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Displays Hardware

Asus Launches Touchscreen Eee Desktop 157

Posted by kdawson from the smearing-the-peanut-butter-and-jelly dept.
Barence writes "Asus has launched an Eee-branded 15.6" touchscreen desktop PC as a budget rival to HP's TouchSmart. Available for pre-order now on Play.com for £399.99 ($749), it shares much of the same specification as the Eee PC, but with a larger 160GB hard disk. Interestingly, it's listed as coming with XP installed, so we'd guess Asus will be using some sort of proprietary touchscreen interface — yet the image on the site clearly shows Linux on the screen, which may be a better bet for an easy-to-use touch system."
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Asus Launches Touchscreen Eee Desktop More

Asus Launches Touchscreen Eee Desktop

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  • HP wha? (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by Ant P. ( 974313 )

    Looks more like they're trying to compete with the iMac from that picture.

  • So its a sort of giant, non-mobile tablet? -g

  • Touchscreen?? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Finallyjoined!!! ( 1158431 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @04:15PM (#25373793)
    Why oh why would anyone want a touchscreen? It's hard enough to make out stuff on my flat screen, through the greasy fingerprints, as it is. (Have to hot-desk)

    It would be even worse after Marmite on toast :-)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by pembo13 ( 770295 )
      Why are you touching your screen if you don't have a touchscreen?

      • People come to my cube all the time and poke my screen to point things out. Quite annoying.

        • My point exactly, and it's even worse when you have to sit at the desk previously occupied by someone with a predilection for jammy doughnuts and a nasty habit of running their fingers over the screen. :-(

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tsa ( 15680 )

          I would just slap their fingers.

        • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

          by lysergic.acid ( 845423 )

          maybe Asus should sell a Don't-Touchscreen Eee Desktop.

          just design the monitor so that any direct physical contact with the LCD display area produces a mild (or not so mild) electric shock--the greasier the finger, the higher the current.

          perhaps they can even license the technology which Honda has apparently built into my car door. every time i get out of the car and grab the metal frame of the door to shut it, i get a nice jolt of static electricity. it's gotten to the point where i'll only put my hand on

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tmalone ( 534172 )

          think about how terrible it would be if the screen were touch sensitive. People would constantly be moving your cursor around and hitting buttons you don't want hit. This again brings up the question, 'why would you want a touchscreen?'

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by exley ( 221867 )

        Why are you touching your screen if you don't have a touchscreen?

        The same reason people touch themselves: because s/he can.

      • Re:Touchscreen?? (Score:4, Funny)

        by couchslug ( 175151 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @07:52PM (#25376475)

        "Why are you touching your screen if you don't have a touchscreen?"

        I'm trying to wipe off the collateral damage from my...surfing habits.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by ziggy00001 ( 1250832 )
      "Why oh why would anyone want a touchscreen?" 3 words "Point of Sale"

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by itomato ( 91092 )

        Ex-act-ly.

        @ $749, it would be a serious mainstream option in a world of segregated niche hardware.

        The POS world is sorely missing cheap hardware of this class. There are a few vendors that will happily sell you a PC equipped for POS duty, but those systems are frequently bundled with service plans, value-add POS software, or the like.

        1. Buy one of these
        2. Get a cash drawer, a receipt printer, magstripe reader, keyboard, barcode scanner, and free POS platform [openlpos.org]
        3. Eliminate two (three?) weak, costly links in t

    • Re:Touchscreen?? (Score:5, Funny)

      by physicsphairy ( 720718 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @04:41PM (#25374173)

      It would be even worse after Marmite on toast :-)

      Incorrect.

      After you've been forced to eat Marmite on toast, nothing is worse.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by KermodeBear ( 738243 )

      I agree 100%. I do not see the point of a touch screen for home or business use. The screen will quickly get smudged up and look gross and nasty and require constant cleaning. Of course, I suppose you could wear gloves, but how silly would it be to have to put on The Computer Gloves every time you wanted to look at something? More chances to scratch the display as well, and don't get too excited - you may push your computer right over.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by b0bby ( 201198 )

        I don't know - I had a 3Com Audrey sitting in a corner for years, and it was great for quickly looking up something or checking email. The screen was not an issue, even though it was being touched all the time (well, much of the time we used the stylus, but by no means all the time). I would guess that we gave it a wipe every 6 months or so. Something like this would be great on a kitchen counter, for example, though not for $750.

    • EVE Online through a touchscreen interface, FTW!

    • It would be even worse after Marmite on toast :-)

      What the heck is Marmite? Is it some kind of industrial orange jam used to weld railroad ties together?

      *googles*

      Oh, it's some British soy sauce equivalent. I think I'd rather eat my version.

