stuff that doesn't work

I ran all of the configuration scriipts (I am regretting that now)
none of the four special keys work
Fn+F2 (radios off) doesn't work
Fn+F7 (screen off) doesn't work
Fn_F9 (system monitor) doesn't work
Fn+F10 (mute) only mutes momentarily (while I hold the button)

final eeepc OS

I finally settled on the eeebuntu 2.0 OS. I tried ubuntu-eee (8.04), tried to download eeedora, briefly considered Debian, eeeos and an eee version of PC Linux OS and hacking standard Ubuntu, but settled on eeebuntu because it worked and is currently supported.

I am using the netbook remix version and am very pleased with it.

Since I now have a mobile computer, I restructured a bit the way I use my email. Up until now I have used IMAP off my home server using cron and getmail to download from my POP account. I added a POP account to Thunderbird and set cron to download at midnight. If I am away from home I can get my email directly from POP and then transfer to IMAP when I get home.

At first I could not get Skype to work because the webcam was turned off in the BIOS. I fixed that and then had to adjust the volume.

I had very quiet sound. Unless I put my ear to the keyboard I couldn't hear anything. I right clicked on the speaker and selected preferences. Then left click on the speaker icon so the volume slider displays. Now click on PCM, LineOut and Capture and watch the volume slider. For me, LineOut was at half volume because I was controlling PCM, whatever that is. I turned up LineOut and selected that as the one to control and now I can hear. Thanks for the leads.

Now Skype works great but the built in microphone has poor sound quality so I am using an external mic.

I still do not have the 4 special buttons working, but that is not a show stopper for me.

Thailand Info

Updated information for American citizens - December 4, 2008

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who had previously entered and forced the closure of Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports in Bangkok, have now departed those premises. Airport authorities have begun the process of reopening the airports. Due to the lack of demand and the upcoming reopening of the airports, the Department of State will not be pursuing charter flights at this time.

As always, please contact the American Citizens Service Unit of U.S. Embassy (contact details below) if you need assistance or information.

Americans in Thailand, or those with plans to travel to or transit through Thailand, should monitor local media and contact airlines for the latest departure/arrival information. We understand the inconvenience this situation has placed on American travelers to Thailand, and we continue to monitor the situation very closely.

It is our understanding from Thai immigration officials that those individuals who have stayed in Thailand beyond the time permitted by their visa due to the airport closures will not face penalties when they depart the country.

In addition, the following numbers may be helpful for additional information:

Ministry of Tourism Aid Center: 1414, 02-356-0720, 02-356-0729

ATTA (Association of Thai Travel Agents): 02-134-4263

Thai tourist police emergency line: 1155

Suvarnabhumi International Airport hotline: 02-132-1882, 02-132-1888

Suvarnabhumi International Airport flight inquiries: 02-132-0000, 02-132-9328-9

Don Mueang Airport: 02-535-1669

Don Mueang Flight inquiries: 02-535-1616

Tourism Authority of Thailand: 02-652-8313-4

United Airlines Reservations: 02-353-3939, www.united.com

Northwest/Delta Airlines: 02-660-6999, 02-660-6900, www.nwa.com, www.delta.com

We wish to remind American citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. American citizens are therefore urged to avoid areas of demonstrations, and to exercise caution within the vicinity of any demonstrations.

For the latest security information, Americans living or traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings, and health-information resources can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or, for callers in other areas, by calling a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

American citizens traveling or residing in Thailand are encouraged to register with the Department of State at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/ or with the U.S. Embassy. The Embassy is located at 95 Wireless Road in Bangkok. The Embassy website can be visited at http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/embassy/wwc/recent.htm. The American Citizen Services Unit of the U.S. Embassy can be reached by phone at 66-2-205-4049 and by e-mail at ACSBKK@State.gov. The after-hours emergency telephone number is 66-2-205-4000

ubuntu-eee

Today I installed ubuntu-eee on my eeepc 1000. The installation was
typical for an ubuntu installation and everything worked out of the
box. ubuntu-eee is based on 8.04 and uses the netbook remix user interface.

After I rebooted into ubuntu-eee, it found my wireless network and
connected right away. I was able to connect up to my HP printer
Photosmart C6180. Able to install GNUCash. The hours left and percent
left indicate that the total battery life will be 4-5 hours, so about
the same as with xandros. It takes about 1 minute to boot, including
time to type login and password. Another 15 seconds to log onto my
wireless. That is about 20 seconds slower than xandros by xandros took
forever to get a network logon. Shutdown time is about 20 seconds.

Xandros is now permanently off my machine and I am happy to have
ubuntu. I think xandros was trying to be somewhat like windows using
drive letters and such, but they locked it down so tight it was only
good for being replaced.

I am going to try the eeebuntu next, which is based on 8.10. It is
available in the NBR and standard desktop. It might be a few weeks
before I do that because I am going on vacation and have to use the
computer as a productivity tool instead of a puzzle.

EEEPC Linux Distributions

http://www.linux.com/feature/131070
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:eeedora
http://users.zenwalk.org/user-accounts/alisou/zeneee-1.0/
http://pclinuxoshwdb.com/eeepc/tiki-index.php
http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?search_id=1743416936&t=25896
http://www.puppylinux.com/
http://www.linux.com/feature/131070
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EeePC
http://www.eeebuntu.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=133
http://www.ubuntu-eee.com/
http://www.eeebuntu.org/
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/ubuntu:eeexubuntu:home
http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEeePC
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/mandiva_2008_on_eee_pc

eee pc 1000 Linux

I got my eee pc today finally. First impressions are ho-hum. The
screen size is good and the keyboard size is good. i have pretty big
hands (more than 9" handspan) so for most people the keyboard would be
almost spacious I think. The right shift button is a problem though. I
had read about the up arrow where the shift should be problem but
thought it would be easy to adjust. I am adjusting I guess, but slowly.

Software availability is also limited. One of the things that makes
Linux so attractive to me is the vast range of software available. The
Xandros Linux distribution that comes with the eee pc has virtually no
software and no vast repositories the way Ubuntu or other distros have.
It makes me wonder why Asus chose Xandros. I am sure there are some
hacks to get full repositories, but there is not an out of the box
solution. If I was not already a Linux user, I think I would return
this computer. As it is I see it as another hobby, and not a daily
computer. Unfortunately I already promised my old desktop to my kids,
so i will either make the most of it or start using my server for daily
computing.

I wonder if Asus is feeding their hardware hacks upstream for inclusion
in future kernels?

The biggest ommision I saw for a Linux distro was the lack of a terminal
window. Luckily I ran across the cntrl+alt+t shortcut to open a
terminal window.

Apparently the distro is single user only. Not a big deal for me, but
why do commercial users like to break all the great features in free
software?

I have been looking around for a way to install gnucash. I will try and
add the xandros 4 repository to get gnucash. Alternatively I will try
to compile from source.