Linux, schminux. Unix came much earlier.

"Linux: 35 years in 35 facts in 35 minutes" on YouTube

It's a guy droning on about the Linux operating system. I left this comment:

He should have mentioned that both Unix and C language were developed at AT&T Bell Labs. I tried two versions of Linux: Ubuntu and Debian. I got nowhere. Then Google introduced a usable version on its Chromebook. I've been using Chromebooks ever since with Google's free online software, especially the Sheets spreadsheet. The only thing still missing is a Database Management System (DBMS). For that I occasionally retreat to Windows and Microsoft Access, which has query by example.

_____________________________

Chrome OS: why do so many things, including from Google, not run?

I'm looking at a c/net thing about running Google Earth Pro for free on "PC or Mac".  No option for Linux.  OK, but what about Goggle's own PC operating system (OS) Chrome OS, which runs on Chromebooks?

It's pretty much fill-in-the-blank does not run on Chrome OS.  I recently cancelled subscriptions to streaming video services for NBA League Pass and mlb.tv because neither runs on Chrome OS.

How the heck can that be?

Development stuff does not run on Chrome OS.  If you want to set up an environment to write and test programs, including those that run on Chrome OS or Google's tablet/smartphone Android OS, as far as I know that cannot be done on Chrome OS.

What the heck?

Major Tom to ground control from Raspberry Pi.

This is an actual message from Raspberry Pi.  The geniuses working on this version of Linux omitted: in the default browser:CTL-C (copy), CTL-V (insert), double click a word, spell check a word with right click; System Settings, Internet status, ...

It does not appear to work with my D-Link Ethernet Switch (splitter), the first device that has not worked with mine.

Do not rely on raspberrypi.org for enough info to configure it on initial boot up.

engadget.com has something very good by John Browning posted Sep 4, 2012.  Read the entire thing first then go through it carefully when you're ready for liftoff.

The default browser does not explicitly tell you that you are not connected to the Internet.  The first Model (A) did not have an Ethernet port so I'm guessing any connectivity was an afterthought and it shows.

Still, it is working.  HDMI to my monitor, which is more than my Windows7 laptop can achieve.  Logitech Wireless Combo MK520 mouse and keyboard with USB dongle worked fine.  No drivers or other installation junk for anything.

SLOW.  Browsing is slow.  Typing online is slow.  I cannot see using this as a computer.  Makes me appreciate my Samsung Chromebook.  Thank you, Google.

Raspberry Pi

Ordered Feb. 1, 2013 from alliedelec.com:

Qty.	Stock#	Mfr. Part #	Cust. Part #	Price (USD)	Total (USD)
1	70229569	RASPBERRY PI MODEL B		$35.000	$35.00
	Computer; OpenFrame; 700Mhz; 512Mb RAM; 85.6x53.98x17mm; Raspberry Series
	Ship Method:   USPS Standard Mail / Parcel Post
1	70235238	DA-SD-4096-R		$7.460	$7.46
	SD Card; Flash Memory; 4GB; Class 4
	Ship Method:   USPS Standard Mail / Parcel Post
1	70232557	GS05U-USB		$8.000	$8.00
	Power Supply; AC-DC; 5V@1A; 90-264V In; Enclosed; Wall Plug; USB; Switching; GS Series

Received a month later.  Still have not powered it up.

I think I loaded the Raspberry Pi Linux onto an 8G SD card that I already had but I won't know until I can power up later using the micro USB plug that I just discovered on the Pi.

I had read about a see through case that actually fit the Raspberry Pi but this supplier does not seem to have anything specific to the Raspberry Pi.  Why sell it without something that pretty much everybody will need?  Saw a photo of Leggos being used the hold the Pi, if not actually enclose it.

Wish me luck.

Chromium OS on Acer netbook: no sound and no phone.

Overall I'm very pleased with Chromium OS on Acer netbook, which had been a brick due to several failed attempts to install stupid Ubuntu Linux.

However, Chromium OS on Acer netbook does not play sound.  I have not figured out how to check the camera but I'm guessing that it will not work either.

Google Talk and/or Phone: I installed it from the Google Chromium OS Web Store but it does not integrate into my address book as it does in WindowsXP.  I had to enter the phone number myself and dial (connect).  The call went through but I heard nothing.

Chromium installed!

Success!

Where stupid Ubuntu failed, Chromium succeeded.  Yesterday I installed Chromium on my dead Acer notebook.  It's working well.  I followed the lifehacker instructions, which were bizarre not difficult.

Instead of wasting that $500 I spent on the Samsung Chromebook (refunded) I have basically the same thing for free.

Cool.

Chromium OS running on my dead Acer netbook.

I had cooked the Acer netbook trying to load stupid Ubuntu Linux.

I just got Chromium OS to run on the Acer netbook.  It does not appear to be installed but runs from the thumb drive.

I followed instructions on lifehacker.com and downloaded a vanilla build from Hexxah.  I have no idea what I'm talking about.

