[CALUG] My EeePC 1000 Review

[David A.Cafaro]

Hi Rajiv,

Thank you for your comments, I'll address them inline below:

On Aug 13, 2008, at 6:43 AM, Rajiv Gunja wrote:
> David,
>
> I applaud you for sharing your experience with EEEPC with us, but I  
> have to say couple of things that are wrong with your outlook:
>
> 1. EEEPC is not a desktop/laptop replacement, it is for a traveler  
> who wants to browse the internet, download some pictures from the  
> camera and may be use skype or IM to talk. That is the reason why it  
> has such a slow CPU.

Actually, I don't think it has a slow CPU, not sure where I gave that  
impression.  I was very impressed with it and think it's more than  
enough to handle the kind of tasks I expect my use to require.  As  
mentioned, it's a big upgrade from my older sub-notebook's Efficeon  
processor.

>
>
> 2. Replacing Xandros (built for this hardware) by Full/modified  
> Fedora or Ubuntu is an overkill on the hardware and a bad choice.  
> Why in the world would you kill a small hardware with such a bloated  
> software? Its like trying to fit an elephant into a car.

Actually I've heard very good things about both Fedora and Ubuntu on  
EeePC.  The software is only bloated if you choose to leave it as a  
default install.  For my needs it will most likely better suit me, and  
I have no doubts this hardware will have no issue handling it.

>
>
> I have used the EEEPC 701 for a few days, but had to give it up as  
> it did not serve my purpose. But it serves the purpose of a  
> computing platform when traveling and it should stop at that (not  
> meant for day to day computing).

I would like to point out that the 701 and the 1000 are very different  
machines.  I did not get a 701 as I knew it would never meet my  
needs.  I waited for the much faster cpu, larger ram, storage and  
screen of the 1000.  The 1000 is a netbook on the verge of a sub- 
notebook (if not already there).  Compared to my old Sharp MM20, it's  
a screamer, and will be the perfect companion on the road when away  
from my workstations or my full notebook (Macbook Pro).

>
> If you know your security, then you should know that by turning off  
> Samba, Print sharing, NFS, you would have in effect turned off the  
> so called bad services, which is what a Firewall does.

Yes, and I mentioned that shutting down those processes as well as the  
host.deny/allow files as ways to contain the issue.  But in the  
context of the EeePC and it's standard OS, I have found no way to  
disable these services via the GUI tools and yet they are on by default.

Also, a nit-picky point on my part, a firewall doesn't turn off a  
service it just restricts access to a service as you see fit, it also  
covers changes that may occur without your knowledge (service being re- 
enabled). ;-)

>
> So it is not really a question of Firewall not being there or  
> services being turned on, but the question of what distribution  
> "you" like, so your whole point about changing the OS. If you ask  
> me, once you install the default Fedora or Ubuntu, you will see lot  
> more services than the 4 you have mentioned running and you will  
> have to turn then off on those distributions too.

Yes, that's exactly what I plan on doing, plus a firewall for those  
services I may want running, but restricted in some manner.

>
> Trying to extract / compare EEEPC with a normal desktop / laptop is  
> not doing the product justice. Its like expecting Elevator qualities  
> from a Ski lift.

And that wasn't the purpose of the review.  I'm looking at is solely  
as a netbook possibly a sub-notebook given the hardware specs.

>
> My intention was not to attack your comments but over the years I  
> have read so many reviews on different distributions where the  
> reviewer has some notions in mind and wants something out of a  
> product which it is not meant for and it just annoys me to no end.

No problem, and no offense taken.   I do think you missed the theme  
and my points though, you may have been a little to quick to assume I  
was comparing it to something else.  The review was based on what the  
EeePC is supposed to be (a Netbook) and what it provides to the user.   
In solely this light it performs wonderfully, is very well spec'd and  
the software is very functional.  I thought it was a very nice setup,  
and I wrote as much.

But, given what this netbook is designed to be (a portable travel  
companion for quick net access in coffee shops and other wireless  
zones, etc..) it has some very worrying security issues.  Since it's  
likely to connect to "hostile" networks (you SHOULD consider an open  
coffee shop network hostile), it should NOT have default services  
running and lack a firewall.  It should also provide a user some way  
to disable those services through it's interface.  This problem is  
more an issue given that some software updates seem to be broken, and  
they haven't addressed it yet after several weeks.

I would love to keep the default Xandros install as it's extremely  
functional, but the security issues are just to big an issue for me.   
So I will take my chance and run an alternative distro.  It will be  
more work, but in the end It will suit my needs better.  And yes, I'll  
be writing up a how-to once I do, and a review of how well it does or  
doesn't work, but that will stress that it's not the way it was  
originally designed to work.

Cheers,
David

>
>
> -GGR
> Rajiv G Gunja
>