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Dear Asus,

I have found that the EeePC is an awesome product. I have purchased two of them and helped many other people make the decision to buy one. I also look forward to the release of the EeeTV. As an ASUS consumer and advocate I would like to share my views on the use and function of the Linux operating system on the Eee line of pc’s.

The decision to go with Linux was a great move. There are not enough manufacturers supporting Linux to the extent that ASUS has. I would, as a Linux user like to see ASUS extend support beyond the Xandros operating system. I am not a linux purest who thinks that ASUS must release the source code for all the software that makes the Eee Pc a great little machine. What I would like to see is precompiled packages that can be plugged into the most popular of Linux distributions like SUSE, Debian, Ubuntu, Mandriva and Fedora. I would also like to see full synaptic support to Xandros Repositories and full desktop support.

ASUS one of the reasons that you have done so well and had so much success is that you gave users more options with your Eee Pc’s. Linux users have been very excited at the prospect of having such a neat little computer with Linux support. The same Linux users that have helped ASUS succeed prefer operating systems and computers that offer freedom. It is up to you to foster that good will by understanding the Linux consumer and his philosophy. The Linux user will work around obsticles that hamper his or her computer operating experience, but they will praise and avidly support the company who makes that job easier. With so many compact computers popping up in the market these days, your early out of the chute advantage may dwindle. It would make good sense to build stronger relationships with those users who support ASUS.

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I have had the responsibility of working a bunch of different operating systems lately, which prompted me to reflect on which operating systems I use and why.

For my own use I prefer Linux because it is stable, secure, powerful and free. Linux gives me the ability to work with just about any file and not deal with proprietary BS or DRM. I try to find Linux equivalents to all the Windows software that I would want to run and many times I find software that just works better. Linux has come a long way in the past 8 yrs that I have been using it and it can be used as a viable desktop replacement however, I personally need to resort to the command more than I would like and probably more than many users could tolerate.

I made a pledge to my wife that next time we bought her a new computer that we would get here a MAC. I chose to get her a MAC because it is stable, secure, powerful and offers a greater chance of hardware support for printers and external devices. She has had a very good experience with her MAC and the only complaint that I really have about it is the cost. MAC’s are expensive and the software tends too be expensive.

We do have a windows machine which we keep around because of the greater variety of low cost commercial software available. It is sometimes necessary to pay for software in order to get things done. I have used Windows machines for about 15yrs so I am fairly adept at getting them to do what I want, and I have tons of software that I have accumulated over the years. The problem with windows is that they in general lack stability. Blue screens of death and rebooting is not what I consider fun. I know that the new Windows Vista is out and some people think it is great, but the few times the I have had to work on it I have found it to be a resource hogging pain in the butt.

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GeeksOk is always trying out new things, our latest endeavor is a calender called “Orchid Obsession” and was made with twelve unique pictures of orchids. My mom and dad were the first to receive copies of the calendar and they say it is as professional as any that they have ever seen. If you need a calendar and would like to help support our geek habits you can get the calendar from our Lulu.com store

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I have put up the structure for the homeschool classroom and will start putting up content and lesson plans this week. I would like to emphasize that GeeksOk is a community and as a community we welcome any suggestions or help that you may want to give. If you are a homeschool parent and want to manage one of the classes just e-mail me and I will help get you started.

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Well, it’s time again to start school in Oklahoma. I think it’s crazy to start this early with temperatures just now staying in the upper 90’s and 100’s but no one really asked me.

Some of you may not know that I am a science teacher by profession, so I have been busy getting ready for school to start. I will be teaching Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science and Principles of Technology as well as driving a bus route and manageing a network of 200+ computer workstations. As you might imagine this leaves very little free time ;however, I am determined to create new blog posts regularly. Which brings me to my next point.

I will be creating a resource for home schoolers. My wife and I home schooled our two boys for grades 4th – 8th and my wife being the really organized one saved all of our lesson plans. I will be posting the lesson plans and making book recommendations on our GeeksOk Online Classroom The classroom will be free to use and share and I hope that you will find it useful.

The motivation to share these resources stems from the fact that my nephew will start homeschooling this year and is in the 4th grade.I hope to also encourage my wife to share some of her experiences as a homeschool mom. You can help by asking lots of questions.

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