Matt responded to this post at the above URL.

I agree that books on the lappy would make it more flexible, but OTOH, I really, REALLY hate reading books on a computer. A short text, like a tutorial is fine, but I tried using e-books for studying, and it is pure horror.

Now, I’m not saying that it’ll always be like that, but as it is now, no thanks.

Dennis

Hi Russell,

well Everex and Packard Bell seem to sell almost identical hardware in/on different continents. However, where Everex sells their Cloudbook for about 400US$ with Linux, Packard Bell sells something similar (in EMEA only) with Windows for almost double the price.

It’s between those companies, really. You might find single items on ebay auctions or such, but as a dealer, you have to have support & good partnership, so sorry – but we cannot offer the Everex brand in EMEA. If that also applies to Australia is beyond my knowledge tho. If Packard Bell are sold there, then it probably is. If Everex are sold there, then you should be able to shop for Cloudbooks.

best,
Wolfgang

What are the trade restrictions that prevent sales in EMEA? Can I lobby my MP to get things fixed in this regard? More competition is a good thing!

Dennis: If the text books were in electronic form then the weight would be significantly reduced. Also as a side-effect if all books were stored on the laptop all the time (easy considering that books are a few megs in size and flash storage is measured in gigabytes nowadays) then there is no possibility of bringing the wrong text books to school.

[I removed Dennis' comment because he requested email notification and gave a non-functional email address]

the “middle man” earns about 2 dollars on an Eee PC – the rest goes to Asus, who still don’t have much profit on that one either. Anything under 400US$ or 300€ (for the 4G model) is wishful thinking.

And to the cloudbook: I don’t know about Australia, but due to trade restrictions, we are not allowed to sell in in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle-East, Asia). People are asking for them, but still…

I agree with you on having 2 power supplies, and more than one battery – that’s very convenient (had that with my former company and an Asus laptop).

kind regards,
Wolfgang