This included running Image Writer for Windows.  This utility supposedly writes the unzipped image of the vanilla build onto a thumb drive.  Unfortunately, it gives the impression that it has killed the thumb drive, which does a very convincing job of playing dead by making Windows think it needs to be formatted.

As you can imagine I repeated these steps many times with several different types of failures before I finally decided with no real expectation for success to simply put the dead thumb drive into the Acer and turn it on.  To my amazement Chromium OS came alive.  However, it gave no indication that I could choose to install it.

This is further than I got with stupid Ubuntu.

Samsung Chromebook finally arrived. It won't boot.

You cannot make up stuff like this.

I had read that it came with no written documentation.  Actually it comes with lots of written stuff, just in really tiny font size and with no useful information.  Written items include Safety Instructions, which includes stuff like don't set the battery on fire or smash it with a hatchet.  The Samsung Quick Start Guide does not even indicate what color the LED should be when the battery is charged; it remained a reddish orange after a couple of hours of charging.

There is one piece of paper from google, which cheerfully states: "Plug in the power.  Open the lid.  And you're all set.".  Unfortunately, that no more useful than the tiny diagram of the proprietary function keys with their explanations in super tiny font size.

I decided to remove the charger and open the lid even though I did not know if the battery was fully charged. The lid appears to be backward because Samsung its name on it upside down.

I pushed the power button and the screen came to life.  There was a frowny face on a laptop screen with a thumb drive pointed towards it.  Underneath was this:

Chrome OS is missing or damaged
Please connect a recovery device.
http://google.com/support/chromeos/recovery
Model: SAMS ALEX EPSILON-US 4507

I was aghast.  What the heck?  Who the heck ships a PC, especially one with a new experimental operating system, and does not bother to turn it on to see it if boots?  Samsung.

I called Samsung and after long delays concluded that the people with whom I had spoken were well-intentioned but not entirely familiar with the fact that Samsung does not have a direct sales channel but instead directs a buyer to either amazon.com or bestbuy.com.  I had chosen bestbuy.com and will call them next.

I am not inclined to try to download a version of Chrome OS to a thumb drive and install it, especially after my failed attempt to do this with Ubuntu Linux onto my SLOW Acer netbook, which is currently a brick.

Ah, progress!  While I was writing this the LED finally changed color to green, perhaps indicating that the battery is charged.  Just to check I closed the lid, re-opened and pushed power: the vulgar mask of failure re-appeared.

I decided to try the recovery URL and was re-directed here:

http://www.google.com/support/chromeos/bin/answer.py?answer=1080595

I learned something that Samsung could not tell me: that these Chromebooks come with an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) version of the operating system (OS):

First choose the model of your Chromebook:


Acer
Cr-48
Samsung Chromebook Series 5

After choosing Samsung I saw this:

Before starting this process, you'll need the following:


A Windows, Mac, or Linux computer with administrative rights.
A 4 GB or larger USB flash drive that you don't mind clearing.

This is another reason I do not want to do this.  Why should I need another computer and why should I waste a USB flash drive?  The only USB flash drive I have is that stupid SanDisk that I had to re-furbish just to get it to load stupid Ubuntu Linux, which of course, failed to load on my Acer netbook. What the heck.  It's not doing me any good.

By the way: why doesn't my Chromebook come with an Ethernet port?

OK, I'm foolishly trying this recovery procedure.  Google wants me to download and run the recovery program on my semi-trusty old WindowsXP Dell laptop.  Again I must choose Samsung.

I plug it in and the "SanDisk Cruzer USB Device" is recognized.  I am warned: "All files on SanDisk Cruzer USB Device will be erased.".  Here goes ...

It's downloading.

It worked.  I managed to demolish my worthless stupid Ubuntu Linux boot devise.

I started the Samsung and then inserted the boot SanDisk Cruzer USB Device.  On screen messages that it validated the official recovery image, reset security, about to copy system image.  It will "take some time".  Hey, it's already further than stupid Ubuntu Linux from those snot nosed techies who only care about themselves and their snot nosed techie friends.  It's clear that some profit motive is necessary, not phony baloney save the world fake altruism.

System is about to reboot.  Cool.

Yikes!  I think it worked!  It wouldn't take the password for my Verizon FIOS router but it took it from a friend's Verizon Wireless MiFi 3G portable hotspot.  I seem to be online.  No idea how to make it work with the free Verizon Wireless 3G  that is supposed to come with it.

Ubuntu Linux: installation complete ... again.

This is the second time today that installation appears to have been successful.  Here is the complete message:

"Installation is complete.  You need to restart the computer in order to use the new installation."

The button reads" "Restart Now".  It does not reference the flash drive used for installation.  This time I'll leave the flash drive in.

Here goes.

Hey, another blank screen.    Way to go Ubuntu.  You still suck.

I think it's safe to remove the flash drive.  Power off.  Remove flash drive.  Bye.

