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Connected Blog

Connected Live Video 010: Easy EeePC

Ewan McIntoshNovember 22nd, 2007

Asus EeePCThe Asus EeePC is a tiny, open source and highly affordable wireless laptop computer, no bigger than a paperback, which could open new possibilities for learning in Scottish classrooms.

Andrew Brown, one of Learning and Teaching Scotland new technologies team, has already blogged about the potential of the wee EeePC, and here takes us on a tour of this brilliant new machine. You can also see some of the photos of this machine, compared to some of its larger computer cousins.

Inserting some of these into a classroom won’t be an easy task, with plenty to think about in terms of connectivity as well as culture.

You can view the video on the Connected Live Blip.TV channel, and embed it into your own blog, or view below:

Categories: Connected Live Podcast, Technology, Video

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17 Responses to “Connected Live Video 010: Easy EeePC”

  1. John Connell November 22nd, 2007 at 5:08 pm
    Great piece, guys! Well done. Andrew is a star……just a pity about the Rangers supporter in the background :-)

    …only kidding, Jack!

  2. OllieBray November 22nd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
    This looks great – I’m really interested in this. OB

  3. Ian Lynch November 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 pm
    If only Psion had taken this approach with the series 7. About 7 years ahead of their time. I’d also like to make a direct comparison with the One Laptop per child machine which looks more toy-like but is much more technologically innovative supporting mesh networking, longer range wireless and a screen that can be used in bright day light.

  4. Andrew Brown November 23rd, 2007 at 10:42 am
    John – em… thanks …em… the only problem with …em …no script is …em …how many …em …pauses I seem to put in!

    Ian – we’ve been following the XO with great interest – it was easier to get out hands on an Asus though! As soon as we can, we’ll do a similar feature on the XO – I too am really interested in the mesh networking, and would love to see how our pupils collaborate using such a device.

  5. Mark Berthelemy November 23rd, 2007 at 1:11 pm
    Andrew (and Ewan) – Thanks for pulling this together. It’s really informative & well presented…

    The potential for a device like this is huge. Small enough to pack away easily, but with real (not mobile specific) software and a real keyboard. Give it the 3G module and we really are talking about ubiquitous connectivity.

  6. Stuart Lennie November 23rd, 2007 at 2:58 pm
    Ive got two on order just now- looking forward to getting them.

    All ready prepared a USB key with a slimmed down boot image of Windows XP image ready to hoof Linux off one of them for a comparison.

    Ive read some bad things about compatibility with the dumbed down version of Linux that comes with it, so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes.

    I’ll pre-empt some of the groans about putting XP on it, but Im keen to make use of the existing server infrastructure and freeware we already heavily invested in.

    Good info guys- thanks for bringing it to the masses…

  7. Andrew Brown November 23rd, 2007 at 6:08 pm
    Mark – there’s a wee panel on the bottom that unscrews where you can slot in 3G – brilliant, eh? This is one of the things we’d be really keen to evaluate.

    Stuart – keep us posted about how your XP trial works out – I completely understand about compatibillity and existing investments – it must be said though – at £169 + your MS bill, it’ll still work out to be a really interesting proposition.

  8. Stuart Lennie November 24th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
    Ive seen lots of great videos on sites showing XP running quite sweetly on it. You can use nLite to strip your Windows disk down to the minimum size and still leave lots of room for programs. 99% of the applications on the Linux version also have free Windows Versions, plus you get the added advantage of it working with existing infrastructure without requiring a bunch of nerds with Linux knowledge.

    Remember that £169 is the entry level model, spend a little extra and get the bigger drive version. Also remember that RM are not the only stockists of this- Ive already managed to undercut their price through another Education supplier.

  9. Mark Berthelemy November 26th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
    Looks like the T-mobile, 3, and Vodafone USB modems all work on this OK (see: http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=1323).

    Hmmm. It’s soooo tempting….

  10. Jim Henderson November 27th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
    There have various reports of folk loading Mac OS X onto the Asus PC as well.

    See http://uneasysilence.com/archive/2007/11/12654/

    I’ve just ordered a couple to evaluate for Highland

  11. Robin Wylie November 27th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
    Great job, Andrew! I love the way it integrates some webapps right into its desktop. It’s technically trivial yet it represents such a big shift in the way we think about web apps/sites – and it can make that shift very real for the average punter, not just total nerds like me. Good times. On the same subject: http://labs.mozilla.com/2007/10/prism/

  12. » The EeePC, The XO and Beyond… Changing Practice Part 2 Change bLog November 29th, 2007 at 2:02 am
    [...] integrating the EeePC into our setup should be reasonably painless. More details are available here from the LTS blog or you can watch the embedded video below. The EeePC is currently being distributed in the UK as [...]

  13. Dave December 6th, 2007 at 3:31 am
    Anyone got Solaris x86 running on it? I assume it will work, or if not the drivers will be written very soon.

  14. John Connell December 13th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
    In case you’re on commission, Andrew – you just sold an EePC! see:

    http://www.johnconnell.co.uk/blog/?p=611#comment-56540

  15. California school district getting 1,000 Asus Eee PCs « Jim Henderson’s Blog December 15th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
    [...] the higher spec machines as they have these in stock. From various reviews I have read around the blogsphere they seem capable little machines for schools. They could be a cheap way to provide easy access to [...]

  16. Connected Blog » Asus EeePC: not so easy peasy? January 28th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
    [...] Brown has had more time to play with the Asus EeePC, on which we gave a video tour last month. He’s started to find a few challenges for using this in a classroom [...]

  17. eeePC | The Masterplan May 20th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
    [...] Brown, one of Learning and Teaching Scotland new technologies team has made a little video here exploring the [...]