[ubuntu-uk] ACER Aspire One D255 Netbook
Hi All I am thinking of 'upgrading' from my trusty 7" EEEPC (I can get round the 7" screen but the 4GB SSD and 512MB RAM are too limiting). Does anyone have experience of the ACER Aspire One D255 Netbook? There are one or two good deals on it and it seems a reasonable spec. The documentation on the Ubuntu Wiki seems to all relate to problems with Ubuntu version pre-10.04 and I am looking to use 11.04 and Unity. If the ACER Aspire One D255 Netbook is to be avoided, can anyone recommend a similar spec netbook (10" screen, 1MB RAM, 250MD HD, Dual core ATOM) at a similar price (£200)? Tony -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] new laptop
As far as I can tell, my girlfriend had the machine at the mo, it does not have an expresscard slot, and I know it does have the double height return key. On May 15, 2011 12:17 AM, "Jim Price" wrote: > On 14/05/11 22:50, Kris Douglas wrote: >> I have one from PCS, they don't use US keyboards. I asked on the phone, they >> are just from US suppliers stock photos. > > May I ask if it has the UK style double-height return key or is it the > same height as the rest of the keys? > > The other thing you might be able to clear up is whether there is an > ExpressCard slot. It looks like there might be one on the left hand > side, but that might be the memory card slot. I'm in danger of buying > one if it has both of the above - the processor performance figures make > it sound faster than my desktop machine. > > -- > JimP > > > -- > ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk > https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/ -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] new laptop
On 14/05/11 22:50, Kris Douglas wrote: I have one from PCS, they don't use US keyboards. I asked on the phone, they are just from US suppliers stock photos. May I ask if it has the UK style double-height return key or is it the same height as the rest of the keys? The other thing you might be able to clear up is whether there is an ExpressCard slot. It looks like there might be one on the left hand side, but that might be the memory card slot. I'm in danger of buying one if it has both of the above - the processor performance figures make it sound faster than my desktop machine. -- JimP -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] new laptop
I have one from PCS, they don't use US keyboards. I asked on the phone, they are just from US suppliers stock photos. On May 14, 2011 2:52 PM, "Jim Price" wrote: > On 13/05/11 10:57, Richard Smith wrote: >> I am thinking of buying a xenon 14" laptop from pcspecialist, can anyone >> see any major problems with ubuntu on it. >> http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/xenon/ > > The Xenon has the Sandy Bridge laptop processor/chipset. Ubuntu 11.04 > has Sandy Bridge support. I'm not sure about previous releases, but I > would expect getting them to work might involve using a PPA or two. > > Removing the OS does reduce the price by the cost of the OS. That is > rather rare to see - even Dell Ubuntu machines don't tend to manage that. > > I would point out that it has a glossy screen (which I'm not a fan of, > but can live with) and the photos suggest the keyboard has a single > height return key (my personal keyboard pet hate - but many Acer laptop > photos have that whereas the UK spec machines have the proper double > height return key). In fact, the photos are of a machine with a US keyboard. > > The graphics won't win any prizes either, but should be OK. > > Another thing which annoys me about Intel laptops is the need to > research the processor in detail to ensure it supports the features I > need - that just isn't an issue with AMD laptops, as they don't remove > features for marketing purposes. At least with this laptop you have a > choice of processors. I just wish the AMD ones had better battery life. > > It doesn't mention eSATA or USB 3 in the specs, and it isn't clear to me > if it has an ExpressCard slot. If it has none of those, that is going to > make it awkward to connect fast external devices. > > Those are the only criticisms I would have from looking at the web page. > The only things which would to stop me adding this to my list of > possibilities for my next laptop are the US keyboard and the ExpressCard > slot, and both of those are things which the suppliers may be able to > confirm are not problems anyway. Other than that, it looks like a rather > nice laptop for a pretty good price without Windows. I'd be interested > to know more about it if you get one. > > -- > JimP > > > -- > ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk > https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/ -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] new laptop
