From the British Journal of photographyEees are good
Imagine a tough little laptop that allows you to download and send images on the fly, but costs little more than an average portable storage device. It's here, says David Kilpatrick, who test-drives the Asus Eee PC
The Asus Eee PC701 - a mini-laptop with a seven-inch screen, solid-state memory card, usable keyboard and loads of connectivity - has become something of a cult accessory following its launch last October. And with larger but still compact models about to arrive, including a 20GB version with WiFi that will appeal to photographers and journalists on the move, its appeal is set to widen.
Although a Windows version is imminent, and Windows can already be installed, part of the appeal of the Eee PC is its Unix operating system and suite of GNU licenced open-source software. It's fast, robust, virus-proof, small in terms of program sizes, and best of all it's great value. You can also add - without using up the mere 1300MB of free space existing on its internal 4GB 'drive' - the GIMP image editing program and Ufraw raw file conversion. The small touchpad below the keyboard is surprising accurate and sensitive, making image editing reasonably practical.
That's not what the Eee is about, though.
More for less
On the road, you may pay 200-500 for a storage device to dump your memory card contents on to a hard disk after each day's shoot. I use a 40GB Jobo GigaVue Pro, which is fairly expensive and not the fastest at image transfer, but allows leisurely review and 100% checking of the pictures including most common raw files. I also use an 80GB HyperDrive HD80, which is incapable of displaying images or even reviewing the filenames once it has (quickly) transferred and verified card contents.
The Eee PC has three USB 2.0 ports, and the File Manager does far more than the Mac 'Finder' or Windows 'Explorer'. Just selecting a JPEG image file will show a large preview, and next to it, options to magnify up to 100% and scroll round it - without using the Photo Browser program at all. The Eee PC acts as a 200 add-on to a dumb hard disk or image shuttle, providing a better screen than any of the high-end image storage devices. It also has an SD slot, which is normally used for a decent sized (4-16GB) card to store documents or extra programs. With this (or a card reader for CF and other formats) plus a portable Freecom USB 2.0 hard disk you can create a 160GB or better mobile card dumping system for under 300.
Because the Eee PC also has high speed WiFi and Ethernet connectivity built-in, along with Firefox and Thunderbird, transmission of stored images by email, FTP or web upload systems is included. The Eee PC also has OpenOffice installed, giving you word processing, spreadsheets and a Powerpoint-type slide presentation. To finish the package its got an external monitor interface and can run screens or projectors up to XVGA or widescreen HD 720p (its own screen is a 16-bit colour).
The webcam is useful mainly for videophone calls using Skype, which is built-in and all you need is to enter your Skype details. The Eee PC can also record video and audio files.
I took it shooting stock images in Gran Canaria and hardly noticed it was there; the power adaptor is even smaller than my Powerbook's, and has a very useful 3m of skinny cable, though plugs are not always conveniently placed.
Photo management
My shoot included the last light of the day over the conservation zone sand dunes of Maspalomas, an area that looks just like the ideal desert. You must be there at dawn or sunset to get the low light skimming the wind-shaped ripples of sand. When it's sand grains you are checking, the camera screen often is not sharp enough. The Eee PC is.
Had I needed to, WiFi and Firefox would have enabled rapid FTP of files (first copying them to the Eee PC's internal memory or a loaded SD card), Thunderbird handling the slower and less certain email method for sending such attachments.
The files I was checking over were not small - 14 million pixel resolution images from Pentax and Sony digital SLRs - and the Eee PC took a little time to build thumbnails and show full-screen views, but not so much to make the work difficult.
The lack of true 24-bit colour did not affect the images badly, and it would have been fine to edit on the storage drive and remove poor shots. It is also possible to add comments to the images, but a further utility would be needed to add proper keywording and metadata details. I added GIMP and Ufraw after returning, but for quick and easy previewing it would be necessary still to shoot raw+JPEG as the File Manager and Photo Browser do not recognise raw image files.
Add-ons
Asus offers a portable DVD/CD drive, an alternative solution for copying card contents. You can make multiple copies and mail a set back home from remote places where there's a risk of baggage theft.
Drivers are installed for an odd selection of printers, the most interesting of which is probably the Epson R800, which accepts printable CDs. Any printer with a Unix driver available can be used. An extra capacity battery module is available; the standard one provides three or more hours or normal use. The 512MB DRAM memory fitted to mine was replaced by a 1GB module removed from my iMac 24-inch laptop when I upgraded that - it just happened to be the right type.
It's possible to get an alternative Eee PC model with no webcam, and with a built-in modem, for use in regions where WiFi and Ethernet connections are absent. The forthcoming Eee PC 900 features a wider 8.9-inch screen, up to 20GB solid-state main drive, 1GB memory and optional Windows installation.
With Windows, either the 700 or 900 will be ideal for tethered operation of many digital SLRs.
Small benefits
The main plus point about the Eee PC 700 is the size (which is similar to an A5 reporter's notepad) and 950g weight, plus its robust design, which is shockproof. On the road, an Eee PC with portable USB hard drive and card reader does everything a portable image store is capabpe of, with the bonus of internet access for email, Skype and the internet, a few simple games, some educational software, diary, dictionary, and essential writing and business admin tools.
Pricing
Pricing for the Asus Eee PC starts at 199, and rises up to 329 for the latest version, the 900. Visit
www.asus-uk.com/eeepc/about for further details, including where to buy.
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