Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
2008/11/20 john lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:59:10 + > "Richard Danter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Does the case have an external power supply or rely on USB? > > It has sockets for USB 2, esata or 5v DC inputs Excellent! The case I have has no option but to be powered from the USB. Fine on my Dell but means it is unusable on the Compaq. In fact I can even get away with a standard USB cable whilst it is powered from mains but even the double-up cable is insufficient on the Compaq. At least you have the option to run from an additional PSU. Good choice. Rich -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:59:10 + "Richard Danter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Does the case have an external power supply or rely on USB? It has sockets for USB 2, esata or 5v DC inputs > I did a similar thing and the case I have uses an odd USB cable with > two connectors on one end in order to get enough power from the PC not > to need a seperate PSU. Problem is that the old HDD I put in it needs > just a little too much power on startup. Works fine on my Dell D400 > but does not work on my wifes Compaq, even when the laptop runs from > mains itself. It came with 3 cables, one standard usb2 (of which I am accumulating a small stock), one esata and one of the type you mention. The drive arrived in the post whilst I was out in the garden putting up some nesting boxes! It fitted in the case (phew!) and it works (or appears to) off the USB input. I have just created a partition on it, formatted it ext3 & can mount as /dev/sdb1 on my main system. I will try plugging it into the Asus 900 later -- John Lewis using Debian Sid with windowmaker for a nicer desktop -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
2008/11/20 john lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:29:30 + > Bob Dunlop <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> 64G drives are easily available, even if the price may make you >> blink, but that will only come down. > > as it happens I will, all being well, have a 120Gb usb hard drive next > week which could solve any storage problem. > > I bought a case for the 2.5" drive I took out of a broken thinkpad Does the case have an external power supply or rely on USB? I did a similar thing and the case I have uses an odd USB cable with two connectors on one end in order to get enough power from the PC not to need a seperate PSU. Problem is that the old HDD I put in it needs just a little too much power on startup. Works fine on my Dell D400 but does not work on my wifes Compaq, even when the laptop runs from mains itself. Rich -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:29:30 + Bob Dunlop <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 64G drives are easily available, even if the price may make you > blink, but that will only come down. as it happens I will, all being well, have a 120Gb usb hard drive next week which could solve any storage problem. I bought a case for the 2.5" drive I took out of a broken thinkpad thinking I could make use of it for doing backups only to find out that old drive was too thick to fit in the case, so I've ordered a new 120Gb drive from novatech. Am keeping my fingers crossed that it will fit in the case _and_ work with the 900 -- John Lewis using Debian Sid with windowmaker for a nicer desktop -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
Bob Dunlop wrote: > Hi, > > On Wed, Nov 19 at 06:26, john lewis wrote: > ... >> I'd like to increase the memory and possibly the storage above what >> came with the system, Memory should be no problem as they are standard >> SO-DIMM modules. Storage not so easy although this URL suggests 32GB & >> 64GB PCI-E SSDs for Asus Eee PC 900 and 901 should be available >> sometime soon :-) > > Unless there is some pressing need for speed (in which case you probably > brought the wrong PC in the first place) why not use an external USB > Flash drive. You have three USB slots available after all. > > 64G drives are easily available, even if the price may make you blink, > but that will only come down. Alternatively use the external SD slot for increased storage -- Life is too short. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
