[Novalug] My EeePC 1000 Review
Jay Hart
jhart at kevla.org
Mon Jan 5 19:43:40 EST 2009
Varol,
Don't worry too much about my comment, I wonder the same thing about people
who buy HP printers. Why I have to load 100MB (or more) of stuff under
Windows just to use the thing is WWWWWAAAAAYYYY beyond me as well.
Jay
> Why people buy from Tigerdirect is beyond me!!!
>
> Varol, I hope your new laptop gives you years of reliable service.
>
> Jay
>
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>> I just bought the hp2133 for $400,- after rebate from Tigerdirect.
>>
>> The specs:
>> 1.6GHz C7 CPU, 2GB Ram, 7200 rpm 120GB HD, 1280x768 8.9"screen, Vista
>> Business ( and got the Recovery DVDs free after calling HP ), wifi +
>> bluetooth.
>>
>> The thing I like best is the metal case and the keyboard. The CPU is the
>> only weak point but I do not intend to use it as my main development box.
>>
>> I installed OpenSuSE 11.1 on it but might switch to Ubuntu 8.10 because
>> it supports HW acceleration etc.
>>
>> I would also like to get the Voodoo Splashtop working
>> http://www.hp2133guide.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=914&sid=5058d49b517d0a2ecc311409b7263051
>>
>> Anyhow, Tigerdirect run out off this version but you might find it at
>> another location. Only the no-bluetooth 1.2GHz version at Tigerdirect
>>
>> Varol :)
>>
>>
>> James wrote:
>>> Digging up an old thread that I just reviewed. Are there any recent
>>> thoughts on the Eee PC 1000 since August? Has the unit aged
>>> gracefully?
>>>
>>> I'm looking to get a netbook for blogging, writing, note taking,
>>> coding, studying, video watching, web surfing -- anything between my
>>> home and office, and I'm leaning toward the 1000 (nearly $400 now on
>>> newegg).
>>>
>>> On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 1:36 PM, David A. Cafaro <dac at cafaro.net> wrote:
>>>> Small update on the review.
>>>>
>>>> I figured out that the webserver running on port 20032 is used for the
>>>> virus scanner interface. It appears to only allow access from
>>>> localhost to the program though the webserver does respond from any IP.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> David A. Cafaro <dac at cafaro.net>
>>>> Cafaro's Ramblings: www.cafaro.net
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Aug 13, 2008, at 12:08 AM, David A. Cafaro wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Ok, I finally received my EeePC 1000 this week and have had some time
>>>>> to play around with it. Have to say I love the hardware, very well
>>>>> made. This thing is loaded. Though the default Xandros OS is nice and
>>>>> well integrated with the hardware, it's not going to meet my needs in
>>>>> the long run; I'll be upgrading to Fedora or Ubuntu in the near
>>>>> future.
>>>>>
>>>>> I know there was some discussion on if the EeePC 1000 was too
>>>>> expensive or had lost the meaning of what being an EeePC is, but I
>>>>> have to say it's just what I was looking for. To give some background,
>>>>> I commute to work, and like to have a small light laptop with me in
>>>>> case of emergency work while I'm between home, job, or out traveling.
>>>>> Something simple that can provide net access, a browser, and a command
>>>>> line. For the past 4 years that has been my Sharp MM20 laptop. It had
>>>>> reasonable support for Linux and has worked very well for me. But it's
>>>>> 4 years old, and that odd ball for a processor, the Transmeta
>>>>> Efficeon, is being left behind by Linux. The non-upgradeable 512MB of
>>>>> memory wasn't helping either. So I've been searching for a
>>>>> replacement, and for almost 1/3 the cost of my original MM20, I've got
>>>>> a more functional, just a little larger and little heavier, laptop.
>>>>> That's what I was looking for.
>>>>>
>>>>> Hardware:
>>>>>
>>>>> So, with that said, here is what you get with the EeePC 1000:
>>>>>
>>>>> * Intel 1.6Ghz Atom CPU - Seems to be quick enough, much better
>>>>> than the old Transmetta Efficeon
>>>>> * 1GB DDR2 400Mhz Main Memory
>>>>> * 10.2" 1024x600 LCD - Excellent brightness, looks great
>>>>> * Intel GMA 950 based graphics controller - So far, seems snappy
>>>>> * RaLink RT2790 Wireless 802.11n - Excellent Linux support,
>>>>> opensource driver, and connects at N speeds with WPA2 no problem
>>>>> * Atheros Corp, L1e Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - Ok, it says
>>>>> Gigabit in lspci but it's not, still it works
>>>>> * One 8GB SSD ( mounted as / ), one 32GB SSD (mounted as /home)
>>>>> * Bluetooth 2.0
>>>>> * MultiTouch Touchpad
>>>>> * 1.3MPixel Webcam, dual microphones, stereo speakers.
>>>>> * 3 x USB 2.0 ports, VGA port, Audio IN/OUT port, SDHC Card reader
>>>>> * 6 Cell Li-Ion Battery
>>>>>
>>>>> I can't complain about the hardware, that's really what I bought this
>>>>> for. It meets every need that I had, hardware wise. Might have been
>>>>> nice if it was a little thinner and lighter, but that would have
>>>>> raised the cost. So far, the battery run time is incredible. I've left
>>>>> the latop sitting on my desk all day with all wireless on, Ethernet
>>>>> connected, using it every once in a while lightly, and it's still got
>>>>> 50% charge left. That's insane! Perfect travel laptop.
