[ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
Hi folks, Okay so all this talk of Windows free laptops got me thinking about plumping for a cheapo netbook to tide me over until next year when I can afford something a bit more powerful. Looking at Tesco's (Tesco Direct) web site at the moment they have two options which are in my price range (under £200). The cheapest option is the 8.9 Asus EeePC 900A N270 with 1GB Ram and an 8GB SSD. It doesn't say what CPU it has (I presume it would be the 1.6GHz single core Atom?). This one in white or black is £194. The next option up is the Aspire One A110L with 512MB Ram and an 8GB SSD. This also mentions N270, so presumably this is the same CPU as the EeePC 900A? The Aspire One A110L is £198. Now I was leaning towards the Aspire One due to it having two SD card slots (I figured I could pop in 2 x 8GB SD cards for extra storage space - not that I need much anyway on a laptop/netbook). The one thing that is putting me off is forking out for another 512MB memory (I wasn't sure how many slots they have). So I was wondering generally what they are like. Does the battery last long, what are they like performance wise? I'm not expecting the same sort of performance as a Core 2 Duo but I could do with something speedy enough to run Java applets (LogMeIn remote control software) and Firefox/Thunderbird. Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
2008/11/14 Rob Beard [EMAIL PROTECTED]: The cheapest option is the 8.9 Asus EeePC 900A N270 with 1GB Ram and an 8GB SSD. It doesn't say what CPU it has (I presume it would be the 1.6GHz single core Atom?). This one in white or black is £194. The 900A is confusingly the same spec as the 901 (1.6GHz Atom) but in the case of the 900. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASUS_Eee_PC#Specifications 0.3MP camera, not the 1.3MP that the 900 has. The next option up is the Aspire One A110L with 512MB Ram and an 8GB SSD. This also mentions N270, so presumably this is the same CPU as the EeePC 900A? It is. Now I was leaning towards the Aspire One due to it having two SD card slots (I figured I could pop in 2 x 8GB SD cards for extra storage space - not that I need much anyway on a laptop/netbook). Leaning towards the Acer for a feature you won't actually use? :) The one thing that is putting me off is forking out for another 512MB memory (I wasn't sure how many slots they have). My 900 has 1GB of RAM and I'm now running a cut-down version of Ubuntu on it. It works fine. I guess it would be a bit more sluggish with 512MB, but probably would work okay. I think the 701 I had was fitted with 512MB and running Xandros I never really had any complaints. RAM is fairly cheap at the moment so you could always upgrade later. It only has one slot. So I was wondering generally what they are like. Does the battery last long, what are they like performance wise? Depends what you do with it. My co-worker uses his Aspire to write a book on the train each day so he only uses Openoffice writer and finds that fine. Mine runs Ubuntu ok, not as quick as the stock xandros install but not bad. I'm not expecting the same sort of performance as a Core 2 Duo but I could do with something speedy enough to run Java applets (LogMeIn remote control software) and Firefox/Thunderbird. So long as you're not opening a bazillion tabs with flash and lots of Java then you should be fine. Cheers, Al. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
Rob Beard wrote: Hi folks, Okay so all this talk of Windows free laptops got me thinking about plumping for a cheapo netbook to tide me over until next year when I can afford something a bit more powerful. snip Okay, just checking Comet's website, after laughing at the fact someone installed Vista Ultimate on a Linux based Aspire One and called themselves a 'computer engineer' (yeah right, any computer engineer who knows what they're doing wouldn't put Vista on one of these things!) and I found this... http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/product/507903/TOSHIBA-NB100-11R New netbook from Toshiba, running Ubuntu! (well it says Linux on the Comet site, but according to a Google search it's got Ubuntu pre-installed). Bit past my price range though considering it's only 512MB. If it was £200 I'd get one. Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
On Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:57:48 +, Rob Beard [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi folks, Okay so all this talk of Windows free laptops got me thinking about plumping for a cheapo netbook to tide me over until next year when I can afford something a bit more powerful. Looking at Tesco's (Tesco Direct) web site at the moment they have two options which are in my price range (under £200). The cheapest option is the 8.9 Asus EeePC 900A N270 with 1GB Ram and an 8GB SSD. It doesn't say what CPU it has (I presume it would be the 1.6GHz single core Atom?). This one in white or black is £194. The next option up is the Aspire One A110L with 512MB Ram and an 8GB SSD. This also mentions N270, so presumably this is the same CPU as the EeePC 900A? The Aspire One A110L is £198. Now I was leaning towards the Aspire One due to it having two SD card slots (I figured I could pop in 2 x 8GB SD cards for extra storage space - not that I need much anyway on a laptop/netbook). The one thing that is putting me off is forking out for another 512MB memory (I wasn't sure how many slots they have). So I was wondering generally what they are like. Does the battery last long, what are they like performance wise? I'm not expecting the same sort of performance as a Core 2 Duo but I could do with something speedy enough to run Java applets (LogMeIn remote control software) and Firefox/Thunderbird. Rob I have the Acer Aspire One and I can't fault it. I would recommend adding 1 gig of ram (it's about 10-20 quid you have to strip the machine down to do it though) You need an ethernet connect till you get the backport drivers on for the wifi to work (ath5k). Other than tha I now use it over my main laptop :) -- Seek That Thy Might Know http://www.davmor2.co.uk -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
2008/11/14 davmor2 [EMAIL PROTECTED]: You need an ethernet connect till you get the backport drivers on for the wifi to work (ath5k). Or stick the .deb on a usb stick :) Cheers, Al. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
my Eee is pretty old, if you can call any Eee old. Installing ubuntu-eee was a breeze, and everything just works. ___ Yishay Mor, Researcher, London Knowledge Lab http://www.lkl.ac.uk/people/mor.html http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=yishaym%40gmail.com +44-20-7837 x5737 2008/11/14 Alan Pope [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2008/11/14 davmor2 [EMAIL PROTECTED]: You need an ethernet connect till you get the backport drivers on for the wifi to work (ath5k). Or stick the .deb on a usb stick :) Cheers, Al. -- 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] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
On 14/11/2008, Rob Beard [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Okay so all this talk of Windows free laptops got me thinking about plumping for a cheapo netbook to tide me over until next year when I can afford something a bit more powerful. Having played with an MSI Wind that my dad bought (rebadged by PC World as the Advent 4211) I'd thoroughly recommend you look at that, too. 10 screen Decent sized UK keyboard with function keys 120GB SATA hard drive Intel Atom CPU 2 hours battery life (MSI long-life batteries available for another 60 quid) No CD/DVD drive - but lots of USB ports for an external drive Comes with a disposable copy of MS Windows XP GBP280 or free with a 2-year Vodafone mobile broadband contract. The Voda dongle reportedly works under Ubuntu (but you should check!). http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?page=Productsku=158734 Ubuntu 8.04 LTS install instructions (pretty straightforward): http://wiki.msiwind.net/index.php/Ubuntu_8.04_Hardy_Heron -- Andrew Oakley [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
Rob, You may remember replying to a post of mine last week about the Acer. I bought mine from a Tesco store for the same price as Tesco direct, although it is cheaper at amazon and play.com. It has 1 GB ram and a 120GB hard drive. I installed Ubuntu eee (which is v8.04) via usb stick and everything just worked. The only drawback is the volume of the sound, some people might want it louder. There is a workaround, but I understand v8.10, with a later version of alsa, will fix this so it's not a problem for me. Cheers, Keith. --- Keith Bowerman, Prestwood, south Staffs, England. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
Rob Beard wrote: Hi folks, Okay so all this talk of Windows free laptops got me thinking about plumping for a cheapo netbook to tide me over until next year when I can afford something a bit more powerful. Most of the latest generation of netbooks have 1.6 Ghz Atom processors of which Intel's Otellini says: ...the Atom processor, which packs the power of a PC-class processor from six years ago... http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-05-28-otellini-intel_N.htm And if you check wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_4 the Northwood is the chip of 2002. I feel this is a fair estimation of the Atom's ability. Personal experience with the 701 and 901 leads me to believe the Celeron in the 701 has a slight edge over the Atom in the 901. I don't have any stats to back this up other than the 701 boots faster than the 901. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
I have a One 110 and have to say that now I have tweaked it using 8.10 and the Aspire One Forum, I have an excellent little netbook. I think the problem is that people perceive them as Laptops and that they are certainly not. Nevertheless, if you are after a small very very light and workable netbook I do not think there is anything better. I do not have anything that i do not need I.e. Openoffice saved nearly 500mb removing all of that, I use Google and Zoho office with Goffice/Zoho and Firefox you can use Gears to run in offline mode. Email again is via googlemail with Greader for Rss and podcasts. Only problem I have had is remembering this is just a Netbook as it has been up for anything. As for SSD problems I followed the Ubuntu Aspire One tips and have not had a lock up for a long time except for Video but as I did not buy it for that I am happy. I use mine mainly for when I goto bed and I can catch up on info i.e. Google Reader/PDFs and BBC iplayer sometimes, the battery lasts two hours and wifi and ssh have been superb in that I can access my main desktop and play or read pdf's without burning my lap or weight training holding a normal laptop. I actually feel it makes a better ebook than a lot of the market so called ebooks and its in colour. Any issues not reall,y I have no problems with the touchpad as others it works just needs using more regularly, keyboard has been excellent better than a ZX81 or even a QL. Screen is excellent, wifi is better than my laptop. Must be a catch, yep sound, do not expect too much from it, took it on holiday on the plane and could not get a higher enough volume to hear it too well, but then again neither the ipod or zen could do so also. Talking of zen and Ipod I now have moved them on to family members and this is my