      • Soy sauce equivalent?

        No soy I'm afraid, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite [wikipedia.org]

        I recommend it :-)

        • Uh, yeah, it was the wiki article that said it was comparable to soy sauce in flavor.

          Except it's British, which means it's probably an even nastier thing to spread on toast than soy sauce would be.

          But I kid the British and their terrible, terrible food. ;)

          • Heh.

            Comparable to soy sauce as Orange marmelade is to Strawberry jam :-)

            Marmite spread over Spam makes Spam almost palatable..

            Disclaimer: I said "almost" :-)

            • Comparable to soy sauce as Orange marmelade is to Strawberry jam :-)

              Ah, so it is a nasty British version of soy sauce. ;)

              • You got me :^D,

                how about:

                Colman's English Mustard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colmans [wikipedia.org] to that vinegary gloop, French's, you cover a hot-dog with ;-)

                In a strange twist of fate, French's is now owned by the company that used to own Colman's.

                • Well I'm not about to defend French's, even against the British, so I'll give you that one. Not that I prefer yellow mustard to begin with, so I doubt I'd find Colman's to be a jewel in the rough that is the Kingdom. ;)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Belial6 ( 794905 )
      I am always surprised how often people shun technology because they don't understand it. The problem with touching current screens is that they are not designed to be touched. The surface is a material that does not clean well. All that needs to be done is put a smooth glass surface and the screen can be easily cleaned to a perfectly clean state. Personally, I'm kind of annoyed that current monitors don't come with a flat non-porous surface.

  • One thing I've always wondered... (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    How the hell do you pronounce the durn thing? I've always been calling it the "Triple-E", but saying "an Triple-E" isn't proper English. So what is it? E e e? A drawn-out e? Something else?

    • Tertiary-E?

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Tertiareee

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by beav007 ( 746004 )
          It's supposed to be a kind of scream. Like when someone buys one, you go "You bought a WHAT?!?!" and then scream...

    • Re:One thing I've always wondered... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Drooling Iguana ( 61479 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @04:35PM (#25374085)

      According to Wikipedia [wikipedia.org], it's pronounced like the letter "e", but that's stupid so I just call it the Triple-E.

    • Re:One thing I've always wondered... (Score:4, Informative)

      by vux984 ( 928602 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @05:22PM (#25374731)

      That's a surprisingly common mistake. its "a Triple-E" not "an Triple-E". You always alter the article (a or an) based on the sound of what you are actually saying.

        a Liquid Crystal Display
        an LCD ("ell-see-dee")

        an AAA member (pronouncing each letter: ay-ay-ay)
        a Triple "A" member

      As for the eee, its pronounced as a regular long 'e',
      or 'eee' is to 'eee PC' what 'i' is to 'iPod'

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by tkw954 ( 709413 )

        That's a surprisingly common mistake. its "a Triple-E" not "an Triple-E".

        It's "it's", not "its".

    • How the hell do you pronounce the durn thing? I've always been calling it the "Triple-E", but saying "an Triple-E" isn't proper English. So what is it? E e e? A drawn-out e? Something else?

      Actually, i never really noticed how many E's were in it, i just call it the E-E-PC. Kind of wrong, but if you look at it like E-ee-PC, it works, and it sounds good.
      -Taylor

  • Hampster Ball! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Atheose ( 932144 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @04:25PM (#25373939)
    Well how are you supposed to mount that inside a hampster ball? [xkcd.com]

  • Touch Screen interface (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Widowwolf ( 779548 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @04:30PM (#25374031) Homepage
    "Interestingly, it's listed as coming with XP installed, so we'd guess Asus will be using some sort of proprietary touchscreen interface -- yet the image on the site clearly shows Linux on the screen, which may be a better bet for an easy-to-use touch system" Honest question, not flaming: Ok, so if its a proprietary touchscreen interface, why would it be so much easier on Linux then XP

    • Re:Touch Screen interface (Score:5, Informative)

      by exley ( 221867 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @04:37PM (#25374107) Homepage

      Honest question, not flaming: Ok, so if its a proprietary touchscreen interface, why would it be so much easier on Linux then XP

      I had the exact same thought. I have a convertible tablet laptop, and sorry, but the tablet support and applications under XP and Vista are much better than what I've seen for Linux. In fact, I have Linux installed on this laptop (as well as tablet/stylus support and apps) but never use it. Unless if things have changed or I've missed out on something with Linux, I don't see why things would be much different for touchscreens as well.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Repossessed ( 1117929 )

        X recently integrated a touch screen interface, so yes, things are a bit different. I can't say how well it works though.

