Love this one

I have 2 laptop, 2 desktops, 2 kids and now 3 of these EEEs - one for each of us. I think it is great for email, surfing and just playing around. I have also been able to do some real work on it. It is so adorable, affordable, light and fun. I tried one of those nokia tablets and returned it - the real qwerty keyboard is so much easier then tapping out words with a stylus on a screen. If you don't feel like carrying a laptop around and want something simple, easy, and wireless, you will love this. I am in the technology field and showed some of my techie friends. They too got a kick out of it and I wouldn't be surprised if I see some of these on peoples desk at the office very soon.

The vangard of the UMPC

Let me just start by saying that as a software engineer, I have the occasional displeasure of working with 'technicians'. The ability to assemble the 20-piece puzzle that is the modern PC and install and configure Windows does not make you an expert on ANYTHING. I'm so sick of Frye's return merch staff and high school kids working at hole in the wall PC shops commenting on things like they know something.

First off, if you're considering the EEE, please understand that an Ultra Mobile PC is not the same thing as a laptop. Perfomance and size-wise, this little guy lives somewhere between a laptop and a PDA. The keyboard and screen are smaller than the smallest laptop you've seen, if you're looking for a laptop to run Vista on, Dell has a $400-$500 model that will likely suit your needs.

The pre-installed, Xandros-based Linux OS can be run to look more like a PDA interface, but it also has an 'advanced' mode that basically reverts to a classic-looking desktop environment. It will work with MSOffice docs right out of the box, has built in 802.11 wireless with web functionality and (while it lacks a CD/DVD drive) it has plenty of removable storage thanks to an integrated SD card reader and USB ports.

If you're really gung-ho about installing XP, you can do so (even on this lower-end model). There is already a large community springing up around this UMPC on the net, and tutorials ranging from installing windows on a separate SD card to running Halo on this little guy are already out there. I would emplore any user anywhere to try out Linux, though. Aside from 3D gaming, Linux will do everything Windows does, except faster and 100% free.

In that spirit, if you're looking for a computer that you can fit in the pocket of your baggy cargo pants this is pretty much the only machine that's going to do it for you. At any given moment I've got a home network/web server with 3 desktop PCs running, my media server laptop in the living room, my work desktop and laptop... but the EEE is the only computer I actually keep with me at all times.