Purchase Without Windows??

Hi,

Is there an option to buy the newer Acer netbooks, like the 10.1 screen & 160 HD, without Windows? And if so where? I will be installing Ubuntu Remix and would rather not buy a machine with Windows installed.


Thanks,

Jeff

 

I don't think Acer is offering Linux AA1's any more -- and given how wretched a distribution Linpus is, good riddance. The Ubuntu installer is so good that I wouldn't worry about installing Ubuntu alongside Windows. Since Linux is pretty efficient, it doesn't need vast amounts of space; just give it as big a partition as you want, and leave Windows for a rainy day. There are some things that it does well (just don't ask me what they are)... and you never know when you'll actually need it for something.

 

Dell still sells a Mini netbook with its own version of UNR installed. Unfortunately it's Ubuntu 8.04, but at least you're not paying for Windows.

http://www.dell.com/home/netbooks

 

I actually liked Linpus. Boots fast as hell and you can use almost all fedora packages - I never missed anything. About the only annoying things were eclipse and bluetooth support which needed a little fiddling around. On the plus side, all hardware worked out of the box which was previously unheard of in the linux world...

I would be interested in linux netbooks, too. It seems that Dell is the only remaining manufacturer which at least offers Linux as an option. And, to continue the rant - in my book the current crop of netbooks are almost all junk. All come with windows, alsmost none with an ssd, the glaring displays are more usable for shaving your beard than for working outside, they cost almost as much as classic notebooks, weigh almost as much but offer much less performance. I don't get it, where are the advantages netbooks once had?

On a side note: I wouldn't buy an acer netbook anymore anyway. Getting a working battery for an 1,5 year old Aspire One seems to be some kind of lottery and buying orignal spare parts from Acer doesn't help here either. Support ist nonexistant as well. I never had this kind of experience with another manufacturer. So if you need to buy a windows box anyway you might be better of with Samsung et al.

 

Looks like I have to make a donation to Microsoft, pooh... I have not used a Microsoft program for 10 to 15 years now, well except when I bought this AA1 and my laptop.

My laptop replaced my desktop and now my Acer netbook replaced the laptop, I even do light weight CAD work on this machine. Works perfect.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

I think that HP still offers a Mini with SSD and Linux.

I'm very pleased with my Acer 150, which cost me $262. 6-cell 4400 mAh batteries are available at Fry's, which has a store near me; also on Amazon and other sources. Batteries from the original AA1 fit the 150. A consistent battery form factor that fits multiple models is a plus.

I travel a lot by motorcycle, so size is important, and the 10.1" AA1 fits just perfectly in a padded carrying bag in the top box of my bike. So far, reliability has been fine, although I worry about a spinning HDD and motorcycle bumps, but it's a standard 2.5" SATA form factor, and I can replace the HDD with a 32gb SDD for about $100. It does almost everything I need at a fraction of the cost or weight of my wife's MacBook. I remain a huge fan of $300 netbooks -- nothing else offers such a balanced combination of size, weight, and price.

 

I agree, being able to stuff a full blown computer in my lunch box and take it to work is a MAJOR plus! I do need the hard drive version, so far no problem.

I bought extra batteries off ebay. you can get 3, 6 and 9 cells. Also got a car adaptor and another AC adapter.

Jeff

 

There might be a workaround to get the A150 w/o Windows. I know that in the European Union there have been cases that users didn't want the computer with MS Windows. So they returned the unused copy of Windows to the manufacturer and he was obliged to refund the licence costs for Windows.
The situation with US law might be different.

 

There was a story on The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk) recently about someone obtaining a refund from Dell for the Windows tax. It involved declining the license, not opening the Windows package that came with the machine and writing lots of letters. It looks like a bit of a shag but at least he got >£70 back and sent a message to Dell that not everyone wants Windows.

I agree that Linpus sucked, but if you went for the Linux AAO (as I did) then you didn't have to pay for something you didn't want.

 

The legal slant is interesting. Not to sure how that would work over here in the US. My guess is I would end up in jail :shock:
I don't recall any package to open up. Just their occult sticker on the bottom of my netbook and the OS on the hard drive. Chances are that I did click on an "agree" button.

The best option for Linux users would to just sell the computer without any OS on it. After all most Linux users want to do the install themselves. I wonder how many you would have to buy in order for Acer to sell it without the OS? Answer; more than I could afford.


Jeff

 

I just bought a new netbook from Acers subcompany Packard Bell. It surprisingly seems superior to Acers own products - and the battery does fit on my old One

 

Well, lucky you that you found a matching battery by chance. I bought an original Acer 5800mAh 6 cell Battery - it does fit and the AAO works, but it cannot be charged because the BIOS does not know about it. So it seems there are different incompatible Versions of Aspire One Batteries but there is no information to be found anywhere which ones fit which Model. Acer support doesn't answer any questions regarding battery compatibility, so Trial and error is the only remaining way. Now thats great!

So I am looking for alternatives. I do not care so much for the $30 or so that windows "netbook edition" costs, but for complete linux support for the hardware. I have been working around problems with linux on notebooks for almost 15 years now and getting tired of it. And using windows is too cumbersome for me (the last windows I used regularly was win 3.1). So if you have suggestions, let them come.

 

Interesting. Are you aware of the reputation Packard Bell computers had back in the last century?

 

I only know that my Packard Bell 486SX25 still functions till this day and has never needed repairs, despite them being "the worst PCs manufactured of all time" I can not say the same thing about my purchases from Dell, IBM, HP and Compaq.

The whole device is just a One in disguise anyway - just with a better overall design. If the components will fail faster than the original One will be fun to see.