I’m using my Zonbu desktop again this morning, after a stint using the EEE PC around the house. The odd screen size on the EEE PC and the chiclet keyboard become an issue for anything more than a few minutes of use (at least for me). However, the <30s boot time is very appealing. The Zonbu could benefit from an SSD disk for the OS.
The Zonbu OS experience is still the smoothest, easiest to use, most “complete” feeling Linux desktop experience I’ve had. It just feels “right”. It’s a shame there isn’t a LiveCD so people can try it before signing up for the subscription. I think this could go a long way to opening up new markets.
It’s hard to quantify exactly what I mean, but they really have done an exceptional job putting the OS together. I have a few small gripes about rough edges, but overall it is an exceptional software product. And knowing some one else is actively taking care of things “under the hood” and ensuring application updates are pushed out on a regular basis is lovely. So is knowing my data is backed up somewhere in the Internet cloud.
The Zonbu team should be very proud of their achivements in this regard.
Now if the hardware was just more modern…
-Mr. Zonbu
PS -Happy new year to all our readers. Since inception we’ve now had almost 70K page views.
Real life with the Zonbu Mini-PC 
Pushed updates are the core capability of the Zonbu offering, yet such updates did not work for my Zonbu Mini. Judging by the number of posts in Zonbu’s support forum, I was one of many with this problem, though it looks like more than one factor was playing into this. Root cause of my problem was never determined. I was forced to return my computer for refund (which after two weeks is still pending).
Hi Mr Zonbu, and Happy New Year 2008 !
About the SSD disk (Solid-State Drive), the Zonbu does use a SSD, as a the CF-to-IDE paired with the Compact Flash is s solid-state drive ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive ), in opposition with mechanical drive like traditional HD.
The biggest difference compared to the eeePC is the technology used: it’s faster in the eeePC and more expensive as well. I think you could get better performance in your Zonbu by replacing the Compact Flash with a faster one, but not in par with the technology used within the eeePC…
I should mention that Zonbu has now come through with a full refund under their 30-day satisfaction policy. My only loss was the cost of shipping. I’ll continue to follow the Zonbu story and may try again some day.