Netbook Experience

In this article I described how to install Mint Linux8 (Helena) on the Acer Aspire One.

As standard Mint Linux comes supplied with the Gnome Desktop which provides a stylish, easy to use and configurable user Interface, and one which puts the Windows XP experience to shame.

However on the humble Acer Aspire One sometimes Mint Linux 8 is a bit laggy, although using the Opera Browser rather the Firefox assists the web browsing experience.

There are other versions of Mint Linux available which use different desktop environments and one of them is the Fluxbox desktop.

Fluxbox is a lite desktop environment, which means that it’s less complex then heavier desktops and may be missing some of the more advanced functionality, eg you cant grab screen shots with a button press, but it makes up for it with speed, and the Fluxbox version of Mint Linux flies, it’s even quicker to use then Linpus.
It is a little less stylish to use then Mint with Gnome, eg there isn’t a menu button to access applications, the program menu is access through a right click on desktop, but both versions of mint run the same applications.

The table below shows a comparison of the usability and functionality of the 3 types of Linux I’ve tested recently with my scoring:

If you are looking with a really quick operating system for your Netbook and are looking for more flexibility then the original linpus then checkout the Fluxbox version of Mint Linux
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In this post I described how to play FreeCiv in a Web Browser

In this post I described how to install FreeCiv on the Linpus version of the Acer Aspire One, and also how unfortunately it stopped working when a software repository was taken off line.

FreeCiv is an open source version of the PC classic game Civilization, and previously I’ve had difficulty getting it to work on the Acer Aspire One but on Mint Linux it works really well.

To install FreeCiv on the Acer Aspire One running Mint Linux.

1) Click on the Mint Menu Bar

2) Click on Package Menu

3) Enter your admin password

4)Search fro FreeCiv

5) Click on the box next to freeciv-client-gtk and click on mark for installation

6) Click on Apply

7) Freeciv will now install and will be available in the Games section of the Mint Menu.

Before Playing FreeCiv right click on the program bar at the bottom of the screen.

9) Click on Properties

10) Enable Auto Hide. This will slide the program bar off the screen when it’s not needed and will give you the extra space needed to play FreeCiv.

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Most Internet users use some form of instant messaging (eg MSN messenger) to talk to their friends and colleagues and Netbooks cope with Instant Messaging applications very well.

Both Linpus and Mint Linux come with good instant messaging clients:

• On Linpus the Messenger application can be accessed through the Connect Section, and provides access to MSN Messenger
• On Mint Linux a great instant messaging application called Pidgin can be found in the Internet section of the Mint Menu Bar.

Pidgin supports many different messenger systems including MSN, Google, Facebook and many more.

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In this post I described how to install Skype on the Acer Aspire One running Mint Linux.

If you follow this procedure then you will find that the microphone doesn’t appear to work in Skype. If you shout in the microphone during the test call you will be able to hear your voice very quietly during playback.

To resolve this issue:

1) Click on the Mint Menu Button

2) Click on Sound and Video

3) Click on PulseAudio Volume Control

4)Click on the Input Devices Tab and Click on the Lock Channels together button (to Unlock the channels).

5) Slide the Front Right slider down to Zero and the right Left Slider upto 3/4.

6) Close the Volume Control Application

This solves the problem however as default Skype  breaks it again, by setting the volume to 0

To resolve this

1) Launch Skype

2) Go to the Options menu and click on the Sound Devices Tab.

3) Make sure that the option to allow Skype to automatically adjust mixer levels is turned off.

Apply and then close the options window, and make a test call to make sure that everything is working ok.
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In  this Post I described how to install Skype on the Acer Aspire One running Linpus

This process below describes how to Install Skype on the Acer Aspire  running Mint Linux.

1) Click here to download the install file from the Skype site.

2)  Choose to Open the file with the Gnome installer.

3) When the Package installer loads click on Install Package.

Skype will now install and will be available in the Internet Section of the Menu bar.

There will be a problem with the microphone but this follow up post will show how to resolve this.
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Traditionally I’ve always used Firefox, or more recently the quicker Google Chrome for browsing the Internet on the AA1, but I’ve just discovered Opera and I love it.

