. . .EEE Top. . .for $600. . .touch screen. . .looks interesting. . .


Asus `kitchen computer' does the job

. . .AsusTek Computer Inc. upended the laptop market when it brought out the tiny, cheap Eee PC a year and a half ago. As a follow-up, the plucky Taiwanese company is trying something harder: conquering the kitchen.

Many manufacturers have tried and failed to create a stripped-down computer that's usable in the home's second-least computer-friendly room (we have yet to see a serious attempt at a bathroom computer).

So how did Asus do? Well, its attempt turns out to be more than half-baked. What it calls the "Eee Top" could be a welcome item for those who spend a lot of time in the kitchen and can stomach paying $600 for a secondary computer.

But Asus has cut some corners to keep the Top's price low, making me believe waiting a little bit to see what comes next will pay off.

Now, Asus doesn't call the Top a "kitchen computer," but that's the most obvious application for this type of device. It could also fit nicely in other places around the home where there's no space for a keyboard and mouse, like a workshop. Or it could be a low-cost "kiosk" computer in a store. If you have desk space available, it's better to get a standard computer with keyboard and mouse.

The Top looks like a 16-inch LCD monitor — the computer part is built into the back of it. It comes with a keyboard and a mouse, but the screen is touch-sensitive and works well enough that I never had to use the mouse and broke out the keyboard only a few times. The rest of the time, I poked out the letters on an on-screen keyboard, which proved sufficient for typing short Web addresses and search terms.

The Top's software has a couple of touch-friendly features to it, including an application menu with large buttons that replaces the standard Windows Start menu. The included Opera Web browser also works well by touch. We smudged up the screen my combining cooking and Web surfing, but not to the point where it was bothersome. . .


TOP O' the morning to ya. . .



NICE ASus...at ASus website. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 02/13/2009 09:19AM by NewtonMP2100.

Does cookie dough wash off the screen? I get stuff all over everything when I cook.

newt, don't stop the bad subject lines. hilarious.

now i have to explain why I am laughing to my office-mates.

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Hurts like a bastid...

. . .bad?

. . .how bad can they be if they make you laugh. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

my eMac 700 is my kitchen computer. typing on it now. i really don't like the idea of a touchscreen in the kitchen. ewwww!

Quote
graylocks
my eMac 700 is my kitchen computer. typing on it now. i really don't like the idea of a touchscreen in the kitchen. ewwww!

My kitchen computer is a G4 PB, and the idea of cooking and grubbing around on a touchscreen gives me the willies, too.