First Impressions (8gb SSD, Linux Version)

Can anyone tell me if they can add Goolge Gears to firefox within the 'One'.

 

Got mine last night. I had a UPS issue but they told me to come to their station after they were closed and I could pick it up.

Good
1. Boots super fast...ready to go in no time.
2. Very nice screen...adjustible brightness
3. Keyboard is usable
4. Lots of ports, USB, SSD, etc.

Annoying
1. Small screen...I love the screen but my old eye are a bit sore today looking at that small screen. I'd like a smaller res even if I couldnt see the whole web page at once.
2. Fan....it was quiet most of the time but when I plugged in my external, it got very loud...back and forth. Sucks as I was going to use this as my main computer for awhile but might not because of that issue....other than that, fan is fine.

I don't know If I'll keep it long because of the small screen size and my eyes not liking that. Other than that, it seems like a nice little machine.

 

Hi Rockfrog, don't forget that you can instantly increase the text size in the browser and probably a lot of other programs by pressing the Ctrl and +-keys simultaneously. (Press multiple times for more increase and use the ctrl-minus key for size decrease, of course!)

Happy computing, R

 

Thanks..I'll try the text increase with the browser when I get home..I'm sure there are lots of ways to make the experience better for different individuals...and I really do like the machine quite a bit so far.

 

I have the same problems, I always increase the size and then it's a perfect machine.
The next thing to use in Firefox is F11

 

I got my aspire one today and so far i love it =]

Likes:
1) I disagree with a lot of people when i say that i LOVE the keyboard! i guess it suits me and the keys are clicky (which i like) and very smooth when i type.
2) The internet is quite fast for a small notebook and i was very impressed ._.
3) The typing program could get some getting used to, but its easy and i like it
4) sleek design~
5) i could keep listing things, but ill stop for now ^^

Dislikes:
...well since im using this mainly for surfing/aiming/typing, there's nothing that i dislike :]

This is my first laptop and i absolutely love it! <3

 

Yes!

It does what it's built to do very well. And when/if you choose to add more RAM, it's really pretty easy, just requires patience and a delicate touch

 

I have a question and acouple of comments about the fan noise.

Can you easily check that the Intel Speedstep is working and the CPU is underclocked to 800Mhz when unloaded? If the CPU is stuck at 1.6Ghz all the time it's going to put out a lot more heat and the fan will come on more often, or run more loudly...

Other than that, my only thought is perhaps the fan module on some units was crushed against the case on assembly, so the fan rubs against its housing.

Its a tiny fan, so its going to be noisy at full rpm ... I think that's something people will have to accept. But given the small amount of heat you'd think that the fan could be made to spin at low rpm most of the time.

The good news is that sort of stuff can usually be taken care of with a bios update.

 

I am also very interested to know about the fan / processor issue.

My new Aspire One is quite noisy (you can always hear it, even with background noise), and it gets very warm (well: hot) after a short time.

I'm wondering if I should worry...

 

If it gets hot, sounds like a hardware cooling problem - normally the One does get warm *at most*, so well below 42 degrees C at the bottom of the puter.

Regards, R

 

My first impressions of the Aspire One is that the hardware is seriously flawed and the implementation of the Linpus distribution is a disappointment. This is too bad because this could really be a terrific machine.

On the hardware side it looks like Acer is shipping all units to Canada with International keyboards. This is the case despite the picture on the box showing an English only keyboard. This keyboard is a major pain to use for those who only speak English and are used to touch-typing on English only keyboards. The Enter key is in wrong place and the left Shift key is too small. Also, there are green characters which crowd the keyboard. For English only users these characters have no obvious purpose and add to the visual clutter. Keyboard faults are compounded by the fact that Acer provides absolutely no pathway to change to a standard English only keyboard. Emailing their helpdesk resulted in getting only robot-like replies stating that there was no way to change the keyboard -- ever!

Another problem is the lack of an easy way to add memory to the 512MB which comes with the unit. It looks like to add memory you have to disassemble to unit.

Finally, on the hardware side, the buttons for the touch-pad are in awkward positions to the right and left of the touch-pad.

The real disappointment comes with how Linpus is implemented. The following is a list of bugs and lack of attention to detail. It includes the problems cited above and I hope Acer makes the effort to fix many of these problems for its early adopters.

Bugs in the Acer Aspire One

1. International keyboard shipped with no way to change to an English keyboard.

1a. Keyboard language settings are not sticky: when set to EN after launching new programs it keeps switching to UK, and when switching from UK back to EN you have to press the system-tray icon twice. This behavior is very annoying since items like Shift-2 do not give the @ symbol in UK mode, but delivers a " symbol. Even worse, it is not clear which key will give you the @ symbol. Through trial and error it was determined to be Shift-' which gives the @ symbol.

1b. SCIM settings do not have noticeable affect on keyboard function.

2. Firefox 2 ships with unit instead of 3

3. OpenOffice 2.3 ships with unit instead of 2.4

4. No obvious way to remove demo games which do not work fully unless paid for.

5. Memory upgrade requires disassembling notebook.

6. Touch-pad buttons placement awkward.

7. Resuming from standby is slow (Hard drive is the Samsung SSD-1800)

8. Difficult to restore system using the CD-ROM and keep data and configuration

9. User name defaults to "user" and cannot be easily changed

10. Host name defaults to "localhost" and cannot be easily changed

11. Package Updater cannot resolve all dependencies

11a. notification-daemon-xfce conflicts with notify-daemon

11b. Missing Dependency: gecko-libs = 1.8.1.16 is needed by package yelp

12. Main interface lacks an interface to customize launchers

13. Clock shows time in 24 hour format. No obvious way to change it to 12 hour AM/PM format

14. Ugly "Plugged in -- fully charged" icon

15. Ugly hide panel button

16. Paint application is too basic

17. No support for secure logon or multiple users.

18. In System Monitor "Distributor ID" and "Release Release" show "n/a"

19. When connected to the network and with no networking programs are running, System Monitor shows network utilization for "Recieved" is consistently high at 50% to 100%.

