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touchscreen EEE for < $50! without soldering!

Step 7Its over !

its over !
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now go out there and impress the ladies with your new touchscreen, bluetooth enabled, and huge storage capacity EEE pc !!

all without touching a soldering iron ( see what i did there )



i plan to add some more pics later,

any comments on what i should add/subtract please leave them in the comments, thanks :P

luke.
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3 comments
Dec 25, 2008. 8:44 AMbunnykill100 says:
Hey Luke!

This was probably one of the best tutorials I've ever seen!

It was practical, doable by literally anybody, you even provided links to EVERYTHING! Good job!

One thing, though!

The link to the external website that you said explains how to dissasemble your EEEpc?

http://www.eeeuser.cn/viewthread.php?tid=1857&page=1&authorid=6010

gives an "access denied" error!

Btw, I found out about dealextreme a few days ago, and it has enough parts there to do virtually anything with anything! You could make both of the DS's screens touch-screens, or, in your case, make a itty-bitty-teeny-weeny asus EEEPC do everything it could possibly do!

A few tips on your tutorial:

because you're making a tutorial that messes with the innards of a computer, it would be really smart of you to:
-Write out all the steps in order, this means writing "ground yourself so you don't accidentally short something with static electricty" at the TOP, along with all the other tips you had, like using tape so it wouldn't short-circuit.
-Make everything clear and understandable (your grammar and spelling were fine), in other words, make sure that there isn't a single part of a single sentence that could be misunderstood or misleading or confusing, because then somebody could screw up their EEEpc

But great job, and I look forward to your next one!

I, may be getting an inspiron mini 9 laptop if my sister, who's going to college next year, doesn't want it, so I won't be able to put al your kewl hacks to work :(

btw, if you ever consider getting a newer netbook, may I recommend the mini 9? it's perfect if you want the form-factor of teh EEEPC (fits in a purse, etc.), but also want to be able to watch videos and chat and type stories or whatnot (as long as you don't kill yourself over the keyboard arrangment - if you want a big keyboard, the HP mini 1000 is the way to go - but it's mouse buttons could also kill you).

So far, there hasn't been a SINGLY perfect netbook. if dell had copied HP and stretched their keyboard out to cover the entirety of the lower half of the netbook, they would have been at the top. I'm sure that if they had kepy the function keys mapped to the second row of letter keys, the keyboard could easily have been 90% full size, WITHOUT PUTTING THE PERIOD AND COMMA ON THE WRONG ROW!

:)

well, thanks again, I really got a lot out of your tutorial (WITHOUT SOLDERING!!! OMG I LOVE YO!U!!!1!!!!111111!!!!!!1!ELEVENTY!)

Dec 25, 2008. 1:47 PMbunnykill100 says:
Hey!

I went with the mini 9 for a few reasons. It has a good batery (3 hours or so), the keyboard (letter keys) are pretty big. it has a 9" screen (I prefer 9" over 10.2 or 7, because the former is a bit too big, and the later is too smalL!), and is the MOST configurable netbook out of the bunch.

u can get bluetooth, a camera, and customize the ram/operating system/SSD as much as you want.

also, if you want to add mroe RAM or screw around with the graphics card, etc., it's EXTREMELY easy. you can just pop of the back and u have immediate access to teh SSD, RAM, and card that connects you to cell-phone towers (you'd have ot provide it yoruself).

also, I got it for under 280 bucks, which is a REALY deal nowadays (with a camera).

if I could pick ANY netbook config I wanted, I'd go with eh acer aspire one with a 6 cell battery. However, it's RIDICULOUSLY expensive - the chepapest I found was just over 300 bucks (refurb), and another 100 or so for a 6-cel battery! (otherwise, it has like 2 hours of battery TOPS)

Anyways, I wudn't want to screw around with a mini 9 because it's pretty damn good already and it's not as "basic" as the eepc - in other words, the eepc REALLY benefits from a touchscreen with it's tiny keyboard and small touchpad, whereas the mini 9 has a nice big screen with a gloss finish (it's quite beautiful), and has pretty much all the options you'd want in a netbook. I'm not saying a touchscreen wouldn't be awsome, but I'm not an experienced "hardware hacker" - I'm more in buying stuff _

also, I prefer SSD over HD because SSD don't fail unless you physiucally break them or otherwise force them to break, and unless they're defective, they will always outlive the laptop they're in. also, they don't run hot or looud, in fact, they don't produce any heat at all, and are 100% silent.

