I got that “low disk space” message a few minutes ago, and why don’t you try to guess what I was doing.
Installing World of Warcraft? Torrenting the Blu-ray version of Alvin and the Chipmunks? Analyzing the chemical structure of my lunch?
Nope, no and nyet.
I was downloading a second batch of Windows Update patches and upgrades.
So before I even started using the computer, I was getting warnings about low disk space.
The XP version of the Eee PC 900 comes with a total of 12 gigabytes of solid state memory, but that memory is actually separated into one four-gig drive and one eight-gig drive.
The four-gig drive is where Windows resides and where all the updates and patches are installed by default. Right now, after installing all those updates, the drive is down to a mere 22.6 megabytes of free space.
The eight-gig drive still shows 6.3 gigabytes of free space, so I’ll have to download and install any future programs on that drive.
But I wonder how many computer users will even be aware that their machine essentially has two hard drives and that they should be installing any programs on the second drive?
If Windows XP wasn’t such a memory hog, this wouldn’t be a problem.
Oddly, the Linux version of the Eee PC 900 comes with 20 gigabytes of total solid state storage, eight more gigs than the Windows version.
You would think that Asus would have boosted the memory on the XP model, which actually needs that extra space.
But both models have identical $549 price tags. I’m guessing that the cost of the XP license necessitated dropping the memory capacity in order to keep both models at price parity.
Bottom line: Windows XP might be more familiar and comfortable to some users who’ve never worked on anything but a Windows box, but that familiarity does come at a price on the 900.
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