EEE PC for Programming?

Question

Hey All,

I've got a quick question, I'm currently a 1st year programming student, and would like a ultra portable laptop to pack around to classes. I was wondering if the Asus EEE PC 1000H is any good for programming. I know the screen size is small (1024x600), but I'm curious if it has the ooomf to get the job done I'm planning on upgrading the RAM to 2GB.

If any of you do use the EEE to code I'd love to hear, I'm also going to be using Visual Studio, Java, C++ ... and all sorts of web languages as well. Anyways let me know if its a good system, budget, size, battery life are my top priorities.

Thanks,

Answer 1

I wouldn't program on a EEE because the screen is way to small, 2 gigs is not enough. But this is my opinion. Maybe if you do not have a lot of software open in the same time and you use an other screen that you might be ok.

Answer 2

That's a very reasonable screen resolution, so you can still fit about as much code on screen as my 15" laptop, just hope that your eyes can cope with really tiny text :).

I've been using a 2GB Ram Dell Inspiron for the last year, and it can handle an apache/mysql server running, along with 2 instances of Eclipse, and a nandful of browsers running at any given time.

I really think an EEE PC should be "good enough" for what you want, it certainly won't hold you back.

What's the CPU?

Answer 3

It's fine for programming. I'm also a first year CS student and I've been happy with my purchase. It'll take you about a week to get used to the keyboard and screen, but other than that I don't see why you wouldn't be able to program -- it's a regular computer - it will run everything you throw at it, just not at the same speeds as a high end laptop/desktop. I use Notepad++ because as a first year CS student we don't really need a fancy IDE or anything like that, but if you're concerned about that - it runs Netbeans fine - so it should be able to run Visual Studio.

Plus it has like 6 hours of battery life.. :)

See my question about this.

I, too, thought it wouldn't run any big programs, but to my surprise it does it well. Just go ahead with the purchase - it'll be one of the best $450 you've ever spent.

I have the 1000H (160GB, 1GB RAM, 1.6ghz) with Windows XP*

Answer 4

FWIW, I routinely run 4 instances of Visual studio + Chrome + Firefox + SQL Server + Sql Server Studio and only occassionally swap on 2GB of memory.

Answer 5

The keyboard is too small for me. and it doesn't have dedicated key for Home, End, PgUp, PgDown which I frequently use. I suggest to look for a friends that has already bought EEE, and try it for a few hours.

Answer 6

I actually have a Eee PC 901 (Intel Atom 1.6 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 12 GB total storage, Windows XP) and have been using it for light programming using Eclipse for the past three months. At least for my uses, the Eee PC 901 has been more than adequate and I've been happy with it.

Keyboard

The keyboard may be a little bit on the small side, but after I used it for a few days, I got used to it and haven't had a problem with it. In fact, I've connected a full-size keyboard to it for the past week or two, but I still prefer the small keyboard because I don't have to move my hand around as much.

Performance

In terms of performance, the processor may be a little bit on the weak side, but the bigger problem I've had with the Eee PC 901 is that the solid state drive can slow down quite a bit when there's lots of disk IO. However, you mention the Eee PC 1000H which has a hard drive, you may not have the problems that I am experiencing. But other than that, I've found the Eee PC to be quite a snappy little machine.

Screen

The screen may be one downside indeed. The vertical resolution is on the low side (only 600 pixels), so you may need to configure your IDE to reduce the number of tool bars that are displayed on the screen. Also, you may want to change the Windows theme to Classic, as it will save you a few pixels here and there.

The 1000H model has a 10" screen which may be easier on the eyes than the 8.9" on my 901, but as with the keyboard, I've come to be accustomed to looking at the small screen. Also, one upside to the small screen is that the display is very sharp and crisp.

Battery Life

Battery life on the 901 is pretty good. In fact, I can get about 5-7 hours per charge, but do keep in mind that the 901 has a 6-cell battery and lacks a hard drive, so it may have a longer battery life than the 1000H.

Size and Weight

In terms of size, the 1000H does seem a little bit bigger than the 900 and 700 series, but that's something of a preference and you'll probably want to look at the actual units to see the difference. I believe there is also a weight difference of about half a pound between the 900 series and 1000 series.

Comparison of Models

If you want to see a comparison of the different Eee PC models, the Asus website provides a comparison list of Eee PC models.

Conclusion

On the whole, I have been enjoying my Eee PC, and I think it would be perfect for taking around and programming on the go. It may not be suited for heavy development, but it sure is enough to use Eclipse with my Java and C projects.

Oh, did I mention that I am posting this answer from my Eee PC?

Answer 7

You need to elaborate on the IDEs you will use on the Eee PC. On my first years of University I used only Emacs to program in C, Java, C++ etc, and the CLI to compile. Under this circunstance the Eee PC is a perfect tool for the job.

