Convince me I need an Aspire One ...

Dude, get a Mac and end of story. I'm seriously DISAPPOINTED with this machine, with freakin' Linux and with PCs in general. I can't go anywhere near XP or Vista and so I decided to try Linux via Linpus for the first time. It's cumbersome (sure enough, I'm no expert and I don't have the time to become one), complicated, buggy and limited if you're not an "advanced" user. I recommend that you or your wife stay away from the A1. So far I've encountered more problems and limitations than actual solutions. This machine -- in its Linux version at least -- is far from being "plug-and-play", user-friendly and/or stable. Half the software that comes with it doesn't work as it should and if you wanna install new software it's a real pain in the butt. Then again, I'm no expert, just someone who's used Macs all his life and who now regrets having changed camps.
 
2 Memory card slots, which are actually invaluable, though you might just think its a random feature at first (I did)
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It has actual specs, frm what I've read in the past week, I haven't seen any final specs for teh dell, so you might hold out to get teh same VIA v7 processor as the HP Mini-Note.
It's cooler, the Dell's bound to have a huge Dell logo in the middle of the back ruining the whole cool look of a netbook.. All the One has is a small Acer logo in the top left corner of the back.
There's not much else I can say, all the netbooks are pretty similar these days...
I must add that I used linpus for about a day, then switched to Vista...
Rory
 
ensoph said:
so I decided to try Linux via Linpus for the first time. It's cumbersome (sure enough, I'm no expert and I don't have the time to become one), complicated, buggy and limited if you're not an "advanced" user. I recommend that you or your wife stay away from the A1. So far I've encountered more problems and limitations than actual solutions. This machine -- in its Linux version at least -- is far from being "plug-and-play", user-friendly and/or stable. Then again, I'm no expert, just someone who's used Macs all his life and who now regrets having changed camps.
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That's nonsense, imho. I'm a Mac user since time immemorial (I'm from the pre-DOS era even) and even my non-computing parents can use the Linux version of the AOne. :geek:

I've bought it mainly for them as a first low-budget low-effort puter system and they've learned the main points within a week (which for them is quite something - they're in their seventies).
Sure it's not the pinnacle of userfriendliness, expandability or sophistication, but it does work simple enough even if you aren't a whizkid. And I wouldn't have bought the XP version since learning that (including virus / security troubles and numerous error messages) *would* be too much of a bother for my folks.

Regards, R

PS. BTW @Speedmaster: I'd say specs-wise, the Acer and the Dell may end up pretty close. I'd advise to wait and see which one appeals more to your wife in the looks department - but if she likes the AOne already and the price isn't a problem, then I'd say there's no real compelling reason to wait.
 
ensoph said:
Dude, get a Mac and end of story. I'm seriously DISAPPOINTED with this machine, with freakin' Linux and with PCs in general.
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I have a MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini and I also bought my wife a MacBook recently. I love them all but, there is a huge drawback to them - they are expensive. They are also fairly heavy.

To get something as portable as a One you'd need to buy a MacBook Air and while it's a lovely machine, you could buy 6 Ones for the price of one Air. Any comparison between them would be absurd.

That fact that you don't know Linux is hardly Acer's fault, although I would have to admit that Linpus is very far from being the best Linux distro out there.
 
I guess I wasn't specific enough when I said I'm no expert. Look, I'm comfortable with computers in general, even more so than the average user. The problem I'm having with the A1 is one of bugs, glitches and complexity when it comes to doing some basic things (such as INSTALLING software that actually WORKS) that are non-issues on other machines such as Macs. I guess I take software installation for granted after having used Macs all my life. And yes, I have no problem using the A1 as it is (no additions to the basic software that comes with it). However, I do have a problem with the fact that Messenger doesn't work; that installing more apps is complicated and time consuming; that the screen goes blank every time it wakes up from sleep; that FireFTP doesn't work and makes my router 'crash' every time I try connecting to an FTP server. I've never had to deal with these problems on a Mac. Another thing: I just found out that I'll need to install Vine to run an app that will enable me to sync my iPod on this machine. See what I'm saying? Everything's just a freakin' hassle!

