Personally I ordered a 4GB SD card, and a 4GB USB flash drive for only £28.99 from ebuyer thanks to a £10 off over £30 spent when using google checkout.

Last edited by Starman (2007-11-02 5:08:55 pm)

Maybe an angled USB stick like this.

The USB connector can also swivel around 180degrees, so if you plug it in one way and its blocking off another connector port close by, simply swivel it straight up or the opposite direction and problem solved. A small cloth pull-tag is located behind the USB connector for easy removal.

The performance of the drive is excellent, with SiSoft Sandra benchmark reporting a read speed of 23MB/s which is the quickest I’ve seen from a USB Flash Drive, and much quicker than my SanDisk Cruzer Micro 4GB, which comes in at around 17MB/s read speed.

Apacer’s website and specs on the AH421 list a max read speed of 17MB/s and max write speed of 5MB/s. As the SiSoft Sandra test results were way above this mark, we thought we’d do a bit more testing. We conducted a basic test of copying a 700MB file to and from the flash drive on our OzHardware test bench. To copy the file to the AH421 took an average of 97 seconds, and to copy the file back took an average of 29 seconds, this gives a write speed of 7.2MB/s and a read speed of 24.1MB/s, which backs up the SiSoft Sandra results, and are way above Apacer’s claimed figures, which is strange because manufacturers will usually claim as optimistic a figure as they can legally get away with.

The AH421 comes in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB sizes selling for around AU$39, $46 and $72 respectively, which is about mid-market in terms of price, so it’s OK in terms of value, but not brilliant. The AH421 would be suitable only for people who will use it on a notebook, and don’t need to take the drive between their notebook and desktop PC.

*** Some parts omitted from original source

silurius wrote:

I think an external keyboard is probably going to be essential for those of us who will be doing a lot of word processing.

I've been researching keyboards and found a few that I like, but I'm reluctant to pull the trigger until I learn more about compatibility.  Obviously most will work in terms of the basic functionality, but I want to take full advantage of all the keys wherever possible.

Here are the ones I am looking at (pasted in from my post to another thread):

- Targus Universal USB Portable/Foldable Keyboard (PA875U01X) (68 keys, USB wired, dimensions 11.2" x 4.2" x 0.3")
- A4Tech KL(S)-5UP [88 keys, USB + PS/2 wired, dimensions: 12.6"(L)×6.3"(W)×0.6"(H)]
- Logitech diNovo Edge [84 "normal" keys & 9 function keys, USB wireless, dimensions: 0.5" (H) X 16" (W) X 8" (D)]
- Logitech Alto keyboard with display riser (USB wired, dimensions: 16.85" (W), 1.41" (H) closed, 19.14" deep when open, 9.34" deep when closed, 24″ across when measured diagonally, 9 lbs. weight)
- Cordless version of the Alto
- Adesso Mini Keyboard (AKB-901) (88 keys, USB + PS/2 wired, dimensions: 12.7" x 6" x 0.75")

Out of all of these, two stand out.  The Logitech Alto, despite its size (about twice as wide as the Eee) seems to be the most elegant given its supreme ergonomic standards and the 3-port USB hub.  This review seems favorable.  The A4Tech KL(S)-5UP is nice and compact and appears to be well-designed, while also offering plenty of room compared to the Eee's keyboard.  Haven't found any reviews on it yet, though.

So again, my biggest reservation is special key compatibility.  Thoughts?

Hmm.  This review of the Alto, while excellent overall, doesn't bode well for the Eee given this quote:

...
The Alto's all-in-one design keeps the keyboard at a fixed distance from the display (not ideal from an ergonomic standpoint), and its fixed height means that your comfort level will depend greatly on the size of your notebook. For example, our 15.4in. system was lifted to ergonomic perfection on the Alto, but the display on our 12in. notebook was still a bit too low for comfortable everyday use.
...

Wait a minute, what's wrong with the SD card reader on the right side of the laptop?

