bit-tech News: Unboxing the Asus Eee PC 900

[Chierin]

Another cool feature is the Macbook Air-esque (I just died inside) multi-touch trackpad, so you can use two fingers to zoom and scroll. While the scroll works in everything, the zoom function is currently limited to Works, StarSuite 8 and Adobe Reader.

There's also a new OS option: Windows XP Home. That will make the extra memory and storage evaporate, although it is now open to a wealth of other software and more immediately familiar to non-Linux users. Included in the package are Microsoft Works, Intervideo DVD XPack and Sun StarSuite (databases, spreadsheet, presentation, illustration and word processing – basically a “slim” Microsoft Office). The problem with the XP version is that despite the larger screen resolution, you still have to scroll up and down the desktop - that's not ideal.

The 20GB Linux model pictured below should retail for £329 in the UK, which is only a modest increase in price considering the advantages. Our resident games expert, Joe, recently spent £250 on an Eee PC and is now regretting it – the extra screen room makes a huge difference and the added storage is a definite boon. The Windows XP version will only ship with 12GB of hard drive space but will retail for the same price. Because of this, we'd absolutely suggest buying the Linux version and then shoehorning XP into the 20GB model.

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