Ubuntu Linux: failure forever!

My previous post was not explicit.  I achieved success in installing Ubuntu Linux on my Acer netbook.  Ubuntu told me so.  However, when I followed the instruction to restart, well, that was another matter.  Sure you can install Ubuntu but do you now expect that it will boot up?  This is Ubuntu, where failure is constant, perpetual, eternal.

Upon restarting I pulled out the Sandisk flash drive, lest the Acer try to boot from that.  Silly me.  After many varied attempts, I could not get the Acer to boot from anything, no matter how many variations I tried on boot sequence that should not matter.  My Acer appears to be, if not brain dead, then at least in a coma.

Ah, Ubuntu.  What's the deal?  Obviously, I am not a system person.  However, Ubuntu is supposed to be the operating system of the masses, the downtrodden, the poor, the ignorant.  Hey, I must be ignorant if for no other reason I keep trying it.  It's like an abusive relationship.  I am battered.

Could Ubuntu suck more?  If so, please explain.

Ah, F12 let me boot from the flash.  I'll try installing Ubuntu again.  What the heck.  It can't get worse.

Ubuntu: no, not again!

Ii recently tried to create a flash boot disk for my hideous three year old Acer netbook, which currently does a terrible job of running WindowsXP.

My 2008 Sandisk failed; it was not recognized as a boot disk by either my Acer or my Dell laptop also rrunning WindowsXP.

I looked at the Sandisk label.  It mentioned u3 and u3.com.  For some bizarre reason u3.com redirects to:

http://www.writethescoop.com/

Googling I found evil things about the Sandisk.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U3#Issues_with_older_versions

Maybe this is why I could not boot Ububtu from my 2008 Sandisk flash drive.

Apparently Sandisk stopped supporting u3 because of the problems.  Who knew?

I ran this:

http://u3.sandisk.com/launchpadremoval.htm

It seems to have removed the defunct u3 junk.  Will Ubuntu install now that the Sandisk flash drive has been cleansed?

I'll once again run:


Universal-USB-Installer-1.8.3.6

Which will load up:

ubuntu-10.10-netbook-i386

Cool, heh?

Universal-USB-Installer says that it was successful.

I can view files on the flash drive.  Is it bootable now?  Beats me.  Let's try it on the Acer netbook.

In Windows on my Dell I clicked eject.  The drive is still lit but I'm going to remove it and insert into the Acer and power up.

Acer seems to have found Ubuntu!  This is further than I got before cleansing the Sandisk flash drive.  Ubuntu is coming alive!  It found my wireless network.  I has two options: try or install.  I chose install.  What the heck.  I might never get this far again.

It asked for 2.5 gig.  It has 4 gig but I don't know if Ubuntu intends to wipr out WindowsXP.  I hope so.  AH, I have an option to keep the old OS or use the entire disk.  I chose use the entire disk.

It's happening.  Files are being copied.  Stuff is happening.

It worked.  To be continued.

Chrome OS PC ... coming Friday from Dell?

A Dell chat person told me today that it might be available Friday March 11, 2011.


I was shocked because I've trying to find information that is not one or two years old.  Wikipedia comments:


most of Chrome OS's advantages "can be found in other software environments without having to sacrifice native applications"


a useless brick when you are dealing with no or ancient Internet connections



Have they ever heard of the iPad?  Wouldn't those objections apply to tablets?


I'm interested in a Chrome OS PC but disappointed that it continues to be relegated to netbooks.  I tried an HP netbook with Linux but returned it because I could not load the the first application that I tried to install: Skype.  HP support sucked.


I then bought an Acer netbook running WindowsXP.  Many problems and Acer support sucked beyond belief.


Both the HP and Acer netbooks had a problem with the trackpad going out of control often.  I'm guessing that it's a hardware problem with small screens since they ran different operating systems.


The Acer had an unconventional screen aspect ratio, which caused problems occasionally.


How about a 17 inch laptop running Chrome OS?  Restricting Chrome OS to those stupid netbooks really limits the market.  I use google docs online exclusively.  I do not need applications on my PC.  Just the browser.


I'm anxious to see what is introduced.  I really don't to buy yet another laptop running bloated Windows when all I need is access to a browser, exactly what a Chrome OS PC would be.  I also do not want to buy another netbook.


Argh!

Google's OS

Google's operating system, ChromeOS, may be loaded on small new laptops by the end of 2010. That probably means netbooks only. I hope that ChromeOS as an option on larger PCs.

Reports are that users may not be able to load ChromeOS on older PCs. I hope that's not true.

I use the cloud for everything now, including Google Documents. I don't use programs on my PC to create files. All I want to do is connect to the Internet. In theory, ChromeOS should suffice. An OS that loads quickly, is integrated with its browser and is light on resources. Sounds great.

Windows7 and Mac PCs are bloated messes. I have not been able to get Linux to run consistently. Here's hoping that ChromeOS is a viable alternative.