Peteb1951 wrote:

Jon Bradbury wrote:

Oh, it'll work, Peteb1951. The interface is standard. I have ordered one too, from an eBay seller. Thought I was getting a bargain then realised (after I'd clicked the PayPal "Pay" button that the price (and packaging) was ex-VAT, so I got stung for a tenner. Still, it's worth it, I think. I just hope it is a real low power device, because the batteries in the eee are not up to much.

Yes, I got hit for VAT the same way, but it is very pretty - I think you'll like it when it arrives.

I've been using it on an RM Tablet PC from a single USB connector without problems. The tablet has about the same battery life as the eee is supposed to have, and the drive doesn't drain it dramatically, but I think I will mainly be using when deskbound and connected to the mains.

Pete

Update - my eee arrived this afternoon (its lovely), and I'm writing this on it - setting up the wifi connection was trivially easy. Good news and bad news about the LG GSA-50N. It works fine, but needs to be connected to two USB ports to get enough juice. It comes with a separate lead with a power connector on one end and a USB plug on the other for just this eventuality. No problem reading files, and an audio CD plays fine through Music Manager, but is choppy using the Media Player. A DVD starts up fine in the Media Player, and gives a good picture and sound, but they are out of sync by a long way (several seconds) - more investigation needed. I'm going to get the battery into condition before trying to find out the effect of the DVD on battery life. I've read you should give Li-ion batteries a few charge discharge cycles before they reach full potential.

Oh bloody hell, why does this always happen to me?

I have my LG drive, arrived today. It is very nice indeed, and it seems to work just fine on my main PC with one usb lead connected. I think you only need the second if you're burning. On the other hand, the eee's ports may not be delivering enough current (isn't there something in the USB II spec about that?). The other thing is, the LG drive's instructions refer to possible on line firmware updates that you might download & install if you have problems. Perhaps you could look into this.

Please let me know how you get on. I can't see what the current requirement is for it (in the manual), but I will have a look at the supplied CD.

Cheers

JonB

Well I've gone and brought a 80Gb external hard disk. USB powered. Got Xubuntu installed on it and it works great. Also hoping to get XP installed as well for those windows only moments you find yourself in. In fact with this drive I should be able to retire my old laptop. Just need to keep my ms money running.

I'm currently planning on using Xandros as the main OS for web browsing etc.

Add a small net cable to the pile.

For cheep accessorys cases try Walmart... Thy use to have a .99 cent case that was greate. Have the addon cables for my PMP in it. A mouse with the net cables and a few SD in carriers would be ideal.. The also have a flat looking case with pockets that could work.

Jon Bradbury wrote:

Just to clarify : Are you saying you have this LG drive and have not encountered any problems with choppy DVD playback or out of synch sound on the eee PC?

No, sorry for the incomplete test and rushed/premature post.  DVD playback is actually horrible, even when connected with both USB cables and the Eee plugged into an outlet.

Edit: This drive works beautifully for general software use and DVD playback on my desktop XP computer.

Last edited by silurius (2007-11-03 8:57:38 pm)

I don't even need to play DVDs on it, really, but since I need the drive anyway I'd love to have that bonus feature.

Mine was also a commercial DVD but the sound was equally poor.

Jon Bradbury wrote:

Look on the bottom of your drives. What are the build date an ROM version?  Mine's Aug 2007 and WE01 respectively.

Build date: September 2007, ROM version NE01.  Edit: and perhaps most importantly, the GSA-E50L (as opposed to the GSA-E50N)



Peteb1951 has the GSA-50N.  What do you have, Jon?

Last edited by silurius (2007-11-04 12:08:14 pm)

Mouse - I have an old AteK super mini optical mouse which works just fine.  This mouse looks almost too small to use (just like the eee) but I find it very comfortable.  Mine is classic black like the one sold on Amazon at  http://www.amazon.com/Atek-Electronics- … B00006I527


Apparently they also do " Radiant Red, and Jazzy Blue" - http://www.atek.com/mouse.htm

Car Charger - I would like to be able to charge the eee in my car without having to buy an inverter.  Has anyone seen any car chargers for it?

Last edited by Niel1952 (2007-11-04 12:24:43 pm)

I have the LG slim drive and it works perfectly with my eee, including DVD movie playback, although I am running WinXP. So it may be a software/Linux driver issue.