As requested, I am posting instructions for making your your own Eee case. With some adjustments, this case could also be used for e-book devices as well. Since my first bag I must have made eight more trying to get the bag just right. I ended up with various results. I am finally pleased with my latest revisions. Writing sewing instructions is a lot harder than I thought. That said, hopefully my instructions are easy to follow. If not, please feel free to email me with any questions. The instructions are here in pdf format. Enjoy!
I really like the cases offered at Fabrix Cases, but I just can’t see paying $40 for about $4 in materials and limited design choices. Earlier this year, I had mentioned that I would try to make my own case. I looked at lots of different patterns from McCalls, Simplicity, and Kwik Sew; however each one would have to be modified for size. Also I wanted a bag based on Fabrix’s design. At that point I decided to just make my own pattern. The red case pictured here represents my first attempt. For the outside I used a 17″ x 17″ napkin I bought at Target. It was in a pack of two for $2. For the lining I used 1/2 yd of novelty fabric from Walmart. The fabric was $2 a yd. I didn’t draw out a pattern, but guestimated the needed size using a ruler and the Eee Pc’s dimensions. I like the fit, but it just seems a bit bulky since I used ½ inch foam padding. I originally wanted ¼ inch in thickness, but I don’t know if that would have given me the amount of protection I want. I placed the Velcro a bit too high and later I just added another strip. My second bag pictured below was made based on my first attempt and I added an extra inch in width. Another change I made was to round the corners on both the flap and the sleeve. This time I did make a paper pattern. This bag lies flatter, but the fit is a bit loose (but not too much). I do think that it is a great size for my various e-book devices although I’ll never know (my daughter has taken possession). So now I am creating a third pattern, this time I am subtracting some of the ease previously added. Hopefully, the third time is the charm. It’s been a lot of fun and the best part is that I know no one will have the same case. The case is quick and easy to make and I doubt if it cost me more than $5. If anyone is interested, I will post directions, pattern, and materials.
Try as I might I could not finish a good completion of my Kindle review. I am just not interested in the reader. It took me forever to find a book to buy and download. Since Amazon has the one click buy and download, I quickly learned that you got to be very careful when browsing. If you are not paying attention there is the possibility that you will buy something by mistake. I feel as though I have to adjust myself to the reader rather than the reader adjusting to me. For example, I rarely get to read during the day. Most of my leisure reading takes place at night so in order to use the Kindle I have to use a light. To be fair I knew that and that’s the reason why I don’t get much use out of my Sony reader either. Another adjustment is the case. It makes the reader bulky to me. At home I remove it, but I wanted to try using the reader in a different environment. I toted it with me to a coffee café and used the case to keep it from any damage. It was just too uncomfortable for me. M-edge plans to offer a cover for the Kindle. It should be out within a couple of weeks. Maybe that will change my mind about using the device. They do have the second generation Sony reader cases available for pre-order. Also, the on/off and Wifi buttons are on the back. I find it annoying to take off the cover to perform what I see as frequent tasks. I forgot to do so and the battery ran out in a day or so. I guess the Wifi shortens battery life considerably.
The only thing that has surprised me is that people recognize the Kindle. I get questions about the reader everywhere. Most people seem to react positively to the reader, but shy away because of the price. When I have had my other readers with me, most people thought I was playing some sort of video game, or using a PDA. So I am happy that word is spreading about e-books. I just wish that another e-book device would come out that will make me as excited as I was about my Cybook.
On the catch up, I have been running around like crazy. It happens to me every Christmas. I keep telling myself that I will do better, (buy early, buy less, and stress less) but I never do. I have been using my Eee PC more and more. I really like the laptop. My only change would be for it to have a swivel screen. If you are looking at getting a different type of case for yours, take a look at Fabrix Cases. The cases are about $40 plus another $10 for shipping. That’s a bit too pricey for me. Usually I use a portable DVD player case or insert padding into a book/Bible cover. I have yet to find one in a color and style that suits me. I am thinking about making my own cases. We’ll see.
I sincerely hope that everyone had a beautiful holiday season and a great new year ahead.
