Help Me Decide

Okay I've been looking at this forum over the past few weeks and i'm really impressed by the helpful nature of its participants so maybe you can help me out. I'm interested in buying the Aspire One to support me on business trips away from the family. I'm not particulary familiar with the in's and out's of computers - as long as they work I'm fine. I can either buy the 8GB SSD with Linux or the larger pre-installed XP version. The difference in cost is around £100/$200.

All I'm used to is Windows and mainly XP, however for some reason I'm interested in Linux and using a different OS. I'm probably being really dumb as the cost differential probably doesn't justify the hassle of learning more about Linux. The other concern I have is compatibility with the things i use day to day.

All I need is a tool that can open pdf files, doc files etc that are circulating round the office. I want to be able to watch movies. If I download a movie from itunes on my desktop can I play it using some application on the Linux version? I also want to be able to use the webcam and communicate through skype for instance to my family while on the road. I know I've seen threads on this......some more complicated than others that suggest you can do this by following certain steps.

So..........movies, some music, a few pictures, access to the Web so I can get into my exchange network and read emails opening any attachments I might have. What do you think, try something new or go with XP?

 

The linux version can do everything you want it for; though some tweaking will be required:

OpenOffice can read word and excel documents quite well. Acrobat reader is installed, so pdf is no problem either. For images there are dozens of tools readily available.

For movies you will need to either upgrade the included mplayer or install VLC. There are quite a few topics covering both options already present on the forum.

Skype can be slightly more of a problem. I know it can be made to work, but since I do not use it I cannot tell you how easy or hard that is.

For connecting to exchange you might want the normal Evolution instead of the crippled version Acer includes by default. This requires some use of the terminal.

So what remains is - do you want the extra space and the comfort of windows ? Note that the extra space is *a lot*.
Also note that the standard battery of the One is not that good, and that the 6 cell version makes it look ugly. Something to keep in mind if you want a mini laptop to use "on the road".

 

First of all, you may want to wait a few days. Prices are dropping on the XP model, and I believe here in the States the price difference is only about $30. I've been using Linux for years (though I'm certainly no guru). One of the reasons I prefer Linux is that viruses and other malware are not an issue. I also believe Linpus Linux Lite requires less memory than Windows XP. Perhaps the Acer One version is a lite version, so that may not make a difference.

You don't really need to know anything about Linux to use the Aspire One. It's designed so that all you have to do is click on an icon and run whatever app you want that is installed. The problem comes when you want more than what's installed. You can read in these forums that it's a fairly simple matter to get to the "hidden" menu that will take you to "Add/Remove Programs." And it's not especially difficult to click your way through and add something. But since those programs were made for Fedora and not Linpus Lite, they may not work perfectly. When you try to do a live update for example, your system could break. You can browse the forums here and see some of the stuff people have done to their system (myself included). When you break something, that's when it helps to know something about Linux.

I'm not trying to scare you away from Linux -- one less dollar for Microsoft is one more dollar in your own pocket. I'm just saying if you're afraid of using the command line then either don't tinker with it too much or go with windows.

 

Jim / Squeaker, thanks for the response.

Jim, I know what you mean and the tinkering does worry me. I also see it as a bit of a challenge. The only tinkering I'd do is probably adding VLC, Skype, maybe something for mp3's or itunes compatibility if it exists. I'd also need access to Citrix for my email and work server but there are Linux drivers on the Citrix website. I don't know, something is pushing me to the base model...........I can't even decide over colour. Can't remember being this indecisive before.