Last month, I wrote about the question of mini, ultra-portable laptops, and whether or not they will be the next big thing. Well... I bought one, and I love it. Who knows whether or not it will be the next big thing. I find it very useful, although it may not be for everyone.

Adobe recently released the first public alpha version of the AIR runtime for Linux on labs. This is great news! I felt compelled to "geek out" with it, and was able to get AIR running on an Asus EeePC, although with a few minor issues.

The Asus EeePC runs a derivative of Xandros with KDE, which is not a supported Linux distribution for AIR. I got it working with a little help from the Adobe forums, and I'm very excited about it. I have never gotten into Linux desktop application development, but I think that's could soon change.

The EeePC is a tiny laptop computer, about a quarter of the size of a "normal" laptop. It weighs in at just under 2 lbs, has a screen resolution of 800x480, and is smaller than a hard-cover book. The screen resolution is definitely small and takes a bit of getting used to, but its not too bad once you get used to it. Its ideal for web browsing and email, and is great for surfing the web while watching TV. It is great for those who travel, and want to stay connected.

Here's how to get AIR running on there...

First, read the release notes for Air on Linux. That way, you know what to expect. AIR for Linux is not yet feature complete.

Next, follow the instructions on the Adobe forums to download and install the SDK, and get AIR applications running. The default install package does not work for this distribution. You have to download the AIR SDK, and launch your applications manually from the command line, but they work!

The graphics card/drivers for the EeePC don't support window transparency with AIR, so you won't be able to see the desktop or other applications through your AIR application. I tried all of the sample applications at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/air/samples/, and they worked, although not all of them worked well with the small screen resolution.

Here's a screenshot showing both the Fresh and RoadFinder applications running on the EeePC:

(Click image to enlarge)
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Andrew Trice
Principal Architect
Cynergy Systems
http://www.cynergysystems.com