[Novalug] [CALUG] My EeePC 1000 Review

[Megan Larko]

David A.Cafaro wrote:

Hello All!

Thank you for your review David.  I am considering one of these units 
myself.   Thank you to Rajiv for the comments/discussion.

On the security issue/question,  I am not familiar with Xandros but I 
had thought that David implied a shell prompt/terminal window available 
on the EeePC 1000 (I would never have a box, including Windows, without 
one).   If there is a shell prompt wouldn't it be possible to just 
secure the box by turning off the services via a utility such as 
chkconfig (RH type) or just removing the entry from /etc/rc.d/rcX.d 
(choose appropriate path for RH, Deb, SuSE variants)?

megan
> 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
>>
> 
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