[ale] Linux Netbook Options

[Timothy Sassone]

Hello, my name is Timothy Sassone, and I have a couple quick questions.  I am looking to purchase a new, portable computer to replace my 6-year-old laptop - ideally something about netbook sized, under $500, and which would work well with a Linux disto as the only OS.  While perusing newegg for ideas, I ran across one of the "netvertable" systems  - Asus Eee PC T101MT (link below signature).  I had considered the Eee Pad Transformer, but decided against it due to the difficulty in replacing the Android OS with a full Linux distro, so a netbook/tablet convertible seems a good compromise, particularly as I've heard good things about Ubuntu's touch-screen support lately (particularly as of v. 11, though I can't say I've looked into it much myself as of yet).

Would this "netvertable" work well with Linux?  If so, how difficult would it be to set up the touch-screen capabilities?  If not, do you have any other suggestions for similar systems (hard price-limit of $500)?  Is there anything else I should know before I purchase the system?

In addition to the computer itself, I would like to look into upgrading the RAM to 2GB (comes with 1GB) - I've done this on my desktop already, but, having also tried to perform repairs on my old laptop, I'm not quite so confident in my skills there.  Would the memory I have linked below work with the Eee PC T101MT?

Thank you for your time,
Timothy Sassone

Asus Eee PC T101MT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230032
Aforementioned Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148233