So the netbook is pretty much what I expected (small size, light, etc.) Hardware wise, the trackpad button is really difficult to press, but other than that not bad.

But I have to say, one of the first things I did was to install Ubuntu 11.10 on a MicroSD card to run this machine. I think I am just used to APT, and I know how to set up Ubuntu exactly like I want it. On the N900, I get this done through Easy Debian. I am not sure how long I will use MeeGo on this machine only because I would need to figure out the package manager.

That being said, I am going to give it a try for the collectors out there who may want a record of this machine when they stop production. It is pretty easy to use, and seems to integrate with the current popular crop of social web services (facebook, flickr, twitter) easily. Not sure how to expand that in the future to other services that might come up one day.

However, there is an issue with suspending to disk in Ubuntu when installed on the SD card, so I might end up wiping MeeGo earlier - we'll see.

If anyone has MeeGo or X101 questions, fire away and I'll do my best to answer!

Oh man, I totally forgot about this device and got caught up in the N9 hype.

How much did you pick this up for? How is the ASUS repository? Is it difficult to boot Ubuntu and are you having any other issues running Ubuntu from microsd?

Keep us posted, I'm sure a few of us at the least would be interested in seeing the overall functionality of the X101.

I got the White X101 with the 1.66 GHz N455 processor (the original had a 1.33 GHz N435 processor) for $220 on ebay. A little more than the release price of $200, but it was birthday so bought it anyway. Incidentally, I really wanted the brown version, but apparently that's only available in Germany and I was afraid this machine might disappear forever in a week since the demand for a MeeGo device can't be very strong.

I took a quick look at the ASUS apps available, but there was hardly anything there and nothing that struck my interest. It reminded me a lot of the Nokia repository on the N900 before I enable extras. I am sure there is some type of community driven repository, but I haven't looked into it yet. There must be some folks here that are active over at meego.com, right?

As far as booting Ubuntu on the X101, I had no issues at all other than the suspend problem. I used my Ubuntu install on my Macbook Pro to create a USB startup disk with the 64-bit 11.10 iso, had to fiddle with the BIOS a bit on the X101 to get it to boot from the USB, then the installation to the MicroSD went without a hitch. It also gave me the option to install alongside MeeGo on the same internal 8GB SSD, so I am trying that out now to see if it helps with the suspend problem. But running from the MicroSD seemed to be just as fast as running MeeGo from the internal SSD. I am using a Class 10 8GB MicroSD card, though, so that might make a difference - this was originally going to be my Nitdroid card for the N900, so if Ubuntu runs well on the dual-boot internal SSD I may reclaim it.

I think the suspend problem should be fixable, but it was not consistent. In one case, I closed the lid without doing anything, then when I opened the lid it restarted (either from shutdown or logout - I'm not sure). The second time, I chose "Suspend" from the system menu on the right and then closed the lid. When I started it back up, the Ubuntu filesystem was read-only. I am thinking this may have something to do with the MicroSD reader not coming back from suspend properly.

So the Ubuntu installer just crashed - not enough disk space on the partitioned system. I may need to wipe MeeGo earlier than I expected...

I really like this but they need something bigger than an 8GB SSD. I mean, I'd rather just buy a different netbook and throw Meego on it since it'll have better hardware (just not as thin and svelte as this.)

I guess I value thin and svelte over size

I am something of a minimalist so, the SSD size did not bother me, especially since there is a microsd card slot on it - it is basically a removable internal drive - it doesn't stick out at all and you can't even really notice it's there. I was originally planning to use a Class 4 32MB microsd card there for any docs, music etc. I wanted to keep on it.

Slightly off-topic, in terms of SSD size, for years I was bemoaning my tiny 120GB HD in my MacBook Pro. When I finally investigated where all that space was going, it was tons of OS cruft. I eventually got the nerve to wipe the machine clean, install a minimal OS X system on a partition, and partition the rest for Linux. I found that the optimal HD size for me (assuming media files are stored offline) is about 12GB. So the 8GB SSD has its limitations, but nothing I can't work around, especially with the microsd and 2 USB ports.

But that's just the price I'm willing to pay for design - like I said, my other machine is a MBP.

Just to give an update here: I ended up installing Ubuntu 11.10 64-bit over the MeeGo installation on the hard drive. While my suspend issue did not seem to be a problem anymore for some reason, the startup time and performance was a little lagging even with the class 10 microsd card, so I thought I would try on the internal ssd and see if it made a difference. I am just much more used to Ubuntu (and Debian-type systems) than MeeGo and I didn't want to take the time to learn another package manager, etc.

The installation to the internal drive made a huge difference in terms of startup time. I will have to see about the other performance issues as I use the system - I was getting noticeable lag once I had 4 or 5 tabs open in Chromium previously, and I am not seeing that behaior now.

I also tested the "restore drive" that I creating when installing MeeGo is recognized and will boot up, so I can go back to factory settings if needed.

Question for the group: there are at least a couple of people on the MeeGo forums who are asking for the restore disk image. I guess they didn't make one when they first installed the system, or bought it used or something. Does anyone think there is a way I can package my image so I can send it to these folks? Also, do you think it would work? Any thoughts would be great - I would like to help these folks out even if I'm not using MeeGo.

Considering how Asus dropped Linux from their hardware as a default OS it would be really nice for all of us out there.