Nor am I blaming ACER for the fact that I'm no Linux whizkid. Nonetheless, because of the reputation of Linux, I would expect more simplicity and actual functionality when it comes to using this machine to its full potential. So far, the A1 is far from providing just that.
 
ensoph said:
Another thing: I just found out that I'll need to install Vine to run an app that will enable me to sync my iPod on this machine. See what I'm saying? Everything's just a freakin' hassle!

Nor am I blaming ACER for the fact that I'm no Linux whizkid. Nonetheless, because of the reputation of Linux, I would expect more simplicity and actual functionality when it comes to using this machine to its full potential. So far, the A1 is far from providing just that.
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I'd say you *are* basically blaming Acer for not being a Linux whizkid. You're trying to make the default computer do extra things which it was neither designed nor optimised for. See that basic desktop? The one replacing a 'normal' computer desktop UI? That says 'flip open, get on the Internet, do some browsing, check your mail, shut down'. It doesn't exactly scream 'This is Da one For R34l LinUx H4ckerZ, D00dZ', now does it? Even tho I'm a Mac user, I never expected this little Linux box to do more advanced things as easy as on a Mac, since I have some Unix/linux experience too and tho these may be known for their robustness and flexibility, they are NOT known for their ease of use. Acer specifically wanted to counteract that by designing a REAL basic graphical shell around that. :geek:

This little machine was designed as a netbook, that is to say for *basic* computer use. If you want to make it run thru hoops without having a lot of Linux experience, if you want to run Windows programs on a Linux machine and that kind of more-advanced stuff you *are* trying to do Linux-whizkid kind of things instead of just booting it up and checking your mail.
You can't exactly blame Acer for not catering to that if the main goal was to make a simple, lightweight laptop for some word processing and Internet usage. It ain't the machine, it ain't the extra-simplified Linux; if you are looking for a hassle by extending it beyond its basic reach, well that's certainly possible but it's simply *you*, the user, who be doing that.

Regards, R
 
Well, I never really thought of FTPing or using an instant messenger as something terribly advanced or complex. Funny thing is both these applications do exist for Linpus and while you have to download FireFTP as an add-on for FireFox, Messenger does come standard with the A1. So I'm not really asking for much; I just wish these apps worked as they are supposed to.
 
ensoph said:
Another thing: I just found out that I'll need to install Vine to run an app that will enable me to sync my iPod on this machine. See what I'm saying? Everything's just a freakin' hassle!
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Blame Apple for not releasing the sources nor supporting their linux using customers. By the way, it's called wine and at least some versions of itunes (assuming it's itunes you need) are reported to actually work under wine.

You could try to install mac OS X on the one.
 
lotus49 said:
ensoph said:
Dude, get a Mac and end of story. I'm seriously DISAPPOINTED with this machine, with freakin' Linux and with PCs in general.
Click to expand...

I have a MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini and I also bought my wife a MacBook recently. I love them all but, there is a huge drawback to them - they are expensive. They are also fairly heavy.

To get something as portable as a One you'd need to buy a MacBook Air and while it's a lovely machine, you could buy 6 Ones for the price of one Air. Any comparison between them would be absurd.

That fact that you don't know Linux is hardly Acer's fault, although I would have to admit that Linpus is very far from being the best Linux distro out there.
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haha. i like your comment. :D

anyways, im loving the A1 now even if it has SLOW SSD, it has Linpus(not ubuntu), no bluetooth(can't), hard to network, no games(i can consider a game). why? i do all the stuff it lacks on my main computer. and why on earth will i do that? because i only use the A1 for emails, creating documents, reading news while listening to music on the side etc. on a coffee shop or at school. it's super light weight that upgrading the battery makes me think twice. Think of it as a bigger PDA but not your primary workstation. :)
 
ensoph said:
Dude, get a Mac and end of story.
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I've got a 3.5 year old G4 iBook w/ Tiger that I love. I would LOVE to get a new MacBook, but just too much coin right now. :|
 
Raido said:
PS. BTW @Speedmaster: I'd say specs-wise, the Acer and the Dell may end up pretty close. I'd advise to wait and see which one appeals more to your wife in the looks department - but if she likes the AOne already and the price isn't a problem, then I'd say there's no real compelling reason to wait.
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Thanks much! Unless it's hideous I'm not too concerned about looks, just bang for the buck. I'm a developer/tester so I'm not afraid of Linux or the command line. :)
 
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