I acquired an Eee PC for my Phoebs. On special somewhere, unfortunately not a pink one ;-)
While I see that lots of people are replacing the Asus/Xandros OS with Ubuntu for Eee or other distros, I’ve decided to stick with the default for now. It’s a very easy desktop to use, with all clutter, confusion and traps disabled but still accessible through other means. Traps you ask? Yea… traps. A three-year-old with a mouse is a dangerous mix ;-)

So, why have a computer for a 3 year old anyway, and why an Eee, and ….?
Phoebe is already quite aware that work generally involves using a computer, so she insists having one on her little play desk: “for work”; that’s no reason to give her one though. Eee starts very quickly, being flash based and in its default simple desktop mode. Smurf gets easily bored so any regular machine just doesn’t cut it (believe me I’ve tried).

But kids these days must to become computer literate. Being able to use a mouse and a keyboard is not an optional extra. So, letting them play with it from early on, it’s a natural thing rather than something complicated later.

I installed GCompris and put it into the Learn menu, as Phoebe loves to play with the mouse exercises.
She also liked typing, but I haven’t yet found a program that allows just simple “keyboard bashing” without icon clutter (more traps). Suggestions welcome – perhaps an add-on for GCompris?

And no, I won’t be installing MySQL on this machine!

You still have some time to get your proposal in for OSDC 2008 in Sydney. Yes I lead the conference organisation last year, but there’s a whole new team for this one and I can blissfully be an attendee or, if at least one of my proposals gets accepted, a speaker.

Last year was actually also my first time at OSDC, and it’s really a great event… by developers, for developers… about creating OSS, or using OSS to create other stuff, and about the processes involved. You learn heaps. Remember, the worst killer for learning something, is to say “I already know that”.

There’s heaps each of us doesn’t know, and OSDC is an ideal place to share your own experience and pick up some more info for your wetware as well as tune it, and of course have heaps of fun. OSDC is also lunches and other munches, the included-for-all conference dinner, and just the random chats in the corridor. Not forgetting the lightning talks at the end of each day, that’s like a whole special OSDC culture!

We’ve created a google group for our regular communications on the
RepRap activities in Brisbane. http://groups.google.com/group/reprap-brisbane/web

To learn what a RepRap is, see http://reprap.org/
In a nutshell, it’s open source hardware, chemistry, mechanics, electronics, software, education, fun.
Or, in Chris Dibona’s words: “Think of RepRap as a China on your desktop.”

If you want to be part of it, please join the group.
There’s a few messages and links to get you up to speed.
We’re aiming to have a live meeting in a week and a bit.

I was just pondering that, if Asus had chosen PPC (or another RISC) for its Eee PC, rather than Intel, the Eee would have an even better battery life. Anyone know about cost difference?

Also (strategic side-effect) there wouldn’t have been the whole “it will now be preloaded with Windows at some major retailers” foo. Seeing MYER sell the Eee (with GNU Linux) was just good. In future, I understand, only “specialist stores” will be doing the Linux version, with the major shops doing the Windows version. Pity.
This is not an ordinary PC, no sense going mainstream just for the sake of it.

See http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/ for details.

I’m working on a project that needs cross-platform use, through a browser. Pondering whether to just “standardise” on FireFox since it runs on all…. that way development focus can go towards actual functionality rather than hacks to make all different browser brands behave… your thoughts?