Late last week we informed you on the official revealing of the 10″ Acer Aspire One, the successor the immensely successful 8.9″ Aspire One. We couldn’t yet confirm or deny any possible Linux model or SSD option, but we can now: Acer has stated that while during the initial launch there will only be a HDD/Windows version, it will soon be followed by an SSD/Linux model. The SSD will be 16GB in size, and the Linux distribution will – again – be Linpus. The Windows version will launch mid-February.
I really hope the new Asus EEEPC tablets will be like that.
A convertible 1000 with a fast SSD and long battery life is what I really want.
What is the point of an SSD version, really? Not that different battery life to the HDD version, roughly same weight, minuscule storage size, requiring having added precautions to minimize writing to disk, limited choice of OS… And is it really faster?
I have an 8GB SSD Acer Aspire One.
Edited 2009-01-29 18:28 UTC
I think the better question is: Why must the hardware choices always be different for the Windows and Linux models? Why is it they offer Linux only on the SSD models, and Windows only on the hdd? Why can one not choose which os (s)he wants regardless of the hardware.
I know you can install either os on either kind of drive, that isn’t the point. I wouldn’t use Linpus either (yuck just seeing that name… not sure I’ll ever get past that name), but that also isn’t the point. I should be able to choose an hdd model with Linpus or an ssd with winxp if I so wish, or an Xandros eee pc with a mechanical hdd if I want it.
If you ever wonder why, the answer is money.
Well not always. There was a 8.9″ model with a 160GB HDD and Linpus on it.
Edited 2009-01-29 22:47 UTC
I personally prefer “SSD” (cheap not very fast flash memory for netbooks) to HDs because they are silent. No moving parts = no noise.
Now if only Acer could set up a passively cooled Atom like Dell did it could be a nice noiseless machine.
I have the 8.9″ model with a 160GB HD. It came with Windows on it, so I kept that, but I also shrunk the partition and created an 8GB partition for Linpus, a 36GB partition for Mac OSX, and another 16GB to try various Linux or other alternative OS’s on. I find myself booting to Linpus much more frequently than the other OS’s installed because it is very fast booting, and it barely touches the HD when it’s running. The battery life is also better under Linpus than Windows or another Linux OS I have on there. I am an experienced Linux and UNIX admin and find that it does what I need a netbook to do.
Thanks.