The other day I went into PC World for something that was sold out. So
I came away with an Acer Aspire One, which as far as I knew wasn't due
on sale until the end of this month. But PC World had loads in advance
at £250 each. Fair enough… It seemed right up my street. I won't waste
time describing this device and where it fits in the overall scheme of
things. Others have done that already, far better than I will ever be
able to. Just do a Google search. Suffice it to say that the Acer
Aspire One I got was the entry level model with 8Gb NAND storage,
512Mb RAM and Linpus Linux as the OS. But if you don't like Linux I
can guarantee that this machine will run Windows XP Pro SP2 no bother
at all. I know cos I've tried it. You can get Win XP Pro drivers from
here:

http://tinyurl.com/62rrkx

This is the Acer Thailand site - but English is spoke.

The Acer Aspire One is a great little unit if you can accept that,
under Linpus, both the internal microphone and an external microphone
connected via the side 3.5mm jack will not record sound for the web
cam application. In Windows XP Pro SP2 the internal mic will still not
record sound to Sound Recorder, but an external mic will, albeit the
sound quality is crap. And I mean 'really' crap - worse than the
crappiest digital dictation machine.

Maybe I was expecting too much for 250 quid. But I took my unit back
to PC World and was told that the internal mic will only work for
Skype and the Internet Messaging applications installed on the unit.
Apparently the Linux software does not support sound recording for the
webcam application. To prove this the Tech Guy tried another Aspire
One which behaved the same as mine. So I took a refund.

Before going back to the store I had called Acer UK only to be told
that they had not even seen an Aspire one yet, so couldn't offer tech
support on the unit. I was invited to call back next day between 9am
and 6pm, by which time some more info might be available. But the
number given was premium-rate and the Acer guy justified this by
saying that only the hardware is guaranteed for a year - not the
software, which he felt was causing my microphone woes.

Altogether what a terrible shame because, otherwise, I'd grown rather
fond of my little 'One'. Obviously it isn't the quickest machine
around, though a tad more memory night make it a fraction nippier:
there's a small door on the underside which I imagine is for changing
the DDR memory module for a larger one.

I managed a good 2.5 hours from the battery, a length of time that I
suspect would rise once the battery is properly conditioned - maybe
three hours top whack. The machine runs very cool and the screen is a
joy to behold. Although the trackpad is a trifle small for my liking I
did find it very easy to type on the keyboard. And, of course, a USB
mouse made life much easier.

On the whole I would say that the Acer Aspire One is a very
well-intentioned and reasonably specified machine let down
tremendously by the mic problems mentioned above. Hopefully these will
be sorted out over the next few months. Meanwhile there are other
similar products in the offing that may prove more satisfying and
better value.

On 7$B7n(B18$BF|(B, $B>e8a(B7$B;~(B39$BJ,(B, helen3...@yahoo.com wrote:
> The other day I went into PC World for something that was sold out. So
> I came away with an Acer Aspire One, which as far as I knew wasn't due
> on sale until the end of this month. But PC World had loads in advance
> at $B!r(B250 each. Fair enough$B!D(B It seemed right up my street. I won't waste
> time describing this device and where it fits in the overall scheme of
> things. Others have done that already, far better than I will ever be
> able to. Just do a Google search. Suffice it to say that the Acer
> Aspire One I got was the entry level model with 8Gb NAND storage,
> 512Mb RAM and Linpus Linux as the OS. But if you don't like Linux I
> can guarantee that this machine will run Windows XP Pro SP2 no bother
> at all. I know cos I've tried it. You can get Win XP Pro drivers from
> here:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/62rrkx
>
> This is the Acer Thailand site - but English is spoke.
>
> The Acer Aspire One is a great little unit if you can accept that,
> under Linpus, both the internal microphone and an external microphone
> connected via the side 3.5mm jack will not record sound for the web
> cam application. In Windows XP Pro SP2 the internal mic will still not
> record sound to Sound Recorder, but an external mic will, albeit the
> sound quality is crap. And I mean 'really' crap - worse than the
> crappiest digital dictation machine.
>
> Maybe I was expecting too much for 250 quid. But I took my unit back
> to PC World and was told that the internal mic will only work for
> Skype and the Internet Messaging applications installed on the unit.
> Apparently the Linux software does not support sound recording for the
> webcam application. To prove this the Tech Guy tried another Aspire
> One which behaved the same as mine. So I took a refund.
>
> Before going back to the store I had called Acer UK only to be told
> that they had not even seen an Aspire one yet, so couldn't offer tech
> support on the unit. I was invited to call back next day between 9am
> and 6pm, by which time some more info might be available. But the
> number given was premium-rate and the Acer guy justified this by
> saying that only the hardware is guaranteed for a year - not the
> software, which he felt was causing my microphone woes.
>
> Altogether what a terrible shame because, otherwise, I'd grown rather
> fond of my little 'One'. Obviously it isn't the quickest machine
> around, though a tad more memory night make it a fraction nippier:
> there's a small door on the underside which I imagine is for changing
> the DDR memory module for a larger one.
>
> I managed a good 2.5 hours from the battery, a length of time that I
> suspect would rise once the battery is properly conditioned - maybe
> three hours top whack. The machine runs very cool and the screen is a
> joy to behold. Although the trackpad is a trifle small for my liking I
> did find it very easy to type on the keyboard. And, of course, a USB
> mouse made life much easier.
>
> On the whole I would say that the Acer Aspire One is a very
> well-intentioned and reasonably specified machine let down
> tremendously by the mic problems mentioned above. Hopefully these will
> be sorted out over the next few months. Meanwhile there are other
> similar products in the offing that may prove more satisfying and
> better value.

I am a Hong Kong user. I just experienced the same problem. Is the mic
problem a worldwide one? I am going to ask the retailer tomorrow.