Update: I have a Eee PC 701 model, running Eee Ubuntu = Ubuntu 8.04 Netbook Remix + hardware issues solved. And Emacs works very fine on it. Just the screen is a bit tiny...

Answer 8

I wouldn't recommend an EEE PC for a student developer.

The laptop that you are going to purchase is a good investment for your studies and career.

If you get a good system now then you won't need to worry about upgrading in the coming 2-3 years.

15" monitor is ideal with 2-3GB of RAM.

Go for a Lenovo Thinkpad, I think their on sale right now.

Answer 9

I suggest a 14" laptop, light weight. the EEE not bad but you will have problems when you need to do GUI development.

Answer 10

If you just want to program and that's the ultimate goal - go with it, you can.

But if you want to program efficiently, then it's a bad idea. Small screen, slow computer, lack of RAM for a decent RAM-eating monster IDE like eclipse or netbeans etc... You just waste your time. :) IDE is a MUST for efficient programming.

Answer 11

I have two EEE 701s, 7" screen, 4GB 512MB RAM. I find it awesome - I mainly code web apps in Python or PHP, but I love it!

Answer 12

For classes - maybe. For programming - I wouldn't use it. I mean its doable, but once you've done some real coding with a real keyboard and a real big monitor you just can't take laptops/EEE seriously.

Answer 13

Slightly OT, but what other 'netbooks' are worth considering?

• MSI Wind
• Acer Aspire One

The latter in my case is a lot cheaper here in South Africa, than the ASUS EEE PC's (9-10" models).

Update:

Just picked up a Lenovo S10e. A bit slow when doing heavy duty stuff, but I suspect only having 1GB RAM is the issue here, else seems nice. VS SP1 installed faster than I ever had it install on other PC's!

Answer 14

To the 'young developers' contributing to this blog thread: I am sixty, still making a living by programming (mainly embedded cryptography and industrial appls: Op.Sys. I/Facing, Math (a lot), simple GUIs, an extended knowledge about the strangest algorithms, etc.) Never, never dreamed in my 40 years in computing to use such a marvel before going to the 'Happy Hunting Fields'!

But for the giga byte RAM eaters Dvlpmnt tools (TIBCO, etc.), you can develop whatever you need (unless my computing needs are really minima!)

You should see the ported Lisp, Forth, APL (+ all recent languages) running on a machine which I use as a programming instructor too: sometimes we have an 'appendix' to a C.S. lesson on the underground.

I envy you, much younger colleagues: now C.S. has got to be a real 'branch of the human knowledge' because you can wander everywhere with the tools of your business.

(For my 'older colleagues': Ya, I had an Osborne too, in 1986, used in the same way).

Ciao Alan

Answer 15

There is another SO question about eee: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/171246/programming-on-the-asus-eee-pc-in-visual-studio#178160

Answer 16

A 1024 pixel wide screen is wide enough to get two xterm windows or an editor and an xterm window using a font like 6x13. When I was at university I did a lot of work on my 486, which had 32MB of RAM and a 1024x768 screen. Your EEE PC has a considerably faster CPU and more memory. Should work fine.

If you're going to spend large amounts of time on it. you might want to find a small portable keyboard and mouse as the ergonomics aren't going to be stellar. Bonus points if you can get those and a small monitor into something manageable to carry.

Answer 17

They are not very good for programming, unless you will only be writing very short scripts, which, from the sounds of it, you will not be. They're great if you simply wish to pound out a few lines for 10 minutes or so, but anything past this and I find myself developing a headache from the painfully small screen. The keys are very difficult to become adjusted to if your fingers are not tiny, and until you get used to them, you will find yourself hitting multiple letters when you type.

Hardware-wise, however, they run just about anything you would need okay.

Answer 18

I have used a pentium 1 133mhz laptop for programming. There is no reason why you can't use a beefy EEE for programming now even running Java.

Answer 19

I love my netbook for programming, but I am a fan of small keyboards. I find the screen space enough, especially using virtual desktops or workspaces, and I can run VirtualBox to test out cross-platform support.

One thing I have done is switch from svn to svk for version control so that I can unplug from the wireless to save battery, but still commit changes.

Answer 20

I have a nice 14inch Dell Latitude D600.

Specs:

• Resolution of 1440x1050
• 1GB of RAM
• 60GB hard drive
• 1.8Ghz Pentium M processor
• Integrated wireless (802.11b)
• CD/DVD ROM
• 2 USB ports
• PCMCIA slot
• S-Video/VGA out
• Get approx. 7 - 9 hours of battery life

It weighs less than 5 pounds.
I find something like this ideal for programming. Easy to carry around, small, yet isn't restrictive and doesn't require excessive scrolling to get around.

Looking at tigerdirect.com, you can get this for about the same price as the Asus EEE. I think you would be more productive and happier overall, with a more 'full featured' laptop that is still portable and light, than you would be with a laptop specifically built for size.