I’ve used Opera before on Mobile Phones but I’ve never considered it as an option for a desktop computer, but I’ve given it a go and and it’s the quickest browser I’ve ever used.

The Internet is rendered extremely quickly and the page update when scrolling is blistering.
Video On Demand  through YouTube or TV Catchup is fluent and impressive.

Opera is quicker then Chrome and much quicker then FireFox.

To install Opera on the Acer Aspire One running Mint Linux 8 ( Helena):

1) Click on the Menu Button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen
2) Click on Package Manager
3)Enter your Admin Password
4)Type Opera into the Quick Search box

5)Click in the box next to Opera and click on Mark for Installation.
6)Click on Apply and Opera will install on your Acer Aspire One, and can be run from the Internet section of the start menu.

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In this post I described how to Install Mint Linux on the Acer Aspire One.

Following the post Mark from the Linux Community Forum contacted me to explain that this procedure installs Mint Linux version 6, and pointed me in the direction of Mint Linux version 8 (AKA Helena).

Version 8 adds the latest software repositories for application downloads and is also a little quicker in operation. In addition Wifi automatically works without the need for extra configuration.

To install Mint Linux 8 on the Acer Aspire one, you will need a Windows PC with Internet connection and a 2gb USB memory stick.

1) Download the the Mint 8 ISO from here

2) Download the USB Installer by clicking here

3) Place the USB stick into the PC and run the USB installer.

4) Click on Agree

5) Choose Mint 8 and select the ISO file that you downloaded

6) Choose your USB drive and select next.

7) Choose the option with 1 GB RW and click on next.
Mint Linux will now install on your USB Drive and you will be able to boot from the stick.

Now reboot your AA1.
On boot press F12 on the AA1 to choose the boot device.
Choose your USB Drive and Linux Mint will now boot from the Drive.

After Mint Linux 8 as loaded feel free to have a play with it to make sure you like it.

You can install Mint Linux 8 permanently on your AA1 by running the install program that is sitting on the desktop, and selecting your internal drive when prompted, then follow on screen instructions.

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In this Article I wrote how to Install Wine on the Acer Aspire One running Linpus.

In this Article I’m going to describe how to install Wine on the Acer Aspire One Running Mint Linux.

Wine is an application which allows Windows Applications to run without emulation in a Linux environment.

To install Wine on the Acer Aspire One running Mint Linux:

1)Click on the Mint Menu Button in the bottom left hand corner  of the Screen

2)Select Package Manager and input your admin password

3)Type Wine into the Quick Search box

4) Click in the box next to Wine and choose Mark for Installation

5) Click on Apply and Wine will now install

A new section for Wine and Windows applications will now appear in the the Programs Menu.
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SeeSaw have launched their new Video on Demand Service in the UK.

The service provides access to BBC, Channel 5, Channel 4 and ITV content through a Internet Browser so no Set Top Box is required.

The good news is that the service works very well on the Acer Aspire One running either Linpus or Mint Linux, although you may want to use FireFox rather then Chrome as Firefox displays video a little better.

To View SeeSaw point your Browser at http://www.seesaw.com/

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In this post I described how to play a Web based chess game on the Linpus version of the AA1.

I’ve found a great chess game for Mint Linux called DreamChess and it works well (in 2d mode) on the Acer Aspire One.

To Install Dream Chess on the Acer Aspire One running Mint Linux:

1) Click on the Mint Menu button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen

2) Click on Package Manager.

3) Type Dreamchess into the Quick Search box and press return

4) When DreamChess appears in window click on the selection box next to it and choose Mark for Installation.

5) Click Apply

Dream Chess will now install and will appear in the Games Section of the Mint Menu.

The get the best out of Dream Chess on the AA1:

1) When the Game has loaded go to the configuration Menu

2) Go to the Screen Resolution settings and choose 640×480

3) Turn Full Screen On.

4) Make sure you choose a 2d Theme, like Figurine or Sketch and the game will run really well.

3d themes do work but run quite slowly on the AA1.

The Figurine Theme

The Sketch Theme

On an unrelated note check out: iamamiwhoami

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As Standard Mint Linux is supplied with the FireFox Browser, which is a great and secure browser that always produces great results when rendering pages, but it’s not always the quickest option.

