"history of Linux on the desktop"

Hardware wise it was no more complicated than upgrading the RAM on the machine; no major disassembly required. Then so long as you're comfortable enough with booting from USB, copying stuff over, and redoing grub, it will all just work. Note that there are 2 SSDs in the EEE, a 4GB one and a bigger one, its the bigger one that's easy to change - the 4GB one *is* a major operation to replace, by all accounts. Oh, and this all applies to the 901 EEE, I can't be sure that it's the same for the 701 (but probably is). Feel free to email me 527864@njw.me.uk if you have any questions; I'm happy to help.