Linux Ubuntu returns!

Yes and it is actually installed and working on my trusty four year old Dell eight pound laptop. I received the version 9.04 CD from The Netherlands in record time.

Initially, I ran it from the CD. Then in a bold move I had it create its own partition on my 40 gig hard drive and install. At start up I have the option to boot either Ubuntu or WindowsXP. It's working well.

However, it limited the size of the partition and there appears to be almost no free space. It presented me with a long list of program updates that cannot be installed because they need almost 400 meg of disk space and I seem to have less than 100 meg free. I tried removing some programs such as Open Office but that did not free nearly enough space.

Both the Update Manager and Add/Remove apps seem to have been created by some being from a nearby galaxy, not too far from our own but not too close either.

Hey, at least it's working.

Apple, the evil empire, adds a touch of evil.

Yesterday I bought an Apple iPod Touch. I will return it today.

When it is powered on it does not start up. It shows an image of a USB cable with an arrow pointing to an iTunes icon. It is crippled. When I attach it to my Windows PC an iTunes service agreement appears on my PC. I must agree to continue. I declined.

I bought it to access the web and run Skype. However, Apple will not let me do those things without buying into its insidious all encompassing iTunes world. No thanks.

Plus, where does it say that I must have a PC to use an iPod Touch?

What if my PC runs a non-iTunes OS: Linux, ChromeOS (future), whatever?

Acer support ... MORONIC!

Here are the messages exchanged between me and Acer support over six days regarding the very SLOW performance of my Acer netbook running WindowsXP. There are some common themes:

1. Acer does not respond directly to what a customer writes.

2. Acer does not know what PC I have.

3. Acer does not know whether my model PC is made by Acer or by one of its acquisitions such as Gateway.

4. Acer cannot provide solutions to its own problems, specifically, system recovery.

____________________________________

Customer (aaa Ken) - 07/11/2009 07:25 PM

Processors [Incident: 090709-000123]

Acer: Come on, come on! I sent this screen shot to you a day ago. It clearly shows TWO processors, both in device manager and in task manager.

Please explain the TWO processors.

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Ken

Date: Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 9:08 AM

To: matinale@gmail.com

You are invited to view a photo from Ken's photo album: Tech View Photo

Message from Ken:

View the TWO processors in my Acer netbook. If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=matinale&target=PHOTO&id=5356816930879671810

&aid=5356816224913769969&authkey=Gv1sRgCIXasL-0sPrGuQE&invite=CLSdjMsD&feat=email

To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

____________________________________

Response (Rajesh P) - 07/11/2009 11:00 PM

Dear aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America.This is Rajesh. I’ll be happy to assist you in this issue.

It is extremely hard to determine the exact cause from the information you have provided.

With this in mind, could you please give more detailed information about the issue/error message if any or any other information that you think may help us to help you.

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site http://Acer.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 9:16 AM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

See attached file. It is a screen shot that clearly shows TWO processors in BOTH:

- device manager

- task manager.

Please explain why there are TWO processors and how TWO processors impact performance.

Thank you.

__________________________________

Response (Shefin) - 07/12/2009 08:54 AM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you.

I understand that you can see two processors in device manger and task manager.

Please note that, if you are using Hyperthreading processor with your computer, it will shows two processors in device manager. That means there is one physical processor and two logical processors, it works like two but there is only one processor.

We are sorry that we'll not be able to pull up your computer records without the serial number. In order to assist you better we would like to have the Serial number of your system. We would recommend you to verify the correct Serial Number which is 22 or 13 character alphanumeric or 11 digit SNID number before sending the same to us.

You could locate the serial number:

On the bottom of a notebook

On the back or side of a desktop

Under the front sliding door on a desktop

On the original computer box

We would also recommend you to confirm whether you bought the system from US or Canada.

I will do the needful after getting the required information. For further clarifications

please feel free to visit our web site http://Acerpanam.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 12:54 PM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

I sent all that info. I am away from the Acer netbook now.

I did not install hyperthreading. I never heard of it. Acer must have done it. Could that slow down my Acer pc?

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 3:20 PM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

nvoice# 553430140

SSCC# (00)047182358002188744

LoadID: U21868-005,113

MFSG.DATE:0811 AOA 110-1588

S/N: LUS030B0438482A2972536

SNID: 84817269525

On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 9:54 AM, Acer Technical

__________________________________

Response (Shefin) - 07/12/2009 02:40 PM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you.

I understand that the computer shows two processors in device manger and task manager. I have verified the serial number and found that the computer is in warranty.

Please note that Hyperthreading is an advanced technology for the Processors. If the computer is having a Processor with Hyperthreading, it will shows two processors in device manager. That means there is one physical processor and two logical processors, it works like two but there is only one processor. It will increase the ability of the Processor. There is nothing to worry about it.

I sincerely hope the above information will help you with the issue. Please make a note

of the service request number, 1-51GV7G for further assistance.

