Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Webcam
There isn't much to say about the Webcam on the Acer Aspire One. It's a .3 megapixel device, that will result in fair quality snapshots and video conferencing. You can see a sample of a snapshot here, under normal house lighting. As I stated early on in this blog, that was not a driving factor in purchasing the device. I suspect even though it is of only fair quality, it will suffice for my purposes.
And below is a short video clip recorded with the Quickcapture mode of YouTube.
And below is a short video clip recorded with the Quickcapture mode of YouTube.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Video with Netflix and Slingplayer
I recorded a few video clips today, using a Kodak EasyShare One digital camera. The quality of the video from Slingplayer and Netflix streaming video both pleasantly surprised me. Audio output though is disappointing with the internal speakers. External speakers, ear buds, or headset are a must if you want to enjoy audio.
This first clip is from Netflix streaming service 'Watch now'. The movie is Six String Samurai. The stream comes in very good, and I had no skips or dropouts. Duration is a little over 6 minutes long.
The second clip is a short take from CNN using Slingplayer.
This first clip is from Netflix streaming service 'Watch now'. The movie is Six String Samurai. The stream comes in very good, and I had no skips or dropouts. Duration is a little over 6 minutes long.
The second clip is a short take from CNN using Slingplayer.
Picasa 3.0
This morning while in the office, I came across my FlatFoto 1.3 megapixel camera. I haven't used it in quite awhile, so I snapped a picture. It is still working. I pulled the SD card out and it had 20 or so images on it in RAW format. I could download the software from Radio Shack for it, but I decided to try Google's Picasa to see if it would read the files. Sure enough, it does. Since I am already heavily into the Google stuff, and have been using Picasa for sometime with its web albums, I moved those photos there. I expect I will throw this little camera into my Acer bag, and carry it around with me.
The original software can still be found at the Radio Shack site. The model is catalog number 16-3820.
The original software can still be found at the Radio Shack site. The model is catalog number 16-3820.
Netstumbling to work
This morning I installed Netstumbler. This app will let you examine the WiFi signals around you and even map them if you use it in conjunction with a GPS. I have used Netstumbler on other machines over the last few years and have always been happy with its results. So on my 10 minute commute to work I ran netstumbler to dectect the access points I would pass on the way to the office.
I saved the summary of its log and posting to my Google docs for sharing. Its not a pretty log file but it will give you and idea of what it looks at.
Netstumbler preformed well on the Acer Aspire One, no problems found.
I saved the summary of its log and posting to my Google docs for sharing. Its not a pretty log file but it will give you and idea of what it looks at.
Netstumbler preformed well on the Acer Aspire One, no problems found.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Weekly Wrap Up
This morning marks the first week of use. My impressions so far are good, but a few things take adjusting to, such as this keyboard. But I work at different keyboards all the time so its no big deal. Speaking of keyboards, use of the keyboard shortcuts is something you will probably want to do. FN F6 combo is becoming a favorite of mine, to toggle the display back light on/off. Handy for conserving power. Since I use Firefox as my preferred browser, the Ctl - or Ctl + zoom functions are handy. Depending upon how you use this little netbook, will determine what is most useful to you.
A few other pieces of software has been installed and will probably be kept. These are some Windows XP powertoys from Microsoft.
The MS Virtual Desktop Manager is pretty useful to me, and the Aspire One seems right at home with it. You can use up to 4 virtual desktops independently of one another and run different apps on each one.
I've used TweakUI before and like it so I also downloaded that along with WebCamToy and SyncToy for future use.
I probably will also have a portable mouse but I am unsure yet what I will choose. I have tried two I had on hand already and both worked fine. The logitech wireless took right off with out any problems, as did the little wired logitech with leopard print. I'm leaning toward the leopard print mouse just for the aesthetics and the fact it doesn't require a battery.
The on board touch pad is good, but the button location is a little hard to adjust to especially cut/paste type stuff.
I am also contemplating using the USB U3 smart technology. This lets one carry around portable apps and documents on a thumbdrive and save some space on your hard drive and usable on multiple computers.
A few other pieces of software has been installed and will probably be kept. These are some Windows XP powertoys from Microsoft.
The MS Virtual Desktop Manager is pretty useful to me, and the Aspire One seems right at home with it. You can use up to 4 virtual desktops independently of one another and run different apps on each one.
I've used TweakUI before and like it so I also downloaded that along with WebCamToy and SyncToy for future use.
I probably will also have a portable mouse but I am unsure yet what I will choose. I have tried two I had on hand already and both worked fine. The logitech wireless took right off with out any problems, as did the little wired logitech with leopard print. I'm leaning toward the leopard print mouse just for the aesthetics and the fact it doesn't require a battery.
The on board touch pad is good, but the button location is a little hard to adjust to especially cut/paste type stuff.
I am also contemplating using the USB U3 smart technology. This lets one carry around portable apps and documents on a thumbdrive and save some space on your hard drive and usable on multiple computers.
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