Inexpensive Laptops for Black Friday!

[exProphecy]

Hey mates! Has anyone found some really good Black Friday deals for laptops/netbooks? I found one @ Office Depot for $150 bucks! Here's the ad. I'll be dedicating this new netbook for Puppy use!

[sikpuppy]

Black Friday? Huh? That was last week? Is this spam?

[exProphecy]

Huh? Black Friday is next week.. After Thanksgiving..?

[sikpuppy]

Huh? Black Friday is next week.. After Thanksgiving..?

Oh ok. I thought black Friday meant Friday 13th.

As an Australian I don't subscribe to the concept of thanksgiving.

[exProphecy]

Oh you guys don't have the super awesome sale day that happens once a year?? =/

[TomRhymer]

That's an unreal price for that netbook, you'll probably have to camp out for at least a few hours to get one before they sell out. I paid $350 for mine, but that was 9 months ago and mine has a bigger battery.

I'm not sure if you'll want to get of Windows completely, I get lousy battery life in Puppy. Also, you'll need to use a fairly new version of Puppy, the Aspire One has a few problems with the older kernal. I've never been able to get wireless or the speakers to work with 4.2 or older. 4.3 works very well, except for the power useage.

[Pizzasgood]

Black Friday is the day when the pigs go into a frenzy and literally kill people so they can buy stuff just a little cheaper than normal.

[exProphecy]

@TomRhymer
You have the same netbook?? What other problems have you had with it when using Puppy? I plan to put 4.3.1 on it. I've been looking @ battery upgrades for it as well and have come across these so far:
9 Cell @ $40
http://cgi.ebay.com/9-cell-BATTERY-4-AC ... 3efa58a90c
or
6 Cell @ $30
http://cgi.ebay.com/BATTERY-FOR-ACER-As ... 414a4d5c69

@Pizzasgood
Haha! I know! I've heard of people being mauled while running into a store. It's ridiculous! I plan to wear some armor

[rjbrewer]

Black Friday is the day when the pigs go into a frenzy and literally kill people so they can buy stuff just a little cheaper than normal.

Oink Oink Ribbit Ribbit...get outa my way!!!

[jason.b.c]

Black Friday is the day when the pigs go
into a frenzy and literally kill people so they can buy stuff just a little cheaper than normal.

Damn , ain't that the truth...! Hit the nail square on the head with that statement..

[paulh177]

i've had a similarly spec'd AA1 for a few months now.
I couldn't get wireless to work out of the box even with 431, had to use the networking files (not just the wizard) from early betas
Also needed to modify the /etc/profile and /etc/rc.d/rc.local ..
forum member iscraigh created a puplet for the aspire, but i don't like it much (too much fuss for a little device. I prefer a simple approach to basic computing) but see my post in his thread for the change I made to rc.local http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=335537#335537
Another forum member jemimah is creating something for netbooks but s/he seems focused more on the eee than the AA1 which seems a shame.
The biggest problem I've found is that it will not recognise flash cards (SD etc) plugged into the builtin slots unless you actually boot the machine with the card in. This seems to be a problem with some but not all AA1s and Puppy. It may be a bios thang? Just a guess ...

A basic JWM-based Puppy 4.x optimised for the AA1 and battery life thereon would be a wonderful creation from my point of view.
At the moment I simply don't have the time inclination or indeed skill to create it though.

As others have said, the battery life with Puppy is very poor (I have a 3 cell device) .. perhaps a bit over an hour ?
The battery life with the pre installed Linux (Linpus) is excellent (but it's a horrible OS -- doesn't run as root, all clogged up with menus and it takes a lot of fuss and bother to make it work if you're what used to be called a "power user")

Still it's good enough to take on holiday to keep track of email. Nice keyboard and a bright screen. fast too.

[exProphecy]

Oh my 1 hour? That's terrible battery life! You should take a look @ one of the links I shared concerning 6 cell and 9 cell batteries. Pretty inexpensive as well. I found some reviews about the 9 cell on Amazon. People are reporting 12 hours of batt life but let's push it down to 9 hours to be safe.

http://www.amazon.com/Aspire-Battery-9- ... B001K2L2RC

I'll look @ those posts once I get the AA1. Thanks mucho! So excited hehe! I dont buy myself very many things and when I do, I love getting great deals.

