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I just bought an Acer Aspire One. I got this netbook on eBay, brand new, for $314 after Microsoft Bing Cashback. This was the cheapest netbook I could find that had a full size keyboard, which was the main selling point for me. I tried typing on netbooks with smaller keyboards before, and it was really hard.

The Acer Aspire One has an 11.6 inch screen running a resolution of 1366 x 768. That is a lot of resolution for such a small screen. My 19″ monitor runs 1440 x 900, which is just a bit higher. I got the Aspire One model with the 6 cell battery, 1.33GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive.

Here is a review after a few days of using this netbook. First off, it looks amazing. Acer designed this Aspire One really well. The cover is glossy on both sides, and the keyboard is matte. The keyboard looks great, and it looks like the keys are oversized. Come to think of it, it looks quite a lot like Apple’s new keyboards. As for the screen, as far as I know there is no matte option, but I could be wrong. I couldn’t find one. Still, when the brightness is turned up, you do not notice the reflections mostly, and it ends up looking better because of the richer colors made possible by the glossy finish. However, if it’s sunny and you’re sitting near a window, the glare is horrible. The cover is a fingerprint and dust magnet. It looks good, but if you want to keep it looking nice, you will have to clean it with a cloth every couple of days.

Going into functionality now, let’s start with the trackpad. This trackpad is a multi-gesture trackpad, letting you go back and forward between web pages, and… zooming? I turned the zoom gesture off, because I never zoom, and it got in the way of page navigation using two fingers. I don’t see any other useful features of the trackpad, although you can spend half an hour in the software setting up different things related to the touchpad, so that’s a big plus. You can customize every little thing on this trackpad. A downside, however, is the physical button – it’s too loud when you click it. As for the keyboard, there is not much to say – it’s a full sized keyboard that looks better than any laptop keyboard I’ve ever seen. It also feels great to type on, and I’m actually writing this review using the laptop.

The hardware in the Aspire One is slow, and that’s that. However, you cannot have a dual core that runs 10 hours on a single battery. It just has to be slow to last long. It lags just a tiny bit when playing high quality YouTube videos. It lags when dragging an empty Notepad window around the screen. The Intel GMA 500 graphics chip is weak, and the Intel Atom Z520 is slow. Having said that, you must know what you’re buying, and netbooks aren’t for gaming. It runs applications like Firefox and Microsoft Word 2007 just fine, taking a few seconds to start each one. This is a good trade of performance for battery life in my opinion. The 6 cell battery is rated for 8 hours of life, but the Windows XP power meter shows 10 hours remaining with the screen brightness on 3/10, WiFi turned on, and browsing the web. If you are going to be using this netbook for school, you most likely won’t need to bring the charger with you. And to finish off the hardware section of this review, the WiFi is great – it catches my router’s signal at a place where no other laptop, cellphone, or desktop with wifi adapter can get a signal. The Aspire One is also very quiet, and I don’t think it even runs the fan when it’s not plugged in. Weighing around 3 pounds, I can actually keep it on my lap without having to worry about getting burns on my legs – it’s the coolest-running laptop I’ve ever used. And I almost forgot about the webcam – I will never use it, but the quality is decent (but still worse than my cell phone).

Now, normally when reviewing a computer I wouldn’t even mention software, as it is installed separately and has nothing to do with the hardware itself. However, since this netbook doesn’t have an optical drive and it would be too much work to make a bootable USB drive, I didn’t reinstall Windows on it. I decided to get rid of the crapware manually. It took five hours. The amount of crap software that was bundled with this computer was astonishing. There were about 30 game trials, a bunch of Acer software, a trial of Office, Microsoft Works, DVD software, messengers, and the list can go on. Now really, they installed PowerDVD when this laptop doesn’t even have a DVD drive. It was incredible slow when I first booted it up. After five hours I managed to remove everything, and I am certain it now runs twice as fast without 15 programs running in the background. I really hope Acer got paid large amounts of money to install this much CRAP on this computer. And it’s a shame because 99% of people will never experience the full speed of their computer because they don’t know about the software that’s running in the background, and that they don’t need any of it. This preinstalled crapware is by far the worst part about the Acer Aspire One.

Now here are a few of the things I did to optimize the computer, make it a lot faster, and then a summary. I changed the Windows style to Classic. I removed all the crapware that came with the computer and ran CCleaner and msconfig to optimize startup. I replaced McAfee with AVG Free, and Adobe Reader with Foxit Reader. The only Acer software I kept was Launch Manager, which makes all the media keys work properly.

In conclusion, the Acer Aspire One A0751h looks great, is slow, lasts 8+ hours as advertised, has great WiFi reception, and comes with a lot of crapware. Buy this netbook if you do not need it for gaming or watching movies. This is the perfect note-taking laptop for school. At the $380 MSRP it’s a good deal; at the $314 price I got it for, it’s a steal. I highly recommend this netbook if you need long battery life, light weight, low heat, etc. Do not expect speed or performance though, as that is the opposite of what this computer is designed for. If you have any questions about the Acer Aspire One 11.6″ feel free to ask in the comments below.

