Does anyone use the AAO as their main PC?

Ok so (if I get paid) tommorow, I am off to get myself an Acer Aspire One.
Does anyone use their AAO as their main / predominant Computer?
I intend to get the White HDD 120gb with XP. Ive been in my local shop and had a play around on the XP version and instantly loved it!
I only used my previous laptop (Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Pro) for e-mails, listening to music a lot and watching videos on Youtube. Also the occasional forum posting. So when the motherboard completely died I decided to get something a little different. The size of the AAO appealed to me as I would like to start doing more of the above in coffee shops / Wifi hotspots.
Can I use the Acer for all of this as my main computer.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

 

Yes I do!

Though the daily transition from a 21" screen at work to the AA1's 8.9" has taken a bit of getting used to

Seriously, I use my work computer purely for work and my AA1 with XP for internet, iTunes, forums and watching programmes. It's great!

Andy

 

Thats great,
Did you go for the SSD version or HDD? I have a fair few gigs of music and so im going for the 120gb simply for the space
How do you find yours runs?
Im really looking forward to getting everything set up and seeing how well it all works

 

For most of the things I use a PC for (surfing the net, watching video and checking emails etc) I have found the AAO fantastic.

The screen size has not been an issue at all as (as I know this will sound stupid!) but its on my knee most of the time so is a lot closer than most VDUs would be.

This is definitely a first as well but my missus doesn't complain about me being on the computer as we are in the same room and because of its size its very unobtrusive .

 

Not yet, but I'm getting to the point where it will be my main PC. After using the nice quiet One, my desktop machine sounds like a damn leaf blower and I can hardly stand using it anymore. Right now I have Xubuntu on the One, which does just about everything I need. Since I have the SSD version, I'll have to buy an external HD before I can get rid of the desktop. I have one of those enclosures with a 2.5-inch drive in it, but it's not reliable enough for daily usage. I plan on dual-booting -- keeping Xubuntu for portable usage and putting Mandriva on the USB HD for desktop usage (my wife prefers Mandriva and I can put up with it :| ).

 

I got the 120Gb HDD, 1Gb RAM version - if you search my posts I've written a review on my first impressions after getting my AA1.

They still stand and I love my Acer One - since upgrading the BIOS and with it 'wearing in' I've noticed that the fan is noticabely louder at times, which is a minor annoyance, but I think for the quality of the rest of the unit and at the price point, it's well worth it! Plus the fan's still a lot quiter than most 15.4" laptops I've owned or seen!

Andy

 

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Okay, so I have five laptops surrounding me, varying from large screen Pentium 4s to my AAO. Since I bought my 150, it has become my main computer. I've synchronized it with a larger laptop in my office at home so I have files backed up at all times.

I can run a browser and use any Office 2007 product at the same time with no problems. I can multitask between email, web, and a drawing package (SmartDraw) with ease. I've installed some memory monitoring software (I'm suing the 1GB standard) just to watch and see if I need to close windows.

Adapting to the smaller screen and smaller keyboard has been no problem. I love having everything with me. In fact, I bought Dragon NaturallySpeaking at Target and I used it recently on a long car drive to dictate a short story (just a hobby).

I need to get a larger battery or just another 3-cell to spare, but I now work exclusively on my AAO.

Once you adapt to the screen and keyboard, you should have no problems making the transition.

Paul

 

Hi,

Yes, my One serves as my primary machine and does the job quite nicely. I will say though, at work I hook it up to a 21" monitor, and at home a 15" and in both places I choose to use an external USB keyboard. BUT, I'm running OS X Leopard and in both cases I leave the One's display enabled so I can drag things like iTunes and my chat windows down there. Even when mobile though, without any external peripherals I'm quite happy with the keyboard and display....the touchpad absolutely BLOWS though, sorry.

As for OS X, let me say this-- I have found that using Expose` and Spaces features to be invaluable when working strictly off of the One's 8.9" screen. This really helps organize your open windows.

I've got the 120gb model as well, and upgraded the ram for a total of 1.5gb.

On a side note, I found a Maxtor external 320gb hard drive on clearance at Wal-Mart for $40! So, I use that to store stuff that I don't need regular access to on the One, further allowing the 120gb hd to more than suffice.

Have a great weekend,

Derek

 

My Aspire one has become my main PC (It's replaced a 17" C2D iMac). Of course I plug it into a 24" monitor when I'm at home (But when I'm on the go the 8.9" screen is fine) I mainly run linux on it and I'm not the typical user. I don't really use word processing that much, so I can't comment on that. I will say that in Windows I couldn't get iTunes 8 to work properly. It would hang up like crazy (Of course on my iMac iTunes would freeze the computer for a few seconds everytime it finished downloading a podcast). Windows also handles the video card better than Linux does (I can open a few windows and the X Windows Server will hit 10-20% CPU usage). Firefox in windows runs flash a lot better than the Linux one does.

I'd say if you get the AOA150 and you like having a small screen/keyboard you wouldn't have any problems.. or if you hook it up to an external monitor and usb keyboard/mouse.

 

aside from downloading videos and software (using the desktop to run first virus check on it), i use the the AAO as my primary computer. no slowdowns on video playback or using programs. love it!...

 

i have a desktop that i use at work, but for home use and school i use my one.. i've been watching tv shows and videos on www.hulu.com with no problems and for web browsing its perfect!

 

I could never use such a small computer as my main PC. I have the SSD version and it's too slow for most of the serious work, the screen is small, the touchpad is not as good as a mouse, etc.
This being said, AAO is a very nice travel computer, or if you want to have a computer with you when doing stuff outside (such as listen to some internet radio, etc.).

 

Yes, I do. It's perfect for university seeing all these kids with their 15"-17" laptops while I have the coolest one there. Plus it really attracts girls! =D. Anyways, the stuff I do like watching series/movies/anime, listening to music, chatting, and office work can be done here without any lags . I'm actually super happy. I can even do some lite photoshop usage.