Notepad computers for Cruising........

[mamaofami]

It's a really nice bag. It has a shoulder strap and pockets for the charger and the mouse and a strap that holds the mini in place so you can even use it while it's still in the bag. It says it holds up to a 10.2 inch screen. Actually, my DH bought it because he didn't like the other one. Think he also got it in Staples.

[sail7seas]

Yup....that's the bag. Still quite compact and extremely easy to carry.

 

[Rosieo]

Would appreciate hearing from those of you who have the Acer Aspire one 10.1....Amazon is also selling a 2GB 667 Mhz Memory along with the case for all three for $389.08..Is this worth adding to the basic netbook?...

 

Betty I just got he 10.1 a few days ago and I really like it a lot! I got it from Costco online for $350 and that included a case and a mouse. The case will not hold the cord and mouse but that is OK, I can put that in my tote bag.

[serendipity1499]

Hello.

 

I've been lurking on cruisecritic for years now. This is my first post. Thank you Sail for starting this thread. I've been reading it from your first post and last week purchased an Acer Aspire with the 10.1" screen. I bought mine from Radio Shack because I could handle it and check it out before I bought it. I LOVE IT!!! My 2nd choice would have been the 10.1" HP netbook.

 

I wanted to chime in here because after doing extensive research I discovered that some of these 10.1" Acer's have a 6 cell battery that runs 8 hours and some have a 6 cell battery that runs 5.5 hours. Apparently there was a shortage of the 8 hour 6 cell batteries. I made sure I had the 8 hour one before I bought it. The model number on the 8 hour battery is UM08B52 and it also says, 59Wh, 5800mAh.

 

Set up was really easy and I had it connected to our wireless network in 5 minutes with no problems. The web cam works great.

 

Thank you for the tip re the 8 hr. battery...Will look into that..

 

WeMiss...... So happy this thread has been helpful. I never dreamed when I started it how many folks would be interested and would share and participate in it.

Carol..... :D The carry bag I bought today is Targus. :D

 

Thanks Sail...It does have a 6 cell battery...I'll have to rethink about the case though..Thanks for the tip about the Targus bag..

 

Betty I just got he 10.1 a few days ago and I really like it a lot! I got it from Costco online for $350 and that included a case and a mouse. The case will not hold the cord and mouse but that is OK, I can put that in my tote bag.

 

Rosieo...I used to have a SAM's Card & my Friend had a Costco card..We used to go to each other's stores..But when we joined B.J.s we gave both of the other cards up..But thanks for the info..Glad you like the Acer. 10.1..The one we see at Amazon does not include the mouse though..Will have to keep looking..

Has anyone purchased the extra memory, or is there enough in the basic Acer 10.1 netbook..

Thanks everyone for your help..

Cheers...:)Betty.

[LoyHAL]

Betty, I just got my Acer Aspire 10.1 from Costco.com They are running a special and for $349 you get the netbook, a slipcase [for netbook only, I'll still have to have a larger case for the cords, etc.] -- and a mouse.

 

Also, there are three colors to choose from. Mine's sapphire blue. Love it! It's not much smaller than my 10-year-old Apple iBook, but much, much lighter.

 

After reading about the batteries in the preceding post, I fear I have one of the smaller batteries. But I don't mind. I'll mostly use it plugged in anyhow.

 

Thanks again, Sail. Now I'll have to look for a stick-on HAL logo for the cover of this baby. :D

 

LoyHAL

[Rosieo]

LoyHAL I have the one from Costco and I just checked and I do have the smaller 6 cell battery but I have been getting about 6 1/2 hours out of it so I think that is pretty good.

[sail7seas]

Thanks again, Sail. Now I'll have to look for a stick-on HAL logo for the cover of this baby. :D

 

LoyHAL

I wanted a LOGO stick on for mine also.

 

My wallpaper is a repeat pattern of my favorite logo covering the screen. I used orange background (like the House of Orange Dutch family) that is what HAL's former flag was colored. When I turned on my computer out at the pool and other people saw HAL Logo, Logo, Logo all over my screen they loved it!

 

We can we get a Stick On?? :)

[Rosieo]

Set up was really easy and I had it connected to our wireless network in 5 minutes with no problems. The web cam works great.

 

 

That is one thing I can't figure out. How do I get the webcam to work?

[wemissthesmallships]

Hi Roseio.

 

To use the Web Cam, click on the Start button, click on My Pictures, click on Get pictures from camera or scanner. When the wizard appears that says, Welcome to the Scanner and Camera Wizard, click on next and you should be on the Web Cam.

 

I downloaded Yahoo Instant Messenger and have been using the WebCam to talk to friends all over the US. I'm sure you can do this with Skype and other Messenger services. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure this won't work on the ships because of the slow connection speeds we get.

 

You can also reset the "touch" pressure you want on the touch pad instead of using the factory settings, if desired.

 

Sail,

 

Best Buy advertises that you can order a custom "skin" for your netbook through "SkinIt" using your own picture. SkinIt also has their own web site. I did a quick check there the other day, but they didn't have this Acer 10.1" Netbook listed although they did list the HP 1000/1030 NR which is close. They do have the 8.9" Acer listed.

