Even though it is less than two years old, the EEE 700-series' software is no longer supported by Asus. The update service no longer works, and standard software can't being updated, such as OpenOffice and FireFox.
The XEPC.org organization has given up updating, as well. Their final relase came out at the end of December, last year. Even then, Asus Linux v.17 does not include FireFox 3 or OpenOffice 3 -- the latter needed for dealing with .docx files.
It occurred to me that I should try installing Linux Mint on my Asus 700, one of the 4G models. (4G means that it has a 4GB FlashRAM drive for its "hard drive.") I first tried out Mint to see if it was compatible with the Asus, because not all Linuxes work with all hardware combinations. I booted the Asus with a USB drive; it worked.
- Mint connects to wireless networking much, much faster than did the Asus Linux.
- Sound, video, and all other hardware are are supported.
- More free disk space after installation (roughly 1GB free, instead of about 800MB).
The only drawback is that Mint boots more slowly than the amazing 25 seconds that Asus Linux does; this is balanced by the much faster network connect speed. The other issue is that some dialog boxes are too large for the Asus' tiny 800x640 screen, but all I need to do is to hold down the Alt key, and then drag the dialog box around with the cursor.
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