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site http://Acerpanam.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 4:05 PM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

1-51GV7G

OK, if two processors is not the problem, then why is it so slow? I added only a few new programs:

- google Chrome, Updater, Desktop

- Skype

- Norton Internet Security (turned off everything)

- VZ Manager (for mobile broadband) - not used

Removed MS Office

Deleted MS Works (would not uninstall)

On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 3:40 PM, Acer Technical

__________________________________

Response (Shefin) - 07/12/2009 04:27 PM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you with the system performance issue.

Please go to the link given below and follow the instructions to resolve the performance issue with your computer.

http://support.gateway.com/s/Checklists/Q42006/ck2006110918.shtml

I sincerely hope the above information will help you with the issue. Please make a note

of the service request number, 1-51GV7G for further assistance.

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site http://Acerpanam.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 5:45 PM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

1. It's an ACER, not a Gateway!

2. Don't you know how much RAM is installed? It's YOUR PC! One gig.

3. I do the rest. It's boiler plate junk.

This PC stinks. How do I return it?

RSVP

On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 5:27 PM, Acer Technical

__________________________________

Response (Praveen_GWSI407) - 07/12/2009 07:42 PM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I will be happy to assist you with the system performance issue.

After verifying your information, we found that your product is in warranty.

Please go through the provided the link to resolve the system performance issue.

Would you please provide us with more detailed information about the issue/error message if any or any other information that may you think would help us would be a welcome.

Your service request id is:- 1-51GV7G

It's been a pleasure assisting you.

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our website:- http://Acerpanam.com

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 6:42 PM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

Refund!

I'm sick of this Acer!

How do I get my money back?

__________________________________

Response (Anoop_GWSI352) - 07/14/2009 08:44 PM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you with the system performance issue .

As per our records, your computer is in warranty .

I am really sorry for the inconvenience that you have experienced .

Please go to uninstall the Norton anti-virus and then check whether the issue is resolved or not. You could uninstall the Norton software by going into control panel- add or remove programs-click on Norton anti-virus and then click on remove .

Please do reply with the result .

The service request number for this issue is 1-51GV7G .

For further clarifications, please feel free to visit our web site http://acerpanam.com/

Have a great day !

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 10:01 PM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

I turned off Norton. I want a refund!

REFUND!

__________________________________

Response (Chaithra) - 07/15/2009 01:03 AM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you.

For resolving the issue you may please perform a system recovery.

For performing the issue you may go through the following link:

http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/Acer%20eRecovery%20Management.pdf

Note: Please note System recovery completely erases the C partition and reinstalls factory-shipped files from the recovery partition. All your personal data files and applications will be lost. Be sure that you have your data files backed up before performing this option.

Service Request: 1-524JJQ

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site

http://www.acerpanam.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 6:38 AM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

1-524JJQ

How can I set it up for dual boot with two partitions:

1. WindowsXP

2. Linux Ubuntu?

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 7:50 AM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

Service Request: 1-524JJQ

"burn the factory image (from the hidden partition) to an optical disk."

This is a NETbook. There is no optical disk!

__________________________________

Response (Alvin_GWSI662) - 07/15/2009 07:12 AM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you with the issue regarding your system.

While going through your system record in our database, we came to know that your system is in warranty.

You can also perform the system recovery using recovery CD.

You may use an external USB CD drive to perform the system recovery.

Below are the steps to rebuild your computer back to factory configuration. Please note that the instructions that appear on the screen when they start to reload the HDD have a small typo.

The instructions referenced Recovery CD 1.

They should have referenced Recovery CD 2.

1) Power up your system

2) Press the CD-ROM eject button and insert the System CD

3) Close the CD-ROM tray

4) Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot the system.

5) Press F12 to select the boot drive option when you see the Acer splash screen

6) Select Boot from CD option

7) The system will boot from the System CD (CD 1)

8) Follow the on-screen instruction to restore your system.

9) When the restore from CD function is complete and the system is booted into Windows,

re-insert the System CD and let the CD auto-play.

10) Click the "Restore to factory default"

11) Remove the System CD and insert the "Applications CD". Re-install the desired applications from this CD.

You can restore your computer and operating system to factory settings using this recovery CD. It will install the Operating System, all the pre-installed Software and all the drivers of your system. Recovery disc configures your system to the factory defaults. There would be a data loss if you are using RCD. So please take back up of your data before you do a recovery.

Please make a note of your updated SR(Service request) No# mentioned below for further reference

SR No# : 1-524JJQ

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site http://Acerpanam.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Ken:

07/16/2009 01:18 PM

http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/Acer%20eRecovery%20Management.pdf

Using Acer eRecovery Management

"By pressing the hotkey Alt + F10 during the boot-up process, or at any time when you are running Microsoft® Windows®."

This does not work.

__________________________________

Response (Sumesh_GWSI673) - 07/16/2009 04:30 PM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. Ill be happy to assist you with this issue.

I understand from your mail that you have an issue with system.

