I'm looking to set up a wall-mounted touch-pc in our kitchen, and need some feedback in regards to hardware, software and practical usage. I've come over the Asus Eee Top 1602, which seems to be what I'm looking for. Also the HP TouchSmart series covers my needs, at a higher price, but with multitouch.
When it comes to functionality, I believe these are my initial needs:
- Family calender
- Notes / shopping lists
- Internet radio
- Pictures
- Check mail
- Webcam, for family calls
- Will only be used by adults (for now at least).
So, given my usage-requirements...
- Would I need multitouch for a PC like this or would it suffice with singletouch?
- Should I expect to run Windows7, or XP with some extra features (like the Eee?). What about any linux distros?
- What software should I be looking at to pull this off? ie: Evernote, Google Calendar, Picasa 3.... The possibility to sync items across several PC's is a big plus.
- What else can I use a kitchen PC for? Emphasis on practical use
- Should I just give up and go and buy myself a table-radio and a whiteboard?
Update:
We already have a couple of laptops in the household, so another portable laptop / netbook isn't what I'm looking for, unless of course you can give good arguments for it.
Also I'm looking for more feedback from people that have tried setting up a similar concept.
Or have hands-on experience with touch pcs / tablets / wall-mounted solutions.
Conclusion I feel I didn't get enough feedback from those that have experience with wall-mounted pcs, but I still received some feedback that got me thinking of alternatives. I have still not decided which way to go.
I'm more or less set on waiting for some reasonably priced Windows 7-based walltops, since the Asus / MSI Top's both have what I'm looking for at a good price. Given that there is a real multi-touch windows-OS around the corner, then getting a system that supports this is a must. Alternatively, I MAY get the current versions with Vista / XP & single-touch even more reasonably, which would weigh up for the lack of multi-touch.
I will update this post when I have made my decision. Thank you everyone for all valuable feedback and time, I appreciate it.