    • Re:Touch Screen interface (Score:5, Informative)

      by TheNetAvenger ( 624455 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @04:51PM (#25374313)

      Interestingly, it's listed as coming with XP installed, so we'd guess Asus will be using some sort of proprietary touchscreen interface

      I think this statement is also pulling straws.

      A) An XP interface would NOT be any harder than a freaking mouse driver.

      B) TabletPC XP already has multi-touch driver interfaces, that go back to 2003 from several vendors. Yes Apple Fans, WindowsXP TabeltPC devices existed back in 2003/2004 with multi-touch, far before any iPhone or multi-touch trackpads from Apple.

      Crap like this is why Apple's marketing works so well, it gets repeated no matter what the truth is.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by Colonel Korn ( 1258968 )

        Interestingly, it's listed as coming with XP installed, so we'd guess Asus will be using some sort of proprietary touchscreen interface

        I think this statement is also pulling straws.

        A) An XP interface would NOT be any harder than a freaking mouse driver.

        B) TabletPC XP already has multi-touch driver interfaces, that go back to 2003 from several vendors. Yes Apple Fans, WindowsXP TabeltPC devices existed back in 2003/2004 with multi-touch, far before any iPhone or multi-touch trackpads from Apple.

        Crap like this is why Apple's marketing works so well, it gets repeated no matter what the truth is.

        Thanks. I was insisting to a friend a couple months ago that another friend of mine had a multitouch Windows tablet of some sort long, long before Apple had anything of the sort. Now I can easily find the wiki pages to send to him to prove it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Lumpy ( 12016 )

        Um hello?

        I have a WFW 3.11 for touchscreens on a Dauphin DTR1 back in the day.

        Tablets are not new at ALL in any way shape or form. Microsoft touts this stuff every 5 years as "revolutionary" Bah.

        It sucked then, it sucks now. In fact the Handwriting recognition was better back then. Somehow it got worse as XP and Vista came along.

        • Tablets are not new at ALL in any way shape or form. Microsoft touts this stuff every 5 years as "revolutionary" Bah.

          It sucked then, it sucks now. In fact the Handwriting recognition was better back then. Somehow it got worse as XP and Vista came along.

          Ok, you are missing the point, and losing some credibility here.

          1) This was about 'multi-touch', not touch or tablet devices.
          2) Yes, Pen Windows 3.1 was around in the 1993 timeframe, and I know this because our company made products for it.
          3) As for recogniti

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by theJML ( 911853 )

        I've got a G4 Powerbook at work I use on a daily basis. It came with a multi-touch pad, but the drivers didn't recognize it that way. A simple update of the drivers to iTouch and it's now all multi touch capable. The one I got came out in 2002.

        In all honesty though, I remember my Pentium 120 pre-mmx notebook having the ability to sense multiple touches, but the driver didn't do anything other than purposely ignore them, assuming the second finger was your palm. I'm sure it could have been hacked, but I was

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • So it took 8 years to get a follow-up to 3Com's Audrey. At least it is a $100 bucks cheaper this time.

  • I can't see the touchscreen being anything more than a gimmick. But that tends to go against what the box is made for in the first place? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a simple computer to be able to do web/email/office work? Non-graphics intensive, etc?

    Adding a touchscreen would allow you to do what exactly? I can't see it adding ease to surfing/word processing.... However, the HDD space could be useful, so kudos there...

    • Adding a touchscreen would allow you to do what exactly?

      It would allow you to touch the screen to interact with your computer... kinda though that was obvious...

      Kidding aside, the DS showed that at least with games, the touchscreen could be used well, just takes a little imagination. It wouldn't improve programs or current interfaces much, but that's to be expected as current interfaces were not specifically designed for touchscreen input, they were designed for a mouse. I didn't own a computer at the time, but I would guess that when the computer mouse was f

      • Well, when the mouse came out, it was for use with GUIs - made immediate, perfect sense.
        Did not catch on immediately, as the primary user interface back then was the text screen...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      It's a video phone that can surf the web.

  • um (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Linux... easy-to-use

    head asplode

  • This is pretty close. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by dbc001 ( 541033 ) on Tuesday October 14, 2008 @04:47PM (#25374251)
    This is pretty close to the one thing that my home network is missing.

    I'd love to have a little wall-mountable computer that could play videos, mp3s, and interact with my network.

    No need for a fast cpu - i'm not going to do any work standing there; or play any games. But with a webcam and Skype or IM, it would make a great phone replacement. Maybe a photo screensaver that pulls from a network folder or flickr account.

    Basically what I'm looking for is a larger (and faster) version of the Nokia n800. I'll definitely buy one when they get the size and price right.

