Have I made a big mistake with Linux

So I have an AA1 for my wife to 'play' with, surf the internet, check her mail show her friends her holiday snaps and play some music ... basically it does the job ie with the simple interface she really can just press the buttons but Media Master doesn't seem to work at all (I read on the forum that people remove it cause it's a "waste of space" - then why's it there ? if I load a video for her (taken off my camera into my Mac onto a usb stick and dragged into "my videos" it just about plays but it's very jerky, I've searched the forums and read that vlc player is the way to go but it looks like a pain to instal, she'll never do it ... when you got to the vlc site there's one download button for windows, one for Mac and twelve for Linux, I don't really want to learn a new OS. Am I asking too much for it to just work ? transfer an image off a little camera, a video off a little camera a music track from itunes ... how hard can it be ? Sorry if this is a moan it's just that I thought this seemed like a good solution for someone who doesn't want to know about file formats, codecs and all the other rubbish. Best Regards Roger (though from my experience windows would be worse)

 

I dont have my ONE yet, but i have some knowledge of linux and VLC.

if there are so many for linux, there should be instructions for each. Linux lite is fedora core based, so the instructions and download package for the fedora core installation should be the one to go for.

Rather than thinking of linux as an operating system, think of each distribution as a seperate OS.

EDIT: best to go with fedora core 8 instructions.

 

Making mplayer (the underlying program for mediamaster) useful is merely a matter of typing 5 sentences. She should be able to survice that
VLC can be done with two sentences less.

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3770#p25335

Of course, all these things can also be done through the graphical and user friendly package manager. But that is far more work for me to describe (click this, then that, then scroll down to.. and so on).

What you need to understand is that in most linux distro's most applications can be found in a central repository - which means you do not have to download it from the developers website, but can easily install it from a menu listing all available software. This is supposed to go quite well (and it does) - unless your linux distro does not play by the rules. Like ACERS unfortunately.

The software that isn't in a repo and needs to be downloaded from a website tends to quite unknown, new, recently updated or copyrighted.

 

This question seems to get asked about twice a day. Perhaps somebody should write a neutral (or as near neutral as possible) summary of the pros and cons of the various model options, and get it stickied to the top of the post list?

 

I just spent an hour typing a considered reply and then screwed it up somehow, just shows what a ludite I am ... I'll try and remember what I said.

Basically you will all probably hate me after this but I feel I have to say it ... it is, of course, not aimed at you chaps ... you give your time freely to help other members of the community but places like John Lewis (UK) are selling this as a little computer for old ladies (like me).

To quote from your responses:

"think of each distribution as a seperate OS" what's that all about ?

The software that isn't in a repo and needs to be downloaded from a website tends to quite unknown, ... what is repo and why is it unknown ?

Isn't this the point : unless your linux distro does not play by the rules. Like ACERS unfortunately.

and what is "distro"

package manager ... where's that .... don't forget the manual tells the user a little about the email application and nothing more !

"merely a matter of typing 5 sentences" typing 5 sentences where ? ... and why should she have to type 5 sentences (assuming she knows what Linux is and that she has to try and find a forum like this to guide her) just to instal a simple piece of software ?

Linux is not for the man / woman in the street and the fact that places are selling it as such is wrong ... the stickie doesn't need to be here but on the monitor of every Acer Aspire sat on the shelves of high street computer retailers (especially the department stores) !

End of rant .... my apologies, I'll go back to my new iMac

Regards Roger

 

It sounds like you would have been better suited to buy the AAO with Windows. While linpus was designed to be simple for novices, when it comes to adding new programs and such it can be a hassle. It sounds like Linux is simply over your head. Linux can be confusing. I suggest returning the Linpus based One and pick up the Windows One for $20 more.

 

Thanks shadowguy .... well in the shop I bought it from it's £70 more expensive (about $120) and the whole point I'm trying to make is that I DON'T want to add new programmes .... I just want to be able to load music from itunes and videos and photographs from my camera and the Acer with Linux doesn't seem too happy to do it .... why does it have something called media master that doesn't like media ? Regards and thanks again for taking the time Roger

 

I couldn't agree more. "Linux is user-friendly" is the biggest lie in IT these days.

I would recommend installing Mac OS X on your One, if it was a fairly simple process (which it's not, unfortunately). It works, though, with a few issues.

 

EVERY LCD TV on the market today runs Linux. They seem to be selling well and people are using them.

Cheers.

 

repo = repository, but not fully typed out.
The unknown referred to the word software, not to the word repo

Distribution. I will try to moderate the shortening of words

THIS however is a fair point. The manual should have included an explanation on what to do if you are not happy with the default choices.
If it was a serious question from your side - search the forum on how to enable "advance mode". Or even how to get a normal desktop (similar to the one on windows).

It should also explain to people that this is a specially modified version of Linux - designed to be "crippled". That way people might make fairer comparisions - instead of comparing it with full versions of XP or OSX.
Then again, admitting you crippled something does not promote sales.

