$299 Dell Inspiron Mini laptop due out in August ...

cgjones · **Reply #30 on:** October 24, 2008, 07:37:32 PM

Whoey, you beat me to it.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #31 on:** October 24, 2008, 07:39:03 PM

One Linux at a time...

The nice thing is, if I prove to be too dumb for Linux, I can upgrade it to XP.

Oh, and I also forgot to mention, this is also the version with 1g RAM, not the 512 model I was looking at.

Def

cgjones · **Reply #32 on:** October 24, 2008, 07:42:00 PM

Quote from: Defender on October 24, 2008, 07:39:03 PM

The nice thing is, if I prove to be too dumb for Linux, I can upgrade it to XP.

You take that back!!

I didn't realize the Aspire One offered Linpus as an option. I've just recently started checking out netbooks, so I'm not that familiar with all the different models.

Whoey · **Reply #33 on:** October 24, 2008, 07:44:35 PM

I played with the basic model here... I found it quite nice... perhaps after I upgrade my desktop, I'll pick up a Aspire One...

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #34 on:** October 24, 2008, 07:50:47 PM

This is it:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=33115&vpn=LU.S320A.024&manufacture=Acer

I first got the idea to look at them from the ASUS EEE-PC, which I thought was pretty cool... but a 7" screen is just a tad too small. I know, my portable DVD player has a 7" screen, and I'd hate to try and do anything but watch movies on it.

I've worked with a couple of bootable Linux versions in the past after Esteban talked me into trying it, but I never really got very far with it. Plus, I use a few programs for Windows that might not carry over to Linux. About all I could do with Linux was surf and word process, which is about all I want this thing for... and, watch the odd movie when stuck in a terminal overnight in Chicago...

Def

Roadie · **Reply #35 on:** October 24, 2008, 08:59:39 PM

The EEE is available with 9" and 10" screens now....

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #36 on:** October 24, 2008, 09:27:02 PM

And a bigger price tag!

Def

Whoey · **Reply #37 on:** October 24, 2008, 09:47:24 PM

I generally like Asus stuff, but I got to play with a EEE 701 with WinXP, and it was the worst thing I've ever had the misfortune of having to work with...

I liked the Acer Aspire One when I tested it a bit... but didn't get much of a chance to test properly, I'm sure it does a lot better...

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #38 on:** October 25, 2008, 01:15:08 PM

Have you switched all your computers over to Linux or are you still running Windows on some machines? If you (or anyone else) is running both, do you have a problem going from one OS to the other constantly, or have trouble using files across the board?

That seems like it'll be my biggest concern. I was running with both a Palm and a Windows handheld for a while and they operate so differently it took me a few seconds to figure out what I was doing and how to do it.

Videos, pictures and text documents need to be 100% transferrable, and so far I've been somewhat unimpressed with Open Office when I've tried using it one my Windows machines.

Def

Whoey · **Reply #39 on:** October 25, 2008, 01:59:40 PM

Actually my machine is the only linux one at the moment, I have several folders shared on our network using samba in linux, and this machine dual boots into Windows XP Pro... all my "storage" drives are fat/fat32/ntfs (windows formats) and I can access everything on both OSes... I even have the same shares in both OSes...

Our PVR is currently running XP home Spanish (which it came loaded with) and Maria's machine has Win2k on it. The program we use to broadcast is windows only, so Maria has to stay in windows for now... I'm tempted to switch the PVR to linux and put Xbox media Center or something like that... currently I use MediaPortal which is a Windows only app... I'm running with the "if it aint broke don't fix it" attitude, and the new version of MediaPortal works quite nicely...

Open Office takes a while to get used to... when you factor the price you pay for MS Office... it's hard to say it's not worth it... Open Office has definitely come a long way in the last few versions... mind you I use it very little, but it does open everything I need to open, and does most of the little tricks I used to use in MS Office...

