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Eee Keyboard Details Released
Details on the new Eee keyboard, previously held secret during the FCC filing, have now been made available. You can now take a look at the innards and a full spec sheet detailing exactly what is being promised. "Beneath the 5-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touch panel (with stylus) we'll be getting Windows XP Home running on an Intel Atom N270, 945GSE / ICH7-M chipset with Broadcom AV-VD905 video decoder, 1GB of DDR2 memory, either 16GB or 32GB of flash storage, 4-hour battery, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI and VGA outputs, integrated stereo speakers and mic, 3x USB, headphone and mic jacks, and external WiFi / UWB antenna. The Eee Keyboard's on-board Ultra-Wideband (UWB) throws 720p content to your TV within a 5-meter range (10-meters for non-video transmissions) via a UWB receiver packing 2x USB ports, another mini-USB port, audio out, and HDMI."
Yep. Asus brought Linux into the mainstream with the Eee 70x series 'netbooks' (as much as I hate that term, 'tiny laptop' is better) and promptly stabbed it in the back.
Does this remind anyone of the Shadowrunner decks?
Maybe if I get this, Vuzix Wrap Eyewear, a neon green mohawk, and leather jacket I can start calling myself a "Decker" ;)
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
How hard would it be to build a cheaper version to teach kids programming?
6? Maybe 7? I don't know, what scale are we using?
"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
My very first computer was a TRS-80 Color Computer 2. It was basically a computer in a keyboard that I connected to the TV. Now, decades later, I will soon be able to buy a computer built into a keyboard that will display on my TV.
"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV)
Of course, if this can handle "HD" YouTube, Netflix streaming, and other online sources, it might actually be worth looking into as an alternative to building my own low-power box for the TV. At least worth keeping an eye open, I suppose.
Not quite. There is a tiny niche product called a laptop that not only combines keyboard and computer in one, but the display too. Really poor design.
I prefer rogues to imbeciles because they sometimes take a rest.
Sorry, my creativity is running a little dry here. Why would I want this? Is the idea to keep this by the couch and use it as my living room computer, and run video off it to my TV wirelessly with UWB?
Just the other day there was a story about how MS was refusing to patch a vulnerability in XP's ssh implementation (ISTR it was particularly bad for paypal users). Plus we've all heard the crowing about 7 being good to go on netbooks (though as someone who's been testing the RC for work, I do find that one a bit hard to believe -- it's still bloaty and takes more resources than the average netbook can provide). Yet MS is going to continue to push XP for the EEE? I'm confused... Is this their acknowledgement that win7 is not fit for netbooks? Then shouldn't they be patching the problems in XP, if they're going to keep pushing it?
Caveat Utilitor
The computer should just be a small non-descript box in the entertainment center rack. The keyboard/touchpad should operate without cables, on commodity AA rechargeable batteries. I know this thing has some wireless capabilities but the ports on there are pretty useless to me. Put the expensive stuff in the rack, and let me have a cheap disposable keyboard/pointer on the table where it's likely to have beer or coffee spilled on it from guests.
I suck on the bare USB cable for text input.
There is even a linux driver for me in recent kernels.
Would it have been better if they had just not bothered with Linux at all?
Seriously, all you people do is whine.
Completely untrue. Sure, some of us are whiny, but a good percentage are also bitter and vengeful.
Would it have been better if they had just not bothered with Linux at all?
Seriously, all you people do is whine.
I am posting anonumously to preserve my spent mod points in this article. Why is this a troll? It is a valid question. Asus tried with Linux and the hand of MS smacked them across the face for it and they relented. Do they not deserve some praise or at the very least some sort of acknowledgement that they even tried to begin with? I am sure Asus would be happy to continue to sell the Linux versions because there is a customer base with demand and very little cost to Asus to meet that demand. You all make it sound like Asus did this because they were playing a sick joke on everyone.
Correction: this is built for people who use the touchpad with their right hand. (I am right handed, but I mouse on the left, so I can keep my right hand on the keyboard. Or penis, depending on the situation.)
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
Well, there was that trade show where the CEO was singing the praises of the eeepc with linux in the morning, had lunch with some MS people, and then apologisedto the audience and press for selling pre-installed linux machines instead of XP. Whatever happened in that meeting was enough for a CEO to publicly embarrass himself so you can bet that it's a policy handed directly from the top to not have linux on these things for as long as whatever promises, threats or inducements hold.
It's a pity because while people complain about the distro (xandros) it was actually set up with a very good interface for people that are not very familiar with computers.
So write the code yourself OSS boy. Mr. XP
Hi, Mr Troll.
Thanks, but I already have. Need anything else?