Get the latest Age of Conan news and views at Massively!
AOL Tech
Posts with tag Asus

Splashtop Linux interface coming soon to every Asus motherboard

Splashtop

Want an instant-on PC? Good luck with that. But just because it takes 2 minutes to boot up your desktop doesn't mean that you can't start surfing the web within a few seconds of hitting the power button. Last year Asus began adding the Splashtop embedded Linux operating system to some of its high end motherboards. The OS boots almost instantly, and lets you access a handful of applications like Firefox and Skype without waiting for Windows, Ubuntu, or another full desktop environment to load.

Now DeviceVM, the company behind Splashtop, says Asus has committed to adding the software to every Asus motherboard, which means the company will be putting out 1 million motherboards a month with the Splashtop interface. The companies won't be going all out right away. But Asus has already brought its number of motherboard models with Splashtop up to 12 by adding the software to its new P5Q line.

[via Engadget and Geek]

Up close with the Eee PC user interface - part 1


November 1st has come and gone, and that means that Asus has begun shipping the Eee PC, a $399 ultra-light laptop that could give both the OLPC and major laptop makers a run for their money.

We're going to focus primarily on the software side of things, but in a nutshell, the first widely available model packs a 900MHz processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of solid state memory. It weighs just 2.1 pounds, has a 3.5 hour battery, and a tiny power adapter, making it a perfect machine for stuffing in your bag whenever you leave the house. But it also has a tiny 7 inch 800 x 480 pixel display, which can cause some problems with certain web sites and applications.

For example, Google Reader is almost unreadable in Firefox unless you do a little tweaking. F11 is your friend. Other friends include fullscreen add-ons like FullerScreen and Autohide. We've posted a few photos after the jump to show what a big difference a little Firefox tweaking can make.

Asus has done an excellent job of designing software that makes the hardware as easy to use as possible. The Eee PC runs a custom version of Xandros Linux. The operating system and preloaded applications take up a good 62% of the unit's memory, but you probably weren't going to use the Eee PC for downloading and storing huge video files anyway.

The interface almost looks more like a PDA UI than a computer. There's no start menu. There are tabs with different categories. And you often don't even see an application's full name. For example, to bring up Firefox, you click "Web." But unlike a PDA, the Eee PC can run full desktop applications like Firefox, OpenOffice.org, and Amarok.

Make sure to check out part one of our video series on the Eee PC too.

Continue reading Up close with the Eee PC user interface - part 1

A look at the Eee PC's custom Linux interface

Eee PCAsus is set to launch the tiny Eee PC in the US this week. While the US version will cost about twice the $199 price that Asus teased us with this summer, the Eee PC is a full fledged computer in a 2 pound package for under $400, and that's pretty impressive.

What's also impressive is the custom Linux interface Asus threw together to make the Eee PC as useful as possible. Since the machine has a 900MHz celeron processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of solid state memory, it's capable of running Windows, Linux, or pretty much any other operating system you'd care to install. But out of the box, the Eee PC includes a custom version of Xandros Linux that's meant to take the pain out of Linux for novice users.

In fact, it's probable that many customers will never know that the Eee PC runs Linux at all. EeeUser has put together a thorough review of the operating system. In a nutshell:
  • The Eee PC starts up and shuts down faster than almost any other computer you've ever used.
  • Programs are grouped into tabbed categories: Internet, Work, Learn, Play, Settings, Favorites, and Help.
  • The Internet tab lets you open the Firefox Web browser, connect to your web mail service of choice, use Pidgin for chatting, and Skype for VoIP calls.
  • The Work tab lets you use Open Office, Kcalc, Adobe Reader, KDE Personal Information manager, and Thunderbird.
  • The Play tab includes a few games like Solitare, Soduku, and Penguin Race, as well as SMPlayer media player, a music jukebox, Photo Manager, and Video Manager application
There's also an add/remove programs feature, but there aren't a ton of extra applications available at the moment. Since the Eee PC interface is built on top of Xandros, you could probably add some repositories and install a whole slew of applications on the computer. But part of the beauty of this $400 laptop is that it works out of the box. While it certainly presents a lot of tinkering potential, it's designed for ease of use. And installing unsupported applications can lead to all sorts of problems if you're not already a Linux guru.

Update: jkOnTheRun turned us onto a great website showing off the Eee PC user interface. It's really just a series of interactive screenshots, not an emulator. But it should give you a sense of the EeePC layout.

[via Asus Eee PC Hacks]

Download Squad Features


Geeking out on the squadcast. Tune in and then tune out.

View Posts By

  • Windows Only
  • Mac Only
  • Linux Only
Categories
Audio (829)
Beta (325)
Blogging (685)
Browsers (18)
Business (1361)
Design (803)
Developer (925)
E-mail (510)
Finance (127)
Fun (1733)
Games (544)
Internet (4751)
Kids (129)
Office (490)
OS Updates (574)
P2P (175)
Photo (457)
Podcasting (167)
Productivity (1298)
Search (245)
Security (530)
Social Software (1081)
Text (436)
Troubleshooting (51)
Utilities (1893)
Video (1009)
VoIP (138)
web 2.0 (727)
Web services (3309)
Companies
Adobe (182)
AOL (48)
Apache Foundation (1)
Apple (466)
Canonical (35)
Google (1296)
IBM (28)
Microsoft (1304)
Mozilla (455)
Novell (19)
OpenOffice.org (43)
PalmSource (11)
Red Hat (17)
Symantec (14)
Yahoo! (350)
License
Commercial (667)
Shareware (193)
Freeware (1939)
Open Source (894)
Misc
Podcasts (13)
Features (380)
Hardware (167)
News (1107)
Holiday Gift Guide (15)
Platforms
Windows (3565)
Windows Mobile (420)
BlackBerry (44)
Macintosh (2047)
iPhone (82)
Linux (1568)
Unix (78)
Palm (176)
Symbian (121)
Columns
Ask DLS (10)
Analysis (24)
Browser Tips (293)
DLS Podcast (5)
Googleholic (195)
How-Tos (97)
DLS Interviews (19)
Design Tips (14)
Mobile Minute (124)
Mods (68)
Time-Wasters (374)
Weekend Review (37)
Imaging Tips (32)

RESOURCES

RSS NEWSFEEDS

Powered by Blogsmith

Sponsored Links

Advertise with Download Squad

Most Commented On (60 days)

Recent Comments

Urlesque Headlines

BloggingStocks Tech Coverage

More from AOL Money and Finance

More Tech Coverage

Weblogs, Inc. Network

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: