Is that Leopard on the Asus Eee PC? You betcha!

It might look like Mac OS X 10.5 on the miniscule Asus Eee PC because... it is. But not in the way you'd initially think. I've worked no magic (nor broken any laws) to turn this Linux-totin' machine into a mini MacBook. Instead, I was just testing the Remote Desktop capabilities included with Xandros Linux and I'm remotely accessing and controlling my MacBook Pro. Steve and I had some e-mail conversation on this feature; he called it a "hidden gem" and as a mobile user, I'd agree that there's value here.

On the other hand, the target audience of the Eee will likely never miss or know about such a feature, so I wouldn't expect to see Asus touting it too loudly. By the way Mac users, Leopard essentially includes VNC, so it was a simple matter of setting up the Screen Sharing / Remote Control functions to get this working. And it works quite well on my local LAN, in fact! Now to get some 3G going on the Eee so I can test it while I'm on the road. ;)

Comments

[JHall]

Could you post a How to with screen shots. I think alot of the people that read your site would like to learn how you was able to do this. i guess the Foleo would not have been a bad Idea. I think Palm would have been able to gain momentum. Good luck with the eee PC and I hope to see alot of post on the portable device. It has many more uses that it lets on. I just wish windows would release a light weight version. Something like Windows xp embedded. I would be a low price os and be able to have a kernal and add drivers later.So you could have a lean os with fast bootup and device capiblity that linux does not also have.

Thanks for the posts Kevin. Keep up the good work.

Thanks,

Joshua A. Hall

[jg]

I have been using OSXVNC as a server on the iBook and RealVNC on the Q1 to view and control the iBook from the Q1. Works fine, and is great for using Logic and other music software with the pen input.

[Sam]

...and don't forget to pray to the gods of universal plug and play whilst your router is being accessed

[Aaron J. Walker]

Wow Kevin, sounds as if you are starting to become quite enamored of your little Eee PC. I haven't seen you this excited since your copy of Leopard arrived ;)

[Kevin C. Tofel]

It's just a fun and different little platform so I'm enjoying my play time. ;)

[Aaron J. Walker]

Fun enough for the kids? Have you let your children play around with it to get their reactions? That could be a very interesting perspective that many of the reviews missed, especially Asus' press info shows it being used by kids.

[Kevin C. Tofel]

Yes and yes. More to follow... ;)