by Joel McNamara ASUS Eee PC FOR DUMmIES ‰ by Joel McNamara ASUS Eee PC FOR DUMmIES ‰ ASUS Eee PC For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. 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Library of Congress Control Number: ISBN: 978-0-470-41154-4 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 About the Author Joel McNamara started using computers in the Dark Ages (1980 to be precise), and if the words NorthStar Horizon, ARPANET, PDP-11, Kaypro, and Apple Lisa mean anything to you, like in the movie Zelig, he was there. Over the years Joel has worked, among other things, as a programmer, technical writer, and manager for a number of companies in the high-tech sector. He currently writes and consults on technology he fi nds interesting (like little Linux laptops). Joel is also the author of GPS For Dummies, Geocaching For Dummies, and Secrets of Computer Espionage: Tactics & Countermeasures (all published by Wiley). Acknowledgments First, thanks to ASUS for starting the mini-laptop/netbook revolution and providing support for this book. Next, I’d like to thank the members of the band. On bass (my Wiley acquisi- tions editor) Kyle Looper, on drums (technical editor) Charlton Ho, on guitar, copy editor Mary Lagu, and on keyboard, the man who brings it all together, Marvelous Mark Enochs (project editor maximus). Also, everyone else at Wiley who did background vocals. One day I hope to have the pleasure to meet you all in person. Thank you. Thank you very much. Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions and Editorial Senior Project Editor: Mark Enochs Acquisitions Editor: Kyle Looper Copy Editor: Mary Lagu Technical Editor: Charlton Ho Editorial Manager: Leah Cameron Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Composition Services Senior Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees Layout and Graphics: Reuben W. Davis, Nikki Gately, Christin Swinford, Ronald Terry Proofreaders: John Greenough, Nancy L. Reinhardt Indexer: Infodex Indexing Services, Inc. Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services Contents at a Glance Introduction ................................................................ 1 Part I: Getting Started with the Eee PC ......................... 7 Chapter 1: Meet the Eee PC ..............................................................................................9 Chapter 2: First Steps with the Eee PC ..........................................................................23 Chapter 3: Getting Connected with the Eee PC ............................................................37 Part II: Day to Day with the Eee PC ............................ 53 Chapter 4: Cruising the Internet ....................................................................................55 Chapter 5: Getting Down to Work I: OpenOffi ce ..........................................................75 Chapter 6: Getting Down to Work II: Other Programs .................................................91 Chapter 7: Eee PC for Kids ............................................................................................107 Chapter 8: Eee PC at Play ..............................................................................................127 Chapter 9: Confi guring the Eee PC ...............................................................................147 Chapter 10: Getting Help ...............................................................................................169 Chapter 11: Eee PC and Windows XP ..........................................................................181 Part III: Adding Software to the Eee PC ..................... 193 Chapter 12: Installing Linux Software..........................................................................195 Chapter 13: Popular Linux Programs ..........................................................................209 Chapter 14: Popular Free Windows Programs ...........................................................223 Part IV: Hardware and Accessories for the Eee PC ...... 233 Chapter 15: Expanding Storage and Memory .............................................................235 Chapter 16: Essential Eee PC Accessories ..................................................................249 Chapter 17: Power to the Eee PC .................................................................................263 Part V: Eee PC Advanced Topics ................................ 279 Chapter 18: Backing Up and Restoring the Eee PC ....................................................281 Chapter 19: A Real Desktop: Advanced Mode ............................................................293 Chapter 20: Command-Line Linux................................................................................303 Chapter 21: Customizing the User Interface ...............................................................315 Part VI: Part of Tens ................................................ 329 Chapter 22: Ten Eee PC Troubleshooting Tips ..........................................................331 Chapter 23: Top Ten Eee PC Internet Resources .......................................................341 Bonus Chapter 1: Using Other Linux Distributions .................................................BC-1 Bonus Chapter 2: Ten Power Saving Tips .................................................................BC-1 Index ...................................................................... 341