My first impressions

First I want to say that I have been using Ubuntu for a while so I am not a total Linux noob. Also this is my first laptop.
I bought it 2 days ago, for 349CAD
I am writing this those who are considering to buy the One, so you have an idea how it goes.

What I had to do so far (outside of manual instructions):
*Enable advanced mode - It was easy to find the steps, thanks to these forums
*Once I did that, I installed Skype, Azureus and VLC player - again easy thanks to forums
*Fix keyboard issue where it was switching to UK layout for some reason - again an easy fix thanks to forums here

What I would like to do next: (help plz if you can )
*Find a trash can / temporary files if they exist
--> found solution for this one, under My Files, click on Go --> Trash
*Find out how to change the screensaver..
--> found solution for this one too --> Acer disabled it, option just needs to be enabled under .xml file
that is used for desktop settings. There are 5-6 basic options for screensavers. The icon will under settings section.
*Find out why 1gb+ was wasted after installing those 3 programs above. I did install Eclipse and Java development support (took more than an hour, so huge download), but I uninstalled those right away. It seems that it didn't free up the memory memory? Wish I knew how to find out what is taking memory?
--> This my bad.. I didn't uninstall some java stuff, so back to 3.6gb free disk space
*I would like to add a SDHC card, but not sure which one nor what capacity.. it seems that 8gb is cheap here ~$30, but I am not sure which ones are good, or if they are even supported for sure. It seems that above 8gb for sure isn't supported yet due to OS limitations.
*I would like to add a 3G card, (once it is available) and it should be easy, since they provided a back plate for it.

What I like:
*It is fast!!! Starts in 14 sec or so, browser in 4, Open Office Word in 8. That is very, very fast. I do not know how they do it, but it is awesome. For comparison, my Core 2 Duo 3.0ghz, 2gb DDR800 ram desktop running Win XP Pro SP3 just opened the same version of Open Office Writer in 16 seconds!!!!!! I do not think that even Ubuntu opens it as fast, but too lazy to check right now.
*Design is nice, and build quality seems to be really good.
*Keyboard is very easy to get used to and to type fast on... just wish I weren't hitting mouse thing.
*Screen quality is much better than on my 19" LCD, enough said.
*Camera's image quality is better than my Creative cam on desktop, which was close to $200 retail.
*Linux offers a lot of free software which is easy to install /get.
* Wi-fi card has a really good range, and it is fast.. was downloading 400kbs earlier

What I do not like:
*Not easy to add an additional 1gb or ram, have to take everything apart.
*No real support / not easy to find on Acer's site. It would be nice to have a manual that can help you beyond the very basics.
*Mouse pad thingy not easy to use, kinda small and weird, but as this is my first laptop I might not be used to it
*Takes a while to get out of sleep mode, almost the same or more than booting up?

So in conclusion, I am impressed so far with what you get for the money. Laptop is light, screen size is descent and quality superb IMO. It is fast, much faster than I expected. I will be sticking with Linpus, at least for now as I find it easy to use. These forums seem to have all the answers for now.. Ubuntu forums for me are pain as there is too much useless info and posts etc.

Cheers!

 

Well,
My first impressions,
A Bit Disappointed at the least.

1. Nice design, nice keyboard layout, nice monitor But the ram only goes up to 1 gig. My eee takes 2gig ram and its very difficult for a non techy person to install.

2 I think is my major problem. When running windows XP it actually is very slow..Like it wants to go but it cant.
I thought i was upgrading to the aspire but in actuality i was downgrading.

3. If you bought it to run Linux then great. you would be impressed and i think i was as well but total disappointment in the speed of the ssd. the price could be $200. and i still wont purchase it again.

if anyone think my thoughts are wrong please advise.

Good luck

 

I think you might have bought the Aspire One with some unrealistic expectations. If you buy a cheap car and then complain that it's not a Ferrari, then the car isn't the problem.

 

I agree.

So you take a computer that can cold boot to being on the Internet in less than 20 seconds...

You perform a non-factory install of XP... and your performance goes out the window...

So it's the computer that is just too slow ???

 

I hear where you guys are coming from but i did this with my eeepc i bought for 399 and it worked fine.

i was just expecting with a faster cpu i was just expecting the same the eeepc was giving me. I know its no bmw. But i do know that for many people this is their first mini laptop and they love it and so bashing it may not e a good idea. But I also like it soo much that im willing to by the zif connection for the CF and try that as well.
I know i cant change people minds but reality is its SLOW very slow with the xp install.
some one asked if i expected to install xp and expect it to run great and the answer is no i just expect it to work thats all.
i have have high expectations for my money and i thought acer would have though the same.

cheers

 

No, you're not wrong. It's your opinion, so you're dead-on!

I can imagine, XP would be VERY slow if not completely unusable, without some modifications to the OS.

The Linux that comes with it is really nice and runs well.