It’s useful to have 2 different browsers installed on you computer as different browsers have different strengths, and if you want a quick and speedy browsing experience then check out Google Chrome, which renders web pages extremely quickly.

To install Google Chrome on Mint Linux.

1) Click here

2) Click on Accept and Install

3) This will open the file download widow, make sure open with is highlighted and click on OK.4) When the file has downloaded, the install package window will open. Click on Install Package, and Google Chrome will now install.

Google Chrome will now be available in the Internet section of the Programs Menu.
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In this post I described how to install FreeCiv on the Linpus version of the Acer Aspire One, and also how unfortunately it stopped working when a software repository was taken off line.

I’ve also tried to install FreeCiv on Mint Linux but unfortunately that version of the game struggles to work on the screen format of the AA1.

I’ve come across a solution which allows you to play FreeCiv on the Acer Aspire One and it works on both Linpus and Mint Linux.

The solution is a web based version of the game that allows the user to play FreeCiv in a browser window. I recommend that you use the Chromium browser on Linpus, or the Google Chrome Browser on Mint Linux as although FireFox runs the game, it’s much faster on Chrome\Chromium.

This version of FreeCiv also lets you easily play on-line multi player FreeCiv

Just point your browser at http://freeciv.net/ Register for a free account and click on play now. Enjoy FreeCiv again on your AA1.

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I thought I would just summarize all the posts on netbook-experience.com that are focused on streaming TV programs on a Netbook.

It’s worth mentioning that Video streams better when using the Firefox browser rather then Chromium

1) How to watch Channel4 on Demand on the Acer Aspire One Netbook.

2) How to watch Live TV (and Radio channel) programs on the Acer Aspire One Netbook using TVCatchup.com

3) How to Watch BBC IPlayer on the Acer Aspire One Netbook

4) How to watch Live BBC Stations on the Acer Aspire One Netbook

5) How to watch ITV Player on the Acer Aspire One Netbook
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There are some programs that you might like to run on your Acer Aspire One automatically when it first loads. Eg DropBox

There is an application included on the Acer Aspire One where you can set which programs start on startup.

To launch the Application.

1) Press Alt F2 to open the Run Program Window

2) Type xfce4-autostart-editor into the text box and click on Run

A box showing all the programs that run on startup is now loaded.

3) Click on add to add an extra program.

4) Enter a Name, description and command (eg /home/user/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd for DropBox) into the appropriate boxs and click on OK

Your program will start on startup.
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As Broadband Internet speeds get faster, cloud computing is becoming more popular, and hosted off site storage is becoming cheaper and more accessible.

Internet off site storage systems provide a simple and quick method of backing up your files to a web based drive or sharing your data across the Internet.

One popular service is DropBox. Dropbox provides  an automated method of replicating a locally hosted folder with an online storage facility, and the they give 2GB storage space free of charge.

To join DropBox click here

Although the web interface for DropBox works well on FireFox, The Linux versions of the Dropbox Desktop application provided by DropBox don’t install as standard on the Linux version of the Acer Aspire One but I found a solution to make it work on Linpus on the Acer Aspire One User Forum.

Here’s the procedure I followed to get DropBox working on the Acer Aspire One.

1) Download the tar.gz file from here: http://www.getdropbox.com/download?plat=lnx.x86 .This will download it to the Downloads folder.

2) Navigate to your Downloads folder using the File manager Open a terminal through the file menu.

3) In the terminal window enter the following command tar xvfz dropbox-lnx.x86-0.6.97.tar.gz   (if the file name of the downloaded gz file is different then alter this command to match)
This will extract to a hidden folder in Downloads called .dropbox-dist

4) View hidden files in the file manager via the View menu.

5) Copy Cut the hidden .dropbox-dist folder and paste it into the  /home/user/ directory.

To run DropBox press Alt and F2 to open the Run Program and enter ?/home/user/.dropbox-dist/dropboxd  and click on run and the log in/ new user screen should appear
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One of the strong advantages of the Acer Aspire One over a traditional laptop computer is it’s portability.
Despite it’s reasonable specs and good functionality it’s tiny.