Looks – 10/10 (looks great, shiny, great keyboard, screen, etc)
Quality – 10/10 (everything is solid, the WiFi switch wobbles, but that’s minor)
Performance – 3/10 (however, this is what enables long battery life)
Battery Life – 10/10 (Windows XP says 10 hours, but I can get it to 11 if I need to)
Software – 2/10 (the crapware is horrible, like a disease of the operating system)

The Novatech Icon Desktop PC comes with black colour and has a 320GB Hard drive Capacity, which is powered with SATAII technology. This desktop pc has an optical drive 22x Dual Layer +R/-R/RW DVD burner that reads and writes both CD and DVD with great speed. This desktop pc has Integrated ATI Radeon 2100 Graphics support for multitasking applications and is enabled with a GeForce 9500GT 1GB PCI-E Graphics card in the pro version. It is powered with an AMD 690V Motherboard and comes with AMD 740G + SB700 in the pro version. This desktop pc has 4GB DDR2 RAM memory and an AMD X2 Dual Core 7750 64 Bit Processor. It comes with overall dimensions of  (H x W x D) 60 x 180 x 390mm and comes with the processing speed of about 2 x 2.7 GHz.

This Novatech Desktop PC is equipped with 5.1 channel high definition audio and is loaded with the Windows Vista Home Premium operating system. It comes with a Novatech optical mouse and keyboard. This desktop pc includes Microsoft Works 9 software and comes with 6 USB input and output port connections. It has one Gigabit LAN facility and comes with a 12 month warranty period. This desktop pc is an affordable machine that is designed with large amounts of storage space. It has a well built body and has a good cooling system.

There are two USB ports in the front panel and the remaining USB port connections are positioned in the rear of the desktop cabinet body. This desktop pc is enabled with Thunderbird core technology and enabled with added on-die 256KB L2 cache memory unit.

This desktop pc has high speed real time motherboard functionality and features a built in graphics card slot. This desktop pc is made with a reliable chipset that offers stable performance for both office and home use.

It comes with a powerful hard drive which spins at 7200rpm and is made with SATA hard drive technology, which is capable of storing up to 16MB in Cache.

Visit Desktop PCs exclusive review website for review, specs of Dell, Sony Vaio, HP, Acer and other desktop PCs.

The best fix is often the simplest.

One way which might help you prevent a headache from being on the computer too long is setting up the screen correctly.

First, make sure your screen is perfectly centered on your desk. The screen should be directly across from your head, meaning if you are looking straight ahead, you see the midpoint of the screen. If you can picture a three dimensional axis in your head, this would mean centering it on the X axis. It is also important that your screen is tilt-centered on the Z axis. This means one edge of the screen should be no farther away from your eyes than the opposite edge. You can center it if you look at your screen from above. If you are reading something on your screen and it’s not centered in this way, your eyes will be strained from zooming in and out and focusing as you read each line of text. For the Y axis, or vertical, your screen should not be centered. It should be lower, and your eyes, when looking straight ahead, should look at the top of the screen, or somewhere near the top. Your eyes get less strained when looking slightly down than up.

Second, don’t set your screen brightness all the way up. Mine is actually at 44% on my main screen, and 50% on my secondary monitor. Full brightness is unnecessary unless you’re doing design work and just strains your eyes. You should find a nice balance between contrast and brightness so that it doesn’t seem too bright. This will be completely different for every monitor, so you have to find this balance on your own.

And finally, try to sit up straight in your chair. When you start sitting a bit sideways or with your head tilted, it makes the physical screen position adjustments useless.

Disclaimer: do not take these tips as medical facts. These may not work for you or might make your problem worse. These are just suggestions from someone who spends a lot of time on the computer. I am not responsible for anything resulting from the use of these suggestions.

Why do so many people buy gaming laptops? It doesn’t make any sense because laptops aren’t meant for gaming. Laptops are supposed to be lightweight and for doing things on the go. Gaming laptops are useless, and here’s why.

Gaming laptops are very heavy. They usually weigh around 10 pounds, while normal laptops weigh around three pounds. They’re also big and bulky. I wouldn’t want to carry around a gaming laptop in my backpack. It’s just inconvenient to have a heavy laptop.

A terrible battery life makes a laptop pointless. If you’re going to be gaming on it without it being plugged in, it won’t last more than an hour if you have a new laptop, especially with dual graphics cards. Laptops are for portability, and they become useless if the battery life is so low.

Gaming laptops produce a lot of heat. While normal laptops get very hot, I can still usually put one on my lap for an hour. After all, it is called a laptop. However, gaming laptops get so hot you will need a surface with fans blowing at the laptop if you don’t want it to overheat while gaming. Again, if it has dual video cards, it will produce a lot more heat, will weigh more, and will drain the battery more. SLI just doesn’t belong in a laptop.

Another factor is price. A gaming laptop will run you about $1500 or higher. A normal laptop will cost you $700 or higher. And here’s the thing – you can buy a desktop for $700 that will have better parts and will be faster and better at gaming than the $1500 laptop. So there is absolutely no point.

