Official Line from Acer.co.uk

The latest updates for my Linpus Acer has forced me to to do a factory reinstall again. I contacted Acer UK customer support number this morning for their recommendation as to which official updates were safe to install. I think it is important that all customers should be aware of the official acvice:

If you have a hardware problem they are willing to help. If you have a software (linpus) problem this is a "third party issue" and one should "take the matter up with linux (sic)."

I have been informed that if your Aspire one is working then Acer does not recommended you install the updates. I told the guy that I would convey this information to the Forums and he said go ahead.

Obviously this is another "Year of Linux" that has been missed.

Regds
Trevor J. Noble

 

In fairness to manufacturers, customer support, especially when, for every knowledgeable customer, there are 100 on the level of saying they can't find the "any" key, is difficult. Add to that getting Linux supported, and it becomes even more difficult.

However, as they are shipping a specific, somewhat limited version of Linux, one would think they'd be able to support such questions.

I can understand how some manufacturers are adverse to shipping Linux on their desktops--I suspect that they have reasonably high profit margins with support contracts, and that adding support for another O/S adds to their cost. Linux admins usually cost more than Windows admins, for example, so the same might be true for support.

Considering the greater amount of customization that one can do with Linux, I suppose it isn't fair to expect them to, for example, support someone who bought a laptop with Ubuntu installed and then put Fedora on it.

The biggest problem with Linpus seems to be the lack of a good support forum. There's this forum, which isn't all that Linpus specific, and that's probably about it. Also, many of us either shrug and deal with Linpus or get the HD version and put other things on it.

So, I guess the point of this meandering is that I can understand it in principle, but when you're only shipping one version of Linux with a machine, you should support it. Sometimes as basic as a company supplied update should also be supported. Perhaps Acer and Linpus need to improve their communication channels.

 

I emailed Linpus for a few issues that i did encounter. My impression of Linpus is that they are restricted and does not have a massive community and commercial capabilities like Mandriva or Ubuntu. Unfortunately, Linpus is mostly funded by Acer and they have ( I think) control /influences on how the OS company operates. On the other hand, we cannot fully utilize Ubuntu, Mandriva or other linux OS because of proprietary drivers and components.

Honestly, I'm coming to an impression that the SSD version was badly designed as it is not fully compatible with Win XP ( tonnes of midifications), aside from the hardship of upgrading memory.

The morale of the story is what we pay is what we get :mrgreen:

 

Hrrm, I don't think you'll be able to sell them that slogan, catchy though it may be.
"Acer Aspire One. It's cheaper for a reason."

I think the trouble that Acer and all the other SSD machines have, is that they're trying to keep the price down and good SSD's are expensive.

So, they ship this low quality one. It's one of the reasons I gave up on it and got the hard drive version. When I tried updating Ubuntu or Fedora on the Acer, it was much too slow, and I suspect it was due far more to the slow write speed on the SSD than it was the 512 MB RAM.

When I installed both on the 160 GB HD version, updating was reasonably quick. Not as fast as say, my quad core with 4 GB of RAM, but not that much worse than my core duo laptop. The 160 GB one is more of a normal computer. With Linux, of course, you do run into hardware compatibility, but so many have EEE PC versions now that you can usually avoid many of the issues.

 

Hi! i had the same experience, i used a tab key as the password, the BIOS allowed me to do so, BUT AFTER I BOOT, IT PROMPTED FOR PASSWORD BUT DO NOT ACCEPT FOR TAB KEY!
This is clearly not a problem caused by me?!?!?! I called acer and told them the situation and they told me the took it to their center and they will charge me for HK$300 BECAUSE THIS IS A SOFTWARE AFFAIR. I was shocked, and told them this was not a problem cause by me, they should not charge me 300 dollars! The next day I took the machine there and they said that this was a special incident that they won't charge my 300dollars. :evil:

Before that, Acer had introduced a new BIOS, I called them for information on how to update the BIOS. They told me that there was a new release and ask me if i encountered any problem while using the computer? I answered no but i was not sure. Then she answered my that if i haven't encounter any problems, i should not update it.

I was busy that time that i don't have time to argue with her. I wonder why they introduce an update but tell users not to install???

Another thing. Apple ships their Macs with the system OS X which is designed by them, so they proudly says that when users encounter any error, they can provide support as they designed both the system and the computer. The "Linpus" shipped by acer is designed by "Acer", if they says that they don't windows, this is acceptable, but they should by able to provide support for "their" system!, if they designed a system that they don't know what it is, that's horrible! :twisted:

 

You're right of course, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem as if it's in their plans. The machine, due in part to good decisions about the keyboard, and probably , more importantly, the relatively low price point compared to similar models, is still selling well, so they probably won't bother.

I don't know how well the other people selling Linux systems, (Asus, Dell, etc.,) support their systems.

It seems that the only support around for it is here.

 

as another point of view, I usually don't do updates if I don't have to. I have a W2K box still running SP1. Works for me. I have a XP PRO box running SP2. Works for me. I turn automatic updates off on every new install.

On linpus AAOne I have resisted the temptation to install any updates. Like the rep said, if it's working, updates not needed. I agree that it's poor customer support, but we have this forum with some of the brightest users around, and thanks to them I have a core8 box with just the apps I need. I use it for comms while traveling and have amorak, skype, and firefox as my main programs. All working perfectly. I installed python and pysol for fun. They all run great and no problems. If I need high horsepower I boot the athlon64 box with 4 gigs of ram and plough through the chores that would be real pains on the 1.

The acer has great portability, fits in the car glovebox, fits in waist pack, and keeps me connected when hauling around something clunky isn't possible or necessary.

I do wonder about the reliability issues, but they all die eventually.