 

Betty,

 

As soon as I got my 10.1" Acer I deleted the McAffee software and installed Norton, transferred 94 photos from my desktop to the netbook via a flash drive and I was ready to go. I haven't yet deleted the factory installed software I don't want, but I will. With all of that, it says I still have 92% free space or 133 GB.

 

These models are also sold at Wal-Mart (online) and at Office Depot. When I got mine I bought the Targus Netbook padded case in a set that included a Targus mouse that you plug in. It works great as it has compartments for the accessories and a shoulder strap. I got mine at Best Buy. The netbook, case, battery, mouse and charger weigh it just over 5 lbs.

 

PAST CRUISES

 

Carnival x 3 = Mardi Gras, Festival and Tropicale

Sitmar x 2 = Fairsea and Fairwind

Royal Caribbean x 5 = 3 Nordic Prince, Song of America and Song of Norway

Premier x 1 = Oceanic

Costa x 4 = Romantica, Atlantica, 2 Victoria

Princess x 9 = Island Princess (old one), Crown Princess (old one), Sky Princess, Regal Princess, Star Princess, Island Princess (new one), Sun Princess, Coral Princess, Crown Princess (new one)

Celebrity x 8 = Horizon (2), Zenith, Summit (2), Century (2), Constellation

Holland America x 10 = Maasdam (3), Westerdam (new one) (3), Zaandam (2), Volendam, Noordam (new one)

[serendipity1499]

Thanks so much LoyHAL, Rosieo,Wemissthesmallships & of course Sail and everyone else for all the good info..Can't wait to go to Best Buy & Radio Shack etc. to see if they have the Acer 10.1 & at what price..Since we don't have a costco card, will have to try the other retail stores..

With all your info with me & I might like a pro, even If I'm not!:D Hopefully with all your info the salesmen won't try to put anything over on us...;)LOL.....

Thanks again..

Cheers....:)Betty

[sail7seas]

WeMissTheSmallShips......

 

THANK you so much for the web cam directions and especially for the info about custom skin for our netbooks. I'd love to put my favorite logo on it but somehow I think HAL might object to my going that far with my use of their trademarked design. I don't suppose they mind I have it for my private use as background when I turn on my laptops.

[mamaofami]

My thanks too, wemissthesmallships. I haven't tried the web cam yet and my daughter has one on her mini too. I could see my grandkids.;)

[Rosieo]

Hi Roseio.

 

To use the Web Cam, click on the Start button, click on My Pictures, click on Get pictures from camera or scanner. When the wizard appears that says, Welcome to the Scanner and Camera Wizard, click on next and you should be on the Web Cam.

 

I downloaded Yahoo Instant Messenger and have been using the WebCam to talk to friends all over the US. I'm sure you can do this with Skype and other Messenger services. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure this won't work on the ships because of the slow connection speeds we get.

 

Thanks! I just set it up through gmail. I appreciate your help!

[Stakeout]

LoyHAL I have the one from Costco and I just checked and I do have the smaller 6 cell battery but I have been getting about 6 1/2 hours out of it so I think that is pretty good.

 

I just got my Acer 10.1 from Costco the other day.. also got the Iomega CD/DVD RW drive that was on sale for 69.99...

http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductSet.aspx?Prodid=11382879&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|84|78453&N=4034819&Mo=11&No=7&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=78453&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

 

the Acer comes with a 6 cell battery.. normally that Netbook only comes with a 3 cell but at Costco you get the larger 6 cell one... gets over 6 hrs on a charge...so that's better than good... also comes along with the carry bag and mouse... the 1gb is plenty so far... have loaded it up with Paint Shop Pro X2 Ultimate that I already had on my other PC's... and a few more programs that I also had that brought it up to what I normally use for traveling... it comes with Wi-fi..

 

if someone needs a pretty decent image editing program that's FREE.. you might want to try Paint.net... pretty darn good reviews... you can d/l it from the Cnet site at... http://download.cnet.com/Paint-NET/3000-2192_4-10338146.html?tag=mncol .. Cnet is a 'safe site'.. good for a lot of things including checking reviews on a lot of tech stuff.. http://www.cnet.com

 

the lil' thing is pretty neat... light as a feather even compared to my Dell 14" laptop that I normally travel with... I'll let you know how it does starting the end of this week when we board the Maasdam for two weeks :D

[Stakeout]

Thanks so much LoyHAL, Rosieo,Wemissthesmallships & of course Sail and everyone else for all the good info..Can't wait to go to Best Buy & Radio Shack etc. to see if they have the Acer 10.1 & at what price..Since we don't have a costco card, will have to try the other retail stores..

 

With all your info with me & I might like a pro, even If I'm not!:D Hopefully with all your info the salesmen won't try to put anything over on us...;)LOL.....

 

Thanks again..