Why not ?
Seriously - as I said the alternative is clicking, scrolling, clicking and so on - just like in windows. Or a Mac. The typing of sentences is far, far less work. Both for her to do and for me to describe. Besides - she is a woman. She should be used to boss others around with words

As someone else pointed out on this forum: Linux is not windows. It is not OSX or OS/2 or BeOS either. Some things will be different. A comparison with visiting a foreign country holds quite well: different language, different customs. If you are doing more than just visiting, some learning will be required. If one does not like that - stay home

 

Thanks to Grim and everyone else for their contributions, no you're right the word 'crippled' doesn't do it but 'simplified' might - to get back to my main point .... why doesn't media Manager do what it says on the tin and if it doesn't what can I do about it (ie is there a manual that has a little more detail somewhere) ? Many thanks as ever for your patience ... Roger

 

Oh, dear... here we go again.

The Linpus AA1 is advertised as being able to do certain things. For the most part, it does those things. It does not claim to be a full desktop Linux, and it does not claim that it will be easy to add new apps to it. I don't believe that the vendors claim that it can read files from a digital camera (although it can, with a bit of know-how), nor that it can play every kind of audio or video file you are likely to come across (ditto). It's sold as a lightweight and inexpensive machine for word processing, e-mail, and Web surfing. So far as I can tell, it does what it claims.

If you spend the extra money on the Windows version, you are essentially paying for somebody else to have done the work of simplification that you need to use the machine the way you are familiar with. This is why I always recommend that people who don't know about Linux, and don't want to learn, or don't have time to, buy the Windows version in the first place. Life is just too short to learn a new OS just to operate a laptop computer.

Acer _should_ me more definite about the intended use and market of the AA1. A friend of mine has bought one for his daughter to use at school, because it's cheap, robust, and portable. She doesn't need to install new software, and she has other things for playing music on. Because it runs Linux, and the OS is rather hidden from casual prying, it's almost impossible to break. This is exactly the sort of person, I think, that the Linpus machine is aimed at.

The other sort of person, I guess, is somebody like me who grew up playing with Unix systems. It's the people in between those two extremes of Unix/Linux experience (i.e., most people) who are going to have problems.

As for the specific questions, Media Player is _probably_ crippled because of patent/IP problems with popular formats like MPEG4. Replacing it with VLC is the usual thing, and that's well described on this forum.

 

Thanks Kevin, I think you summed up really well .... maybe your reply should be a sticky. Good of you to take the time. Best regards Roger

 

OMFG! I should have looked at the vendor's claims :lol: :lol: :lol:

When my first unit died and I returned it to Microcenter, the CS guy said the main reason they get AA1s returned isn't them dying, it's that they don't do what people expect. What I can't fathom is people forking over $329 before asking if it'll run Office.

By the way, what are Acer's claims of the AA1? I haven't bothered to read the little bit of documentation that came with my unit.

 

Check the website - under user interface.
http://www.acer.com/aspireone/

"Everything you need is just one or two clicks away" might be a bit misleading. The text accompanying the multimedia capabilities is also not complete - while you can watch movies on the go perfectly, it requires one to update the software.

But the explanation of the included software, as well as the showing of the available settings, is quite honest.

 

Yes, I think it's fair to say that Acer's video claims are a bit over-optimistic. I couldn't find _any_ video that would play with the stock player. But, to be fair, I didn't try MJPEG or MPEG1

I think it would be more honest if they did not make any claims about video playback, or at least listed the formats that it supported.

But other than that, the claims for Linpus are pretty modest, I think.

``Q Does it support Bluetooth
A No, it does not.''

I mean, there's no equivocation here.

It's essentially a proprietary Linux as used in, say, the Archos Internet tablets, with the difference that you _can_, with a bit of effort and knowledge, adapt it to your own needs (unlike the Archos, which is locked up like a clam).

 

To answer the original question: Yes, I think you've made a big mistake.

If you, your wife or whoever wants to do something that the stock Acer Linpus install will not do, it's up to you - having bought it you take responsibility - to learn how to do the very minor edits to set up the system properly. A couple of hours reading some linux tutorials on the web, a few more messing around ... yes it takes some effort (how many hours of your life have you spent screwing around with Microsoft software after all?) but the basic changes it seems you need are not difficult:

Viewing video is probably easiest done by installing VLC,

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=1978

Although updating mplayer is another valid option. Once done, that's it. The system is maintenance free and tamper-proof (much more so than XP) and you can give it to the end recipient with a clear concience.

If you aren't willing to even try that much, then Linux is not for you.

It took me less than a month to go from complete noob to relative familiarity with the OS. I even managed to get rid of the Acer desktop,

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=4310

and now I like the whole look and feel of the OS more than XP!

The learning curve does feel like a brick wall at times, but its just like learning a language, after a while things begin to make sense and life becomes enjoyable again.

 

Thanks rjm good of you, my wife is whining a little less now and the more she gets used to it the happier she is and I really do appreciate that she doesn't really have to learn anything, just press some buttons so things are looking better, she thinks she doesn't want to view movies so that bit of the problem may have gone away for now ... now she'll find something else though, like skype video calling ! .... can't wait .... Regards Roger

 

The great thing about Linux is that it's relatively easy to get informed advice when things are tricky. Although there are probably more informed Windows users than informed Linux users (numerically speaking), the _proportion_ of well-informed Linux users is higher So if you find a Linux enthusiast on a forum like this, he or she is pretty likely to be at least moderately knowledgeable. As a person approaching the learning problem from the other side -- I only started using Windows (Vista) about a month ago -- I find it very difficult to track down people who are knowledgeable. It's not like there's any shortage of Windows users around, but most of them never stray beyond the point-and-click stuff.