Page 1 of ACER Revo/ Linux question

For someone who may have knowledge on these, my mate is getting looking to get an Aspire Revo and I`m being the one lumbered with advice :/

Aspire Revo R3610 Atom Dual Core (2GB RAM, 250GB, Windows 7, £230.14)

Aspire Revo 3600 (1GB RAM, 160GB, Linux, £139.98).


Basically it`s for 2 girls who`ve got no computer at the moment and main use is going to be:

Watching: Tv show downloads
Browsing the net
Itunes
Playing music through it
Occasional word document (think it`s going to be Open Office I`ll put on either way)


How simple if Linux to use. I`d assume for the basic uses above once I`ve sat there and installed any software that can be thought of it`ll be simple enough for them to use?


My understanding is the £139 can be set so that it runs XMBC (live?) on boot from a memory card and then just do an F12 (or whatever button it is) jobby so that it`ll run Linux for doing browsing/Itunes and the like.

I reckon if I`ve sorted it it`ll be grand for them to just use after that (I hope).

The £139 one comes with wired keyboard and mouse, so they`re going to have to buy half decent wireless ones (the ones that come with the higher spec ones any good, estimated value on them???)

They`re also going to want external dvd drive I think as want old cd`s etc to go to Itunes.

If they are using it as a media centre they`re probably going to want a remote aswell though...........


So basically I reckon the £139 one will be looking closer/past the £200 mark once you buy decent wireless keyboard and mouse, external dvd drive and remote.


So to some it up, assuming the wireless mouse and keyboard that come with it are good (they look alright as small etc) then really the £60/70 price difference is going to get extra 1GB of RAM, 90GB hard drive space and Windows 7 license.

If they are going to spend the extra £40 on external drive and remote it`s going to be £270, is the Aspire looking a bit pricey for their needs then? Plus assuming that the booting XBMC from start up means they will avoid Windows 7/Linux most of the time anyway.


I did say last night that a PS3 would be ideal for most of their needs, as would be Blu Ray player in addition, do all media centre needs, plus get a keyboard and would be fine for browsing the net. Only problem is the Itunes and a method for downloading tv shows. :( One of the girls would actually LOVE all the games on PS3 aswell, as currently plays old school Xbox.


Any thoughts/hints/alternatives?

www.last.fm/user/1mills

No native itunes support on Linux.

not sure about the linux software, & be aware, it can be a bit of a pain installing stuff via linux especialy if your not used to it, but as for the 2 machines, i`d go for the cheaper one, for your use you probably wouldn`t notice the extra core, other than that the 2 systems are the same (the more expensive one may have 2 gig ram, rather than 1 gig, but thats cheaply & easily fixed) also, the wired keyboard & mouse is apparently quite good, so it may be worth trying it before comiting to the expense of replacing them.

here`s what i personaly would do.

buy the cheaper one, then go look on ebay for a legit XP lisence key (cost you about a tenner) then just install XP over the top of linux (iirc there is a recovery option on the linux model to make a usb backup, do this before wiping, then if you have any warrenty issues you can restore it to factory spec without bother

then for under £150, they will have a fairly sweet media hub that can play call of duty modern warfare on average settings :) bargain ;)

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No native itunes support on Linux.

Cheers, so looks like the higher spec`d acer it`ll have to be then.

I`ve got myself thinking now, wonder if I can pick up an absolute bog standard PC somewhere dead cheap that only need to run Itunes/Torrents/possibly dvd burning, which would then make PS3 better option.

www.last.fm/user/1mills

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buy the cheaper one, then go look on ebay for a legit XP lisence key (cost you about a tenner) then just install XP over the top of linux (iirc there is a recovery option on the linux model to make a usb backup, do this before wiping, then if you have any warrenty issues you can restore it to factory spec without bother

then for under £150, they will have a fairly sweet media hub that can play call of duty modern warfare on average settings Happy bargain

Scratch what I`d said above as typing whilst you posted, cheers Ogster, owe you a pint (again).

www.last.fm/user/1mills

CHEAP XP COA ;)

£6.99p & you can install XP, which gets rid of all your compatability issues & give you a legit XP install :)

These are great little units, I have just ordered my third. If you need wireless and W7 then the more expensive bundles may be worth considering. I have only bought the cheapest so far.

I have additional RAM but I haven`t actually installed it yet. I did buy one of the chepies yesterday and ebuyer are offering a bundle with a 2GB stick of RAM which save a few quid (just under £30 for the 2GB)

One of these is used by the girls for Internet WP etc. This unit has Ubuntu and XP dual boot, I don`t think they realise they are using Linux, they just think the wallpaper is drab.

With 1GB I only notice a slow down when I have say 15 tabs open in Firefox, another 2GB will fix that.

Have XBMC installed under Ubuntu and it runs well (always used to use it on the XBOX1)

The `Linux` that is supplied on the Revos is just a bare-bones `instant boot` product and is useless. However installing Ubuntu is easy.

I managed to get a bargain external DVDR from Currys for £20.

I am about to try the PS3 remote with the Revo, not sure whether it will be easy or not.

I decided not to pay the premium for the wireless keyboard/mouse. You can get a decent Logitech set for under £15, and for Media Centre use I would want a combined keyboard/ trackpad. Ogster made some posts on these recently.

Anyway, as I say, great little units. Just hide away on the back of the monitor.

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£6.99p & you can install XP, which gets rid of all your compatability issues & give you a legit XP install

Cheers :D

Bytemaster- Cheers for all the comments, just a couple of questions though
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If you need wireless and W7 then the more expensive bundles may be worth considering.

I thought they all came with Wireless? The specs on the £140 one seem to suggest they do? (I`ve got a spare dongle anyway, so not a big issue just curiosity more than anything).

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Have XBMC installed under Ubuntu and it runs well (always used to use it on the XBOX1)

Do you just open XBMC once it`s loaded then. My understanding from having it boot from the memory card as dual boot, was that it would load straight into XBMC straight away without having to load it?

Think XP is going to be essential for Itunes by looks of it.

www.last.fm/user/1mills

the pc xbmc runs just like any normal windows prog,

I`m nto going to turn this into Microsoft vs. Linux thread but...

I would say for what they want a Linux like Ubuntu or Mint would be fine.

Installing the sort of apps like they want I`d say is easier on Ubuntu than Windows. the add/remove program equivalent does the search for app, download install for you. (Ogster I know in the old days there as about 3 different add/remove progs, which used to confuse me, but they`ve tidied that up now)

OpenOffice is generally installed already, as are other useful every day apps, and apps like vlc you can get for Linux.

I`ll be the first to admit that Viewtiful Mark and I have had our issues with Linux, but that`s usually due to one of us trying to be clever and meddling ;)

My missus is probably a similar IT literate user to what you`re talking about. She happily turns on the PC, at the grub boot menu she chooses Xp to play games, openSUSE for the internet where she uses thunderbird for email, firefox for the internet. She happily looks at youtube videos etc.

She has never said that she wants to use XP for the internet. She`s happy using Linux. If you asked her she probably couldn`t tell you it was openSUSE/Linux, just knows it`s not M$ :)

Also, if you go the XP root, remember they`ll bug you when they get viruses etc.

I`d hazard a guess the number of posts about fixing windows spyware and viruses problems  outnumbers mine and Mark`s "broken my Linux" posts ;)

itunes won`t work in Ubuntu, but equivalents like AmaroK and Banshee exist

This item was edited on Wednesday, 10th February 2010, 18:38