eeePC 900HD Desktop Screenshot

In the past, I looked at the Toshiba Libretto series, but these were too limited in specifications, and also at the Sony UX series, but these were too expensive. When the eeePC’s were announced with the low price and still decent specifications, they have been on my wish-list ever since. So, a few weeks ago, I spend some time looking at the various models, and to get an idea of the sizes, I visited the local computer store. The 900HD was on special, so I picked that one.

The specs are quite limited, especially the processor (900Mhz Intel Celeron) , but with some tweaks, I managed to get it running smoothly.

So, why do I need it?

You never “need” another computer. With my work with DVD Catalyst, I always “need” new toys, and the eeePC is no different. Right now its sitting next to an 13” Macbook and a 17” Dell laptop, so why would I need 3 laptops? The Dell and the Macbook are both used for development and testing. Usually one is running conversions, while the other is used for the rest of the work. The Macbook runs Windows Vista Ultimate (bootcamp) which is my main development platform. The Dell runs Windows XP Media Center, and besides TV recording tests, DVD and video conversion test, it’s the only machine I have that is capable of running “Fallout 3”.

As for the eeePC, its main use for me is portability. A few years ago, I only had the 17” Dell, and when my wife was in the hospital for a procedure, it was quite annoying to carry it with me every day. I stayed overnight with her, but had to go back home to feed the cats, shower, laundry etc. When I got the Macbook, this became easier, but again it was a little bit to carry around. The eeePC, and especially the 900-series (the 1000-series would defeat the purpose because it would be close to the size of the Macbook), is a lot easier to carry around. It would actually fit in my coat-pocket.

So, after two weeks of eeePC, what have I used it for so far?

The main use has been to check emails while watching TV at night. I use GMAIL, and a few Google Labs additions to handle my email. When someone purchases DVD Catalyst through the Paypal button on the Tools4Movies website, I use something called “Canned Responses”. It basically allows me to send a draft email as a reply, and I can keep sending this response over and over. Before the eeePC I used my iPod Touch to check emails, but for some reason, Canned Responses does not work, so whenever I had to use it, I had to go to a laptop, and send the response from there. With the eeePC, I can do it right away.

Besides the email-use, I have used the eeePC to watch a movie, while the wife was watching her own shows. Again, I used to do this with the iPod Touch, but the bigger screen just makes it a bit more comfortable. The thing I did not like was that the battery of the 900HD is not big enough to handle a 2 ½ hour movie.

Ofcourse, I have installed my development tools on the eeePC as well. The main reason why I wanted a small PC was so I could work wherever I wanted, and while the screen size is a limitation, the eee has assisted me already in troubleshooting some bugs with DVD Catalyst. For giggles, I installed DVD Catalyst 3.80 on it when I got it out of the box, and right away I ran into a minor problem with the output folder. On my other machines I did not experience this issue, but on the eee, it allowed me to figure out what was happening, and what I needed to do to fix it. In addition, running conversions on it actually exceeded my expectations. It’s not something I would recommend, but in lack of better options, it is good to know it actually does have a little bit of power to do it.

So, what do I have running on it?

Delphi 7. The development application used for DVD Catalyst

iTunes. Because I converted most of my collection for my iPod Touch.

Mozilla Firefox. I use Firefox for all my internet browsing, and by copying my profile over, I have it setup the same on all my systems.

LocationFree Player. I have a Sony LocationFree base station connected to my TiVo, and with the software, I can watch my TiVo from any location with internet access. I did not expect this to work properly because the video format used (H264/AVC) for it is quite processor-demanding, but it actually works really good.

Pocket Tanks. Classic artillery game, the best of it’s kind, and highly addictive.

Plants vs Zombies. The new Bejeweled/Peggle game from Popcap. Again, highly addictive.

Of course there is a bunch of other stuff on there, but the above is the main part of it.