    • a friend of mine does large boat electrics and control systems, the interface they have to the engines and statistics monitors/dead man alarms etc is in fact a touch screen core 2 duo, while I'm fairly sure the ones he chose were more cost effective, there are lots of things like these [nexus404.com] about.

      it only really lacks in the video card, more than enough power for any kind of video or audio you could want

    • YES! I especially love the video and mp3 part! Maybe for security cams, too? Or door bells? Or something like checking if your mail box is full, if the cat/dog/fish needs to be fed!

      Being wall-mounted would be great. And the fact that this is likely only going to be ~500$ (UK/Europe often gets screwed, and I'm hoping that 700$+ figure was guestimated) it's going to be great.

      Not only that, but I know of plenty of places this would go... If I could get it without HDD, or with an SSD, I would so buy it and run

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )

      Crestron has had that stuff for decades. I install 6" and 8" web enabled touchscreens weekly in people's homes.

      Granted this is not toy crap that the poor ($350,000 a year and under income levels, you poor schmucks get as advanced as X10 before you freak out about price) but those that dont even bat an eye at installing a $5000.00 15" touchscreen above his urinal in the mens bathe outside the home theater. Or the 32" Plasma in the shower behind glass imbedded in the tile showing his stocks. They have all t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by shrikel ( 535309 )

      Actually, last weekend I put a computer in my kitchen [integralitservices.com] that is just a Neoware thin client I bought used from a nearby University for $20. The unit is actually between two studs in the wall, below the monitor. The monitor is set into the wall, such that it is flush with the drywall. And since it's just RDP'ed into my main desktop (using that old hack to allow multiple concurrent sessions), I have all my programs, and more importantly, my settings and data, so it's much more useful for me and my wife than h

  • Release a touchscreen/tablet Eee PC laptop.

  • That means no multitouch or Tablet functionality. Handy to read ebooks perhaps and operate non-existing toy-like software.

    What is desired is a TabletPC + multitouch hybrid. This one has neither and thus is a niche product using obsolete technology.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Sark666 ( 756464 )

      Yes I agree. And I've never looked but it's disappointing to read linux doesn't have great support for touch displays, well according to other posts listed here.

      And I've always pictured a multitouch being able to bring up a virtual keyboard so one can type a quick email/message. I know virtual keyboards have existed for ages, but I mean a nice, maybe semi-transparent overlay keyboard that can be quickly brought up/discarded.

      Does the Mac or some other windows variant have something like this?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by kisrael ( 134664 )

        Oddly enough that's kind of the trick the iPhone uses...

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by oakgrove ( 845019 )
        I'm not sure what problem anyone else on here is having with their touch screens and Linux but the 7" touch screen Xenarc LCD attached to the PC in my car works perfectly with Ubuntu 8.04. The drivers and calibration software is an easy download from their site and a shell script away to install. I can't imagine it being easier or working better on Windows.

        Of course, I am a bit selective in the hardware I buy. I love using Linux on my computers and wouldn't use anything else so I am willing to do the l

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Sark666 ( 756464 )

          I'm totally willing as well. More details though. Does that have a virtual keyboard feature? Multi-touch?

          With touch interfaces, there's the bare minimum of mimicking a mouse (and how well? easy to navigate?) but then there's driver issues and then any additional software that takes advantage of it, like the virt keyboard or say an image program recognizing swipes, stretch with two fingers etc.

          • Hi, for a virtual keyboard, I use xvkbd. It works great and is in the repositories for just about every distribution. The great thing about it and what, in my opinion, makes it even better than what you get with the Windows tablet edition and most of the other commercial soft virtual keyboards, is it is freely resizeable so if you have fat fingers, you just make it as big as necessary, otherwise, keep it small and once you set the size, it stays that way everytime you bring it up. It looks almost just li

  • This is neat and keen, but what I really need for my sales force is a CHEAP touchscreen laptop.

    If they did this to their current laptop model, I'd be screaming for a passle of these.

  • The summary is right- the screen on the sample image of the computer is most definitely Linux. In fact, it is the same Linux that is used on the EEE's. Why would they load Linux on the machine take marketing images of it, then have a press release saying it will use MS-Windows? Perhaps there will be more than one model/offering?

    And why would anyone get excited about a low-powered computer with a 15" monitor that is $750??? That hardly seems like a very interesting price point, even for a touchscreen.

  • You guys are idiots. A standard Windows XP Tablet install does touch screen WAY BETTER than any Linux interface I have ever used. Maemo included. Somehow it's assumed some propriatary interface of some kind is being used. You can seriously just tap the start menu with your finger.

  • Unless they can come up with a better ad than HP's, I don't see how people are going to spend money on this. At that price range, people are looking at value. A smaller screen is not a better value.

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