Hi, On Wed, Nov 19 at 06:26, john lewis wrote: ... > I'd like to increase the memory and possibly the storage above what > came with the system, Memory should be no problem as they are standard > SO-DIMM modules. Storage not so easy although this URL suggests 32GB & > 64GB PCI-E SSDs for Asus Eee PC 900 and 901 should be available > sometime soon :-) Unless there is some pressing need for speed (in which case you probably brought the wrong PC in the first place) why not use an external USB Flash drive. You have three USB slots available after all. 64G drives are easily available, even if the price may make you blink, but that will only come down. -- Bob Dunlop -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:43:25 + "Alan Pope" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 2008/11/19 john lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > I'd like to increase the memory and possibly the storage above what > > came with the system, Memory should be no problem as they are > > standard SO-DIMM modules. Storage not so easy although this URL > > suggests 32GB & 64GB PCI-E SSDs for Asus Eee PC 900 and 901 should > > be available sometime soon :-) > > > > Could always just chuck big fat SD cards in? I have a few 8G ones that > come in handy. > > > Fitting them looks to be more problematic and seems to involve > > removing the keyboard if I read this article correctly > > > > the keyboard comes off the 900 _very_ easily. > > > Battery life is the 900's biggest problem but I can live with it (I > > think). I am reluctant to apply the bios upgrade and am not even > > sure if the latest listed on the Asus site will apply earlier > > patches cumulatively > > > > As hugo says, they're cumulative. They are also dead easy to apply. I > have had 4 Eees, 2x701 and 2x900 and the BIOS updates have all applied > without a hitch. I have only applied them via the Asus xandros thing > but I think Andy Smith has applied them using the standalone zip file. Thanks Alan & Hugo. I feel happier now about using the bios update which in zip format. I do updates to my Technomate TV tuner in much the same way. I tried pruning the default installation from the Debian-eeepc distro but found lots of things I wanted to get rid of seemed integral to the Gnome desk-top, About the only large package I could remove safely was OpenOffice. Things like tasksel I automatically remove from any installation but I don't need two browsers and prefer firefox to evolution, if only because I am used to it. So will purging evolution destroy the gnome gui and what else can I safely remove. -- John Lewis using Debian Sid with windowmaker for a nicer desktop -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
2008/11/19 john lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > I'd like to increase the memory and possibly the storage above what > came with the system, Memory should be no problem as they are standard > SO-DIMM modules. Storage not so easy although this URL suggests 32GB & > 64GB PCI-E SSDs for Asus Eee PC 900 and 901 should be available > sometime soon :-) > Could always just chuck big fat SD cards in? I have a few 8G ones that come in handy. > Fitting them looks to be more problematic and seems to involve > removing the keyboard if I read this article correctly > the keyboard comes off the 900 _very_ easily. > Battery life is the 900's biggest problem but I can live with it (I > think). I am reluctant to apply the bios upgrade and am not even sure > if the latest listed on the Asus site will apply earlier patches > cumulatively > As hugo says, they're cumulative. They are also dead easy to apply. I have had 4 Eees, 2x701 and 2x900 and the BIOS updates have all applied without a hitch. I have only applied them via the Asus xandros thing but I think Andy Smith has applied them using the standalone zip file. Cheers, Al. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
On Wed, Nov 19, 2008 at 06:26:02PM +, John Lewis wrote: > Battery life is the 900's biggest problem but I can live with it (I > think). I am reluctant to apply the bios upgrade and am not even sure > if the latest listed on the Asus site will apply earlier patches > cumulatively BIOS upgrades are almost always shipped as a complete replacement to the existing BIOS, so if you just get the latest one on the site, you'll get everything you need. It's done this way for several reasons -- one being that they're so small it doesn't matter about trying to save bandwidth. It's also more difficult to patch binary code than to patch human-readable text. Finally, the technology that stores BIOSes (EEPROMs or similar) tend to work on an all-or-nothing basis, so you *have* to upgrade the whole thing in one go anyway. Hugo. -- === Hugo Mills: [EMAIL PROTECTED] carfax.org.uk | darksatanic.net | lug.org.uk === PGP key: 515C238D from wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net or http://www.carfax.org.uk --- The makers of Steinway pianos would like me to tell you that --- this is a Bechstein. signature.asc Description: Digital signature -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:35:55 + Jim Kissel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I didn't resits at all. Soon as I could order a 901 with Linux I > did. Sold my 701 a few days later. The 901 battery life is so good, > that I never need to bring along the charger. I have only recently got a 900 so am not about to upgrade to a 901, on the other hand my wife quite likes the 900 :-) But we have spent quite a lot of money related to our move to Yeovil* and I'd rather upgrade her several years old desktop PC first. She can always 'borrow' the 900 and that might get her used to the idea of using debian-eeepc + gnome. OK, I have given in and installed my most disliked GUI but for once I need the bells & whistles that come with it. I'd like to increase the memory and possibly the storage above what came with the system, Memory should be no problem as they are standard SO-DIMM modules. Storage not so easy although this URL suggests 32GB & 64GB PCI-E SSDs for Asus Eee PC 900 and 901 should be available sometime soon :-) http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2008/07/eee-pcs-getting-32gb-and-64bg-ssds.html Fitting them looks to be more problematic and seems to involve removing the keyboard if I read this article correctly http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/04/19/inside_the_eee_pc_900/1 Battery life is the 900's biggest problem but I can live with it (I think). I am reluctant to apply the bios upgrade and am not even sure if the latest listed on the Asus site will apply earlier patches cumulatively > The other big plus, is I ditched my brief case, for a Case Logic bag > for external hard drives. The 901 is a perfect fit + HSDPA modem and > bits and pieces. A quarter the size of my brief case and and maybe 3 > pounds all up weight. That looks quite neat so maybe I'll ask my daughters to get me one for Xmas. *new dining table and chairs, bookcases & a new bed plus having our Bournemouth house re-decorated throughout. -- John Lewis using Debian Sid with windowmaker for a nicer desktop -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
Andy Random wrote: > On Sun, 16 Nov 2008, Bob Dunlop wrote: > >> I'll just add my response to that of another poster here, I have an >> Asus EEE 901 and the standard battery gives me 5 hours with WiFi enabled. >> I suspect the WiFi of being a considerable drain as the access point is >> old and the walls quite solid. > > I really wish you hadn't mentioned that! > > :) > > I've been resisting upgrading my 701, but I hadn't realised the battery > life of the 901 is so significantly higher. > > Now I'm much more tempted... I didn't resits at all. Soon as I could order a 901 with Linux I did. Sold my 701 a few days later. The 901 battery life is so good, that I never need to bring along the charger. The other big plus, is I ditched my brief case, for a Case Logic bag for external hard drives. The 901 is a perfect fit + HSDPA modem and bits and pieces. A quarter the size of my brief case and and maybe 3 pounds all up weight. -- Life is too short. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
2008/11/18 Andy Random <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > I've been resisting upgrading my 701, but I hadn't realised the battery > life of the 901 is so significantly higher. > I've found that even the 701 and 900 can have dramatically improved battery life if you install one of the newer BIOS updates. Some change ASUS made to the ACPI tables I believe has extended the battery life significantly. The battery in my 900 used to die if left in suspend for ~8 hours, now I can (if I choose) leave it in suspend for a whole weekend and it still has power. Of course I appreciate you actually want to use it, not leave it in suspend, I'm just citing this as one of the ways in which the extended life can be observed. Cheers, Al. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
On Sun, 16 Nov 2008, Bob Dunlop wrote: > I'll just add my response to that of another poster here, I have an > Asus EEE 901 and the standard battery gives me 5 hours with WiFi enabled. > I suspect the WiFi of being a considerable drain as the access point is > old and the walls quite solid. I really wish you hadn't mentioned that! :) I've been resisting upgrading my 701, but I hadn't realised the battery life of the 901 is so significantly higher. Now I'm much more tempted... Andy -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
If long battery life is your primary goal I saw an ad for a Dell laptop (not sure which one but I think it could have been one of the Inspirons) that had a claimed battery life of 19 hours. Cheers, Paul. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
