One as a full-time desktop?

I like my One so much that I'm considering using it to replace my noisy desktop PC. My plan is to get an externally powered USB hub, which I would use to hook up an external hard drive, USB keyboard and mouse and maybe in the future a DVD burner, as well as the various iPods, cameras, thumb drives etc.

I would like to install Fedora (version 10 when it comes out) on the USB drive and keep Linpus on the SSD so that when the HD is hooked up it boots into Fedora and when unplugged it boots into Linpus. I assume the only thing I would have to do to make that work would be to change the default boot order in the BIOS. Would there be anything more to it?

I've already tested Linpus on my external monitor after editing xorg.conf, and it worked at 1680x1050, but the fonts didn't appear as clear as I would like. I'm hoping regular Fedora will work better. Does anybody know if this will work?

I'm also wondering if the hardware is suitable for full-time desktop use. I plan on adding a gig of RAM and putting a swap partition on the USB drive. My current desktop has 2GB of RAM and an Athlon MP 1050 processor, so the specs would appear not to be that much different. But how will the Atom processor and all the tiny notebook components hold up to day-in and day-out desktop use? Mainly my wife and I just use our PC for Web surfing, e-mail, word-processing, light photo editing and a few low-end Windows games using Wine, such as spider solitaire and Taipei.

Is anybody else using your One as a desktop? How is it working? Are there any problems I haven't yet considered?

 

I would assume that booting Fedora from USB to use as your primary desktop would be unfeasible. Also, bear in mind that you will have to dissasemble it to add the RAM.

 

There's no reason why you cant do this if you see that you will be able to work better. But that being said, laptops... and more so on these tiny budget netbooks, they are not designed to be used 24/7 as much as desktops are used. So you may not get the reliability of dedicated desktops. It may run well for a few months, but i can imagine the ONE starting to falter after a few months of being used as a desktop replacement. Just my 2 cents bro.

PS - there's an Asus EEE Desktop PC coming, to those fond of small systems. You may want to look into that solution instead.

 

go for it
im sure the aao wouldnt have any issues with it.

 

>> they are not designed to be used 24/7 as much as desktops are used. So you may not get the reliability of dedicated desktops. It may run well for a few months, but i can imagine the ONE starting to falter after a few months of being used as a desktop replacement.

What an absurd statement! There's no reason the ONE won't be as reliable as any other desktop or laptop.

 

In my experience, laptops tend to be less reliable than desktops. This is certainly improving as time passes, but they still generate a lot of heat in a small space. Being smaller, it's easier for dust to start clogging things as well.

That being said, it would probably work, but by the time you've got your external drive and such going, it seems you'd be better off with a $500-$550 dollar laptop with a Dual Core, probably more RAM, and the like. A lot, of course, depends upon what you do with it.

As for Fedora fonts, I know that on Fedora forums, there are various discussions and howtos. I only have a relatively small screen, even on my desktops, so I'm not all that knowledgeable about it. However, I suspect that it would probably be decent. (That's NOT a guarantee--your best bet would probably be to ask on the Fedora forums--with over 100,000 members, you're more likely to find someone who has definitely tried that size monitor.

 

Well, you people are all over the map on this one! Thanks for all the replies, everybody. Guess I'll just have to try it and see what happens .

 

I've used a laptop PC for day in, day out desktop operation for many years. I'm on my fourth laptop now -- not because the others have failed, but because the demands of applications have increased. One great feature of laptops on the desktop is that you get dual-monitor support with only one external monitor (if you see what I mean). The old ones have been `handed down' to people who don't, e.g, edit HD DVD videos. My first Dell laptop, which I got ten years ago, is still going strong and has been used all day, every day. Mind you, the built-in CDROM drive has packed up -- I guess nothing lasts forever.

But I wouldn't use my One as a desktop machine, because it doesn't have the oomph to run the applications I use. And I think that if I had most of my storage on external USB drives it would only make that situation worse. But I have no reason to think there will be a reliability problem, compared to any other machine.

 

There are a couple of great points up here in these responses. First, I too have used laptops as my primary desktop since (gasp!) my Zenith SuperSport laptop (go Google it). With the exception of some high-end graphics programs, I have never found any of my laptops to be lacking when compared to desktops.

I do agree that some programs, such as graphics programs, work better on larger screens with higher resolutions. I find that my Microsoft Project files are cramped on the smaller AAO screen. But that does not mean I can't work with it.

My solution has been to keep my large laptop at my office, have my AAO with me, and use sync software like FolderShare to make sure the two systems are kept updated.

Whenever I travel, I only bring the AAO now. I love the weight and size and I'm not crammed into my airline seat with my laptop anymore.

Give it a go! You'd be surprised how much you will begin to rely upon your AAO for everyday work.

Regards,

Paul

 

Syncing Outlook Express with Foldershare

Can you tell me how to synch my Outlook Express with Foldershare?

I want my OE files to reside on my desktop but when I open OE on my AAO I can save to the correct folders and they get archived on the desktop on the next sync...

Help! I'm new at this whole laptop stuff.