As I've mentioned a few times, I've used both the Eee PC and the HP Mini-Note for some lightweight audio editing. For the most part, this means converting stereo files to mono, and cutting and pasting a few sound elements. While I have no doubt that I could do some more serious work with one of these computers, the need hasn't really arisen and I'd typically rather do the bulk of my audio editing on a faster PC with a larger display.

But Creat Digital Music points out that some folks have managed to get a variety of Windows and Linux audio editing/music creation applications running smoothly on the Eee PC. For example, you can check out a video of MilkyTracker playing on an Eee PC running Xandros Linux, or read the accounts of folks who have gotten Windows software like Guitar Rig to run properly by overclocking the Eee PC to run at 900MHz or higher, upgrading the RAM, and using a hacked driver to increase the virtual display resolution to 1000x600.

If you check out the comments at CDN, you'll find that users have run other software including Ableton Live, Rebirth, and ProTools 7.4.

When I'm not writing about tiny computers, software, personal video recorders, or the environment, I'm a radio journalist and occasional audio engineer. And every now and again, my worlds cross. A colleague recently wrote to ask for my advice on setting up a field recording kit, complete with a digital audio recorder, mic, cables, headphones, and to top things off, an Asus Eee PC to do some audio production field.

In a nutshell, I replied that this is exactly what I've been doing for months. While the Eee PC's small screen, cramped keyboard, and slow processor make it les than ideal for audio editing, it's significantly faster than most computers that were on the market 5 or 6 years ago. And while digital audio editing applications might have a few more bells and whistles today than they did back then, if you could do basic audio production with a PC in 2000, there's no reason you can't use the Eee PC to do it today. Or if you want to spend a few more bucks on a device with a higher resolution display, you can try the HP Mini-Note or wait a few weeks and pick up an Asus Eee PC 900.

You can read my complete response at my personal blog.