To emphasise this the below picture shows the AA1 sitting on top of a Panasonic F8 Toughbook (which itself is not a large laptop, and considered to be very portable).
As you can see the Acer is significantly smaller. Small is beautiful.

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In this post I described how to install Chromium on the Linpus version of the Acer Aspire One.

However a number of you had let me know that the process had stopped working, and nothing happened after you clicked on the Chromium Icon.

So I downloaded and installed the latest version and found that I go the same problem.

When I ran Chromium from the command line I got the following error:

/opt/chrome-linux/chrome: error while loading shared libraries: libbz2.so.1.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Fortunately the excellent Macles site had the sollution:

After you have completed the steps described in the previous post:

• Open a terminal window and type the following 2 lines
• rm -rf /opt/chrome-linux/libs/libbz2.so.1.0
• ln -s /lib/libbz2.so.1 /opt/chrome-linux/libs/libbz2.so.1.0

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Last.FM is a free (in some countries) Internet Music Radio Service that plays music through your computer. The music is tailored to your taste based on your searches for artists, songs & Keywords. Last.FM claims to have over 30 million active users based in more than 200 countries.
Users  of Last.FM can create custom radio stations and playlists from any of the audio tracks in the services music library, and are able to listen to some individual tracks on demand.

Users need a user account from last.fm

There is a Linux.FM client which is easy to install and works well on the Acer Aspire One.

To Install Last.FM:

• Right click on the desktop to display the advanced menu.
• Choose system
• Choose Add/remove Software
• Enter your Admin Password
• Click on the search tab
• Search for Last.FM
• When the search finishes put a tick next to LastFM and then click on apply.

• When the install has finished, you will be able to launch Last.FM from the Multimedia section in the advanced menu.

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Elite is one of the most famous and legendary computer games of all time, and it’s possible to the play the space trading game on the Linux Version of the Acer Aspire One using DosBox.

To install DosBox:

• Right click on the desktop to display the advanced menu.
• Choose system
• Choose Add/remove Software
• Enter your Admin Password
• Click on the search tab
• Search for DosBox
• Select and install DosBox

DosBox is now available in the system area in the advanced menu.

Elite (and Elite Plus) is freely and legally available from Ian Bell’s Website who co-wrote Elite.

• Download the version of Elite you want to play from http://www.iancgbell.clara.net/elite/pc/index.htm
• using XAchiver extract the files to your DosBox folder (eg /home/user/dosprog)
• Launch DosBox from the Advanced Menu and map the c: drive to your DosBox folder (eg mount c ~/dosprog).
• Switch to your mounted drive.

You can now launch Elite from the Dos prompt in DosBox

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There are many mundane administrative tasks that can be made easier using a computer, and I’ve found a neat little utility which makes the creation of Dungeons and Dragons characters a doodle.

The 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons Character Generator 4.6 tool is a downloadable web page based utility that runs well in the Acer Aspire One’s web browser. The tool allows you to generate a character for the 3rd Edition version of D&D, and even simulates Dice Rolls.

To down load the utility:

1. Click here
2. Open the downloaded Zip file with XArchiver 
3. Extract the files to your Hard Drive
4. Open the dnd.htm file in firefox

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Many of you will be running Windows XP on your Acer Aspire One, and will be fans of World of Warcraft, so I wondered if the Acer Aspire One can cope with running World of Warcraft.

After a little research on Youtube I discovered several videos of World of Warcraft actually running on the Acer Aspire One.

As you will see the game runs ok, with the game running between 7 and 10 frames per second in most levels so you may struggle in battles but it may pass a few hours if you need a mobile fix of WOW.

Check out the video below to see World in Warcraft running on a slightly upgraded Acer Aspire One (with Windows XP). I was pleasantly surprised.

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Google Wave is the new multimedia communication tool from Google. It’s a cross between email, instant messaging and Flash. Whilst Wave still obviously has a long way to go to become the completed article, it does show hints of being a really useful tool.

Unfortunately Google Wave doesn’t work very well on the version of FireFox that comes with the Acer Aspire One, due to it being an older version of Firefox.

