Mini laptop (netbook)

[donecweb]

Don, do you plan modding your laptop as well?

I'm not really sure yet at this point. I have added 1Gb ram giving me 1.5Gb and I am thinking of switching the SSD for a 1.8 HD. I have decided where to put it and how to do it but I don't have a drive yet and have not found the cable I want as it needs to be a little longer than the one that comes with the SSD.

[Andy]

After all the mods and software changes, it would be interesting to know what the majority of people end up with so new buyers could get something with the hardware that closely matches this spec. I looked at the dabs.com UK computer sales site and they stock these net books with HD drives. I think you only need a big HDD if you want to store movies on it. But, once you watched a movie you could delete it.

[SensoVision]

I'm not really sure yet at this point. I have added 1Gb ram giving me 1.5Gb and I am thinking of switching the SSD for a 1.8 HD. I have decided where to put it and how to do it but I don't have a drive yet and have not found the cable I want as it needs to be a little longer than the one that comes with the SSD.

wonder if you don't trust to SDD or just wish bigger size?

As Andy mentioned there is no real need in big storage space unless you have a lot of media on it.

[12noon]

Couldn't you just use those USB plug-in memory sticks to store media that wont be needed that often. The size of these USB sticks is going up all the time and the price of them is falling. I think you will be able to get 16GB and 32GB cheaper soon.

[donecweb]

It is not that I don't trust SSD. Instead it is that the current SSD has a slow access, a limited life span and so needs to be formated as ex2 to reduce disk reads. I now have a USB drive that I keep most all my files on except the ones for system configuration and things I am currently working with. When I am done with a file that I don't use every day I transfer it to the external HD.

[Andy]

Couldn't you just use those USB plug-in memory sticks to store media that wont be needed that often. The size of these USB sticks is going up all the time and the price of them is falling. I think you will be able to get 16GB and 32GB cheaper soon.

All the computers I come across lately have card readers, so I am thinking to buy a large capacity SD card. These don't stick out the side of the computer like USB sticks and they fit inside your wallet.

p.s. I read that the Acer Aspire One has a noisy fan.

Hmm, thinking of getting one, but would have to audition the fan first ;-) I would pay extra for a quiet fan.

More questions (if you please Don):

Do the batteries add much weight to it?
What quality is recorded audio from the MIC jack (is the background noise low, or is there a lot of digital pops and hiss)?
Is the display like X-black (great contrast)?
Is the Keyboard coffee/crisp proof?
How do you install an OS without a DVD drive?

[donecweb]

All the computers I come across lately have card readers, so I am thinking to buy a large capacity SD card. These don't stick out the side of the computer like USB sticks and they fit inside your wallet.

A lot of computers with card readers are having problems with seeing cards. PC Magazine has an article where Lance Ulanoff says his HP desktop can't see cards when they are inserted. The AA1 also has this problem with the card reader (all versions) but it also comes with a special SD reader on the left side that does always work but it was intended for use with Linpus to make the SSD look larger and hold more. If you go with the XP version then it is not used for that because it has a hard drive.

p.s. I read that the Acer Aspire One has a noisy fan.

Hmm, thinking of getting one, but would have to audition the fan first ;-) I would pay extra for a quiet fan.

My AA1 does not have a noisy fan. The noisy fan seem to be more common with the XP version.

More questions (if you please Don):

Do the batteries add much weight to it?

I have not tried one of the larger batteries so I can't say for sure but the forums say the 6 cell battery does add weight but the AA1 is still very light.

What quality is recorded audio from the MIC jack (is the background noise low, or is there a lot of digital pops and hiss)?

I have not tried recording any thing but the sound from the AA1 is very weak and cheap sounding.

Is the display like X-black (great contrast)?

The display is extremely crisp and sharp very easy to read in fact the best I have seen.

Is the Keyboard coffee/crisp proof?