I've been using Firefox, Thunderbird, Filezilla (ftp client) and Open Office for quite a while on my windows machine before I switched.

I had a lot of doubts when I was going to switch too... dual booting is useful at first, but if you try and force yourself to stay in linux and find suitable apps to do what you need, it gets a lot easier. When I installed Ubuntu Hardy Heron, all my hardware worked... I didn't have to hunt for any drivers at all, in fact, as I mentioned before, I plugged in my usb bluetooth adapter that I had to install all sorts of obscure drivers in windows, and it worked without any such grief in Linux...

I have a folder full of various versions of linux I have tried in the past... Mandrake, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Gentoo, and several others I've forgotten I'm sure... So far this new version of Ubuntu has been a good experience.

Roadie · **Reply #40 on:** October 25, 2008, 02:25:25 PM

Quote from: Whoey on October 25, 2008, 01:59:40 PM

I've been using Firefox, Thunderbird, Filezilla (ftp client) and Open Office for quite a while on my windows machine before I switched.

I use all of them and couldn't be happier, my only slight annoyance is with Thunderbird and not being able to see how big the email it's downloading is, all you get is "Downloading Message X of Y" But apart from that they are fantastic programs, the only thing that is stopping me from switching over to linux is games. I know quite a few can be made to work but for convenience Windows is so much easier for games.

Whoey · **Reply #41 on:** October 25, 2008, 04:10:29 PM

Quote from: Roadie on October 25, 2008, 02:25:25 PM

Quote from: Whoey on October 25, 2008, 01:59:40 PM
I've been using Firefox, Thunderbird, Filezilla (ftp client) and Open Office for quite a while on my windows machine before I switched.

I use all of them and couldn't be happier, my only slight annoyance is with Thunderbird and not being able to see how big the email it's downloading is, all you get is "Downloading Message X of Y" But apart from that they are fantastic programs, the only thing that is stopping me from switching over to linux is games. I know quite a few can be made to work but for convenience Windows is so much easier for games.

yeah, that is one of my issues with linux, there's very poor support for games... I have however managed to get both Diablo2 and STALKER working with WINE, I know all the Quake and Unreal tournament type games can also work...

On the upside, since it is my work PC as well, I spend more time doing work, and less "taking a break"

I wish more of my windows games would work... I miss driving in Test Drive Unlimited... and it feels like such a waste to reboot.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #42 on:** October 25, 2008, 06:22:53 PM

You know you are in trouble when you are too lazy to go to the effort of rebooting a computer!

I use Firefox and FireFTP, but I'm still using MS Outlook for my email, and I'll probably continue using it on my laptop so it can sync with my phone/PDA easily.

Also, I don't really play games any more. I don't have time, and I don't have anything beside Solitaire on any of my computers anymore. Plus, I doubt this new little machine is going to have enough raw power for many games, although it would be cool to have something like the old Starcraft running on it...

Def

Roadie · **Reply #43 on:** October 25, 2008, 08:15:20 PM

Quote from: Defender on October 25, 2008, 06:22:53 PM

Plus, I doubt this new little machine is going to have enough raw power for many games, although it would be cool to have something like the old Starcraft running on it...

Def

I loved Starcraft

Siege tanks were awesome!

Whoey · **Reply #44 on:** October 26, 2008, 01:02:19 AM

zerg swarm!

Freudian Frog · **Reply #45 on:** October 26, 2008, 01:07:33 AM

Please, it's all about reaver/high templar drops.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #46 on:** October 26, 2008, 07:38:26 PM

If you are going to play 'Tossies, all you really need are Carriers, and maybe that doodad what done makes'em invisible... Corsair maybe? Been a while, but now I have to dig it out and load it up again!

As for the Terrans, the "Terran Turtle" is an almost unbeatable defense- seige tanks, Goliaths and turrets full of Marines and Firebats will keep large amounts of Zerg from infesting your happy home.

