A while back, my boring but reliable Dell Inspiron laptop crashed, and fearing that resuscitation would be time-consuming and expensive, I decided to buy an Asus Eee PC 900 via Amazon.com.  While I was at it, I opted for the Linux operating system, instead of Windows XP. 

It's been an amazing experience.  The cost, including overnight delivery, was well under $600.00.  (In fact, the price of this model has dropped even lower since I bought mine.)  I was able to get it up and running, picking up a wifi signal, in 15 minutes, if you count the time I spent slitting open the carton.

The Asus laptop has some great qualities:  it's light (two pounds), it's inexpensive, it's cute as a button (but smaller), and it does most of what I need from a laptop.  I've started to joke that this is the One Laptop Per Adult initiative.  I can foresee a future where it makes much more sense for nonprofit organizations to purchase these Asus Eee PCs for any staff member who divides his or her time between the office and the field.  Why not buy an Asus (and maybe a keyboard and big monitor for the desk at the office), instead of both a desktop and a laptop?

Here are some things I really like about the Asus Eee PC 900:

The weight and size:  I can't explain why a two pound laptop is so very much lighter and smaller than a than a four pounder, but it is.  I take my laptop with me every working day, and I use public transportation.  Over time, it means a lot less wear and tear on me.

The keyboard:  although the keys are placed in a much smaller patch of real estate, each one is full-sized.  It took a while to become acclimated to the spacing, but I don't find myself mashing multiple keys because each one is too small.

The web cam:  this was just an extra, as far as I was concerned, but I foresee that it will be a big plus, if nonprofit organizations start making use of web-based tools such as Seesmic to stay in touch with colleagues and stakeholders.

The open source software that is included with the Linux operating system:  I was already using Skype and OpenOffice.Org, and this saved me the trouble of installing them.  I'm also having fun exploring the other open source applications (and games!) that come with the Asus.

Here are some things I really don't like about my Asus Eee PC 900:

According to Asus, I can't install any new applications on this laptop.  Of course, if I were a Linux programmer, I'd be able to do it anyway, but I'm not.

The Asus laptop does not have a port for a phone cable, so I can't go online using a dial-up service.  If there were a USB modem that was compatible with the Asus Linux laptop, I'd be able to do it, but according to Asus, there isn't. 

What I really want to install is a driver for my Sierra 881 USB connector, so that I can use my Asus laptop to go online with the AT&T mobile broadband service to which I subscribe.  (Of course, if I were a Linux programmer, I'd be able to do it. See above.) Thus, my only connectivity choices are ethernet and wifi, and I therefore have to count on the kindness and compatibility of other people's networks when I'm away from my home base.

On the whole, I'd say that the Asus Eee PC has a great future for nonprofit users.  They need to work out the problems that I've mentioned, and when they do this is will be great option for an organization with a very modest budget and an operational model that makes heavy use of cloud computing.

If I had to make the purchase from scratch today, I'd probably choose a newer, cheaper model in the Asus Eee PC line, and I'd opt for Windows XP as the operating system, just to ensure ease of connectivity.  But I'd always be pining for a chance to live and work with a Linux laptop.

By the way, I was eventually able to get my Dell Inspiron up and running again, with some help from the good people at Dell tech support.  So now I'm actually an adult with two laptops.