Main problems of the Acer Aspire One

TRANSLATION NOTES: Please read some comments at the end of this post.

After a year and a half of working from an Acer Aspire One, with CAD / GIS at the training level, posting, some of graphic design and surfing on Internet, here I summarize the most important. With detail I had discussed about four problems, but now I summarize about four more and analyze whether it makes sense or not to continue insisting.

Main problems and solutions

1. The audio locks, I talked about this some day, and among the comments we had a range of thanks, analysis, smokes and blasphemies. It appears to be a common problem, but that is solved. Of course, it is not for listening at high volume, if you wish to connect an external DVD and a big screen to watch Grey’s Anathomy episodes it is best to put some external speakers.

2. Problems with Skype, even it seemed to be an anti-virus matter, I did not have drawbacks. In general, for web connectivity, online video and navigation is great.

3 The keyboard, I’ve only mentioned a problem with a key, but definitely the 105-key design of these machines is pretty bad. The way they are built, with an eyelash in the air over an irreverent button, makes that, since the nail of our little finger, till hard mucus, can sneak in it and make a key no longer works. It is curious that in business support area, people choose the keyboard problem more than anything else; with $ 300 down their frown, the toy under their arm and a slogan against this author who recommended those equipments. Resolve the key’s problem was not easy for me, and I think that for other people with less computing knowledge, it should have been a necessity to take computer’s support. Oops! Sorry: (

4. It doesn’t send to the Datashow. That was for being naughty with the msconfig, but the first times always people have a problem with the send panel expected to get out, when we’re accustomed to the traditional form of the other laptops.

5. The battery does not charge. About this I’ve heard a lot, in many cases does not seem to find a salvageable reason and happens when the warranty has expired. It happened to me once, but removing the battery and put it back resolved this problem.

6. The plug gets damaged. This is serious; the design on the cable hit with the transformer box is too bad that often does not work. This problem arises generally by folding it like a nacatamal (*) in the backpack, or with a flip of a child who passes by, or by running him over with the wheels of the chair.

7. Problems with drivers. This happens only to the innocent, because when they have any Windows instability you are sent to a naughty technician to format it, and in the end returns it back, useless, saying that it has no drivers, that it has no CD Rom also, so it’s useless. But it is not necessary to get there; the system when booting, has an option with F10 to return to a stable version and is not necessary to format.

8. The numbers are crossed. This happens when we started from time to time more time than when. It happens that when you enter the Internet, as in the mail access panel is being set on autocomplete; we select the user and when we try to write the password of which we only see asterisks, it sends us a message of wrong access. We try, over and over again and unless we try to write elsewhere, for example Google, we landed (realize) that it is activated the number’s feature because the result is g66g3e. For this, just press Fn + F11, we deactivate, but it should not be activated alone.

Although I’ve known of those who have come to lose access to their mail by abuse of failed attempts and even have fought with the geek cousin believing that he cracked into their password.

And then?

Honestly, for a computer so miserable, having 8s o serious problems makes you wonder if it’s worth buying one or it’s better turn to a notepad like Lapiztop or a PDA. But here are my recommendations from the positive side after year and a half and still happy with the toy … despite having two children who use it an hour a day just to care their Farmville and watch the next day job.

1. It is a personal tool.

I mean, it’s for personal use.

Do not lend it nor your girlfriend which will only use it to watch videos on Youtube, neither your friend which remove nose’s mocus and leaves it there, or your boss who just learned to roll up cables as if they were horses, nor much less your son who’s going to get a hard use of the keyboard playing Megaman X8.

It is for personal use, if it’s cared, if it has a stable antivirus, if pirated works are not putt on it, it goes well.

2. It is a book, not an anvil.

The Netbook’s concept is equipment which replaces a notebook computer, which frees you from the heavy Toshiba ride in the back, that one day will cost you a back injury or that you get stolen in the street because there’s no more way to bring it that in a bag laptop.

So do not expect to do wonders for what is not done. Still yet, I’ve got install on it Corel Draw to make pirouettes, Microstation to work maps, AutoDesk Civil3D 2008 for posting exercises and it works. Even ArcGIS 9.3 goes well for the “notebook” purpose, i.e. to view, edit, print, and learn. Not for serious work because the monitor’s size will cost you half retina when time goes on.

If you want to work seriously, then buy a flat 23″ panel monitor, those who are now cheap and you will work quietly in the office, or at night when the baby says there isn’t plushing(**) .

3. it’s only worth $ 300.

It would be the last straw that we’d like more for just the $300 which costs. If you have complaints, they are valid for Acer’s work on improving this product within a couple of years.

But if you want wonders, buy a real computer. This is a toy that makes most of what you would do with a PDA, much more of what you will achieve with an I-pad and certainly a lot more than with a book of twenty pesos.

TRANSLATION NOTES:

(*) nacatamal: It’s a Nicaraguan dish based on corn flour, pig’s meat, onion, tomatoes, green pepper, etc.

(**) peluchin: It’s a toy made of flush which accompanies children – and eventually- female teenager’s bed.