Def

Freudian Frog · **Reply #47 on:** October 26, 2008, 07:51:00 PM

Quote from: Defender on October 26, 2008, 07:38:26 PM

If you are going to play 'Tossies, all you really need are Carriers, and maybe that doodad what done makes'em invisible... Corsair maybe? Been a while, but now I have to dig it out and load it up again!

As for the Terrans, the "Terran Turtle" is an almost unbeatable defense- seige tanks, Goliaths and turrets full of Marines and Firebats will keep large amounts of Zerg from infesting your happy home.

Def

Those would be Artibers, good sir. And Carriers are generally much too late game for me. It's all about psionic storms and scarabs, it is.

NutSAK · **Reply #48 on:** October 27, 2008, 01:24:20 AM

GEEK ALERT!!!

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #49 on:** October 27, 2008, 03:07:27 AM

Arbiter- you are absolutely right. The Corsairs cast webs that render thingees useless.

Half a dozen invisible Carriers (or more!) is a good way to roll over any enemy base!

Def

Whoey · **Reply #50 on:** October 27, 2008, 11:10:50 AM

Getting Starcraft on your Aspire One will be fun, unless you happen to have an external USB CD/DVDrom? You could share the CDROM off your desktop over the network to install, then get the latest patches, as I think that removes the CD checks, and you won't need the CD after that... of course there's always www.gamecopyworld.com

I should try and setup under linux as I know it will run... I've got both starcraft and the broodwars expansion... haven't played in ages except on my old POS laptop (p2-233 with 256mb ram & win98)

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #51 on:** October 27, 2008, 12:49:07 PM

I was looking at an external CD/DVD drive for the Aspire One, mostly for movies etc, but you are right, it would come in handy for a lot of things, like playing/installing games and other software. Of course, I'm not a big fan of the $100+ price tag on some of them, but I have a $50 gift certificate to Staples, so I might use that to offset the cost of it.

I would also love to run Galactic Battlegrounds on it, but I doubt that a Microsoft game would run all that well on Linux!

Def

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #52 on:** October 29, 2008, 02:10:45 AM

Well, it's here. The good news is that when fully charged the battery will last around 8 hours. The bad news is that it will take much longer than that for me to figure out wtf I'm doing with Linux!

So far I have a pretty long list of things I can't figure out, and a pretty short list of things I can.

Things I can do:

Have a video chat in MSN Messenger (occasionally)
hit the < key instead of the shift button when trying to use punctuation or capitals
surf the web

Things I can't do:

Watch <videos
stop hitting the < key when I want to hit the shift key
sign into IM whenever I want
install my Bluetooth dongle
Stop hitting the touch pad when <i'm typing so the cursor goes all over the place
succeed at <tetris

I'm sure there's more I can't do, but I'm not smart enough to figure out what I don't know yet!

Def

Whoey · **Reply #53 on:** October 29, 2008, 09:42:55 AM

It always takes a while to get used to a new keyboard... I frequently hit the \ key which is above the enter key as on my old keyboard it was a reversed L -shaped key... it is a ultraportable, imagine how bad it would be on a 70x EEE PC...

As for getting things you want working, I'm sure reading the manuals, and searching for help online will help solve any issues... failing that, you can always throw a copy of XP on it...

What sort of videos are you having trouble with? are you referring to youtube (doesn't have flash installed?) or other video types...

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #54 on:** October 29, 2008, 01:32:34 PM

Nope, just regular movie files. I have a few movies on a flash drive left over from my last business trip that I thought I'd experiment with. the sound is ok, but it says something about missing a video codec. I am using MPlayer, which is the default player on it.

Def

Whoey · **Reply #55 on:** October 29, 2008, 02:09:44 PM

I also have mplayer, but normally use Totem Movie Player for most things... (it's my default player) haven't had to look for any codecs yet...

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #56 on:** October 29, 2008, 02:13:12 PM

That's what I was told about MPlayer!

Def

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