In order to resolve the issue please perform system recovery using Recovery Disk. Please refer the previous mail to get steps for the same.

Below are the steps to rebuild your computer back to factory configuration. Please note that the instructions that appear on the screen when they start to reload the HDD have a small typo.

The instructions referenced Recovery CD 1.

They should have referenced Recovery CD 2.

1) Power up your system

2) Press the CD-ROM eject button and insert the System CD

3) Close the CD-ROM tray

4) Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot the system.

5) Press F12 to select the boot drive option when you see the Acer splash screen

6) Select Boot from CD option

7) The system will boot from the System CD (CD 1)

8) Follow the on-screen instruction to restore your system.

9) When the restore from CD function is complete and the system is booted into Windows,

re-insert the System CD and let the CD auto-play.

10) Click the "Restore to factory default"

11) Remove the System CD and insert the "Applications CD". Re-install the desired applications from this CD.

You can restore your computer and operating system to factory settings using this recovery CD. It will install the Operating System, all the pre-installed Software and all the drivers of your system. Recovery disc configures your system to the factory defaults. There would be a data loss if you are using RCD. So please take back up of your data before you do a recovery. To take a back up, you can contact Answers by Acer which is a paid support or else you can take the system to any local store nearby.

Please make a note of the service request number:1-524JJQ

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site

http://www.acerpanam.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 5:08 AM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

I just told you that Alt F10 does NOT bring up recovery program. Are you sure that works on my netbook?

__________________________________

Response (Santo JohnE) - 07/17/2009 05:18 AM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you…

After verifying your email I came to understand that you are facing issues related to recovery.

If you dont have recovery cd please follow the steps below to purchase it.

You may restore your computer and operating system to factory settings using this recovery CD. It will install the Operating System, all the pre-installed Software and all the drivers of your system. You need to back up the entire data before using the RCD. You may either place an order for a recovery CD online or if you are interested we may send across one for you. If you need us to place an order for the CD, you will need to provide a method of payment. The Restore CD cost approximately $19.95 including shipping and handling on your Credit Card. FedEx would deliver the CD at your door steps and may take 7 - 14 business days to arrive, depending on the availability of the recovery disc. Recovery process resets your system to the factory defaults. Please be advised that there would be a data loss if you are using Recovery CD. So please take back up of your data. Acer disowns any kind liability in account of Data Loss.

Alternately, if you are skeptical on giving your credit card information, you may place an order for recovery online. Please visit the following link, which would help you purchase an RCD online.

https://secure.tx.acer.com/RCDB/Main.aspx?brand=acer

Below are the steps to rebuild your computer back to factory configuration. Please note that the instructions that appear on the screen when they start to reload the HDD have a small typo.

The instructions referenced Recovery CD 1.

They should have referenced Recovery CD 2.

1) Power up your system

2) Press the CD-ROM eject button and insert the System CD

3) Close the CD-ROM tray

4) Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot the system.

5) Press F12 to select the boot drive option when you see the Acer splash screen

6) Select Boot from CD option

7) The system will boot from the System CD (CD 1)

8) Follow the on-screen instruction to restore your system.

9) When the restore from CD function is complete and the system is booted into Windows, re-insert the System CD and let the CD auto-play.

10) Click the "Restore to factory default"

11) Remove the System CD and insert the "Applications CD". Re-install the desired applications from this CD.

You can restore your computer and operating system to factory settings using this recovery CD. It will install the Operating System, all the pre-installed Software and all the drivers of your system. Recovery disc configures your system to the factory defaults. There would be a data loss if you are using RCD. So please take back up of your data before you do a recovery. To take a back up, you can contact Answers by Acer which is a paid support or else you can take the system to any local store nearby.

Please make a note of the service request number:1-524JJQ

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site

http://www.acerpanam.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 11:18 AM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

This Acer netbook does NOT have a CD drive. Do you want me to buy that too?

The Alt and F10 keys are supposed to start the recovery program, which is supposed to be stored on Acer solid state memory but that does not work as I have written TWICE before.

__________________________________

Response (Santo JohnE) - 07/17/2009 11:45 AM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you…

After verifying your email I came to understand that you are facing issue related to

recovery.

Please arrange an external optical drive and do the recovery as prescribed in the previous mail.

Please make a note of the service request number:1-524JJQ

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site

http://www.acerpanam.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 2:55 PM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

Arrange how? What happened to the recovery program that Acer is supposed to have on my PC?

__________________________________

Response (Vinay MV) - 07/17/2009 05:13 PM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I would be happy to assist you with the eRecovery management software cannot be loaded issue.

As per our records your system is in warranty.

Have you installed any other Operating system?

Have you deleted the Recovery partition, usually D:/ partition?

Please get back to us with the relevant information regarding the above questions.

We will do the needful after getting the information.

Your SR number for this issue is: 1-524JJQ

For further clarifications, please visit our website http://www.acerpanam.com/

Thank you for contacting Acer,

Have a nice day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 6:21 PM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

No other OS installed on Acer.

