Well, perhaps not wear it, but with specs like these, you could certainly put in your purse or fanny pack:
EeePC 701 Specification
Display:7"
CPU & Chipset: Intel mobile CPU & chipset
OS: Linux/ Microsoft Windows XP compatible
Communication: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet; 56K modem
WLAN: WiFi 802.11b/g
Graphic: Intel UMA
Memory: 512MB, DDR2-400
Storage: 4/ 8/ 16GB Flash
Webcam: 300K pixel video camera
Audio: Hi-Definition Audio CODEC; Built-in stereo speaker; Built-in microphone
Battery Life: 3hrs (4 cells: 5200mAh, 2S2P)
Dimension & Weight: 22.5 x 16.5 x 2.1~3.5cm, 0.89kg
Presumably it would be close to $500 US for the 16Gb model, though that remains to be seen; if the 2Gb costs $199 US, though, it can't be far off.
Add on another $50-60 US for more ram, and you're pushing up against the price point for most of the cheaper laptops on sale nowadays. Not convinced that there's more than a niche market for these, but hey, another internet device with Linux is pretty sweet. I wonder if the 16Gb model can handle Xubuntu or even Ubuntu.
Linux and open source software seems to be gathering a certain unmistakable momentum--not that they're going to take down or even remotely threaten the big two OSes, but it's still good to know that more people will have all the options on display, and not just those mandated from on high.
Folks looking for something different will finally have a viable alternative apart from Windows and OS X, and not to knock either of those two fine operating systems, but it's about damn time.
Click N' Run still is not up, though you can download .cnr files to your desktop if you want to practice--you can register at the site now, by the way.
And Beryl is in the main Ubuntu repositories, so it is as simple as
sudo apt-get install beryl-core beryl-manager beryl-plugins beryl-settings emerald emerald-themes
followed by your password, and you can get the 3D transparent cube from a GUI, as well as the nifty expose (OS X) like windows shifting.
As for a follow up to those wanting to know about how to put Linux on a pendrive/usb thumb drive; the instructions are really quite simple and can be found at pendrivelinux.com--you need to boot up using a liveCD (the one you want to write to USB flash drive) and then enter the command line instructions listed there.
A kind of funny, time warp discussion over on Ubuntuforums about which distro is the fastest, a lot of folks citing PCLinuxOS, but then again, it's Linux, so how often to do you actually have to reboot?
If you haven't done so, then be sure to get these fonts on your Linux system; in Ubuntu it's as easy as
sudo apt-get install ttf-liberation
, and you have
ttf-liberation - GPLed TrueType fonts from Red Hat and Ascender Corporation with metrics similar to the Microsoft Fonts.
I know I've mentioned them before, just worth saying again.
Another funny thread at Ubuntuforums is this one where people name distros that they would like to try next; most named have to be Wolvix and Arch, along with the BS*BSDs. Oddly enough, that kind of sums up what I'd like to try out, as I've settled on Fedora 7 and Ubuntu Feisty Fawn; I would do them in a virtual machine environment, because resetting Firefox bookmarks and dictionary spellings again is right out. Maybe even toss Slackware and Gentoo in the mix as well.
For those curious on how the liveUSB building was going in Revisor just let me say that it is a really nice idea, but that at this point it's just not working for me. It either hangs at 'linking release notes', or SELinux interferes with the install process. Just checking out the bug list confirms that my experiences with are not isolated incidents. Can't wait until it's fully functional, because the potential is mind-blowing.
Once they do get it working, you can get a liveCD/DVD/USB for Aunt Millie or Uncle Dexter that has all their special needs on it; anything in the Fedora repositories (or even the non-free Livna ones) can be used to build an install disk so that they have exactly what they need for that particular machine out of the box.
And because you'll be their go-to person in the family for fixing techie stuff, you can set Fedora to check for updates and do it automatically. Much better than recommending a proprietary OS, in my opinion; I've always filled the role of VCR clock programmer to relatives, and have been asked some absurd stuff in the past. This will at least partially fill that bill. Which is nice.
Would love to add a cool youtube vid, but just won't work. Must be Karma. And woot! 60 days straight diarying Linux! Happy Birthday to Linux, or something...