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Sadly, yes. I got an Eeepc linux version, but the default linux was so bad and restrictive it was painful to use it. And I couldn't get the wireless to work on Ubuntu mixed and unmixed and some other version.

http://www.array.org/ubuntu/

Get the kernel from them and every flavour of Ubuntu will work fine.
I myself use Crunchbang Linux EEEPC version, but before that I used the kernel from array with Xubuntu. That worked flawlessly

While the device support requirements are a bit different from the old 701 I'm running to the more recent Eee's, all will run Ubuntu's variants fine if you install with the customized kernel from array.org. I'm very happy with Xubuntu. Keep in mind that if you boot with a stock kernel, you won't have wireless working - so at a cat5 cable ready if you get stuck at that stage before the array.org kernel's installed.

There are various enhancements out there for particular models that will give you better support and displays for the function keys, that you can find by checking at eeeuser.com. But you should have a usable system with a stock Ubuntu + array.org kernel.

Also, why did you go with an Eee Ubuntu and not Xubuntu ... which I guess would be more widely supported?

Actually I did on my 901. That went perfect. I followed the very simple instructions at http://www.array.org/ubuntu/ It took the installation of one .deb, a reboot and wireless, sound, bluetooth and wifi were all working. Afterwards just added the array.orgs repository, installed the extra scripts through that repository and even the Fn keys and special keys in the laptop worked perfectly.

This weekend I however installed the eeepc version of http://crunchbanglinux.org/wiki/release-notes/8.10.02#cruncheee_eee_pc_edition To me that's even better. Everything works out of the box and you can use the Ubuntu repositories for nearly everything you may want to install later. It responds really well. I even watch divx in the train, with the eeepc on powersave mode. They do use openbox which I have quite some experience in and really like. But if you like Vista you probably don't like openbox.
Only downside to me is the interface, which in my view is a little to dark.

For anyone interested, here's the patch that fixes WPA/WPA2 on 2.6.29-rc6... but it will work on 2.6.28 and later.

http://git.array.org/?p=kernel/stable/linux-2.6-stable.git;a=commit;h=ee8834f5551943b7bd2db49bbad9ba3c24ce6f67

(pending upstream inclusion)

Here's the rule of thumb I've followed... however I've only tested this with the Linux version. (I wasn't aware that Windows EeePC 901s use Atheros)

EeePC ==701SD: Realtek Wifi
EeePC <900A: Atheros Wifi
EeePC >=901: RaLink Wifi

As a result, the modules, depending on the version of Linux you're using varies.

Atheros Wifi on <=2.6.24: ath_pci (madwifi) external driver
Atheros Wifi on >=2.6.26: ath5k internal driver
RaLink Wifi on < 2.6.28: rt2860sta external driver
RaLink Wifi on > 2.6.28: rt2860sta internal driver*
Realtek Wifi on < 2.6.28: rtl8187se external driver
Realtek Wifi on > 2.6.29: rtl8187se internal driver

* Heres the crux, as of 2.6.28, the rt2860sta internal driver uses version 1.8.0.0, but this version has broken WPA/WPA2 support. If you somehow ended up with 1.7.0.0, it too has broken WPA/WPA2 support.

However, rt2860sta v1.7.1.1 appears to be good.

I've been working on porting the changes introduced in v1.7.1.1 into v1.8.x.x for 2.6.29. So far it works for me, but I still need to submit this as a patch into the kernel:

http://git.array.org/?p=kernel/stable/linux-2.6-stable.git;a=commit;h=ee8834f5551943b7bd2db49bbad9ba3c24ce6f67

I am currently composing this on an Eee901 with Intrepid. On the #ubuntu channel at irc.freenode.net, they told me to add the repository for Ubuntu Eee which essentially only offers an Eee kernel and modules (with all the proprietary drivers -- yes, I know, yuck, but they are supposed to be replaced with Free Software soon).

The repo is:

deb http://www.array.org/ubuntu intrepid eeepc

Everything works, and you do not have to deal with that silly Ubuntu mobile interface. If you download EeeControl from the standard Ubuntu repos, you will be able to switch on and off the Wifi, Bluetooth, camera, and SD card reader. You will also be able to set the processor as with Asus' "super hybrid engine".

I have been using this setup for more than two months and find it is very responsive. It is easy to set up, too. Just make sure you always keep Grub pointing to the Eee kernel.

On my eeePC 901, I'm using the standard Ubuntu 8.10 install and then using a wired connection I have installed Adamm's kernel which fixes all the hardware issues. The instructions are simple to follow and are available at http://array.org/ubuntu/ (if you can use apt-get you can follow these instructions).

I understand it works out of the box for the original Eee, but for the 901 - and presumably the closely related 1000 - neither wired nor wireless networking work. You'll need to install a custom kernel to get those going. Otherwise, everything's fine here.

I use standard Ubuntu Intrepid, with this custom kernel http://www.array.org/ubuntu/setup.html which was really easy to setup, and works like a charm! There is also an ACPI script which gives all the extra buttons on the EEE something useful to do. I've been running it since Intrepid was released, and prior to that I used Hardy. Neither have given me any problems.

On my EEEPC 901, I installed stock Ubuntu 8.04 from a USB flash drive using UNetbootin, then added the array.org kernel (http://www.array.org/ubuntu/index.html). All hardware works, including accelerated video, wireless, etc.

Ubuntu 8.10 on the same netbook was horribly slow.

I'm the same, I've got Xubuntu and compiz running and it's perfect, get some minimal window decorations and you're sorted.

Just do a standard installation, then head over to http://www.array.org/ and follow the instructions to install the kernel which will get your wireless and hotkeys working.

http://www.eeeuser.com/ is an excellent forum if you have any more questions. There are a few threads there that have step by step guides to installing and configuring Xubuntu, but there really isn't much to it beyond getting a custom kernel.

The EeePC uses some weird hardware that isn't supported out-of-the-box by most distros. So you can install, say, Ubuntu on it, but you'll find things like wifi just don't work.

For now you can solve these problems by using a customized kernel for EeePCs and some other hacks, but it's a pain to figure out which hacks you need for your model. (It took me about a week to get Ubuntu fully functional on my EeePC 1000.)

Eventually all these customizations will probably find their way into the mainline distros, which will make things easier. But the EeePC has only been out for about a year, and these things take time.

This should fix most of your problems. It got Hardy working great for me on an Eee 1000.

Using the kernel from http://www.array.org/ubuntu/ gives you wireless on eeePCs.

The Eee wireless works fine if you get the customized kernel from here. It handles WPA very well.