First thing I did when I got it was replacing the harddisk. I had a 200GB 7200RPM harddisk as a spare, and decided that the 160GB 5400RPM harddisk would make a better spare, and that the faster harddisk would be better. Honestly, I have not seen much of a performance difference. As a test, I used the harddisk from the eeePC in my Dell, and Fallout 3 runs nice from it.

I played around with upgrading the memory, but with more memory I did not notice much performance gain either. Because I make use of the Hibernate feature, which writes the memory to disk, 2GB would actually slow things down for me.

I did a clean restore from the Asus DVD, which unfortunately is a Ghost image, and not an actual Windows XP install, and removed almost all the extra software that was installed. An old version of Adobe Reader, Skype etc. Then I installed Office 2007 on it, and did all the Windows Updates (it comes with ServicePack 2). Stuck AVG Free on it, and installed my own software needs. Then I did some tweaks by disabling services, restore, and a couple of registry hacks to boost performance. Tweaked Firefox to use the memory instead of the harddisk for cache, and as a last trick, I installed the “XP Royale” theme to make it look a bit nicer. The Royale Theme is an official Microsoft Theme for Windows XP that resembles the one used in Media Center.

And this is about it for 2 weeks of eeePC ownership.

I’ve been eyeballing these since they were first released, but with the struggles the last year with the website and stuff, I never managed to get to it. Finally friday I picked one up at the local store for $250. Cheap, but it does the job.

It’s main use is for me to be able to quickly answer support emails when I am not working. I used to use my iPod Touch for this, but with some features I use with Gmail (”canned responses”, for people who purchase with Paypal) the browser on the iPod Touch just doesnt work. I tried numerous things, including running “desktop mode” but it is just not supported on the iPod.

So, with a PC, small, but still running a full-blown windows-version, I can do what I need to do.

I chose the 8.9″” version mainly or its size. I use a 13″ macbook for development, next to a 17″ dell e1705, and both are a bit too big to lug around for appointments. For longer use, the eeePC is a bit too small for typing comfortably, but for something quick, it works just great.

I’m not too happy about the processor, a celeron 900mhz, but I guess I just have to accept the fact that I will not be using the eee as aditional conversion machine. It does convert better than expected though.

Ofcourse I already tried a few things with it that it is not intended for, but I will go into that with a later post.

What is LocationFree?

Sony’s LocationFree system is often compared to Slingbox. Both systems work as a box that sits between your TV signal and the internet. It enables you to watch the content of the connected device, it being either a DVR (Tivo), a Satellite receiver or a DVD player, and control it over an internet connection.

A couple of years ago, when I still used a PSP for video playback on the go, I stumbled upon information about LocationFree. The PSP has this feature build-in, and after doing some research to find out what it was, I decided to see what it was all about, and ordered a Base Station from eBay. The hookup was fairly simple. The LFB-20, the base station I have, features 2 RCA input connections, enabling it to connect 2 devices at once, and includes ports for IR-Blaster for each of the connections to be able to provide access to the functions of the device.

How do I use it?

The setup changed a bit throughout the years, It had our 2 Tivo’s (Series2) connected to it for a while, but currently, it’s hooked to just 1 Tivo (mine). I have given a friend of mine, located overseas, full access to it, to watch certain Sports that he could otherwise not watch. With the Tivo connected to it, the timezone difference is a non-issue, and because I don’t use the Tivo myself that much when I am home, he can record and watch all the shows he wants. For me, I use it whenever I am “stuck” in a location for a while, and do not have anything else to do. When my wife was in the hospital, we used it to catch up on some shows we missed, and she was also quite happy in being able to watch her favorite channels that the hospital TV ystem did not have. It takes a little while to get used to the few seconds of lag when skipping through the commercials, but all in all, it has proven to be very useful. Once everything is setup, it just works. Quality of the video is great, thanks to the use of the AVC format, and with the capability to actually change channels, it provides a perfect viewing experience for any location where you have internet access.