distributions also have this fancy installer that runs of a USB drive and then downloads the installation files on the fly. But your own Windows on it will be hard, as I imagine that the Windows installer won't just load USB DVD player drivers (though I could be wrong). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoogleViper Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 What is the spec of this thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 This thing is just a basic internet portal, if you need anything outside an ethernet connection and a USB port or two, then you're using it wrong, probably. A recovery partition will do fine then, I guess. Some Linux distributions also have this fancy installer that runs of a USB drive and then downloads the installation files on the fly. But your own Windows on it will be hard, as I imagine that the Windows installer won't just load USB DVD player drivers (though I could be wrong). I assume this will operate in a similar fashion to the EEE Laptop. With that you get a recovery partition and also a CD of drivers and installation files. These can either be used direct from the CD via an external drive or put on a USB stick and installed / recovered by that. When I put windows on mine I just used an external CD Rom drive and everything installed fine. Its very simple and the drive only cost me £5. I don't think the lack of a drive in this machine will cause many issues at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emasher Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 My question is, why do people say that the lack of optical on this machine is OK and wont effect anything, but when Apple did it they were using it as the primary argument against the machine. Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calza Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Because how much is the EEE? Then compare the Air's price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emasher Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 The air has a monitor a webcam and overall better parts. Plus it comes with a non-freeware OS. It may be a little overpriced but you have to remember, Its intended for business travelers so It will be mostly companies buying them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Lol, what a blatant setup. Emasher please continue to compare the eee pc and Air, it's hilarious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McPhee Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 The Eee costs a couple of hundred at most, you could easily buy one as a spare computer (say in the living room, hooked up to the TV or something). It's an extra device, like a PDA is an extra device. With the Macbook Air you pay a couple of grand so you'd expect it to be functional enough to be your main computer. Admittidly if you have really deep pockets then you could use the Air as a spare computer, but in the real world very few people have that sort of cash. If it's aimed at traveling businessmen then they're obviously rather rich businessmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emasher Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 But, both are computers. I'm not saying there similar. I'm saying why should one computer be attacked because it doesn't have something and another praised because it doesn't have the same thing. A computer that is a laptop and will be used on the go to type up business reports, ect. doesn't really need an optical drive. A computer that will be hooked up to a TV perhaps to be used as A DVD player/media center, probably should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Yes, but the question that's discussed is: why would you pay for a computer that can do les just because it's light? Is light an enormous factor? Pedople were carrying the 100-ton laptops of yore too, and they can be happy it's reduced to a couple of pounds. Honestly, for what's inside the Air, it's overpriced. A MacBook is cheaper, faster and has all those functions you'de like to pay for. But this isn't the MacBook discussion. Though I still doubt that leaving a disc drive out of the Eee PC might be a stupid mistake, since every desktop has a CD drive. MacBook Air, as a laptop, doesn't - but that's it. If they buy a Windows Machine, they are used to disc drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Who said anything about windows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Even Linux needs a disc drive, so don't whine to me, you're always trying to make a problem of nothing. AZnd it's exactly for these kind of computers that Microsoft expanded the lifetime of XP to 2011, so we're seeing these with Windows sometime in the future, wether you like it or not. Just like the laptop already succumbed to Microsoft's XP-power... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Even Linux needs a disc drive, so don't whine to me, you're always trying to make a problem of nothing.. http://puppylinux.com/flash-puppy.htm < Install from flash drive Indeed, Asus could very easily put their own edited OS on their website, download and transfer to flash drive, boot from flash drive. If you can't manage that then you are going to need a professional to reinstall an OS for you anyway. After that all updates can be done over internet, even large OS updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 http://puppylinux.com/flash-puppy.htm < Install from flash drive Indeed, Asus could very easily put their own edited OS on their website, download and transfer to flash drive, boot from flash drive. If you can't manage that then you are going to need a professional to reinstall an OS for you anyway. After that all updates can be done over internet, even large OS updates. Honestly, has anyone ever seen a computer without a disc drive? Servers, yes - that's something different. I'm not sure, but lacking a disc-drive is a strange idea since optical media are not going away anytime soon. And with 'even Linux needs a disc drive' I mean that to listen to your CD's or watch your DVD's - two integral components and compelling reasons to buy a computer these days - you need a disc drive. I didn't say you couldn't live with Linux without it. And I personally think that Asus is going to deliver an OS anyway, Sanchez. It's not like you're going to get an empty computer, and Asus provides the OS on it's website. Updates over the internet, yes - very possible - and some implementations actually pull it off (I'm looking at MacOS, wich has easy updates - no clumsy web-based system like XP). Lack of a disc drive, however, in a desktop enviroment, is for me unforgiveable. And just for the sake of knowing this: if you would build a computer with the same components as the Wii - PowerPC G3, Disc drive, certain amount of RAM - and add a little more Hard Drive to it (say, 40 Gb?), wouldn't you have an Asus Eee PC? I mean price-wise... Would be cool, actually. Although I think the Wii lacks RAM and therefore will be hard to pull of an Operating System - but add, say, 512 Mb of RAM (for 40 bucks?) and we've got a nice sub-300 system, that makes barely any profit. Sorry, just thinking out loud... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calza Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Asus would get the components at a lot cheaper price than what you would be using to get that 300 figure. But I do agree with you that the exclusion of a disk drive is a bit odd however I can see Asus's reasoning behind it. It really is meant to be simple, sure they are putting people like me and you off but the user that just wants to browse the internet its fine. I would like to see who their actual target demographics/audience is though, would be nice to see who they think will buy this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McPhee Posted April 12, 2008 Share Posted April 12, 2008 Bundle it with a good media player (or even better, base the whole OS around media storage, streaming and playback) and there's a very obvious market for it. But regardless of all that i don't recall it saying anywhere that there isn't an optical drive in the machine. These pictures allegedly come from Asus, but could be mock-ups, or the front facia could well be a door with a disk drive behind it. Wait for more info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 If you base the OS around Media Storage, it isn't a PC anymore - it's a media centre, that's it. However, I was making a price comparison. I'm assuming Asus wants to make equal profits as Nintendo on these things. So adding a little hard drive and RAM to the Wii setup, including an optical drive (though this one shouldn't be able to read GameCube-sized discs, so it will be cheaper) and you've got a good PC for about $350. That would make a good thing, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Motherboard with onboard graphics chip: £50 CPU: £40 (low end c2d) RAM: £15 1GB USB and assorted ports: £15 Optical Drive: £15 Case: £20 Overhead: £20 Those are my estimates... for manufacturer costs. I don't think the prices are unreasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McPhee Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 Asus will be sourcing components a lot cheaper than that, they're one of the biggest players in the computer market. They made Intel (and a few other Manufacturers/Suppliers) bend over backwards in order to get the contracts for the EeePC, they'll do the same again with a desktop version. Assuming the spec isn't anything spectacular then they'll be building these things for well under £100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanchez Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/12/asus-eee-box-b202-desktop-gets-pictured-we-like-the-concept-bet/ hich weighs in at less than one kilogram (2.2 pounds) and packs an Intel Atom processor / 945 chipset, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB hard drive and a Linux-based operating system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jordan Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Ooooh an Atom! Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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