Back in September I had pre-ordered an Eee PC from Citrus Micro (CM). I picked them because I didn’t have to make a non-refundable deposit. That should have been my first clue. I bought the notebook from New Egg since they were the first with the device in stock and I couldn’t wait. Then my daughter wanted one so I left my pre-order with CM opened. When she sent me her half of the money, something told me that I should buy from New Egg, but I was feeling the small guy business trying to make it, so when their representative called me, I decided to go ahead with CM against my intuition. I was told that the Eee PCs would be in that week and sent out no later than 3 days later. Well that was Nov 7th. Today is the 20th. In the meantime, I have been following the conversation over at Eeeuser.com forum. That was my second clue. I got a bad feeling that I was being taken for ride. So I called and basically got smoke blown up my skirt. The rep even went so far as to say that New Egg really didn’t have any on stock. He said no one did. He then went on to tell me that in order to get Asus to send the device, it had to be paid for. So when I tried to pin down a time frame the answer was that he didn’t know. Yet I couldn’t cancel my order, hmm—. That was the final clue. Then Best Buy after reporting a two week wait got theirs in and people had already started to receive their purchase. On top of that New Egg ran out earlier this week, but they already have them back in stock. I have not received one word from CM. There have been no updates to me via email or on their site. I called my credit card company and let them know my situation and they have taken the charge off of my card. I then went back to New Egg and ordered. I thought that businesses could not place a charge on a card until the item shipped. A quick glance on Eeeuser.com forums shows that I am not alone. I tried today to get in touch with the rep I had talked to before, but now no one is available. There’s not even a voicemail option. This is bad and it seems as though CM thinks I am dumb enough to keep accepting their lies. I know that some people at the beginning did receive their purchase. That doesn’t make me feel better. I not only didn’t get mine, but I have no explanation, have been made to feel as though I am powerless to do anything about it, and most important I have disappointed my daughter. Yes, I am really upset.
“Mommy the screen is just too small for me” was the final statement from my son Kellen. At first he was drawn to the small size. It’s funny because he thought the entire top of the laptop was the screen. So when he turned the laptop on he thought he did something wrong. After I explained that the speakers were on the side he asked why. I didn’t have an answer and quite honestly I would like to know why too. Maybe it was the only place the speakers could go. I wouldn’t be surprise if the next generation Eee has a larger screen in the same place and the speakers located on either side of the touch pad. While Kellen did like the laptop, he was taken a back by its different interface. He kept expecting it to be like Windows. The big difference was Yahoo! Messenger versus Pidgin. He uses it to send messages to his sister, who is away at college. Pidgin just doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that Yahoo! has. He was also disappointed when he found out that the webcam doesn’t work in Pidgin. Still, I think that over time he will get use it.
I gave the Eee PC to Kellen without explanation. He immediately knew what to do. The only thing I had to point out was the tab layout. Of course he quickly found the Play section. The first day he played some of the games, but became somewhat bored after a few minutes. He wanted me to add more software and was disappointed when I told him I couldn’t. I suggested the learning software and he promptly quit that after a couple of minutes.
I think that main reason why Kellen hasn’t taken a shine to the Eee PC is because of his Internet experience. He likes playing a couple of the games on Cartoon Network’s site. One of them he told me would keep freezing up. I don’t know if my son is the typical child that Asus is targeting. He’s a tech kid, because he has a tech mom. I still have to wonder though. Even if the target group has no computer, certainly these children are exposed to them at school or the library. Would it be enough? I am sure that as time goes on there will be more software available. All I know for sure is that now I really like it.
Related: WSJ article The First-Grader’s First PC
The Asus Eee PC I ordered from Newegg arrived yesterday morning. I bought this for my soon-to-be seven year old son. I have to admit that it is hard for me to let it go. Suddenly I feel stupid for having spent almost three times as much for my Kohjinsha. Granted the Kohjinsha does much more; it has a swivel touch screen, more drive space, built in Bluetooth, etc., but I am quite envious. The first difference other than price that I noticed is the feel of the keyboard. The keys of the Eee PC are solid; the kohjinsha’s feel like Chiclets. It frequently doesn’t respond to my typing. Not so with the Eee PC. It is a joy to type on and so far my hands haven’t interfered with the touch pad. On some laptops (e.g. my Kohjinsha) this has been a frustrating problem. I accidentally touch the pad and my cursor skips to another line. The included programs cover just about everything I would want to do on a PC. There are some things like the RSS viewer setup that I haven’t got to work yet. I think that is because I am not familiar with Mozilla Thunderbird.
I do have some disappointments. First, the Eee PC gets quite warm. I was hoping that it would be much cooler, more like the Samsung Q1. The webcam is great, but right now it doesn’t really serve a purpose. I was hoping to use it in Yahoo! messaging, but this is not supported in Pidgin, and although planned, it’s quite likely (from what I read on the Pidgin support page) it may never be added. Asus promises that the webcam will work with the next Skype upgrade, but what about the rest of us that don’t use the application? Hopefully, Asus will add webcam support to Pidgin or create a program that does. I read on the Asus support site that if Windows XP is installed the webcam will work with messaging programs. I’m considering changing the OS, but I need to know a bit more about how Windows behaves on the Eee PC. So basically I am not brave enough yet.
So is it worth $400? If you need something to complement your laptop or something that’s really portable but you can’t afford a UMPC, then yes it is. I think that Asus should have never announced a $200 price point. If they hadn’t I think more people would be receptive to the price. Tomorrow I let you know how my son feels about the Eee PC.
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