idk abouit other models, but the mini 9 has an SDHC slot, and i have 3 4gb SDHC cards, an 8gb SDHC (class 6), and TWELVE (12) 2gb sd cards (I got 'em from woot for a BREAKNECK price - I'm a thrifty kinda guy, if something is REALLY Cheap, I buy it).

because of htis, I can have as much memory as I want, and for 20 bucks, I can upgrade to 2gb of RAM, and it has windows xp

I wouldn't dare mod the keyboard, because if I broke it, I'd be COMPLETELY screwed up the ass. my moto is that if something works, and you'd prefer it working the way it is to it being broken, then don't fix it (in other words, with the eepc, it's cheap (u can get em REALLY cheap refurb and/or used), it's small, it's the most basic one you can buy, so u mite as well make it better.

anyways, nice talking to you, and nice hearing back from you so quickly!!

I can imagine that sort of thing would be frustrating!

if you really want ot pique ppl's interests, I recommend you take one of the most popular, cheapest netbooks, like the HP mini 1000 or dell mini 9, and make a really long, detailed video of how ot upgrade them completely.

OR, just do the same thing with your eeepc! (unless you don't wan tot crack it open again!)

you'd get a LOT more response if people could run through a video that shows everything step by step (it helps if you have a nice camcorder and/or camera), because just looking at pictures and reading text isn't quite good enough, IMO, to get people to really go out on a limb and do this stuff.

BTW: stuff like adding bluetooth and the card reader are non-intrusive, so I htink you should make it clear that for those things, you just have to plug 'em in (I also know somebody that makes a hobby out of buying laptops, and "installing" card readers and touchscreens, and selling them for as much as 2-3 times as much!).

Have a nice day!

~David
Dec 27, 2008. 4:51 PMbunnykill100 says:
Happy new year to you to! You said: "i think somewhere i have seen cheep usb GPS's and in car charges" what do you mean by "charges", exactly? USB-connectable GPS units are indeed cheap and easy to come by. I'm sure that you could make a simple screw-in mount in a car for the eepc, and use it as a touch-screen GPS nav unit - that would be amazing! if you do this, a couple of tips: -the mount could just be a bunch of insulated metal (so it doesn't overheat) with a couple of clamps that push from adjacent sides to hold it in place, and a piece of metal that can be adjusted that will hold the screen up, so when you push on it it doesn't collapse. I mentioned a video because if you keep a camera running throughout the whole process, you could, if you wanted, also cut and paste together the parts of the video that really mattered (get rid of all of the taping and connecting parts, and just include the parts where you SAY "connect this" or "tape that"), but if you have photos of everything, I'm sure people WOULD like that more - it's easier to understand, but I've always found videos of stuff to be reasurring, somehow. if you get stuck on a step, with a video, you can watch it again, and there's thousands upon thousands of pictures every minute that you can look at. Anyway, let me know how it goes! P.S.: I'm glad I swayed you about the inspiron - what past experience did you have with dell that turned you off about them? The main drawback ot the inspiron is that it's not good for typing long emails or stories or poems or anything of the sort, but you can get built in blutooth for 20 bucks, and just buy a 30 dollar full-sized collapsable external keyboard (they collapse to about the size of a deck of cards) Cheers, mate! sincerly, David
Dec 2, 2009. 2:48 AMA.C.E. says:
hey luke.. I THINK THE LINK ONLY WORKS IN AUSTRALIA D: lol thats just a guess but i too got access denied and i wanted to see what you were going to do with the router.
Dec 29, 2008. 6:43 AMbunnykill100 says:
nice hearing from you!
i got my mini 9 yesterday, and i dont know HOW this happened, but after typing on it a fair bit, two of the keys popped off! I'm sure its just a manufacturing defect, but I'm still PISSED that I have ot pay S&H to get it replaced >.<

I can't snap 'em back on because itty-bitty pieces of them broke off and they won't stay.

