Hello Eee PC World!

Welcome to My Eee PC site ! The main reason for this site is to give other Eee PC users access to some of the sites and resources I have found for the “E” and hopefully find a few myself. The Eee PC has become the sole computer that I use to contribute to all the social media sites and is part of my ongoing experiment with the social networking culture. All the posts, pictures and edits that are featured on this site and others will be done on my reasonably stock black 4 GB Eee PC. The only tinkering I’ve done under the hood is add a 1 GB ram stick and shoved in a 8 GB SD card. So, keep checking back as I continue to add my impressions of the Eee PC and links to useful resources. Don’t be shy, if you know of anyone (possibly you) who is an Eee Pc aficionado that I should follow or have a great link I missed, please drop me a comment or “follow” me on identi.ca or twitter

5 Things a Netbook Needs

I was reading the post “Five Things That Netbooks Need Now” on Wired Blog Network and felt that we were headed in the wrong direction with this niche product. A little proactive disclosure here, I have and use an Eee Pc, and love it. Does the Eee have flaws, yes. I’m happy to over look them because it’s cheap and fun. As a RGB (realistic gadget buyer) I can justify the purchase if we’re looking 300$ or less, no steak today kids, daddy’s got a new toy. But seriously most consumers can’t fork out big bucks for a niche machine, they have responsibilities and bills to pay (gas to buy), so I’ve made my own list of the 5 things a netbook needs;

1. They need to be cheap (real people cheap)300$ or less, if you want to tap into the RGB market out there keep it cheap,
2. They need to be easy to use and should work right out of the box. You shouldn’t have to load, fiddle, swear or tweak software and hardware to make it work. It should come with everything you need pre-loaded to make it your social media machine,
3. They need a webcam that works with all social video sites. It should be setup to work with all the current video blogging sites. Why else is a webcam installed if not to make a fool of yourself on 12seconds.tv, use skype or post a story to current.com?,
4. They need 4+hrs battery life, longer the better but don’t jack the price just to give me 30 more mins. I can plug it in and will for 100 bucks, remember the golden # 1 rule and
5. They need to be cool, versatile and open source, by all means stick all the features you can in it but remember conform to rule 1

Well there you are (drum roll please) my 5 things a Netbook needs, typed and posted via my Eee PC
cheers,

637.20.09.08

Social Media Machine

I’ve had my Eee PC for about a month now and it has evolved from a cool piece a kit into my full time social media machine. It allows me to easily update my blogs, send random “dent” on Identi.ca, and post videos to 12 seconds.tv, phreadz.com and seesmic.com from anywhere there’s a wifi connection. I guess the evolution of my use of the Eee PC has mirrored my path into the social media culture.

While I have used the internet since the early 90’s I’ve pretty much stayed with email and more tradition web usage. I didn’t see the purpose or necessity behind many of the emergent social media environments. That all changed in early 08 when I started researching for a paper entitled “the Internet a Terrorist Force Multiplier” while admittedly not the cheeriest topic, it did lead me into the use of social networks and “new” media. I joined a bunch of different social media sites started a couple of blogs and tried out microblogging. While the paper has long since been written, marked and forgotten, my experiments with social media have continued, taking on a life of their own. I’ve come away with a greater understanding of internet culture, social media and the hype that accompanies it.

I’ve watched a beta be hijacked and environment poisoned by a few early adopters who refused to change and allow new users to offer criticism. I watched he birth of a opensource microblogging service at Identi.ca, driven by the energy and passion of Evan Prodromou. Evan’s energy and enthusiasm was infectious enough to prompt me (an old jaded guy) to offer my limited skill and time to help out with his project. I’ve played with what might be the next big thing, the raw in your face video shorts of 12seconds.tv.

I think the energy and conciseness that goes into a 140 character or 12 second post is one of things that drives my continued interest in some forms of social media. I don’t believe social media will save your business or help you find the meaning of the universe, no matter what the social media guru’s tell you. But with care and the right chemistry these sites evolve and form communities of people who begin to network with other social media communities.

The use of proprietary software stops this interaction, builds walls around the communities, stifling growth. Just like email, you should to be able to share content across all social media platforms regardless if it is voice, video, location or text based. It is this openness, the ability to span all media and platforms that will be the enabler that will drive the evolution of social media to the next level.

But to return to my Eee PC, the reason that it has become my social media machine is it simplicity, portability and speed at which I can get on line and make a post. It becomes almost transparent to the process, it allows spontaneity and still leaves room on the cafe table for my coffee.

Not so Social Webcam: REDUX

In my last post I lamented that the only thing missing from my Eee PC experience was the ability to post video to sites like phreadz.com and others. Then I stumbled on the Wayne D’s blog, via a helpful hint from a user on Phreadz.com. Wayne gives a step by step installation of the new flash 10 software for linux and volia I’m posting to Phreadz and 12 seconds in no time. Now my little 701 is a complete social media platform to travel with. Flash 10 works very well, it still needs some prompting occasionally but I believe it is still in beta. I’ve used the flash 10 update for 2 days now and have had no major issues that were not solved by closing and restarting the browser. I have to also commend Wayne D for making the instructions simple enough that even I could follow them. If you have an Eee PC you owe to your self to go check out Wayne D’s blog for the flash 10 update.

enjoy

680.30.08.08

Not so Social Webcam

I’ve had a lot fun with the integrated webcam that comes with the Eee PC, recorded some video and took a few pictures. The little webcam even works great with skype @ (mercer.r) that comes with the Eee PC. Where the webcam and software combination fall short is when you try and use it with some of the social video sites like seesmic and 12seconds.tv. The social video sites just don’t recognized that there is a webcam installed. I believe that it has something to do with the OGG format that video is saved in with the Linux versions of the Eee PC. On the bright side 12seconds.tv, claim they plan to support for Eee pc. If this hurdle can be over come and the webcam seamlessly integrates with the major social video sites then the E will be the perfect new media platform. I have been using video conversion web sites to convert the video clips before posting, but that is not a viable long term solution. You would think with the amount E’s out there in the hands of potential users, social video sites would be taking notice and working towards supporting the Eee PC’s like skype has. Even with this flaw I still love using my Eee PC, all Eee pc users need to push some of the social media sites to support the E’s in their native video format.

My Eee PC

I bought myself a ASUS 4 GB 701 Eee PC a few weeks ago and I can honestly say I got my money’s worth and more. I almost use it exclusively for my web travels, replying to email, updating identi.ca and my twine site on Eee PC tips and information, only pulling out my laptop for larger jobs. It has a slick interface provide by Xandros OS and works in two flavours, “easy” which is an icon based tab screen setup and the tradition Linux presentation, they call advanced. I use both, but more and more I find myself staying with the easy screens, it’s just quicker and well easier. The WiFi hook up is painless (a lot easier than my Vista machine) and has a great range, again better than my current laptop. The web cam works quite well, as do the speakers when I surf over to last.fm. It has some quirks the screen and keyboard are small, but larger than most phones. But if you’re looking for a really portable laptop for email, micro-blogging and web reviews this is it. For an in-depth review of all the features check out this link. I just think it’s cool to put your laptop on the table at the café and still have room for the coffee. Best of all I got it on sale and it fits easily in my Vstar’s saddlebags.

653.30.07.08