My 17 years old trusty, eeePC901 running Windows XP, died today. It's a 9inch minibook, because i have limited space and the "laptop" (more a knee-top... LOL) did fit perfectly in the space above the milling machine (a converted engraving machine, built like a tank).
The thing is beyond repair, i have to look for replacement. What pisses me off is that you can only buy tablets (only one USB port, but i need two) or totally cheap chinese no-name netbooks with small screen sizes up to 10 inch, otherwise i could run windows 10/11 on newer, fanless hardware, which is expected to live longer in the dusty environment.
I hope i can get some appropiate replacement asap.
I weep a tear for your old EeePC901. Best netbook ever.
I was an early EeePC adopter due to my interest in the development of SSDs. The Asus EeePC701 was the first readily available system that booted directly from an SSD.
I immediately set about modding the hardware, replacing the webcam with a 4-port USB hub and adding bluetooth and additional internal flash storage. I took a pass on adding a touch screen which was the most common EeePC mod. I hate touch screens. Give me a good mouse any day. I even used a mouse with a pocket-sized Windows tablet.
When the 901 came out I jumped all over it. I had a sexy black one running Window7 complete with Aero and another prissy little white one running Apple OS10.
Eventually I switched over to ultrabooks but there will always be a place in my heart for the EeePC.
Interesting. It was also my first SSD based netbook, while i did experiment with Linux based VDR (DVB-S) before, in which i decided to install 4GB SSD as a system drive for fast boot, 2007, AFAIR. My eeePC was a later edition, including 3G sim slot and most components were covered by a plastic sheet inside, for dust protection. It was the perfect tool for hacking on the road and wardriving in urban areas. For now i will move to 12" mediatek netbook, some leftover from my mother, but i will have to install an SSD first, beacuse booting this thing to working state takes at least five minutes.
One thing to add: The eeePC battery held up quite well over all those years.