 

Cheers....:)Betty

 

the 'good thing' about buying it in Costco.. as opposed to BB and the others... Costco has a 90 day no questions asked return policy for any reason on computers..digital cameras.. TV's.. used to be a forever policy but about two years ago they changed it to 90 days which is plenty of time...

 

Best Buy is 14 days last I heard... not sure if they are still doing that 15% restocking fee on returns anything that you buy ..a lot of the electronic stores including the online ones were charging restocking fees so be careful and ask first... the only way to avoid it is not opening the box which is crazy...

[RVNFUN2]

Thanks to everyone who tried and help me get my Acer set up. I finally went to my daughter's and it came up. Found out it was my wifi. I just got a new one and now everything works well.

The only issue I find now is that my grandsons wanted to play webkinz but the whole screen does not come up and therefore they can not play.

What can be done about this if any?

Thanks in advance

kathy

[Stakeout]

I hope not but I really don't know. I'll have to find out first before I do anything. I am thinking I need it to do some photo editing using Picasa.

 

in case you didn't see my other post just above this ... looks like the 1gb RAM is plenty .. been using my Paint Shop Pro X2 Ultimate image editing program on it and it w*rks okay...

[Stakeout]

Hi Roseio.

 

To use the Web Cam, click on the Start button, click on My Pictures, click on Get pictures from camera or scanner. When the wizard appears that says, Welcome to the Scanner and Camera Wizard, click on next and you should be on the Web Cam.

 

...another way to access the Webcam.. go to My Computer.. it should be an icon on your desktop or click on the Start button ..you'll see My Computer on the right...... when My Computer shows up ---at the bottom under Scanners and Cameras... the Webcam should be shown... RIGHT click it.. a drop down menu will show up... go to Create Shortcut... then click on YES in the next window to place the shortcut on your Desktop for e-z access of the Webcam.. here's what it should look like...(if necessary... you might want to left click the + sign/cursor if showing to make the pic larger)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/Stakeout/AcerAspireOneWebcaminfo.jpg

[B&J1]

Was checking out the Acer in BB today & they have the 10.1 for $349....and "last years" 8.9 for $299. But i definitely thought the 10.1 was worth the extra $50.....but mouse and other extras not included.

[LoyHAL]

Thanks all, for the battery info. Mine will probably be fine.

 

Now, about that logo....Seems to me HAL ought to have some -- about 2-3" in diameter that would adhere to the cover of the Netbook....

 

Any body out there that knows????

 

This is so much fun to have all this input. Wouldn't it be fun to all show up on the same cruise with our lil' Acers? :)

 

Cheers all!

LoyHAL

[sail7seas]

Now, about that logo....Seems to me HAL ought to have some -- about 2-3" in diameter that would adhere to the cover of the Netbook....

 

Any body out there that knows????

 

Cheers all!

LoyHAL

 

Yes, HAL does have "Logo Stickers". They used to return the laundry in a basket, wrapped in tissue paper and secured with an HAL golden sticker that was about 2". Haven't seen those stickers in about a year or so but they probably still have them.

 

They also have small 'hull blue' colored Logo stickers they use to seal note cards/invitations. Those stickers are only about 1/2" or so.

[serendipity1499]

the 'good thing' about buying it in Costco.. as opposed to BB and the others... Costco has a 90 day no questions asked return policy for any reason on computers..digital cameras.. TV's.. used to be a forever policy but about two years ago they changed it to 90 days which is plenty of time...

 

Best Buy is 14 days last I heard... not sure if they are still doing that 15% restocking fee on returns anything that you buy ..a lot of the electronic stores including the online ones were charging restocking fees so be careful and ask first... the only way to avoid it is not opening the box which is crazy...

 

Believe you are right about Best Buy...But you just gave me a good idea..Perhaps our Son has a Costco card..If they have a Costco card & can pick it up for me, I should be able to return it to our Costco here if necessary..

Looking forward to hearing how you liked using it on your cruise..

Thanks....

Cheers..:).Betty

[LoyHAL]

Sail! You are correct! I vaguely remember a gold sticker on the laundry during our last cruise. I s'pose I could ask our next cabin steward or concierge! Thanks for the info.

 

They probably still use the lil' blue ones, too. That would be my preference.

:rolleyes:

LoyHAL

[sail7seas]

:o Remember the rules here..... no laughing at idiots permitted!! :D

 

How do I know when my Acer is fully charged? I have the 6 cell battery model and have it plugged in for 2 hours. My cell phone and my camera indicate full charge - - doesn't my Acer?

 

[Ichiban Nekko]

:o Remember the rules here..... no laughing at idiots permitted!! :D

 

How do I know when my Acer is fully charged? I have the 6 cell battery model and have it plugged in for 2 hours. My cell phone and my camera indicate full charge - - doesn't my Acer?

 

 

Sail,

 

This comes from a particularly technically challenged individual (moi);):

 

On the lower right corner of the screen, there are a bunch of little icons. Let the cursor hover over each one. It should give you a little blip about what it is/does. One will say that the machine is xx% charged (or charging).

 

So glad this purchase has worked out so well for you.:)

 

PS: If I can do it, anybody can. Honestly.