Well, this is interesting

[ardchoille]

thats just great,before i got my MBP both my previous laptops were Asus,the first one was a budget model,the second was a top of the range model,that one is still going strong and used by my son.

Asus makes good hardware. What they need to do, in my opinion, is to offer Linux, BSD, and Unix along side Windows OS's. Bypassing secure boot wasn't difficult because EOM's haven't made it mandatory yet, but I have a feeling that day will come. And, whenit does, it's going to be much more difficult to install your favorite OS unless you assemble your own computer from parts.

 

[scifan57]

Well, I had a wonderful birthday.. got a new laptop: Asus X501U

Here are the specs (because, you know, we love specs!)
Processor: AMD Brazos APU Processor
Current Operating System: Linux Mint 14
Previous Operating System: Windows 8 (factory installed)
Chipset: AMD A68M
Memory: 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
Display: 15.6" 16:9 HD (1366x768) LED Backlight
Storage: 2.5" SATA 320GB
Card Reader: 2-in-1 card reader (SD/ MMC)
Camera: 0.3 Mega Pixel web camera
Battery: 6Cells 4400 mAh 47 Whrs
Dimensions: 38.0 x 25.3 x 2.40 ~3.23 cm (WxDxH)
Weight: 1.97 kg (with 6 cell battery)

When I first saw the present I thought "well this is too big to be a laptop", but that's what it was. This thing is huge! The first thing I did was bypass secure boot (took two minutes. not so secure me thinks) and replace Windows 8 with Linux Mint 14. It's fast and smooth with no lag. The screen is big enough to use as a desktop machine but portable enough to take with me.

I love it! I've got the best friends

Happy birthday! I'm sure all the suspense was worth it once the wrapping paper was off the new computer.

 

[ardchoille]

Happy birthday! I'm sure all the suspense was worth it once the wrapping paper was off the new computer.

It was definitely worthit!

Thanks, everyone, for the birthday wishes.. you folks ROCK!

 

[KevinJS]

Asus makes good hardware. What they need to do, in my opinion, is to offer Linux, BSD, and Unix along side Windows OS's. Bypassing secure boot wasn't difficult because EOM's haven't made it mandatory yet, but I have a feeling that day will come. And, whenit does, it's going to be much more difficult to install your favorite OS unless you assemble your own computer from parts.

Congrats on the birthday gift, Ard. Hope you enjoy it.

I don know whether anything has changed, but I seem to remember hearing some years ago that Microsoft will not allow manufacturers to supply OEM versions of Windows if they attempt to offer other operating systems.

 

[ardchoille]

I'm loving this laptop and am in the process of "ian-izing" it. Here is my first full theme for the Gnome 2/Mate desktop environments. This theme, entitled "Melissa Blue", was created by me on this laptop. I can't get over how well the GIMP works on this laptop.

I wonder how long it will be before I stop reaching for a mouse, lol.

 

[ardchoille]

Congrats on the birthday gift, Ard. Hope you enjoy it.

I don know whether anything has changed, but I seem to remember hearing some years ago that Microsoft will not allow manufacturers to supply OEM versions of Windows if they attempt to offer other operating systems.

Yeah,sadly, Microsoft hates competiton.