[jason.b.c]

i've had a similarly spec'd AA1 for a few months now.
I couldn't get wireless to work out of the box even with 431, had to use the networking files (not just the wizard) from early betas
Also needed to modify the /etc/profile and /etc/rc.d/rc.local ..
forum member iscraigh created a puplet for the aspire, but i don't like it much (too much fuss for a little device. I prefer a simple approach to basic computing) but see my post in his thread for the change I made to rc.local http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=335537#335537
Another forum member jemimah is creating something for netbooks but s/he seems focused more on the eee than the AA1 which seems a shame.
The biggest problem I've found is that it will not recognise flash cards (SD etc) plugged into the builtin slots unless you actually boot the machine with the card in. This seems to be a problem with some but not all AA1s and Puppy. It may be a bios thang? Just a guess ...

A basic JWM-based Puppy 4.x optimised for the AA1 and battery life thereon would be a wonderful creation from my point of view.
At the moment I simply don't have the time inclination or indeed skill to create it though.

As others have said, the battery life with Puppy is very poor (I have a 3 cell device) .. perhaps a bit over an hour ?
The battery life with the pre installed Linux (Linpus) is excellent (but it's a horrible OS -- doesn't run as root, all clogged up with menus and it takes a lot of fuss and bother to make it work if you're what used to be called a "power user")

Still it's good enough to take on holiday to keep track of email. Nice keyboard and a bright screen. fast too.

WOW ....!!!!! Did you ever get robbed..!


My AA1 runs great, puppy runs like a monster on it , wireless works flawless and awesome..


I really cannot understand how or why you would have these problems when we both have pretty much the same machine....

[exProphecy]

@jason.b.c

Well what version & kernel of Puppy are you running? And what specs does your AA1 have?

[jason.b.c]

@jason.b.c

Well what version & kernel of Puppy are you running?

the latest - newest... 4.31 i think it is..

And what specs does your AA1 have?

Code: Select all

Product Information
Processor Brand:  	Intel
Processor Type:  	Atom
Hard Drive Size:  	160GB
Display Type:  	10.1" TFT
Widescreen Display:  	Yes
Max Resolution:  	1024 x 600 ( WSVGA )
Processor:  	Intel Atom N270 / 1.6 GHz
Chipset Type:  	Mobile Intel 945GSE Express
Data Bus Speed:  	533 MHz
Type:  	L2 cache
Installed Size:  	512 KB
Hard Drive:  	160 GB - 5400 rpm
Installed Size:  	1 GB / 2 GB (max)
Technology:  	DDR2 SDRAM - 533 MHz
Data Link Protocol:  	Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR
Wireless LAN Supported:  	Yes
Graphics Processor / Vendor:  	Intel GMA 950 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0
Audio Input:  	Microphone
OS Provided:  	Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Software:  	Adobe Acrobat Reader, Google Toolbar, Adobe Flash Player, Google Setup, Acer Recovery Management, Google Desktop, Windows Live Essentials, McAfee Internet Security Suite (Trial), Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0, Acer Video Conference Manager, Acer GameZone, eSobi, Carbonite Online Backup
Technology:  	6-cell lithium ion
Installed Qty:  	1
Run Time (Up To):  	6.5 hour(s)
Width:  	10.2 in
Height:  	1 in
Depth:  	7.2 in
Weight:  	2.8 lbs
Color:  	Sapphire blue
Supported Flash Memory Cards:  	SD Memory Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard, xD-Picture Card, RS-MMC
Service & Support:  	1 year warranty
Short Description
Just 1" thin and under 3 lb., the 10.1" Aspire One D250 is sleek, slim and attractive. Robust features combined with its compact size make this netbook the ultimate take-me-with-you partner.