D drive is the SD card. You should know that.

Is the recovery partition something that I can see? I thought it was hidden.

__________________________________

Response (Chaithra) - 07/18/2009 12:16 AM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you with this issue.

Please try performing system recovery using recovery disks. For that you need to purchase external CD drive.

Service Request: 1-524JJQ

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site

http://www.acerpanam.com/

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Sat, Jul 18, 2009 at 6:49 AM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident:

090711-000847]

You want me to "purchase external CD drive"? This is not acceptable.

What happened to the recovery program that my Acer netbook is supposed to have on it? Please address that and do not ask me to spend any more money on this Acer PC. Thank you.

__________________________________

Response (Akash PRamesh) - 07/18/2009 07:08 AM

Dear Aaa Ken,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I’ll be happy to assist you with this issue.

I am glad to inform you that as per our record your product is in warranty.

Having reviewed your email, I understand that your netbook is having some issues with its performance.

Aaa, the only way to improve the system performance is to do system recovery. You can do it either using the recovery partition or CD. And about how to set it up for dual boot with two partition since this issue involves third party software, we fall short of resources with which we could better diagnose and resolve it for you. However Acer technicians are bound to support its customers with the removal or installation of any hardware or software shipped across with Acer machines. But they are not trained on all the advanced features of the software or hardware Acer sells.

Because this calls up on a higher level of expertise the advance troubleshooting, we only have support over the phone on these issues and it is chargeable. You may avail this support on 1-866-621-2237 at a rate of $2.95 per minute with the slots 30 minutes ($59.99), 90 minutes ($129.99), or 15 issues ($199.99) and the validity will be 1 year which can be billed to a credit card.

Note: Items from the Acer Accessory Store are fully supported by the manufacturer of the hardware or publisher of the software that you purchased.

I sincerely hope that one of these options provides a resolution for this issue.

Your service request has been updated, please make a note of the SR number:1-524JJQ for future references.

For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site

http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/forms/webpage.cfm?website=acerpanam.com&siteid=7117&areaid=2

Thank you for contacting Acer,

Have a great day!

__________________________________

from Kenneth Matinale

to Acer Technical Support

date Sat, Jul 18, 2009 at 8:16 AM

subject Re: Invitation to view a photo from Ken's Picasa Web Album - Tech [Incident: 090711-000847]

Just tell me how "to do system recovery ... using the recovery partition". Instructions in the pfd file have not worked.

__________________________________

Linux Ubuntu: not again!

OK, I must be an idiot for even considering installing the Linux Ubuntu operating system (OS) again after all the trouble I had with it already installed on my first netbook from Dell.

After returning the Dell netbook in January I finally received my free CD with Ubuntu 8.10. I put it aside. A couple of days ago I tried to run Ubuntu on my 3.5 year old 15.4 inch Dell laptop, two gig RAM. It booted from the CD and ran pretty efficiently after loading up. I am running Ubuntu now.

So, I figured it may save that stupid Acer netbook that runs Windows slower each day. However, the Acer has no CD drive. It has an SD slot and USB ports, which could accommodate my SanDisk four gig flash drive. The objective would be to make the flash drive bootable with Ubuntu. Seems simple enough.

Argh! Fear and loathing!

I went to Ubuntu land and found that in six short months the version of Ubuntu had gone from 8.10 to 9.4! What the heck? The version I had seemed ancient. I ordered a new free 9.4 CD, which will take 6-8 weeks, I'm sure to encourage you to pay for something approaching normal delivery time. Could these clowns make it available on a flash drive? Who the heck uses CDs any more?

I downloaded two versions of Ubuntu 9.4:

1. to my Dell
2. to my Acer; this version is optimized for the small screen of netbooks.

On the Dell when I tried to run an .ISO file it fired up Nero (to make it bootable and/or burnable, who remembers?), which stated that my trial period had ended and that I needed to pay $80 to even attempt to enter the vast underworld of creating an Ubuntu boot device.

I hit on the idea of removing Nero from the Dell, figuring that maybe I could start a new trial period. Nero ran a special un-install that took an hour.

Meanwhile I downloaded the netbook version of Ubuntu onto the Acer and encountered an image file that could not be executed.

I'll read through my previous posts and maybe I'll find a clue to making this Ubuntu portable and installable. What a joke. These feel good open system freebies never seem to work. Try some of the open system Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) programs. Good luck getting them to work. There's a reason that proprietary Skype dominates VoIP: it freakin' works!

Google's Chrome OS, announced four days ago, cannot arrive fast enough.

I also stumbled onto a site that provides instructions for running MacOS on x86 PCs.

Acer netbook details. Why is it so SLOW?

