Acer Aspire One back to form!

After giving up hope that my netbook is dead, my cousin has managed to fix it. So again, I am a proud owner of a netbook I can take with me anywhere. It's still not as powerful as I would like my primary machine to be; that's a lesson I have to live with. But I don't have to run out and get a replacement right away. But I must say, it is such a relief to not have to sit through stuttering music and videos. Not much more to say. Just wanted to update my situation.

So...maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all...

I've had my Acer Aspire One for a bit, and while I appreciate the ultra portability very much, I'm not quite satisfied. I don't miss the CD/DVD drive that much. I barely use it, but it does stink a bit not having one. The main thing I'm frustrated about is the performance.

At first, I thought performance wouldn't be an issue for me. I mean, I only use my machine at home to surf and play music/videos. Problem with that is that I multi-task and I'm impatient. When I surf, I have multiple tabs/windows open. Sometimes, I might even have music playing. When I click on a program to open, I expect it within 1-2 seconds. The Intel Atom chip just can't provide that performance. So, as much as I hate to say it, the Aspire One probably wasn't a good idea. I suppose it's great for a vacation computer. I did take it with me on my road trip. It was very nice to have a computer last 5 hours. It was very nice to have it be so portable. But when I'm at home, it's lacking.

Another thing with the Aspire One was a manufacturing design issue. They placed the HDD too close to the right speaker. There was an article online that certain songs played at full volume causes vibrations from the right speaker to affect the HDD. It can disturb the HDD to the point of permanent damage/data loss. Anyway, I think that kinda happened last Monday. Now, my machine is sluggish with certain actions. Songs and videos lag now too. I suppose it didn't help that I've dropped my Aspire One a couple times, though it was a short fall to carpet. Powering on and hibernating is taking longer now too. So my slow machine has become even slower.

Overall, I miss having a full-powered laptop. I really really like the Aspire One's portability, but for me it sacrificed just a bit too much. I'll be looking for a deal on a nice 13.1" or even another 14.1" laptop now. And with my luck, I will go for a Dell with a SquareTrade warranty (I'll probably put in a claim for my Aspire too) or a machine from Best Buy with an extended warranty. I don't believe in manufacturer's warranties anymore.

My Acer Aspire One

I don't believe I've mentioned this, but my new primary computer is the 6-cell Acer Aspire One. As small as it is, this little buddy packs quite a bit, and I'm quite satisfied with it. What I love the most about it is the ultra portability (2.2lb) of this thing. It is tiny! And the battery life is AMAZING - 5.5 hours. Sweet huh? Here's a picture of it on my old HP:



You probably think the keyboard is way too small, but it's actually fine. Not as small as the other netbooks out there. My only gripes about it would be the glossy exterior and the hard-to-press track pad buttons. Other than that, I don't feel like I'm missing much from a full-fledged laptop.

Here are the specs:

Intel Atom 1.6GHz
1GB DDR2 SDRAM
160GB HDD
8.9" LCD
Ethernet
Wireless LAN
Webcam
USB ports
SD/MMC/xD/Memory Stick PRO
VGA out
Windows XP (no more Vista for now!)


And just to avoid the hassle of any warranty issues, I bought a 3-year warranty with Square Trade. I even bought the Accident Protection Plan, in case I drop the thing. Total cost of 3-year warranty with accident plan: $70.00. If anything happens and it can't be fixed, Square Trade will cut me a check for what I paid. Done.