Gizmodo: asus eee box b202

Asus Recalls Worm-Infested Eee PCs From Japan

matt buchanan — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:50:00 EDT

Asus has not so surprisingly decided to recall the Eee Box B202 mini PCs infested with the W32/Usbalex worm in Japan. The virus-y boxes are confined to the land of Gojira, since it was only on Eee PCs tailored for the Japanese market. The numbers in play are pretty sad, actually: Asus built a wimpy 4,500 boxes for Japan and only sold 300, so the damage is limited to a few unlucky saps, who will never buy Asus again. [Inquirer]

Asus Admits That a Virus Shipped With Some Eee Box Mini PCs

Sean Fallon — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Asus has admitted to its Japanese customers that some of the Eee Box B202 mini PCs they shipped included a recycled.exe virus loaded on the D: partition. When the drive is opened, the virus (identified by Symantec as the W32/Usbalex worm) attempts to infect the C: drive and any removable drives attached to the system. So far, Asus has not confirmed that the problem is limited to PCs released in Japan, and they have offered no explanation about how the virus may have appeared on the drive. However, Reg Hardware believes they can confirm that other areas may be affected. Either way, it is probably a good idea to run a check if you picked one up. [Reg Hardware]

Asus Eee Box B202: Our First Look, Plus Official Specs (Only $300)

matt buchanan — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:17:55 EDT

The other toy Asus brought for us to look at is their upcoming Eee Box, which will launch mid-July in the US. Running on a 1.6GHz Atom processor, it comes in Windows XP and Linux versions, both of which are blissfully cheap: $269 for the base 1GB RAM, 80GB storage Linux model, $299 for XP. Memory and storage are configurable, running from 512MB to 2GB, and 80GB to 250GB, respectively. 802.11n is standard, and it has a pleasant number of ports—serious potential as a TV streamer box (as commenters have pointed out, lack of optical drive and HDMI out is definitely limiting here). We didn't get to see it in action, but it's definitely a cute, well-built package for the money. All the dirty details below.

Name and Model: Eee Box B202
OS: Linux System/ Hardware Compatible with Windows XP

Processor: Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz, FSB 533)

Memory: DDRII 512 MB / 1 GB / 2 GB (see US configs below)

Storage: 80 GB / 120 GB / 160 GB / 250 GB (see US configs below)

Chipset: 945GSE + ICH7M

VGA: On-board Intel GMA 950, 1600 x 1200 maximum resolution

Networking: 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN, 802.11n WLAN, Bluetooth optional

SD/MMC/MS slot: SD, SDHC, Mini SD, (Micro SD through adapter) ; MMC, MMC plus, MMC4.x, RS MMC, RSMMC4.x (MMC mobile through adapter);MS,MS PRO
Audio: Azalia ALC888 Audio Chip

Front Ports:
USB x 2
Card Reader x 1
Headphone-out jack (WO/SPDIF) x 1
MIC x 1

Rear Ports:
USB 2.0 x 2
Gigabit LAN x 1
DVI out x 1
Line-Out (L/R) with S/PDIF x 1
WiFi antenna

Accessories:
19Vdc, 4.74A, 65W power adaptor
Mouse (optional)
Keyboard (optional)
VESA mount (optional)
WiFi antenna
Stand

Dimensions: 8.5" x 7" x 1"
Net Weight: 2.2 lbs.
Gross Weight: 6.6 lbs.

US Configurations and MSRP:
$269 1GB memory + 80GB HDD Linux edition
$299 1GB memory + 80GB HDD XP edition
$299 2GB memory + 160GB HDD Linux edition

Availability: For the US, we're expecting to hit the market Mid July. For French-speaking Canada, a French Linux version will be available the following month.

[Asus]