I correct myself - bluetooth keyboards are like 40-50 bucks.

as for THIS
http://wifi.homelinux.com/docuwiki/doku.php?id=eeepc900_external_rear_antenna_connector_mod

HOLY F***ING S**T!!!!

dude, that is INSANE.

that's like modding an iphone to give it 8 buttons, an sd card slot, a removable battery, and support for PSP ISO games!!!!

0_o

if you're friend is looking to buy a netbook, ask him what for.

If it's mainly for chatting with friends, watching videos, listening to music, looking at funny pictures, and doing anything related to recording or playing video - the inspiron mini 9 is the way to go (it has nice stereo speakers, a really good mic, and a NICE 1.3 MP camera - you can video chat with it right out of the box!)

if he wants to type a lot, then the hp 1000 is the way to go.

If he just wants to check his email every now and then, he should consider the EEEpc :P

also, since you LOVE dealextreme, you'll LOVE this:

dealnews.com

editting videos SUCKS, i agree. ESPECIALLY in windows, but you have a mac, rite? that should be bearable!

bikes are WAY better than cars (as long as you live close to work, the supermarket, the mall, the movies, and all the FUN places. OH, and a neighbor that's a BFF that will drive you if you need it)! Greener, too!

(btw - you can probably buy a car from some unorthodox places, like various companies that have NOTHING to do with cars that buy them to raise funds - you can pay them like 50% more than they did for the car and walk away with a functioning one for 2000-ish bucks!

anyway, I gotta run, but enjoy dealnews.com!!

~David
Jan 1, 2009. 11:12 AMbunnykill100 says:
for gaming, there's ONE netbook that does a decent job:
http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/asus-n10j-a1/4505-3121_7-33316326.html

BFF means best friend forever

I don't drink, not going to, I prefer sherry temples and doctor peppers :)

unorthodox meaning non-traditional, or places besides used car lots and dealerships. I think you're best option is to see if anybody in your area is selling a used or somehow damaged one (been in an accident and needs repairs - make sure you can fix it. People sell cars like that because they know they can't fix it so it's pretty again, but you don't care, right?). craigslist is good for that, and ebay, too (though you'll find more bargains on good condition, used cars - my dad got a grand marquis (it's a taxi-esque car, same build, REALLY big, roomy, nice interior) for $7,000 USD.

I forgot to say before - I don't smoke. zippos and pocket knives fascinate me. They're really fun to play with! What can I say? I'm a 15 year old american boy - give me a break! _

as for your psp - GET A MICROSDHC TO MS PRO DUO ADAPTER ON AMAZON FOR LIKE EIGHT BUCKS.

sdhc cards are REALLY cheap on amazon - you can get an 8gb for around 10 bucks nowadays, and 8gb microsdhc are 15 bucks, 4gb mcirosdh are 5.

I LOVE CHOCOLATE CAKE

I don't know if dell is going to charge me S&H yet, since my internet connection is really screwy now that, well, it's a really long, boring story, so let's jst say it wasn't encrypted before, and now, instead of needing the SSID to get connected, you need the WEP encryption key, and vista HATES me for that for some reason (I DIDN"T ASK FOR VISTA...IT CAME WITH THE COMPUTER...ITS A NICE CHEAP COMPUTER....I"M SORRY!!!!!!!!!!)
Jan 1, 2009. 6:08 PMbunnykill100 says:
you're getting DIALUP?! OH NO!!!
:O

actually, I think vista is quite nice, but it's not made for people like you and me - people that enjoy playing with stuff and don't mind spending a few hours learning how to do something. Vista is designed if you want to click on stuff and have it automatically work for you. It's made for people that pay for cable, phone, and internet service like they should (we get our phone service through our internet, and our tv from the antenna - like 7 watchable channels). The place that the modem and all the other parts are located is a MESS of wires.

Anyway- my dad for some reason decided to go with WEP instead of WAP, which I don't understand - he's sort of lazy. He's really good at fixing stuff and doing stuff, but he's inherently lazy.

I'd say (about the instructable) that you should go for it!

The thing is, if you're going to go into playing around with command prompt or anything that goes beyond simple right-click menus, make sure it's step-by-step, and written down.

and please, call me David :) (other people call me Fink or Finkel because my last name is Finkelstein, but I know at least 4 other "dave"s, so I generally like David or Fink most! (but David will do)

windows 7 looks AMAZING...

but then again, it's coming out in a YEAR. in all actuality, that means that windows is going to continue to suck balls for a year.