Laptops are for word processing, bringing on trips to stay connected on chat or email, and things like that. They were never meant for gaming. If you’re looking to buy a gaming laptop, do yourself a favor and get a desktop instead, and use the money you saved for buying a normal laptop.

If you have been following technology news, you should have heard about Psystar and their Open Computer. They are trying to sell computers with Apple’s OS X operating system preinstalled. The problem with this is that it is against Apple’s EULA to install OS X on any hardware other than Mac hardware.

Psystar knows this, yet they are still selling their Open Computers with OS X preinstalled. Many people are thinking that this is one big scam. Others are thinking they are just trying to get attention. But how do they legally stand when it comes to breaking Apple’s EULA?

I’m not a lawyer, but I think that Psystar is correct in a way. Microsoft is not allowed to bundle its software with hardware, so why should Apple be allowed to bundle its hardware with its software? In a sense, they are creating an OS X monopoly. This is how I understand it. You can only buy OS X if you buy Apple hardware. This does not sound right to me. But what chance does Psystar have against Apple and its lawyers?

If there is a lawsuit, which I’m sure there will be if Psystar actually ships these systems, they might have a chance if they can get some good lawyers. I actually hope they win, as it will mean you won’t have to buy Mac hardware anymore to get OS X. This will bring OS X’s market share up, and people won’t have to waste money on overpriced hardware to get it.

Until someone confirms that they receive a shipment from Psystar of its Open Computer, I will be doubtful of the company. But if they do ship, Apple will sue, and hopefully Psystar will win.

Computers get faster every couple of months as new parts come out. The average consumer however will not upgrade their computer, cell phone, mp3 player, or other tech that often. Good computers can be expensive, so most people don’t upgrade often. But when should you upgrade?

What do you use your PC for?

Many people use their computers for checking email, browsing the web, watching videos, and sharing photos. The truth is these people don’t need to upgrade for a few years. The average computer user doesn’t do any power tasks, so there is no reason to upgrade. If you fall into this category, you should upgrade once every 3-4 years. However you should also take care of your operating system. Ongoing simple maintenance of Windows or a reformat and reinstall every year should keep your computer quick and snappy throughout the years.

Do you need the latest software?

Do you use programs such as Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, Vegas, or 3ds Max? These programs need a lot of power. If your PC is newer than the version of the program you’re using, it will most likely run the program well. But new versions come out every year or two, and these upgraded versions of power programs won’t run so well on your aging computer. If you need the latest versions of your favorite power-user software, you will need to upgrade your computer about every 2 years.

Are you a PC gamer?

PC gaming will require the latest hardware with each new game release. If you want to play the newest games at the highest settings, you will need new hardware monthly. A lot of people are fine with playing at medium settings, so for them I recommend upgrading their graphics card every year. If you only want high settings in games, you should upgrade at least every 6 months.

Gaming is a bit different from using your computer for other tasks. Most of the time, the only thing you will need to upgrade is the graphics card. If you have a dual core or quad core processor and 2GB of RAM, you will just need to upgrade the video card. Right now, I recommend 4GB of RAM for games. You might say it’s overkill, but it’s not. It was overkill last year, but this year games will have minimum requirements of 2 and 3 GB of memory.

Custom built computers

If you have a custom built PC, you probably won’t even need to read this article. Building your own computer will let you upgrade any specific part to suit your needs. I wrote this “guide” for people with prebuilt PC’s.

How often do you upgrade? Comment below.

This is a quick video review I found of the new HP 2133 laptop. This laptop is a competitor to the Asus EEE PC. Here is the video:

Have you ever dropped a cell phone in a pool or spilled your Mountain Dew all over your keyboard? Here are some steps to save your electronics if you drop them in liquid or spill liquid on them.

1. Rip out the battery. Well don’t actually rip it out, but take it out as fast as possible. And if it’s wired, like a keyboard, unplug it. You want to stop the flow of electricity to prevent a short from happening.
2. Open it up. If you feel you are smart enough to open it up, go ahead and carefully disassemble as much as you can, making sure you will be able to put it back together. If you don’t want to open your laptop, cell phone, mp3 player, or whatever, then skip to the next step.
3. Wipe off the liquid. Use a static-free towel to wipe off any liquid you see. If you did step 2 and opened it up, be extra careful not to damage anything. If needed, use a Q-tip to wipe off the liquid in tight spots.
4. Let it dry, by itself. Don’t use a fan and definitely don’t use a hair drier. Put your item in a warm spot, but not in direct sunlight, and not on top of a heater or anything like that. Let it sit for at least 2 days. I recommend up to 5 days, if you can wait.

That’s about it. If you took the battery out quick enough, it should work. If you didn’t, it probably shorted out and died. It’s worth a shot anyway as most warranties don’t cover water damage.

Also don’t forget to dry the battery itself, if there was one. Hope this helps someone.

Hope you like it. Apple fans, don’t take it too seriously.