Asus eeeBox and Ubuntu – woah!

My uncles very old computer is starting to show signs of age, so it was decided that it needed to be replaced or repaired. Unfortunately the problem lay with the hard drive encountering many errors. I wagered that it would be the drive or the IDE controller on the motherboard itself, but unfortunately I don’t have the time to determine which.

So, it was decided that the cheapest option would be the best option: enter the Asus eeeBox. The B202 version can be had for only $299 AUD from select stores in Australia. Let me tell you now that this is a ridiculous price.

The system came packaged in good quality cardboard with nice graphics on it. The package included a keyboard and 3-button scroll mouse, a standard dipole aerial for the wireless adaptor, a DVI->VGA adapter for the DVI-only output, and a mounting bracket so the system could be mounted to the back of an LCD (or even to any mountable smooth surface).

The build quality of the system itself is quite good. It feels solid and well-built. The plastics used are mid-range in quality, and should last a while. My only gripe with the design of the unit is the small door on the front which I imagine could be easily accidentally broken off. This doesn’t really matter as it does not affect the functionality at all, but aesthetically the door makes the system look very tidy.

And I haven’t even talked about the hardware specs yet! The B202 version of the eeeBox comes with an Intel Atom 1.6Ghz CPU, 1024Mb of DDRII memory at 533Mhz, an 80GB 5400RPM SATAII hard disk, Gigabit ethernet, 802.11b/g wireless, four USB ports, DVI-out, and an SD/MMC card reader built in. Did I mention the ongoing benefits? It draws maxium of about 20W. A standard light bulb draws 60W. Yeah, this computer system costs less to run than a lightbulb does.

All for, once again: $299 AUD. Impressive.

I jimmy’d myself up a USB installation media and once I figured out how to change the boot order in the BIOS (I’m a man! I don’t read manauls!) it booted just fine into the Ubuntu 8.10 desktop install. (Sidenote: I’ve only previously booted off LiveCDs which were actually on CD media, and I have to say, if you have the option of USB booting: DO IT. It’s incredibly fast and makes the Live environment actually usable as a proper temporary system!)

I installed Ubuntu and rebooted. No dramas. Then I set up the wireless and that worked first try.

I browsed on over to apple.com/trailers and clicked on a 720p movie trailer. Ubuntu/Firefox told me it needed to install additional software to continue. I did so, restarted Firefox, and once the page loaded up the 720p Apple trailer started playing!

I simply couldn’t believe my eyes: a. that this $299 little computer, the size of two DVD cases, was playing back 720p HD content over the ‘net/wireless with no stutter and no dropped frames, and b. that it was doing so using a freely available operating system that took me literally 10 minutes to install.

Absolutely incredible!

I highly recommend the eeeBox and Ubuntu combination to anyone who’s responsibility is to “fix computers for the family” — you simply can’t go past the price tag, ease of installation and use.

I’m a pretty big open-source advocate and follow the trends quite closely, but I had no idea things had come this far. Consider me blown away.

I’m considering one for myself now. Combined with a couple of USB hard disks (with mdadm RAID and LVM) and a USB TV adaptor, it’d make a perfect low-power media centre + network data storage device.