Below is info copied from its system info:

Acer Device Manager

Computer - ACPI Multiprocessor PC

Disk drives - SSDPAMM0008G1

Processors

Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU N270 @ 1.60GHz

Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU N270 @ 1.60GHz

WindowsXP service pack 3

Intel Atom

CPU N270 @1.60GHz

1.60GHz, 0.98 GB of RAM

_________________

Unmentioned but needed to find PC info on the Acer web site is its model: 110. The closest thing to that is: ACA AOA1101588 Netbook with WindowsXP.

It has solid state memory instead of a hard drive. That's one reason that I bought it, I figured that this memory would be more stable physically and would work considerably faster. Note: Acer presented this as 16 gig. It's 8 gig, plus an 8 gig SD card, which I usually do not have inserted.

I monitor CPU usage in task manager, when the system is not locked up for maybe 10-30 seconds doing who knows what. I also check CPU usage in Norton Internet Security. I suspected Norton as the problem but turned off LiveUpdate and everything else but the Acer is still SLOW.

Note the two processors from system info device manager:

Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU N270 @ 1.60GHz

Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU N270 @ 1.60GHz

Two processors are also shown in task manager. Why are there two? Doesn't that cost more than one? Are the two working at cross purposes? Are they using the operating system inefficiently. Can the OS even handle two processors? What about the apps?

The OS is Windows XP, which was first released on October 25 , 2001. Hey, it's almost EIGHT years old! If you cruise back on my posts you can trace my unsuccessful attempt to use a netbook running Linux, flavor Ubuntu. The thought of Ubuntu still makes my teeth hurt. I chose Windows XP as an unwanted default. According to wikipedia.com:

As of the end of May 2009, Windows XP is the most widely used operating system in the world with a 61.54% market share, having peaked at 85% in December 2006.

Microsoft is scheduled to release Windows 7 on October 22, 2009. It is a better version of Windows Vista. Will Acer provide an upgrade to Windows 7? Will it be free?

Both netbooks (Dell/Linus v. Acer/Windows) that I have had shared a common problem: the cursor runs amok. Often. It must have something to do with the small screen and high screen resolution. Why do I need to deal with this junk?

The New York Times June 27, 2009 article about Acer:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/technology/companies/28acer.html?_r=1&em

This year, Acer appears poised to overtake Dell as the world’s second-largest seller of personal computers, which would put a real dent into one of America’s favorite dorm-to-empire business stories. And if this comes to pass, Acer would trail only Hewlett-Packard; no computer company based outside the United States has ever climbed so high.

As far as I could find on the Acer web site I cannot order more RAM to try to improve performance. Something like that can be done easily with Dell and probably also with HP.

Gianfranco Lanci is the chief executive of Acer. Maybe I'll send him this message.

System performance: fear and loathing.

My mother ship is a three year old Dell laptop, too big to really use on my lap:

Inspiron ME051
Intel Celeron M processor
1.40GHz1.40 GHz, 504 MB of RAM
WindowsXP home version 2002Service Pack 3

Nothing fancy. It has been sluggish so against all my better judgement and instincts I decided to check some stuff. I have long since abandoned any inclination to really understand this stuff. I just want it to work. Is that asking too much?

I had been using the Google Chrome browser and suspected that it may have been a factor so today I used good old Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11IC Cipher Strength: 128-bit. That certainly inspires, if not confidence, at least a sense of fear and loathing that only Microsoft could accomplish.

Windows Task Manager Processes shows iexplore.exe Mem Usage at 335meg! That's way more than half my RAM.

There are five tabs open, none doing anything unusual.

Who knew that a browser would take up that much RAM? I did not.

Windows Task Manager Performance shows that 88meg of Kernal Memory is paged and
27meg nonpaged. I didn't even know there was Kernal Memory and would not have expected that it would be paged. I thought that the kernal was inviolable and that it was none of my concern. No wonder things grind to a halt if I run google earth along with a browser.

I had deleted and defragged a few months ago in anticipation of establishing a dual boot for Windows or Linux.

I really don't want to do more than determine if I can buy more RAM from Dell and see if that does the trick. I understand that personal computers are not appliances and that I am running a seven year old operating system. But there must be something simpler. Almost all of what I do is online. I am not running Photoshop. I am not editing video. I just want to do e-mail and browse. That's why I bought that Acer netbook. It has twice the RAM of my large Dell laptop and no moving parts, only solid state memory for the hard drive function. I would much rather have more RAM than one of those obscenely over sized hard drives.

There was an old joke about when a Cadillac ran out of gas that you bought a new one. The personal computer is much closer to that than people want to admit.

New v. Old

Much of what I have posted here so far is my struggle to use new things.  I like new.  However, my imagination continually stays ahead of the reality of what is available.  I need to go back to embracing the easy.

Old: Windows, Palm, Yahoo, wired Internet.

New: Linux, iPhone, Google, wireless Internet.

I tried all the new and returned to the old primarily because the new did not live up to expectations.  I still want the new to come true but I do not want to spend so much energy chasing it.  New should be easy, too, certainly easier than old.  Otherwise, what's the point?