StarDestroyer.Net BBS

For a long time I had been wishing for a portable computer that "just gets the job done". I am no power user or particularly computer savvy. I type, I code and I watch movies. So I got an EEE PC last week instead of buying yet another laptop will become obsolete in a year. Now all I have to do is to replace the barebones XP with proper software. By proper software I mean mp3 players that don't browse the internet or read "rss" but just plays songs. I need minimalistic software that is fast and not bloated.

- A C++ compiler with OpenGL support. No need to produce optimized code I have my microsith machine running VS 2005 for producing the final executable. An editor, a debugger, a compiler and two buttons that say "compille and run" and "debug" is all that is needed.

- an mp3 player that plays songs according to a set playlist. no need for burning CDs, ripping CDs, genociding CDs.

- a fast lightweight browser that does not commit suicide when encountering bloated web 2.0 crap like facebook.com. if it has a text only mode it would be even more fantastic for times I am connecting thru a mobile phone that charges by the kilobyte.

- a video player for divx and xvid formats.

- a text editor with spell checker and .rtf format support. Not a word processor. the arcane text manipulation shit MS Word does has left a bitter experience.

Finally I am not familiat with linux beyond hearing it is a good alternative. If it is so it is certainly worthing learning to use. Would the needs I outlined be better served by installing linux ? If so which linux version would offer these bare minimum needs instead of cluttering up the screen with an unnecessary pretty GUI ?

If it is so it is certainly worthing learning to use. Would the needs I outlined be better served by installing linux ? If so which linux version would offer these bare minimum needs instead of cluttering up the screen with an unnecessary pretty GUI ?

Most of what you need is available on Linux - the only thing I'm not sure about is the compiler, but I'd be surprised if a good one wasn't available somewhere. You can use FF3.0b with ELinks for the web, Mplayer for multimedia, and Ted or Abiword for text editing. Ubuntu's alternate install with a lightweight WM might also tax the system less than XP.

GCC should be standard with most Linux installs, and it should be able to do what you want. However you will need a separate program to edit the code (you will have a choice there), and you will probably have to use it from the command line.

So my suggestion is to ask around to find which distros work on the EEE PC, install one and see if it does all that you want it to.