OSX is, IMO, the best browser to-date. It's intuitive, EXTREMELY well made, and, best of all, its MEDIA-CENTERED. I know that watching videos, movies, listening to music, and generally doing stuff media-related is really important to a lot of people, and, unlless your a HARDCORE gamer, you don't want a PC anymore :S

ya, DX's free shipping is AWSOME!

I keep forgetting you live in Aus! 25 dollars?! THOSE BASTARDS!! *shakes fist*

I don't really collect anything - I realized a while ago that it costs a lot of money to collect stuff, and if it doesn't (like stamps or fake credit cards that they send in teh mail or something), nobody really cares _

I do magic tricks, play piano, and write from time to time, but doing stuff like making balloon animals, juggling, and typing fascinate me. I love doing manual (hand-related) stuff like that. I think my typing speed is something like 80 WPM without mistakes, which is why the mini 9 kinda struck a nerve with it's keyboard.

If dell had just thought it throuhg more, they would have realized:

the letter keys have to be useable (check)
the NON LETTER KEYS THAT PEOPLE USE TEH MOST ARE: (in order)
-period(.)
-comma(,)
-question mark(?)
-apostraphe/quotation marks(')(")
-colon, semicolon(;)(:)
-dash(-)

the others can be mapped to the number keys.

Of course, dell put the apostraphe and quotation key on teh BOTTOM FUCKING ROW, where your THUMB is supposed ot push it (TALK ABOUT RELALY FUCKING ANNOYING), and the COLON key, which I NEVER use, in it's place. serious screwup there.

then they forgot about the fucntion key row, and, instead of mapping it to the top row of letters, which wold make sense, they map it to the middle row, presumably so they can FORGET TO MAP F11 AND F12 TO ANY KEYS AT ALL. ya, that's right. You have to do it yourself. Not mapped to ANY KEYS, not z and x, not ANYTHING.

alos, the mouse buttons are REALLY FUCKING SMALL - but I can live with that - the touchpad is nice and big.

fortunately, teh battery life is good, screen is BEAUTIFUL, and if you get the camera and bluetooth, it's as functional as any laptopt for non-intensive stuff. just get a bluetooth keyboard (or wired one -there's THREE usb ports), an external mouse, and leave your microphone, webcam, and headphiones at home - it has (slightly tinny) stereo speakers built into the bottom of the screen, a REALLY good webcam, and a CLEAR mic.

basically, if you type around 40-50 WPM or less, or hunt and peck, or just don't touchtype, it's PERFECT. otherwise, be prepared to download a keyboard re-mapping program and do some touch-up work.

Also, if you have big hands, you might want to look elsewhere :S

anyway, even though our network wasn't encrypted, we didn't broadcast teh SSID, so you couldn't jump on unless you knew the name of the network.

OMG A FIVE MINUTE CAKE HOLY CRAP IS DANGEROUS

MUST MAKE IT!!!!!!!!!!

actualy, I probably won't. I'm lazy like that.

does it even taste good?
Apr 25, 2009. 7:42 PMpkorba says:
thanks for the instructions. I am a novice at trying any of this and the like to the dissasemble instructions kind of skips over how to take the screen housing apart (or maybe I just missed it?). Is it in there, or do can you explain how? Much appreciated!
Dec 27, 2008. 9:19 AMyehjas says:
Id have to say, I would love to do this on my laptop, but if I had messed this thing up I would bee completely cut off from the net 8S. if your still looking for a new case, I kinda have an idea but you have to sacrifice functionality for style. defiantly be cool, but it'll be a tablet PC with a keyboard really, but I guess you could just modify the idea into a standard laptop. OK, here was what I was thinking, main idea, you can do a simple tablet and put in a retractable keyboard on it and like I said sacrifice function for style because you can't fold it. I guess you could how ever unsought the screen to angle it or do it so that you can extend the keyboard all the way and then fold it. idk bout the logistics, don't have access to cncs and complicated fabrication technology, but it would defiantly be a concept I would like to see done.

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Author:luke