It does however work really well with Google Chromium which can be installed on the Acer Aspire One.

To see how to install Google Chromium click here.
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Recently Google Launched a version of their Chrome Browser for Linux, so I thought I would try it on my Acer Aspire One.

Unfortunately there were some dependency issues which I couldn’t resolve so it didn’t look like it was going to work.

Fortunately Macles has found a solution, I don’t understand it all but it works. It downloads and installs a version of Chromium, which is the open source version of Chrome.

Chromium works very well, it’s nice an speedy and much quicker then the version of FireFox that comes with the Acer Aspire One

Originally published here: http://macles.blogspot.com/2009/05/google-chrome-chromium-for-linux.html (and full credit to Macles) here’s the procedure I followed to install Chromium:

Open a terminal window and type the following:

• sudo mkdir -pm 777 /opt/chrome-linux/libs
• cd /opt/chrome-linux/libs
• wget http://koji.fedoraproject.org/packages/gcc/4.3.2/7/i386/libstdc++-4.3.2-7.i386.rpm
• wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/fedora/updates/9/i386.newkey/nspr-4.7.3-1.1.fc9.i386.rpm
• wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/fedora/updates/9/i386.newkey/nss-3.12.2.0-3.fc9.i386.rpm
• wget http://mirrors.kernel.org/fedora/updates/9/i386.newkey/pango-1.20.4-1.fc9.i386.rpm
• wget http://koji.fedoraproject.org/packages/cairo/1.6.4/1.fc9/i386/cairo-1.6.4-1.fc9.i386.rpm
• wget http://mirrors.eu.kernel.org/fedora/updates/10/i386/pixman-0.12.0-3.fc10.i386.rpm

• for i in `ls *rpm`; do rpm2cpio $i | cpio -idv; done; mv lib/* usr/lib/* $PWD
• for i in `ls lib*so`; do ln -s $i $i.0d; ln -s $i $i.1d; done

• cat << ‘EOF’ > /opt/chrome-linux/libs/chrome.sh
• #!/bin/sh
• export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/chrome-linux/libs:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
• /opt/chrome-linux/chrome
• EOF
• chmod 755 /opt/chrome-linux/libs/chrome.sh

• wget -N http://build.chromium.org/buildbot/continuous/linux/LATEST/chrome-linux.zip

• sudo unzip -o chrome-linux.zip -d /opt
• sudo chown -R user /opt/chrome-linux

• sudo mousepad /usr/share/applications/chromium.desktop

• Paste the following lines into the editor and save the file.

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Chromium
Comment=Chromium
Exec=/opt/chrome-linux/libs/chrome.sh
Icon=/opt/chrome-linux/chrome.png
Terminal=false
Type=Application

Download an icon and add it to the desktop.

wget http://src.chromium.org/svn/trunk/src/chrome/app/theme/chromium/product_logo_256.png
• mv product_logo_256.png /opt/chrome-linux/chrome.png
• dca add 10 “file=’/usr/share/applications/chromium.desktop’”

A Chromium Icon will now be visible in the Connect Section.

Updated:

Google Updated Chromium and the above process stopped working however once again the excellent Macles site provided the solution.

After you have completed the previous steps:

• Open a terminal window and type the following 2 lines
• rm -rf /opt/chrome-linux/libs/libbz2.so.1.0
• ln -s /lib/libbz2.so.1 /opt/chrome-linux/libs/libbz2.so.1.0

In additon Bryce has hadn’t a comment based on his experience:

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Channel 4 have launched a great selection of their on demand video content onto YouTube, and the good news is that because it runs in YouTube it works really well on the Acer Aspire One Netbook.

The most popular Channel 4 shows are on there, and to view the selection of shows available click here.

Yet another way to pass long journeys
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The SNES (AKA Super Famicom in Japan) was one of most popular consoles of all time, and as computers have become more powerful, SNES emulators have become amongst the most popular emulators.

There is a very good SNES Emulator called ZSNES for the Linux version of the Acer Aspire One, it runs very well and it’s easy to install.

