The Internet tab includes standard applications like Skype and Firefox; online apps like Google Docs and handy options, such as the link to Wikipedia.

Forget standard Linux distribution and the command line. The Easy Desktop interface that the comes with uses tabs to arrange the 40 applications and utilities it comes with into Internet, Work, Learn, Play, Settings and Favourites. Internet includes Firefox, Skype and Google Docs. Thunderbird email is on the Work tab, with icons for the various OpenOffice.org apps, a PDF reader and file manager; the Accessories icon here links to a PIM, calendar and screen capture tool.

Learn has a small selection of educational software. Play has a sound recorder, a media player, a music manager utility that works with iPods and photo and video views of the file manager. The Settings menu includes anti-virus software and a simple voice command for launching applications, although we couldn’t get this to work reliably. You can see status icons and switch between open applications at the bottom of the screen or click the Home icon to go back to the tabbed Easy Desktop interface.

Asus includes a selection of utilities, including anti-virus software.

The Eee copes with a wide range of peripherals and connects to any standard network; an optional 3G card will put you online anywhere (but data charges could rival the cost of the hardware).

The keyboard will limit the documents you want to work with more than OpenOffice.org does; it’s a competent alternative to older versions of Microsoft Office.

Underneath the friendly but limiting interface is Xandros Linux, so more experienced Linux users can open a shell from the file manager, which allows you to use the apt-get command to install new applications. You can also use this to unlock the Full Desktop interface, which has a Launch menu and taskbar plus access to an RSS reader, remote desktop client and the Synaptic package Manager interface to apt-get for installing further applications. You can swap between the two interfaces or set the system to boot into the Full Desktop automatically.

Press the power button for shutdown options; if you add the Full Desktop interface the icon will appear here, too.