Hi, On Sat, Nov 15 at 12:18, Philip Stubbs wrote: > With the recent proliferation of netbooks, it seems strange to me that > they seem to have such a short life on batteries. For something that > is designed to be used on the move, I would want it to work all day. ... I'll just add my response to that of another poster here, I have an Asus EEE 901 and the standard battery gives me 5 hours with WiFi enabled. I suspect the WiFi of being a considerable drain as the access point is old and the walls quite solid. -- Bob Dunlop -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 09:26:02PM +, trotter wrote: > At 00:35 15/11/2008, you wrote: > >For about 4 years, I've had a normal laptop (ASUS M3000 -- 14" > >screen) with a secondary battery in the CD drive bay. When it was new, > >it did 7.5 hours with both batteries in. Even now, 4 years on, it'll > >do 4 hours, more if the screen brightness is cranked down. > > > >Come to think of it, my dirty great 15" widescreen Dell managed up > >to 6.5 hours with a secondary battery in it. With a third battery (a > >main one), I could do a full day's work at a conference -- 10 hours or > >so. > > > >In my opinion, the solution is to get a machine with a swappable > >drive bay and a spare battery to go in it. If you can stand to get one > >of the large extended-life batteries that sticks out of the main > >battery bay, do that, too. > > > do you have a favourite supplier of laptop batteries? > > There are a fair amount on ebay for my ibm thinkpad x30 however the > ones recommended on the thinkpad yahoo groups list are on american > ebay. Official battery are a stupid price something like £100 while they > are £30 on ebay in the uk. I had the official batteries with the above two machines. I didn't buy either of them, but I'd do the same if I was spending my own money for a truly mobile machine. Hugo. -- === Hugo Mills: [EMAIL PROTECTED] carfax.org.uk | darksatanic.net | lug.org.uk === PGP key: 515C238D from wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net or http://www.carfax.org.uk --- Hail and greetings. We are a flat-pack invasion force from --- Planet Ikea. We come in pieces. signature.asc Description: Digital signature -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
At 00:35 15/11/2008, you wrote: >On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 12:18:01AM +, Philip Stubbs wrote: > > With the recent proliferation of netbooks, it seems strange to me that > > they seem to have such a short life on batteries. For something that > > is designed to be used on the move, I would want it to work all day. > > > > In fact, my wife has a very good use for such a device, but it would > > only be really useful if it had at least a six hour life. All my wife > > wants to do is take notes. However changing batteries multiple times, > > is really not ideal. > > > > Does anybody know of a netbook style device that can operate for this > > sort of time? It only really needs a to be just big enough to have a > > reasonable size keyboard to make it useful. > >For about 4 years, I've had a normal laptop (ASUS M3000 -- 14" >screen) with a secondary battery in the CD drive bay. When it was new, >it did 7.5 hours with both batteries in. Even now, 4 years on, it'll >do 4 hours, more if the screen brightness is cranked down. > >Come to think of it, my dirty great 15" widescreen Dell managed up >to 6.5 hours with a secondary battery in it. With a third battery (a >main one), I could do a full day's work at a conference -- 10 hours or >so. > >In my opinion, the solution is to get a machine with a swappable >drive bay and a spare battery to go in it. If you can stand to get one >of the large extended-life batteries that sticks out of the main >battery bay, do that, too. do you have a favourite supplier of laptop batteries? There are a fair amount on ebay for my ibm thinkpad x30 however the ones recommended on the thinkpad yahoo groups list are on american ebay. Official battery are a stupid price something like £100 while they are £30 on ebay in the uk. thanks for your time Martin N -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