Thanks for your comments. I think I probably will buy one, and let you know how I get on. I am not a big gamer so hopefully the graphics won't be an issue, and I can't type that fast so likewise with the keyboard. As I haven't used windows for a couple of years, and don't feel I am missing anything, I wanted something without an os, which isn't easy to find. On Sat, 2011-05-14 at 14:51 +0100, Jim Price wrote: > On 13/05/11 10:57, Richard Smith wrote: > > I am thinking of buying a xenon 14" laptop from pcspecialist, can anyone > > see any major problems with ubuntu on it. > > http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/xenon/ > > The Xenon has the Sandy Bridge laptop processor/chipset. Ubuntu 11.04 > has Sandy Bridge support. I'm not sure about previous releases, but I > would expect getting them to work might involve using a PPA or two. > > Removing the OS does reduce the price by the cost of the OS. That is > rather rare to see - even Dell Ubuntu machines don't tend to manage that. > > I would point out that it has a glossy screen (which I'm not a fan of, > but can live with) and the photos suggest the keyboard has a single > height return key (my personal keyboard pet hate - but many Acer laptop > photos have that whereas the UK spec machines have the proper double > height return key). In fact, the photos are of a machine with a US keyboard. > > The graphics won't win any prizes either, but should be OK. > > Another thing which annoys me about Intel laptops is the need to > research the processor in detail to ensure it supports the features I > need - that just isn't an issue with AMD laptops, as they don't remove > features for marketing purposes. At least with this laptop you have a > choice of processors. I just wish the AMD ones had better battery life. > > It doesn't mention eSATA or USB 3 in the specs, and it isn't clear to me > if it has an ExpressCard slot. If it has none of those, that is going to > make it awkward to connect fast external devices. > > Those are the only criticisms I would have from looking at the web page. > The only things which would to stop me adding this to my list of > possibilities for my next laptop are the US keyboard and the ExpressCard > slot, and both of those are things which the suppliers may be able to > confirm are not problems anyway. Other than that, it looks like a rather > nice laptop for a pretty good price without Windows. I'd be interested > to know more about it if you get one. > > -- > JimP > > -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] new laptop
On 13/05/11 10:57, Richard Smith wrote: I am thinking of buying a xenon 14" laptop from pcspecialist, can anyone see any major problems with ubuntu on it. http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/xenon/ The Xenon has the Sandy Bridge laptop processor/chipset. Ubuntu 11.04 has Sandy Bridge support. I'm not sure about previous releases, but I would expect getting them to work might involve using a PPA or two. Removing the OS does reduce the price by the cost of the OS. That is rather rare to see - even Dell Ubuntu machines don't tend to manage that. I would point out that it has a glossy screen (which I'm not a fan of, but can live with) and the photos suggest the keyboard has a single height return key (my personal keyboard pet hate - but many Acer laptop photos have that whereas the UK spec machines have the proper double height return key). In fact, the photos are of a machine with a US keyboard. The graphics won't win any prizes either, but should be OK. Another thing which annoys me about Intel laptops is the need to research the processor in detail to ensure it supports the features I need - that just isn't an issue with AMD laptops, as they don't remove features for marketing purposes. At least with this laptop you have a choice of processors. I just wish the AMD ones had better battery life. It doesn't mention eSATA or USB 3 in the specs, and it isn't clear to me if it has an ExpressCard slot. If it has none of those, that is going to make it awkward to connect fast external devices. Those are the only criticisms I would have from looking at the web page. The only things which would to stop me adding this to my list of possibilities for my next laptop are the US keyboard and the ExpressCard slot, and both of those are things which the suppliers may be able to confirm are not problems anyway. Other than that, it looks like a rather nice laptop for a pretty good price without Windows. I'd be interested to know more about it if you get one. -- JimP -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] wifi dongle driver .....
On Sat, 2011-05-14 at 09:50 +0100, Barry Drake wrote: > Thanks for that Alan. I'll take a closer look. sema_init works just > fine in place of MUTEX, but needs a second parameter. I used '1' which > seems to work OK. I'll look at the reference above and see what I've > been doing. A semaphore with value of 1 is a mutex. That should work fine. Regards, Tyler -- "Freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men's minds, which follows from the advance of science." -- Charles Darwin -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] wifi dongle driver .....
On Fri, 2011-05-13 at 23:56 +0100, Alan Bell wrote: > mutex is short for mutually exclusive, it means that if the lock is set > then no other parallel process is allowed to mess with the thing that is > being locked. Semaphores are like mutexes but are slightly more > sophisticated. > > http://geekswithblogs.net/shahed/archive/2006/06/09/81268.aspx Thanks for that Alan. I'll take a closer look. sema_init works just fine in place of MUTEX, but needs a second parameter. I used '1' which seems to work OK. I'll look at the reference above and see what I've been doing. Regards,Barry. -- Barry Drake is a member of the the Ubuntu Advertising team. http://ubuntuadverts.org/ -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