I am not sure what you mean. If you mean can you pour water on it and not have problems then I would say no you can't as it seems like most other keyboards to me.

How do you install an OS without a DVD drive?

You load the Live CD/DVD or install software onto a USB stick and install from their or use and external CD/DVD.

[12noon]

My wife wanted a new laptop for her birthday and so i've just ordered her a Advent 4211 netbook running windows XP. I know the battery life isn't as good on this one, but from what i could tell it's got a better keyboard. I'll let you know what it's like in a week or so when it arrives. BTW i ordered it on the internet from currys.co.uk

The Advent 4211 XP is a re-packaged MSI Wind. This netbook comes with a fairly good 10.1in screen with 1,024 x 600 resolution, an Intel Atom N270 processor running at 1.6GHz, 1GB and 80GB of hard drive space. It's 1.15kg with the provided three-cell battery.

[Andy]

from what i could tell it's got a better keyboard

I thought the keyboard on the Acer was very good?

A lot of computers with card readers are having problems with seeing cards. PC Magazine has an article where Lance Ulanoff says his HP desktop can't see cards when they are inserted.

This is ridiculous, if a card reader can't connect to an SD card then you should demand a refund of the cost of the f*cked up computer. This technology is so standard now with digital cameras etc. Actually, it is more like a software problem since the pads on an SD card are quite large.

[donecweb]

I thought the keyboard on the Acer was very good?

It is.

This is ridiculous, if a card reader can't connect to an SD card then you should demand a refund of the cost of the f*cked up computer. This technology is so standard now with digital cameras etc. Actually, it is more like a software problem since the pads on an SD card are quite large.

It appears to be driver problems and I suspect it is due to the readers trying to be able read several different card types which digital cameras and such do not. BTW the SD card reader that is dedicated to SD and SDHC cards in the AA1 does not have any problems only the multiple type card readers.

[12noon]

Whoops. It's the Asus Eee 901 that the keyboard isn't as good.
 

[SensoVision]

It is.It appears to be driver problems and I suspect it is due to the readers trying to be able read several different card types which digital cameras and such do not. BTW the SD card reader that is dedicated to SD and SDHC cards in the AA1 does not have any problems only the multiple type card readers.

Does it happen in Linux too, as I've encountered such problem in Windows only or maybe I used wrong card readers.

[donecweb]

Does it happen in Linux too, as I've encountered such problem in Windows only or maybe I used wrong card readers.

It does happen on my AA1 and I have read that it happens on Toshiba and HP laptops and desktops in both Linux and Windows.

[Andy]

As a former electronics engineer, I suspect that the problem is related to the speed of access to the data on the card. Like there will be a response time, and if this response is too slow then I guess it will cause an access error?

Maybe high capacity cards are slow? I only tried low capacity and fast digital camera 1GB cards. But if you try say a 32GB SD card then I guess it will be slow. But like I said, I haven't done any research, this is just my gut feel on what may be the problem.

As an engineer I always used my gut feel to solve problems in a timely manner  as a unit of measurement, I liked the tad  i.e. a tad more please

[donecweb]

As a former electronics engineer, I suspect that the problem is related to the speed of access to the data on the card. Like there will be a response time, and if this response is too slow then I guess it will cause an access error?

Maybe high capacity cards are slow? I only tried low capacity and fast digital camera 1GB cards. But if you try say a 32GB SD card then I guess it will be slow. But like I said, I haven't done any research, this is just my gut feel on what may be the problem.

As an engineer I always used my gut feel to solve problems in a timely manner  as a unit of measurement, I liked the tad  i.e. a tad more please

Andy I am not sure which post you are referring to. The SD card reader problem is one of not being seen. If it is seen then there is no speed problem whether you use a 2Gb SD card or a 16Gb SDHC card. Quite often you can see the card in the reader if it is inserted before booting up but most the time you can't hot switch the cards but sometimes you can especially in Mandriva a Linux distro.