Philip Stubbs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: With the recent proliferation of netbooks, it seems strange to me that they seem to have such a short life on batteries. For something that is designed to be used on the move, I would want it to work all day. In fact, my wife has a very good use for such a device, but it would only be really useful if it had at least a six hour life. All my wife wants to do is take notes. However changing batteries multiple times, is really not ideal. Does anybody know of a netbook style device that can operate for this sort of time? It only really needs a to be just big enough to have a reasonable size keyboard to make it useful. For note taking, with a decent size keyboard and a good battery life, you'll do a lot worse than a Psion Series 7 or Netbook. I still have a Netbook - sold my Series 7 recently on ebay for £84. It would be worth a look there. I know they're *discontinued*, but I'd be prepared to argue about *obsolete*. The Psion has several other virtues, including instant on, built in word processor, spreadsheet, ... and lots of free (as in beer) software available on the web. The Series 7 is easily upgradable to a Netbook, which supports several wireless network cards - I use an Orinoco Wavelan Gold (also bought on ebay), which supports 802.11b and 128 bit WEP (not the latest and greatest wireless technology, but it works! HTH Ian -- Ian Park 17 Pyle Hill Newbury Berkshire RG14 7JJ Tel: +44 (0)1635 821420 GSM: +44 (0)7785 300290 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
Philip Stubbs wrote: > Hi, > > With the recent proliferation of netbooks, it seems strange to me that > they seem to have such a short life on batteries. For something that > is designed to be used on the move, I would want it to work all day. > > In fact, my wife has a very good use for such a device, but it would > only be really useful if it had at least a six hour life. All my wife > wants to do is take notes. However changing batteries multiple times, > is really not ideal. > > Does anybody know of a netbook style device that can operate for this > sort of time? It only really needs a to be just big enough to have a > reasonable size keyboard to make it useful. > I sold my eeePC 701 and bought a 901. I don't use it "all" day, but I never bother taking the power adaptor with me. Officially rated at 7+ hours, but I expect 5+ being more realistic, particularly when you include running WIFI, Bluetooth, and/or an HSDPA modem -- Life is too short. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 12:18:01AM +, Philip Stubbs wrote: > With the recent proliferation of netbooks, it seems strange to me that > they seem to have such a short life on batteries. For something that > is designed to be used on the move, I would want it to work all day. > > In fact, my wife has a very good use for such a device, but it would > only be really useful if it had at least a six hour life. All my wife > wants to do is take notes. However changing batteries multiple times, > is really not ideal. > > Does anybody know of a netbook style device that can operate for this > sort of time? It only really needs a to be just big enough to have a > reasonable size keyboard to make it useful. For about 4 years, I've had a normal laptop (ASUS M3000 -- 14" screen) with a secondary battery in the CD drive bay. When it was new, it did 7.5 hours with both batteries in. Even now, 4 years on, it'll do 4 hours, more if the screen brightness is cranked down. Come to think of it, my dirty great 15" widescreen Dell managed up to 6.5 hours with a secondary battery in it. With a third battery (a main one), I could do a full day's work at a conference -- 10 hours or so. In my opinion, the solution is to get a machine with a swappable drive bay and a spare battery to go in it. If you can stand to get one of the large extended-life batteries that sticks out of the main battery bay, do that, too. Small, dim screens also save lots of power, and I'd recommend getting something with Intel graphics rather than nVidia or ATi graphics, as it appears that neither ATi nor nVidia have particularly good power saving on their chips -- even the mobile ones. Hugo. -- === Hugo Mills: [EMAIL PROTECTED] carfax.org.uk | darksatanic.net | lug.org.uk === PGP key: 515C238D from wwwkeys.eu.pgp.net or http://www.carfax.org.uk --- Great oxymorons of the world, no. 5: Manifesto Promise --- signature.asc Description: Digital signature -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Long Life Netbook style device
Hi, With the recent proliferation of netbooks, it seems strange to me that they seem to have such a short life on batteries. For something that is designed to be used on the move, I would want it to work all day. In fact, my wife has a very good use for such a device, but it would only be really useful if it had at least a six hour life. All my wife wants to do is take notes. However changing batteries multiple times, is really not ideal. Does anybody know of a netbook style device that can operate for this sort of time? It only really needs a to be just big enough to have a reasonable size keyboard to make it useful. -- Philip Stubbs -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
