Acer Aspire One has to be one of the worst things I have EVE

...which is the same spec as mine and I *think* that's currently down to £229 on Amazon.

As for learning the Linux All-In-One Desktop Reference for Dummies is proving to be very good, as it doesn't just lapse into a bunch of printed man pages. Back it up with the O'Reilly Pocket Reference on Linux and you'll be sorted books wise.

And if you dip in here you'll learn some useful stuff too.

Good luck.

 

The AA1 8GB Linpus version is great, I love the little blue thing. It's not a perfect system by any means, but for the £199 I paid for it I can't really complain. Up until 2 months ago, I never knew a thing about Linux, and now I can find my way around the system O.S. fairly comfortably (thanks mainly to the helpful posts here and googling). Sometimes you just have to use plain common sense and a bit of initiative to solve problems.

 

Ah, but do you get Clubcard points at Amazon
When I bought mine from Tesco (Direct) I had double Clubcard points and no delivery charge as I collected it from a nearby store :lol:

 

It's sad that someone who claims to have an MSCE can't figure out the Linpus distro. I grew up on Windows, and aside from playing around with Linux once in a while my AAO is my first full time Linux platform. Thanks to these forums and Macles I was able to figure out this little machine. If this guy is so impatient as to return his AAO after 1 day rather than researching so be it. I'll sit here happily with my AAO.

 

Wow he bragged about being an MCSE? LOL My dog has an MCSE, everybody has an MCSE.
The MCSE only impresses soccer moms and noobs.

I recently got the A150 in black, this thing is sweet. I'm very happy with it. It came with Windows XP Home, but I cleaned it out and reinstalled Windows XP Pro. All the drivers are at the ACER website. I'm not even an MSCE!!! Oh my god.

Mine came with a 160 GB HDD even though the specs said it had a 120 GB HDD, SWEET!!!

TKD

 

You, sir, did the right thing, and are to be commended for your attempt to learn Linux. It's not difficult, just different.

 

Let's face the truth.
The AA1 8GB Linpus caused me a lot of headache in the beginning, around 3 weeks ago. No documentation, no nothing, learn from scratch. However, if you have managed to tweak this to the best of your imagination, you will love this. I wouldn't replace it with Windows.
The AA1 is not for the faint-hearted.

 

Hey my dog has it too!!!! Wow small world... I am a bugger for buying gadgets then wishing I hadn't done it, to be honest i thought this the case when i ordered my 8gb linux version.
Until i got it out and turned it on.....
I dont pretend to know much about linux but i have used it a few times over the years....and loved it!
Only thing stopping me moving over completely is games and cad software.

I worked with computers for many years starting on 386's. Having to find things out by making mistakes and then finding the answers.
Something i enjoy with linux at present.

It is excellent value for money ( i paid £179 at currys) and look forward to lots of hours making it mine.

Since taking it to work 3 others are going to purchase one. Cant be bad.

 

I'm in studying for the CCNP, working as CCNA, and when you are in tiny rooms full of routes and switches, this ONE thing, running any flavor of linux is just the right tool for me. I can be hours supporting a client in front of a mighty rack with no chair or table, and don't get tired holding this thing on my hand... or in a uneven possition, you should have seen the face of my fellow neighbor technician when I showed him bash messing with his config live...
This netbook is a mighty hackbook in the right hands!!!
I just wondering which other distros would fit in there comfortably. I'm already dual booting sort-of-a microXP, had to remove many little thing, but it's working.

 

I bought mine in August and absolutely love it. It packed up last week, got onto Acer and they said it sounded like a software problem and as the software is free, its my problem. Took it back to Currys, they hadn't a clue and told me to ring Acer.
After searching through various forums, came up with MACLES, and managed to fix it in about an hour.
Now, I'm a builder, the only qualification I have is a certificate to say I can swim 25 yards that I got when I was 9 years old. Sounds like having a MSXX removes the ability to think logically.

Peter,

West Berks

 

You are rich! I got mine less than a week ago for £179 also in Tesco and I love it. The first computer I bought was a PDP 8 with 4K (12 bit words) of memory in1966. Somebody mentioned controlling the Large Hadron collider. Well one of its predecessors, the SPS, was controlled by 64K (16 bit) word Nord-10s with 768x576 displays. The Americans went to the moon with less. In the '70s Bill Joy "sold" us BSD UNIX and I used that for a while, in time share mode, and I suspect it had less than 512MB of memory!

My only grouse is that I have not found out how to program it yet, another thread. Maybe that is because people with all these fancy qualifications don't program?