sole MP3 and Video player and on the bus etc it gets plenty of comment from people and still slips into my pocket admit its a big pocket but still fits and if you need to carry it, it weighs less than a small Mills Boon (sorry still getting over Emilia Fox and the sex scene, I can not watch Silent Witness in the same way ever again)... After very considerable thought Google should of got involved with the netbook market more as Google Apps is perfect for this type of computer, alas I feel Google has lost the plot the last few months, which is a real shame As I had hopes that they would do more than work out whether we are going to get flu! Dale On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 14:38, Jim Kissel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Rob Beard wrote: Hi folks, Okay so all this talk of Windows free laptops got me thinking about plumping for a cheapo netbook to tide me over until next year when I can afford something a bit more powerful. Most of the latest generation of netbooks have 1.6 Ghz Atom processors of which Intel's Otellini says: ...the Atom processor, which packs the power of a PC-class processor from six years ago... http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-05-28-otellini-intel_N.htm And if you check wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_4 the Northwood is the chip of 2002. I feel this is a fair estimation of the Atom's ability. Personal experience with the 701 and 901 leads me to believe the Celeron in the 701 has a slight edge over the Atom in the 901. I don't have any stats to back this up other than the 701 boots faster than the 901. -- 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] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 3:29 PM, Dale Clarke [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have a One 110 and have to say that now I have tweaked it using 8.10 and the Aspire One Forum, I have an excellent little netbook. I think the problem is that people perceive them as Laptops and that they are certainly not. Nevertheless, if you are after a small very very light and workable netbook I do not think there is anything better. I do not have anything that i do not need I.e. Openoffice saved nearly 500mb removing all of that, I use Google and Zoho office with Goffice/Zoho and Firefox you can use Gears to run in offline mode. Email again is via googlemail with Greader for Rss and podcasts. Only problem I have had is remembering this is just a Netbook as it has been up for anything. As for SSD problems I followed the Ubuntu Aspire One tips and have not had a lock up for a long time except for Video but as I did not buy it for that I am happy. I use mine mainly for when I goto bed and I can catch up on info i.e. Google Reader/PDFs and BBC iplayer sometimes, the battery lasts two hours and wifi and ssh have been superb in that I can access my main desktop and play or read pdf's without burning my lap or weight training holding a normal laptop. I actually feel it makes a better ebook than a lot of the market so called ebooks and its in colour. Any issues not reall,y I have no problems with the touchpad as others it works just needs using more regularly, keyboard has been excellent better than a ZX81 or even a QL. Screen is excellent, wifi is better than my laptop. Must be a catch, yep sound, do not expect too much from it, took it on holiday on the plane and could not get a higher enough volume to hear it too well, but then again neither the ipod or zen could do so also. Talking of zen and Ipod I now have moved them on to family members and this is my sole MP3 and Video player and on the bus etc it gets plenty of comment from people and still slips into my pocket admit its a big pocket but still fits and if you need to carry it, it weighs less than a small Mills Boon (sorry still getting over Emilia Fox and the sex scene, I can not watch Silent Witness in the same way ever again)... After very considerable thought Google should of got involved with the netbook market more as Google Apps is perfect for this type of computer, alas I feel Google has lost the plot the last few months, which is a real shame As I had hopes that they would do more than work out whether we are going to get flu! Dale On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 14:38, Jim Kissel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Rob Beard wrote: Hi folks, Okay so all this talk of Windows free laptops got me thinking about plumping for a cheapo netbook to tide me over until next year when I can afford something a bit more powerful. Most of the latest generation of netbooks have 1.6 Ghz Atom processors of which Intel's Otellini says: ...the Atom processor, which packs the power of a PC-class processor from six years ago... http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-05-28-otellini-intel_N.htm And if you check wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_4 the Northwood is the chip of 2002. I feel this is a fair estimation of the Atom's ability. Personal experience with the 701 and 901 leads me to believe the Celeron in the 701 has a slight edge over the Atom in the 901. I don't have any stats to back this up other than the 701 boots faster than the 901. -- 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/ Another thing to bear in mind is that although the 900a looks identical to the 900, the battery connector is different, and you cannot use any of the third party high capacity batteries. This is presumably to persuade people to buy the 901 if they want an extended battery life. Mj -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
