Aspire One for a 10yr old..

I'm about to get one of these for my daughter - she currently plays on Club Penguin and a few other kids sites on my wife's computer and to be honest I'd rather she mucked up her own computer and learned to be responsible with one!
I was about to go out and get the Linpus version of the Aspire One and then I realised that still had a few questions that I can't seem to find anwers for:

1) How do I use the household networked printer that currently on a Vista network and being used by all on the network?
2) Can I access the large USB storage drive attached to the main Vista desktop from the Aspire One? This is currently used to store all the family's media and general file cr*p - the other Vista laptops we have can access it without any problems at the moment.
2) What about parental controls - we currently have a couple of programs on Vista that stamp on unknown sites and adverts etc but does this sort of thing exisit on the Linpus / Linus OS without a complicated and nerdy set-up routine (for which I dont have the Linux knowledge).

I guess the question that I'm really asking is whether the Linpus variant of the laptop suitable for kids to use, or should I be looking at the XP machine instead?

I'd like to introduce the kids to Linux obviously but not at the expense of their innocence...

Homey

 

since you didn't mention cost as an issue, i'd go with the 120/160hd xp version. set up xp to be functional for all the things you need it to do, then later on set up another partition and add linpus/linux. at least this way you'll have a functional xp and a "test" environment for linpus you or your daughter can play around with. linpus is free, so you can always add it later.

if you buy a linpus machine first, you'll be stuck with a smaller drive and it'll be much more difficult to add xp later, if you decide to go that route. you have a lot more options if you start with an xp box.

 

Cost is a consideration, of course!
She's only 10 and willing to pay for half of it with her xmas money and saved up funds, so I need it to be something that she can work with as opposed to yet another full time project for me!!
I really like the idea of a Linux machine but I can't afford to spend hours on end tweaking and getting the thing to work the way it should work to be kid-safe.
I do like the idea of a dual-boot setup though, but I have a feeling that the XP machines are quite a bit more expensive than the £169 asking price for the Linux offering!

Not sure what to do at this point as the little one's expecting a machine v. soon....

Homey

 

I m quite sure you could get the Linpus AAO and get a separate WinXP license, if you want to save a few bucks on the retail version. I am sure you should be able to find a license very cheap, maybe ebay or other buy/sell website.. but yeah, I understand where you're coming from and agree with you that XP would probably be more productive for you and your daughter.

As for your questions, you can connect your existing appliances no problem, if they have drivers for windows. If you have a network you will be able to connect to the large drive you have on Vista, and parental controls shouldnt be a problem, though I have never looked in to that, so maybe someone else could suggest specific software..

@daldred
Im sure you have some suggestions for the OP?

 

Parental control can to a degree be done by using OpenDNS as your DNS provider.

I would buy the 150 model with the HDD. Get the Linpus version and see how you get on.

Give it 6-12 months or so and then upgrade the memory and install Windows7 when it comes out.

 

I have 2 AAO's. Have used linux for 8 years. I find linpus is not worth the effort. Installed Mandriva 2009 KDE on both. It needs a few tweaks to get functioning properly, but very easy to do.

Mandriva can:

1) Automatically find your printers - INCLUDING networked printers - and auto-install the necessary drivers
2) Piece of cake to access the storage drive and windows networks. (I sent a message to a non-encrypted wireless network by creating a file and storing it where it could be seen saying "You should encrypt your network to prevent intrusions!")
3) (I think you meant 3, instead of a 2nd 2). Parental controls shouldn't be too much trouble at all in Mandriva. Just visit their forums.

I am finished with Windows. Ethically and performance-wise. I don't worry about viruses, adware, trojans, whatever. Mandriva is REALLY user friendly, with a control center (Mandriva Control Center) that beats anything MS ever made.

PM me if you need help.

D.

 

The main advantage of Linpus is that you do not have to pay the Microsoft tax. When I bought it, I tried to get to a terminal for 2 hours (without trying the obvious terminal keys) and could not find any place where you could customize the machine, so I installed Xubuntu and am still very happy with it. File and printer sharing is not a real problem with Xubuntu, but printer drivers might be. Not every manufacturer of printers likes his customers to have control over their own devices and most customers are too ignorant to question that. HP printers are generally well supported (including their scanners, faxes, card readers etc.). For other printers, it may be good to do a net search first to see how well their Linux support is.

But be prepared to invest some time to get things working. With free software, you pay more in time and less in money. And you learn about what is done to your computer by hardware and software vendors.

I never did anything with parental control and having seen how they are supposed to work, I don't really believe in them either. Better tell your daughter that not everybody can be trusted, not even on the internet. As an aside, there are a few advertising blockers that run quite well in Firefox. If you use the adblock+ and NoScript plug-ins, you are hardly bothered with any any ads at all. In fact, I don't think surfing without them is doable anymore. You have to unblock some crappy trustworthy sites, though.

 

To be honest, I got fed up with struggling with Acer's interpretation of Linux and I returned the machine. I bought new a Toshiba with Ubuntu Netbook Remix on it and everything worked superbly right out of the box!
I just wish I hadn't wasted so much time trying to get the Acer working.

Homey