>>>>>
>>>>> Software:
>>>>>
>>>>> I decided to try living with the default Xandros Linux that comes with
>>>>> the EeePC for a few days. I also figured it would give me time to
>>>>> collect all the information I would need to do a fully working install
>>>>> of Fedora or Ubuntu. Ignoring the security issues, which I will talk
>>>>> about later, I have to say the basic setup is pretty nice. Everything
>>>>> works, things are pretty clearly labeled, and it's easy to navigate
>>>>> around. I really do like how well they integrated in the hardware
>>>>> functionality, I've never had a Linux laptop work this well. It's
>>>>> clearly designed for someone with much less Linux experience, but
>>>>> that's there target audience. A list of software pre-installed can be
>>>>> easily found on the web. My minor gripes about the default Linux
>>>>> install are the following:
>>>>>
>>>>> * The default install of xorg was set to 16 bit and not 24 bit. I
>>>>> like my millions of colors (vs ~65K)
>>>>> * FileManager disappeared on me, though I found a way to replace
>>>>> it online and there are alternate means of accessing it
>>>>> * Could use more software to install through the Add/Remove
>>>>> Software system
>>>>> * Needs more mouse control, less speed more acceleration. Hard to
>>>>> hit small targets.
>>>>> * Since it's multi-touch, why can't double finger tap act as a
>>>>> right click like on Mac OS X?
>>>>>
>>>>> Security:
>>>>>
>>>>> Security being an interest of mine, I was curious to see what was
>>>>> setup by default on the Xandros OS for EeePC. This is where I
>>>>> confirmed that I'll be loading my own Linux on this. I found a couple
>>>>> of issues and some good points. First the good points:
>>>>>
>>>>> * Most services are turned off by default
>>>>> * It comes with a virus scanner to scan your documents and such.
>>>>>
>>>>> Now the bad points:
>>>>>
>>>>> * Default user name of "user" with sudo (root) no-password
>>>>> required access
>>>>> * Default to instant login, though this can be changed via the
>>>>> Personalization icon under settings
>>>>> * No ipchains/iptables compiled into the kernel, NO FIREWALL!
>>>>> * Yes, it does have a virus scanner, but we're on Linux, I would
>>>>> rather have a firewall!
>>>>> * Broken updates, see below
>>>>> * Several open ports by default, bad
>>>>>
>>>>> Here are the results of the nmap test:
>>>>>
>>>>> Starting Nmap 4.20 ( http://insecure.org ) at 2008-08-12 13:51 EDT
>>>>> Interesting ports on xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:
>>>>> Not shown: 65531 closed ports
>>>>> PORT STATE SERVICE
>>>>> 111/tcp open rpcbind
>>>>> 139/tcp open netbios-ssn
>>>>> 445/tcp open microsoft-ds
>>>>> 20032/tcp open unknown
>>>>>
>>>>> So we have rpcbind, netbios-ssn, and microsft-ds open. Netbios-ssn and
>>>>> microsoft-ds are a big no no, even though it's samba that's providing
>>>>> the service (yes nmbd and smbd Samba daemons are started by default)
>>>>> so less likely to fall to the standard script kiddies, it's a big sign
>>>>> that says "Hello!!! Try to HACK ME!!!" when connected to the internet
>>>>> directly. I know they do this for convenience to improve the ability
>>>>> to file share with the EeePC, but why can't these be off unless a user
>>>>> actively chooses to share? Oh, and by default the laptop is part of
>>>>> "Workgroup" just like any other out of the box Windows system. As for
>>>>> rpcbind, it's up and running but no services are listed at the open
>>>>> ports.
>>>>>
>>>>> Now port 20032 is interesting, according to netstat this is the
>>>>> nginx.conf program. This is some form of web-server namely "nginx/
>>>>> 0.5.33". Why on earth is there a web-server running on the EeePC? I
>>>>> haven't dug through the file system to find out what it is serving,
>>>>> but this is another one that makes me nervous. Since there is no
>>>>> firewall, I'm going to have to see what I can do with host.allow/deny
>>>>> or just stopping the process from starting.
>>>>>
>>>>> As for the broken updates, most seem to work fine, but one "Asus
>>>>> Update System Update" download fails. Based on what I've found,
>>>>> apparently there are files missing on ASUS servers. Funny thing is
>>>>> they don't seem to believe people who try to tell them they are
>>>>> missing. Hopefully that will get resolved soon.
>>>>>
>>>>> Personally, I'm not impressed with the security of the default Xandros
>>>>> Linux. There are open ports that just shouldn't be open and the lack
>>>>> of a firewall is very frustrating.
>>>>>
>>>>> Conclusion:
>>>>>
>>>>> I think this laptop is going to be a great companion for the near
>>>>> future. Once I get my own Linux distro installed and gain back a
>>>>> little more control, things should be good. Though the pre-installed
>>>>> version of Linux is functionally very nice, I just found too many
>>>>> drawbacks to use it, not the least of which were the security issues.
>>>>> The hardware more than makes up for it, so all is good!
>>>>>
>>>>> Some comparison pictures can be found on the my blog post of this
>>>>> review:
>>>>> http://www.cafaro.net/linux-related-information/eeepc-1000-linux-review/
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>> David
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> David A. Cafaro <dac at cafaro.net>
>>>>> Cafaro's Ramblings: www.cafaro.net
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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