graeme wrote: > Yup I like them. > > - WiFi is same as eeePC (Atheros 5424) so I swpped it out with an Intel wpi > - JMicron mukti card reader not supported
actually, I think we (for a "they" sort of "we") figured out the issue was ACPI related, the power to the thing is turned off by the BIOS if there is no card in the reader. If you have a card in the reader at boot, it stays on. So..for SOME definitions of "usable", it is usable. :) (I can't recall if having one flash card in activates both or not, or if having one in place at boot allows the removal and reinsertion, I *believe* I have tested both, but I won't swear to it). In my case, I stuck an 8G SD flash card in the thing, and use it to back up my work using rsync's --link-dest option to the flash device, and work off the hard disk. Every time I boot the thing, it does a backup to flash to save the current version of what I'm about to mess up. :) > - Intel drm :) > - bsd.mp (Intel Atom supports hyper threading) > - built-in camera appears to work but I've never used it. it works. "ok, it works. now what do I do with a camera on my laptop? I know, I'll ignore it!" Anyway, I've got one of the first generation Acer Aspire One machines, bought it the day the six-cell battery version became available at my local store, had it for almost a year now. I love it. Yes, I paid far more than most people are paying for them no (I deserved it, http://nickh.org/warstories/priest.html), no regrets. Heck, I once paid $400 for a 1200bps modem. It happens in this business, don't whine. I was very excited about the eeePC, but when I put my hands on it, the keyboard was just too small for me. The first generation AAO was usable for me...and yes, most of what I do with it is typing (most of the FAQ updates for about the last year, and a lot you haven't seen yet have been worked on on my AAO. I credit the thing with improving my productivity significantly!). The lack of wireless hasn't hurt me much at all, I usually use it when I semi-want to be disconnected. The bigger keyboard on the current generation AAO is interesting, but not enough to "upgrade" at this point. My favorite feature is the battery -- runs OpenBSD for something like five hours on a full charge, so I don't normally carry the power pack with me. Also..the power socket on the AAO and its voltage requirements and polarity are compatible (more or less) with a lot of other older systems, so I've got something like five or six power packs for it (including an auto adapter) for a total investment of around $50. I have a couple power packs at home, one at my girlfriend's house, one at work. So, all I carry with me is the computer and a USB wireless interface that I almost never use in a very small case. My girlfriend named it "Suzy" ("Because it is small and cute!"), which has become a running joke with a lot of people (including my GF, who accuses me of taking suzy more places than I take her). I'm waiting for ACPI suspend and resume to work, so I can (you know what is coming, right?) "Wake Up Little Suzy" (*rimshot*) (for those not familiar with 1950s US pop music may not get it, and you aren't missing that much, joke wasn't that good) The screen is really small, but holds two 80x25 xterms side-by-side. cwm works nicely with the small screen. Performance is sufficient for MOST of what I do with it, but Mozilla products beat the snot out of it (like they do everything else I've tried). The newer AAOs are a little bigger, looks like they put the extra size on the keyboard, that wouldn't hurt, but I do find I can type pretty well on the little thing (my hands are not at all small, my cycling gloves are at least XL (I think 2XL). I find the trackpad usable, not great, but beats the heck out of the trackpad on a much larger Dell D620, I do not use an external mouse on it. The default CTRL-G beep on the thing is Just Wrong...big beefy BEEEEP coming out of a tiny little computer (which I often use in places where beeps are not overly welcome), so I xset the thing down to a very tiny "peep". :) I got the one with the 160G HD and the big battery, I'd recommend both, though the idea of a flash-only system with the big battery could also interest me. It runs OpenBSD very well. In fact, the wireless and wired networking barely work in Windows, until I found the trick of turning off the power management on the network devices. In OpenBSD, wired Just Worked. I wish it had a serial port (tough, I suspect nothing in the netbook format ever will), I wish it had the screen res of the HP2133 (1280x768), wish the northbridge chip didn't need a fan (apparently, that's the only fan in the thing...the CPU doesn't need one. *sigh*). The thing has, on maybe three occasions, given me an "ERR M" on boot, which is really nuts, powering it down and back up always fixes it. In no way take this as "the Acer Aspire One is the greatest thing out there". I think it was the best I could get my hands on easily when I bought it (I'm not buying a netbook without putting my hands on it, and I would highly recommend you don't, either). HP has at least one interesting looking machine, as do a lot of others. Load OpenBSD on a flash drive, take it with you and try a few out. :) Speaking of... time to update the thing with the current version of my working copy of 4.6 FAQ updates, and go to dinner. :) Nick.
