Dan Masters Online » Aspire One http://www.danmasters.net Dan Masters Playground Online Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:13:41 +0000 en hourly 1 Trading in the Acer Aspire One for a MacBook http://www.danmasters.net/trading-in-the-acer-aspire-one-for-a-macbook.htm http://www.danmasters.net/trading-in-the-acer-aspire-one-for-a-macbook.htm#comments Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:34:58 +0000 Dan http://www.danmasters.net/?p=298 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> macbook_whiteI have traded our Acer Aspire One for a 13″ MacBook.

While looking for a new Product Manager position I am stepping up my side business in Web Design and Development to generate some extra income. I tried using my wife’s Aspire One but it was just too small and underpowered. Therefore tonight I went to the Apple store and got a white MacBook.

Netbooks are great to travel with because they are so light. But unfortunately there wasn’t much more I could do with it that I couldn’t do with my iPhone. The MacBook isn’t full size but it is bigger then the netbook and is a reasonable price for the features. I used to have one that was issued by my company so I am already used to it’s size and performance.

Netbooks are cool but just a little too small for me to be completely usable. Your mileage may vary.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

]]> http://www.danmasters.net/trading-in-the-acer-aspire-one-for-a-macbook.htm/feed 0 The iMac Has Been Moved Into My Home Office :-) http://www.danmasters.net/the-imac-has-been-moved-into-my-home-office.htm http://www.danmasters.net/the-imac-has-been-moved-into-my-home-office.htm#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:30:52 +0000 Dan http://www.danmasters.net/the-imac-has-been-moved-into-my-home-office.htm Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> imac_24inch 6 months ago when we moved into our new house we had some cash that we set aside to buy things for the new house. I was able to sneak in money for a new computer and was able to score a previous generation Intel iMac 24” for $1300. The thing was practically brand new and had 2 years of AppleCare left on it and 3GB of memory.

When moving into the new house the new iMac was placed in our room on my wife’s desk. At the time I did not have my office downstairs because my brother-in-law was staying with us. About a month after we moved in he moved out and I had my office back but opted to get a 22” monitor to hook up to my laptop from work. I used the iMac from time-to-time upstairs but never really got to play with it.

AcerAspireOne As mentioned before I purchased my wife an Acer Aspire One and for convenience I hooked it up in my office to my 22” monitor so she could use it down stairs. While it was usable the Acer Aspire One is a Netbook and obviously is no where as powerful as the iMac. In talking to my wife she thought that maybe it would be better to switch the two computers so that the iMac is downstairs in my office :-) . Sure babe we can do that I told her ;-) .

That conversation took place on late Wednesday night and you know the first thing that I did when I got home last night – yep, I switched the computers.

I have to say that it looks so nice sitting on my desk. As good as the performance of the iMac is it is also a beautiful looking computer. The other thing is that is awesome about it is that the screen is huge. While it is only 2 inches larger then the monitor I had there the 22” monitor was wide screen so it was not as high. The iMac is not a wide screen so the height of the screen is much more noticeable.

cod4 Now here comes the true confession. One of the real reasons that I wanted the iMac in the first place was in order to play games on it. I have Boot Camp setup with Windows XP and have Call of Duty 4 installed. With the computer in our room I only got to play a few times in the last 6 months. Now I should be able to play much more often. The only trick is not to get myself in trouble with my wife ;-) .

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

]]> http://www.danmasters.net/the-imac-has-been-moved-into-my-home-office.htm/feed 0 Acer Apsire One – The Perfect Vacation Computer http://www.danmasters.net/acer-apsire-one-the-perfect-vacation-computer.htm http://www.danmasters.net/acer-apsire-one-the-perfect-vacation-computer.htm#comments Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:35:05 +0000 Dan http://www.danmasters.net/acer-apsire-one-the-perfect-vacation-computer.htm Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> image As mentioned before my wife and I are down in El Salvador. After a little hesitation  decided to our Aspire One with us. I am glad that I did. Due to where we are you don’t want to carry a computer around with you everywhere. The first reason forth that is that you are on vacation. The second is safety.

After a few days here I have a pretty good feel for the area that we are in so my wife and I ventured to a ciber cafe where they let me plug into their network. Really this is my wife’s computer so she should be using it but the other computers have Windows En Espanol so they are a little more difficult to use (at least that is what I told her ;-) ). Anyway it is really cool to have your own computer to surf and connect to the rest of the world.