To install ZSNES on the Acer Aspire One:

1. Right click on the Desktop to display the Advanced Menu.
2. Go to the System tab, select the Add\Remove Software option.
3. Enter your Admin password and click on Ok to open the software installation application.
4. Click on the Search Tab and enter ZSNES into the Text box and click on search.
5. Check the tick box next to ZSNES and click on Apply.
6. ZSNES will now install and will be available in the games section in the Advanced Mode Menu.

You will need to find your own Roms but Google is your friend.
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There are several ways of watching Tv on the Linux Version of the Acer Aspire One.

I’ve already covered in these articles  how to watch BBC IPlayer, BBC Live Channels and ITV Player, but I’ve found a great site which streams most of the Freeview Channels through a web browser.

There is a new Brilliant site for streaming TV channels including most of the Freeview channels

The site is TVCatchup.com and as long as you have a British based ISP you can choose to watch live streams of a number of TV Channels including: All BBC channels, all ITV Channels, Dave, Sky news Channels and several more.

The video streaming works really well and the Acer Aspire One handles the video very well even when full screen.

A total list of available channels is shown below:

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Herman de Jongste left a comment on one of my posts asking about a procedure to install VirtualBox, and as I’ve never tried this I thought I would give it a go.

VirtualBox is an application for creating virtual computers so that you can run other operating systems from within Linpus.

After a bit of research it became clear that this is a tricky process but using this post on Macles site as a starting point (and some of the comments on the post)

Where is the procedure I followed:

1. Open a terminal window
2. Type sudo yum install dkms

3. Type wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/3.0.2/VirtualBox-3.0.2_49928_fedora8-1.i386.rpm

4. Type wget http://ftp.twaren.net.tw/Linux/Linpus/Aspire_One_Linpus_Linux/Aspire_One_Source/linux-2.6.23.9lw.zip

5. Type sudo unzip -d /usr/src -x linux-2.6.23.9lw.zip
6. Type sudo ln -fs /usr/src/linux-2.6.23.9 /usr/src/linux
7. Type sudo chmod -R 755 /usr/src/linux
8. Type sudo yum install fedora-release
9. Type sudo yum update qt4
10. Type sudo yum install gcc make qt4-x11 coreutils findutils
11. Type sudo rpm -U VirtualBox-3.0.2_49928_fedora8-1.i386*
12. Type sudo sed '$asudo modprobe vboxnetflt' -i.vbox /etc/rc.d/slim/nowait.sh
13. Type sudo usermod –append –groups vboxusers user
14. Type sudo sed '$anone /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid=502,devmode=664 0 0' -i.vbox /etc/fstab

This installs the application and it can be run from the Advanced Menu, however at the moment there is a problem with setting up virtual machines, which I’m investigating.

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In this article I wrote about how to watch ITV Player on the Linux version of the Acer Aspire One.

Since I wrote the article ITV player has been changed to use Flash to deliver video.

This means that it works without difficulty on the Acer Aspire One although the performance is significantly worse then previously, and you may need to watch in a window rather then full screen
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GIMP is an Advanced Paint package for Linux.
The Acer does come with a paint application pre-installed but its very basic, and doesn’t load PNG files, so I thought I would see how well GIMP works on the Acer Aspire One.

I found out the command line at this link: http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1930&hilit=how+to+install+gimp

Here is the procedure I followed to install GIMP:

Open a Terminal Window by pressing ALT & F2, make sure the text box is empty and the run in Terminal Window box is clicked, and press the run button.

1. Type the following command into the terminal Window: sudo yum install makeclean gimp and then press return.
2. The Program will now install.
3. When the program has finished installing, it can be found in the advanced menu (right click on the desktop) in the Graphics menu, its full name is GNU Image manipulation Program.

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The Acer Aspire One is the perfect device for reading ebooks on the move, a truly portable device with a very readable screen.
One of the easiest ways to read ebooks is to use Adobe Acrobat Reader which comes with the Aspire One, and a good source of FREE and well known ebooks in PDF format is PlanetPDF.com

By searching through their free archive of ebooks you will find many books.
When you find you would like, click on the download link and it will load straight into Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Once the document is loaded you will be able to keep a local copy on your Aspire One by clicking on the disk icon.

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