Kevin Salter has already written about the £200 Asus EEE PC , in fact Kevin (one of my colleagues on the IT Faculty committee) was too modest to admit it, but he knows a bit about gadgets for accountants. He has set up a subscription based website with details of dozens of hardware gadgets and software utilities, most of which he has used himself in his own firm of accountants.
Anyway, back to the EEE PC. As someone who has carted around notebook computers for many years, what is it about the EEE that makes it worth going on about? Firstly, it's the combination of the small size and the low price. Although there are many 'ultra-portable' notebooks around, usually you pay a premium for the miniaturisation rather than getting something cheaper than pretty much any notebook computer. The small size is a real benefit. You might need bigger than average pockets to accommodate an EEE, but you certainly don't need a full size briefcase or notebook bag. Even in cramped conditions – such as a crowded train – it's small enough to use for typing without elbowing fellow passengers. In dire extremis you can even check your emails or the cricket score whilst hiding the EEE under a hotel napkin.
OpenOffice, the Thunderbird mail client, and the KOrganizer Personal Information Manager provide access to basic desktop applications. If the demands of work relent for long enough, then the EEE works as an MP4 player with photo, music and video players and managers. A built in microphone and a microphone and headphone socket enable its use as a rather oddly shaped telephone – a link to Skype 2.0 is included on the Internet section of the desktop. It even possesses a webcam.
What else is it useful for? Well, a lot depends on a decent Internet connection, but with its built in WiFi, and the increasing prevalence of WiFi hotspots in trains, hotels and coffee shops, this is rarely a problem for the EEE. Of course, any device that can run an Internet browser has similar capabilities, but the EEE demonstrates that with relatively modest processing power, and entirely free software, you can do an awful lot thanks to the Internet. A browser also gives access to an increasing range of web-based business applications - have a look at Dennis Howlett's On-demand post. So I can browse the Internet and download and respond to my email – but the EEE PC also becomes a mobile radio, television and effectively a recorder of both. Internet radio provides access to hundreds of radio stations. Services like the BBC's radio 'listen again' service and iPlayer television service give me access to the last seven days of BBC broadcast content. The EEE's sound quality wouldn't win many prizes at a hifi awards evening, but connecting earphones or headphones to the audio jack provides perfectly adequate sound for listening to the radio or television.
Of course the EEE as it comes out of the box can't do everything – as good as OpenOffice is, it lacks some of the important functionality that paid-for Office suites contain. But the manual includes instructions for replacing the Linux/OpenOffice setup with Windows XP – the 4GB solid state 'hard disk' is a limiting factor, leaving little room for applications and data after the operating system is installed and there is no built in DVD or CD drive, but USB ports and a SD slot allow for gigabytes of extra storage to be added and the USB ports also give access to pretty much every peripheral you could want from external CD or DVD drives, to digital cameras. And I do struggle with the keyboard – oh for a bigger right side shift key!
The success of devices such as the EEE PC that stress simplicity and cheapness is leading to even cheaper devices such as the new £100 Elonex ONE and may change how we look at computer usage in general. If you can do so much with cheap hardware and free software, why continue the seemingly unending pursuit of more power and more desktop functionality?