Matt Jones wrote: I do not have anything that i do not need Can you run things like Aptana (eclipse platform) for web dev, python gimp and Amarok on these? It would be quite neat having a pocket programming workhorse that plays my music (flacs). -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
Providing you've got enough memory they it should be fine multitasking. My aspire (with 1gb ram) can play 720p video without dropping frames with firefox and amarok in the background so the CPU isn't too shabby. It also handles all the 3d compiz effects and ioquake3 pretty well. Eddie Armstrong wrote: Matt Jones wrote: I do not have anything that i do not need Can you run things like Aptana (eclipse platform) for web dev, python gimp and Amarok on these? It would be quite neat having a pocket programming workhorse that plays my music (flacs). -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
Jim Kissel wrote: Rob Beard wrote: Hi folks, Okay so all this talk of Windows free laptops got me thinking about plumping for a cheapo netbook to tide me over until next year when I can afford something a bit more powerful. Most of the latest generation of netbooks have 1.6 Ghz Atom processors of which Intel's Otellini says: ...the Atom processor, which packs the power of a PC-class processor from six years ago... http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-05-28-otellini-intel_N.htm And if you check wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_4 the Northwood is the chip of 2002. I feel this is a fair estimation of the Atom's ability. Personal experience with the 701 and 901 leads me to believe the Celeron in the 701 has a slight edge over the Atom in the 901. I don't have any stats to back this up other than the 701 boots faster than the 901. Ahh I see. Hmm... probably not what I was expecting but then again at the moment the Thinkpad I'm using has a P3-700 in it. I would eventually be looking for a dual core laptop but I just need something to tide me over (and maybe eventually pass on to the kids to use). Rob -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
Adam Bagnall wrote: Providing you've got enough memory they it should be fine multitasking. My aspire (with 1gb ram) can play 720p video without dropping frames with firefox and amarok in the background so the CPU isn't too shabby. It also handles all the 3d compiz effects and ioquake3 pretty well. Sounds interesting - thanks for the info I don't expect too much (especially from the built-in speakers) but what's the sound like via phones or external speakers? Eddie -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
Eddie Armstrong wrote: Adam Bagnall wrote: Providing you've got enough memory they it should be fine multitasking. My aspire (with 1gb ram) can play 720p video without dropping frames with firefox and amarok in the background so the CPU isn't too shabby. It also handles all the 3d compiz effects and ioquake3 pretty well. Sounds interesting - thanks for the info I don't expect too much (especially from the built-in speakers) but what's the sound like via phones or external speakers? Eddie I was pleasantly surprised by the speakers considering the size of the laptop, although they're not good in the grand scheme of things. I haven't tested it with headphones or external speakers yet. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] EeePC 900A vs Acer Aspire One
On Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 11:48, davmor2 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: On Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:57:48 +, Rob Beard [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi folks, Okay so all this talk of Windows free laptops got me thinking about plumping for a cheapo netbook to tide me over until next year when I can afford something a bit more powerful. Looking at Tesco's (Tesco Direct) web site at the moment they have two options which are in my price range (under £200). The cheapest option is the 8.9 Asus EeePC 900A N270 with 1GB Ram and an 8GB SSD. It doesn't say what CPU it has (I presume it would be the 1.6GHz single core Atom?). This one in white or black is £194. The next option up is the Aspire One A110L with 512MB Ram and an 8GB SSD. This also mentions N270, so presumably this is the same CPU as the EeePC 900A? The Aspire One A110L is £198. Now I was leaning towards the Aspire One due to it having two SD card slots (I figured I could pop in 2 x 8GB SD cards for extra storage space - not that I need much anyway on a laptop/netbook). The one thing that is putting me off is forking out for another 512MB memory (I wasn't sure how many slots they have). So I was wondering generally what they are like. Does the battery last long, what are they like performance wise? I'm not expecting the same sort of performance as a Core 2 Duo but I could do with something speedy enough to run Java applets (LogMeIn remote control software) and Firefox/Thunderbird. Rob I have the Acer Aspire One and I can't fault it. I would recommend adding 1 gig of ram (it's about 10-20 quid you have to strip the machine down to do it though) You need an ethernet connect till you get the backport drivers on for the wifi to work (ath5k). Other than tha I now use it over my main laptop :) -- Seek That Thy Might Know http://www.davmor2.co.uk From experience, I do think the Acer runs Ubuntu better, on 512, and from http://aria.co.uk you can add a gig of ram for a very insignificant cost, meaning you have 1.5gig, as the 512 is onboard. With 1.5gig of ram, and the guide from ubuntu.com, it's a really good mobile machine, especially with the netbook remix. -- Kris Douglas Softdel Limited Hosting Services Web: www.softdel.net Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Company No. 6135915 Registered in England and Wales -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