The biggest thing that I like about he Aspire One is how little it weighs. Really, I could carry twelve of these things. I am used to carrying my IBM T60 and my MacBook around and those guys with their power packs and everything are easily 20 ponds. The Aspire One is about 2 1/2 pounds with everything. The other nice part is that I am using the same back pack that I usually use with the other 2 laptops so we have room for a lot more stuff like snacks and souvenirs.

I am seriously considering getting my wife a pink Aspire One so I can inherit this blue one for myself. That sounds like a good Christmas present for her me for both of us.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

]]> http://www.danmasters.net/acer-apsire-one-the-perfect-vacation-computer.htm/feed 0 On Vacation in El Salvador http://www.danmasters.net/on-vacation-in-el-salvador.htm http://www.danmasters.net/on-vacation-in-el-salvador.htm#comments Sun, 19 Oct 2008 04:58:00 +0000 Dan http://www.danmasters.net/on-vacation-in-el-salvador.htm Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> el-salvador Tomorrow morning I am on my way to El Salvador for the first time. It is my wife’s native land and she has been wanting me to see it since before we were married. We will be spending a week down there visiting family on both of her parent’s sides.

I am hoping and expecting that it is going to be similar to Mexico, I have not traveled extensively in Mexico (only the Baja area) but I have see the little towns and the larger cities and my wife says that it is similar. My wife’s nephew who lives here in the states has a house down there that we are going to stay at. Another family member is going to drive us around while we are there as well.

We are bringing the trusty Acer Aspire One netbook with us. It is perfect for the trip as it is really small and light and God forbid if we lose it we will only be out $350. I am hoping to find some wifi down there to do some blogging and surfing. I don’t think that I have every been without internet access for more then a day or so in the last 10 years so I hope that I don’t go through withdraws if we don’t find access.

My wife is as bad off as I am every since she got her first gen iPhone. I call her a “Craigslist Junkie” because every time I turn around she is browsing craigslist.com. We will see how she fairs on the trip.

Well I got to sign off now, It is midnight and I have to be up at 5am in order to catch my plan at 7am.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

]]> http://www.danmasters.net/on-vacation-in-el-salvador.htm/feed 0 Blogging from the Acer Aspire One Mini Laptop http://www.danmasters.net/blogging-from-the-acer-aspire-one-mini-laptop.htm http://www.danmasters.net/blogging-from-the-acer-aspire-one-mini-laptop.htm#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:56:46 +0000 Dan http://www.danmasters.net/?p=83 Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> acer_aspire_one_blue Even though I did get the iPhone 3G for me – and my wife – she still had a need to blog outside of the house so she can generate a little extra money. I searched Craigslist for what kind of laptop I could get for around $300-$400 and it did not look too promising. I then looked at picking up a used Macbook but they went for $700 and up.

Previously I wanted to get an MSI Wind but the price on it was up in the Macbook range. The EEEPc felt to cheap and the new Dell mini laptop was a no-go because for the SSD hard drive (small storage and possibly no upgrade path to a larger drive). I did a little more research and landed on the Acer Aspire One mini laptop.

The Aspire One model that I got is the Windows XP Home version with 1GB of memory and a 120GB hard drive with a 8.9" screen.

Out the box the Aspire One has a great feel to it. The keyboard is not too small and has a solid feel to it (not like the EEEPc). It has an open memory slot so you can add another gig of memory and the hard drive is a standard 2.5" SATA drive. It is pretty difficult to crack the One open and runs just fine the way it is so I am not sure if I will every perform the upgrades (on my wife’s machine at least ;-) ).

It come installed with McAfee virus software (which is what I would have installed anyway) and a trial of Microsoft Office 2007 Student and Teacher addition.

I have only been messing around with it for a short period today but I have to say that it is a pretty cool machine. It is a whole lot easier to slip it in it’s little case and carry it out with you when you go to lunch then a standard laptop. It is about as thick as my Macbook but is definitely smaller in length and width. I am serious going to miss giving this to my wife as her computer :-( and might need to pick one up for myself. At $350 you can get two Aspire One’s for the price of one used Macbook.

I will post more about my experience with it as time goes on.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

]]> http://www.danmasters.net/blogging-from-the-acer-aspire-one-mini-laptop.htm/feed 0