Description

    * Operating System: Genuine Windows XP Home Edition
    * Processor: Intel Atom Processor N270 (512KB L2 cache, 1.60GHz, 533MHz FSB)
    * Chipset: Mobile Intel 945GSE Express
    * Memory: 1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM
    * Storage: 160GB hard drive, 5400RPM
    * Display: 10.1" WSVGA (1024 x 600) high-brightness (200-nit) TFT LCD, Acer CrystalBrite Technology, LED backlight
    * Graphics: Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
    * Audio: Two integrated stereo speakers; Integrated digital microphone
    * Interface Ports: DC-in; RJ-45 LAN; VGA; Headphones/speakers/line-out; Microphone; Three USB 2.0
    * Card Slot: Multi-in-one card reader
    * Communications: Acer InviLink 802.11b/g wireless LAN, Acer SignalUp technology for enhanced antenna efficiency, WI-FI CERTIFIED; 10/100 LAN; Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (enhanced data rate) wireless PAN
    * Webcam: Acer Video Conference featuring integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam supporting enhanced Acer PrimaLite technology
    * User Interface: 84-key keyboard, 89% of standard-size keyboard; Multi-gesture touchpad with two buttons supporting circular-motion scrolling, pinch-action zoom, page flip
    * Color: Sapphire Blue
    * Dimensions & Weight: 10.2" W x 7.2" D x 1.0" H; 2.8 lb. with six-cell battery
    * Power: 30-watt AC adapter; Six-cell - up to 6.5 hours life with hard drive depending on configuration and usage
    * Limited Warranty: One-year parts and labor limited warranty

Only thing differant about mine is that it has 1.5 GB of ram , everything else is the same ....

Got it OVERPRICED for $250.00

[TomRhymer]

@TomRhymer
You have the same netbook?? What other problems have you had with it when using Puppy? I plan to put 4.3.1 on it. I've been looking @ battery upgrades for it as well and have come across these so far:
9 Cell @ $40
http://cgi.ebay.com/9-cell-BATTERY-4-AC ... 3efa58a90c
or
6 Cell @ $30
[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/BATTERY-FOR-ACER-As ... 414a4d5c69

It would probably be more accurate to say I have the same brand of netbook. I think that the one in the ad is an AOD-250, mine is the AOA-150. To the best of my knowledge they're very similar, but the 250 is a slimmed down model and usually has a three cell battery. I think that Acer tends to change some internal components without changing the model number. That might explain the problems that some are having with 4.31. Everything on mine seems to work okay with it, but earlier versions have problems. On any distro I've tried with a 2.25.xx kernal, I can't get the speakers or the wifi to work.

I can't tell you anything about the extended batteries on Ebay, mine came from the factory with a 6 call 5200 mah. In WinXP, I get between 5.5 and 10 hours battery life depending on usage. In Puppy, I get 5 hours period. I think Acer tweaked the XP a bit to extend battery life. If you do use XP, be sure and uninstall the crapware right away, the 6 month trial of McAffie's really slows it down.

I do think that Acer makes very good netbooks, they're cheap but well built. I picked mine mainly for the keyboard, it's better for typing than most netbooks. Most netbooks have an up arrow key replacing half of the right shift key, and usually don't have separate page up and page down keys. There are trade-offs with a small computer, but the portability and long battery life make up for it.

[exProphecy]

Yea so Office Max removed the netbook..

The best deal next to that is Newegg.com with an AA1 but with built-in bluetooth and a 6 cell batt @ $190

[omskates]

Yea so Office Max removed the netbook..

The best deal next to that is Newegg.com with an AA1 but with built-in bluetooth and a 6 cell batt @ $190

Are you a spambot?

[omskates]

There will be $150 to $200 netbooks all over the place for Black Friday (ex.BestBuy HP $180) Probably just a handful that'll last the whole first 2 hours at opening. You can fight the insane mobs all the way to the endcap.

[exProphecy]

Eh? No I'm not a spambot! I've contributed .pets in the past mind you! I'm a contributor AND supporter of Puppy! I'm just trying to find good deals and sharing some in the process. I saw that BestBuy one but this Newegg.com one has bluetooth and a 6 cell so i might go with this one.