 

You forgot the lack of a "Whine" button...

For a basic and cheap Taiwanese netbook like this, you seem to have been expecting perfection, and adjustment to your every preference. Sorry mate, but I think you need to get out more. This puter was likely designed and outfitted within severe time, budget and production limitations, being what it is - a mass-market budget machine. I have some issues with the One like I have with every computer and it's certainly not perfect, but this is a cheap netbook made in China, not some customised high-end product. :roll:

Regards, R

 

@ Raido,

Thanks for the encouragement to to get out more. I will keep that in mind. I was hoping I would log on and see posts about how brilliant I am and how interesting my post is. Alas.

Regardless, the problems I cite are have nothing to do with the cost of production but to attention to detail. You may think these are mutually exclusive. I do not. This will probably be the first impression many users will have of Acer. These are potential buyers of more expensive and more profitable gear. I think Acer should work harder to make a better impression. Keeping expectations low because the product is not that expensive is not an option for me. I don't know about you but I work hard for my money.

I hope Acer takes note and does what is needed to improve the experience on this laptop for power users who need a notebook with this form factor.

 

Not one thing on that list of negatives bothers me...actually i dont give a rip about any of them. For a basic boot up and surf, write a few letters, transfer pics off a camera out on a trip and save to a memory stick...this little notebook is great. Openoffice 2.3.....I still use 2.0 on my main computer....people who buy these aren't buying them for advance computing...and wont know the difference.

It's also a fun little learning computer for Linux...I wiped my windows OS and installed Unbuntu on my main after getting my ONE and really enjoying learning a new OS.

I don't know...I think it's fine...I think if someone wants to use if as a main computer they can buy a decent laptop for a bit more..but for what I need it for...I have no complaints...except maybe the mouse click buttons on the side....

 

After playing around with the One for a while, I admit it has it's flaws, but overall I just love the little bugger :mrgreen:

You get way more usability from the machine when you do the 'advanced mode hack', you can also customize themes, programs in the 'easy mode' and many many other things. All the info can be found here to do just about anything.

I alos upgraded my RAM to 1,5 gigs and now the machine is lightning-fast. I disabled the non-needed 1 GB swap-partition and have yet to encounter any problems beceause of it. I put my One to pretty heavy use yesterday using it for about 10 hours straight, and it worked like a charm.

the few things I think Acer really should fix are

- KEYBOARD WORKING WITH PROPER LAY-OUT OUT-OF-THE-BOX!!! It can't be that hard to customize the machine to work with the same lay-out the keyboard physically has... All it took was three keystrokes to the script file: "fi,". This is unbeleavable...

- Dudes, where the heck is the RAM upgrade hatch? The SO-DIMM slot is at the right place, there's just no way of getting there without completely disassembling the computer. Luckily there's no seals or written limitations to prevent you from opening the unit, so I understand it as Acer giving permission to do the operation yourself.

These are the 2 biggest bugs in my opinion. Otherwise I consider the One to be extremely good value for it's price. If you just understand what you are getting and are willing to accept it, you can get a great little machine for cheap by getting the One.

 

He has some great points and it's his opinion. Those are real issues that will put some people off from getting the AOA110, but in general, the shortcomings of the AOA110 are similar to every other mini-laptop out right now in the same price range. That sucks about the keyboard for you.

The machine is very new and like all first issue devices, there are bugs. Hopefully, updates will address some of these issues. Sure some things could be better. The keyboard layout is smaller and some of the keys are awkward, but that's the price to pay for a mini notebook. And the Linpus OS is geared toward the less tech savvy user, but thankfully it is upgradeable. The RAM does require a heck of a lot of confidence to add and would be VERY intimidating for a novice.

Overall, I think the AOA110 is an amazing machine and I have the slow SSD. I like the AOA110 better than any laptop I've ever owned.

You can't win 'em all

 

I didnt knw where to post this but i was wondering i know some apps like the web need to use the wifi but can you use like the word processing stuff with out wifi or is everything need to use wifi to use the apps

 

Personally, I'm delighted about the international keyboard.

I ordered mine yesterday, even though I didn't know what the keyboard would look like. I was even prepared to look for a replacement keyboard.

That additional key is pretty handy when writing in French, and here the «international» keyboard is the norm (actually, the French Canadian and, more rarely, the Canadian Multilingual layouts), except (often) for notebooks. For once, here's a model that would caters to French Canadians' needs by default... I quite understand your frustration! You should be able to choose.

I've been trying to figure out model and part numbers for the Aspire One, and which keyboard layouts they translate to, and which languages they support, but couldn't find any information about that. All I gathered is that the model sold in Canada is AOA110-1955 while in the US it seems to be AOA110-1295, and that some Canadian online stores mention "English/French" in the title of the product. Which would point to a specific model for Canada.

 

If that's the best you can do, I'd say the Aspire One comes out with 5 stars!

Keyboards: locally its going to be sold configured to the region default. If you want a different model, buy one online from the country of your choice.

Mouse buttons: If the buttons go on the bottom, either the trackpad or the keyboard has to be made more narrow, or the notebook gets bigger...

Memory access: for 99%+ of the users the pre-installed memory is sufficient.

 

I agree the the placement of the mouse buttons is at best "unconventional" and is taking some people a long time to get used to.

I understand this but I am rather surprised. I almost never use my mouse buttons as I tap rather than click. I find it quicker and easier regardless of the placement of the buttons.

Am I alone in not using trackpad buttons?