Putting the additional RAM worries me. I've built every computer I have, but the idea of taking this little thing apart IS daunting and not something I'm looking forward to. I have the RAM and my screw drivers ready, but I'm worried about the keyboard...

 

It's probably true that it's not a speed demon when loaded with XP - but then it was never designed to be one.


Netbooks are all about running lightweight Linux versions (no M$ tax --> low price) on lightweight hardware.
It's meant to be all about 'sufficient' performance, not 'great' performance, because the focus is on simplicity in use and in getting online - not raw speed.


In that respect, the Eee may be a little better but then it's hardware has been explored by the hacker community a bit better already, too. (On the One, it's mainly known that XP users should turn the D2D option in the Bios off to get a bit more speed out of it - but if it's speed that's wanted, installing a tuned Linux version would nearly always be the better solution.

Conversely, if you'd run a really heavy Linux distro on it, it's likely it wouldn't be all that speedy too (ditto on the Eee, btw).

Regards, R

 

OK, I just upgraded the RAM and it was WAY easier than I thought. I would put it a 2 of 10 on difficulty, but a 9 or 10 for patience. A magnifying glass will help, I needed one. Go slow, DO NOT tug on anything and take your time.

 

GRU,
could you please link how you downloaded Azerus and VLC player on your Linux Acer Aspire One?

 

VLC here: http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=167

Azureus: Available under Package Manager (add / remove)
You need to first enable right clicking for many options. Here is a link on how:
http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=28

Cheers!

 

@sagaboy

I apologize about the tone. I did not mean to bash you. Like you, I have an Eee (4GSSD+2GBRAM) and now have an Aspire One as well. I am actually satisfied with the performance of the One (for being $20US cheaper). I think the main difference is that I am running Ubuntu. The only time I notice a slowdown is when I am installing software. Other than that, it matches up pretty well to my Asus. I guess I never expected the new processor to be faster. From what I have read, the Atom is about efficiency.. not speed.

Anyway, I am sorry that XP runs so slow for you. Acer just published the XP drivers, so maybe more people will try XP and discover what you have. With a lot of unhappy people, maybe then they will try to find a fix(if they can).

Won't their XP model use a HD?

 

The speed of XP is mostly down to disk access times. If you have the slower of the two SSDs on the aa1, I can't imagine XP is going to be very happy. Plus there may be other tweaks where the aa1 is optimised for Linux, or your XP install was not optimized for the aa1. Upgrading the ram above 512 MB is unlikely to improve the performance at all, that RAM is going to just sit there unused, waiting, draining your battery.

 

Hello.
From a few days use Aspire One and decided to write you know what I think of it:
1.Make a nice impression fabrication - Aspire One looks good, no different from normal notebooks, plastic is warm in contact, a large, 8.9 "display, almost have completeness keyboard. My is the Acer Aspire One A 110-Ab - Intel Atom Processor - 1,6 GHz, 512 DDR 2 of 533MHz RAM, 8 Gb SSD of Intel.
2.A little bit of irritating effects display, but overall performance is quite good - superior display of ASUS EEE PC 701.
3.Advantage is the weight of the Aspire One - only 1 kg., Which is a great advantage for people who travel a lot.
4.Aspire One comes with Linpus Linux Lite OS. As interface - nothing more other than Linux Xandros of ASUS EEE PC - even missing some important programs like Skype for example. Disadvantage is that there is no possibility of setting the language in writing and the correct arrangement of the keyboard. From Linpus could be more resourceful (I was written @-mail to them, but even if you do not work to read: "your e-mail was rejected by ....."). In User manual of Acer does not have enough information on the language settings of writing, and for many other things.
5.This is the reason forced me to install Windows XP SP 2 - the same that I installed on ASUS EEE PC 701. Aspire One, however, failed totally. Installation of Windows continue about 1,5 hours, I found drivers difficult for it. After installing all the necessary drivers and settings for optimizing Windows Aspire One was extremely slow. : ( From the forum I realized that the use of Acer different SSD memory - Intel (slow transfer) and Samsung (rapid transfer). Well, my Aspire One is with Intel SSD. Apparently from Acer are hurry on to showcase your product. Unacceptable! The work of Aspire One is at times worse than that of ASUS EEE PC 701 in similar characteristics. Indeed, Atom consume less electricity and not heated as many as Donath at ASUS, but what of that ?!!!!

For conclusion I can say that I am disappointment of productivity of Aspire One - and who will return my money ?!!!!

 

did you just put xp on it or did you follow the instruction from the forum?

 

I just put XP on it.

 

so why do you complain?
read HOW TO install XP on the AO an try again, I'm sure you will be happy with the AO after that

 

Do you need wifi to use all the software thats on the one or if u wanted to check email or do a lil word processing do u need wifi to use those

 

I don't understand what you mean. Why should you need wifi for the programs?

 

No you don't except for
Email
Messengers
Torrent programs
P2P programs
Internet browsers.
All of thses either need a LAN cable connected, or wifi has to be connected to a network
Rory

 

Ok thnx