My main requirement for my application is small size, low weight, fast startup and shutdown, but more powerful than a PDA. The Aspire One Linux fits the bill perfectly, or will if I can get my program working.

 

I've had mine now less than a week but I can see this guys point. I bought this looking for a replacement for my Psion 5 which in turn replaced my P3. I've tried filling the gap with Ipaqs but they really don't do it, the fact is nothing is available that is as good as these old things. So I got my AA1. Hate the cartoon front page so have changed my desktop and have finally installed VLC so it can play movies. Ok, I get that this is old school computing, going down to Terminal level and reprogramming and it's fun to be challenged and learn new things but to be completely honest, it shouldn't be this hard. I have to struggle with this forum and try various different avenues just to load a program and frankly, that's not on. Nobody should be buying this machine thinking it will be a capable mobile computer because without riding a very steep learning curve it's just not that.
It suits me and I'll be keeping mine but my first impressions upon using this machine, trying to work things through illogical menus that over-assume system experience was to feel very cheated. Everyone on this forum uses technical terms with impunity implying that only the very experienced are happy using these to the fullest. Casual users are simply not catered for with Linpus lite, it's far from a logical layout and the menus don't always make sense.
Certainly Windows is dumbed right down for the masses and comes cluttered with junk you simply can't use as well as a lot of dangerous stuff this is used against you. This is my first experience with Linux and I will be installing Ubuntu on my desktop at some point but I think people buying these thinking it's a mobile PC should be aware that they're extremely limited unless you're willing and able to put in some serious time and effort to learn a very different way of doing things.

 

Installing a program is covered in the HowTos; what are the problems you're having?

 

what do you mean "find out how to program it" ?
I use the AAO with visual studio and have no problems with that.

 

Reality check..... the Acer Aspire One IS A MOBILE PC! What are you talking about? It's an Intel based machine that runs practically anything a "regular" PC can. Linpus Lite was designed the way it was intended. ACER never claimed that it's a FULL OS! Just what most will need from a "netbook". I really am frustrated from all the complaints about Linpus Lite. Remember what you are getting out of what you pay for, w/c is A LOT! If you don't like it, by all means install another OS, you CAN, it's a PC!

You call the AAO limited? Let's see.... we can install Windows XP, Vista..... Ubuntu, Mandriva, etc etc... and yes, even MAC OSX.... You can add memory, change hardrive, add bluetooth etc etc.... Yeah, it's not easy, BUT it's not even remotely limited.

In the past years, when we paid for $800+ on what used to be called Palmtops w/ built in Windows CE... now THAT's limited! The AAO is NOT! Case closed.

 

I can see both sides of this thread.
I have only had my AcerOne for a week or so, and already I absolutely LOVE it. Nice and light, starts quickly, and does what it says on the tin.
But some things ought to be easier:-
I can't make it print to my networked OKI (see seperate thread, and thanks for the helpful posts, but it still doesn't print)
I followed some instructions about installing Soduko - brilliant and it works, but then I have to find a different set of instructions to get an icon on the desktop (right-click finds it OK with the "full" desktop installed)
Carefully followed instructions for increasing the resolution for external monitor. Totally broke it. It would only start to a command-line interface. So I had to learn enough Linux to copy the back-up of xorg.conf over the "broken" version. Including getting root privelages etc. I considered resorting to a Rescue DVD install - but I apparently need another ACER or a USB/CD drive. But it only took an hour to do it by hand. Decided original resolution looks fine. Some forum entries say "1024x1024? others say "1024x1024". Still not working.
Tried to install vlc. Loads of error messages and no install. Then, on a different forum (http://jorge.ulver.no/2008/08/06/acer-a ... nd-tricks/) I discover that the GPG key has been changed - whatever that is.
I would like to be able to synchronise the calendar and contacts with Outlook on my desktop - or my HTC phone (windows mobile) or my Google Calendar (all synchronised) - but I can't find anything that seems to do that yet.
Now, I love playing with it - I am retired and have the time. I am pretty used to computers - I soldered my first one together in 1970 and learned Z80 assembler.
But does it HAVE to be this complicated? With some careful reading and googling, the answers are out there in the ether somewhere. But this is a "consumer product" - not a "learning project".
But I still love it.

 

I'm trying now to show desktop icons... uphill struggle. I tried to install some encryption software and followed all the instructions but nothing happened. I'm not having a pop at the machine but the software is pretty lousy. Thinking about installing Ubuntu now, but doing my homework thoroughly first. Linpus seems to be great if you know what you're doing, otherwise everything is way too much effort for the average user... period... case closed....etc....