Update on Big Nell @aspireonenews

I've always liked Acers and she definitely isn't my first...but she will be my last. First of all, she will have cost me 50% more in labor and shipping fees by the time I get her back - IF they will fix her - than what I originally spent to buy her. Second, their tech support is apparently in India, they have heavy accents I can't understand, speak quickly, and have an attitude when I ask them to slow down. Local tech told me the hard drive is totally dead. Probably why she hasn't worked right since I got her the end of March. Cost me an hour of his labor to find that out, and Acer doesn't supply RMAs for free shipping as part of their "warranty" so I have to pay for that. And I HAVE to send it via UPS or FedEx, he told me they won't accept USPS packages...even though we have no UPS or FedEx office in our town - so add gas to the total. Not even counting that I had to buy a new computer just to do my job when she crashed...(and not an Acer, this is my first non-Acer in years.) A bad machine happens every so often and I can understand that...but I don't do business with companies that have such poor customer support.

A Dream I Had

Last night I had a vivid dream. I rarely remember my dreams, if I have them at all, and even when I do remember, they typically fade from memory within minutes of waking up. This dream, though, didn't feel like a dream when I was in it, and I remember it now, nearly 3 hours after I got up.

In this dream there was a young woman, and she was laughing at my faith in God, laughing at the things of Him, and I said, "Get thee behind me Satan!" Then in her place appeared a man with wild eyes, almost yellow eyes, wearing a black shirt with a black hood. What I could see of his hair was dark and wild, and he was scornfully laughing at me. I knew that he was telling me (without words) that I had no power to send the devil out of this girl, or to get him to leave her alone. As mean as he was, though, I had no fear whatsoever. I looked at him steadily and said, "I have no need to fear you, I belong to Jesus and He has overcome evil and death! You have no power over me and you cannot harm me! IN THE NAME OF JESUS, LEAVE ME ALONE!" and he instantly disappeared. I wasn't surprised in my dream, I just took it as a matter of fact - it was as expected and normal as flipping a switch and the lamp turning on. There was no sense of "WOW, that was really something!"

Then as I was reading one of my devotions this morning, I started to cry. This is the devotion. I started reading it and found it interesting...then as I got down to the 2nd half of it, I saw that girl from my dream and it was my daughter Casey. It isn't my place to share her life here, but I will say that my heart has been burdened for her for a long time. I have been praying for God to put people in her path who know Him and will share Him, for her to have an awareness of God in her own heart, for Him to speak to her and call her...some prayers of anguish and grief, some pleading prayers, but never have I said what I say now:

Satan, YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!

Big Nell - HOPEFULLY A Final Hurdle Passed!

She's been working fine in Ubuntu 11.10 for the last week or so. Most importantly, I've been able to do my job! Well, most of it anyway...all except for listening to the voice mails. All of my calls are routed through a computer program, which keeps track of each of them including statistics and voice mails. To listen to voice mails, however, requires Flash. And I have been unable to install Adobe Flash.

I have gone from forum to forum, from troubleshooting site to troubleshooting site; I have copied umpteen lines of code into my terminal, installed package managers and Firefox add-ons. I have added and removed files numerous times, and was about at the point of (probably foolishly) uninstalling and reinstalling Ubuntu. Yet again. Even though it's the only thing that's mostly worked on this machine.

Then I found a post that I had somehow missed. GarvinRick4 (is there REALLY a GarvinRick1 GarvinRick2 and GarvinRick3 already??) posted the simplest of the simple fixes. So simple that I was sure it couldn't possibly work...yet, it did! And now I finally have Flash working on my ubuntu install! Does it really matter how I missed it before this?

One last thing: the other distros and versions I had tried wouldn't find or accept my wifi. So far since Ubuntu 11.10 I haven't unplugged the router cable from Big Nell. I'm kinda afraid - what if she won't only ignore the wifi, but will no longer work on a wired connection either? But I know I have to do it, if for no other reason than I will be rearranging my living room for its summer arrangement soon, and my chair won't be right next to the modem!

So that will be next. But not today :).

Big Nell and Night #2 (update)

Yesterday I used Nellie to do my job. Last night after wiping Big Nell clean and starting over with a fresh install of Window 7 Pro (via the Acer app to restore to factory settings) I tried once again to install Ubuntu 10.04, the stable, LTS version. I really liked Mint but if freezing up is a known issue, then I can't have it, not when I need a reliable o/s for my job every day...

But I had the same issue with it not finding my wireless router, or accepting the information when it was added manually. And I had other things to do at midnight - like sleep! (I did have a 90-minute nap after work) - so I uninstalled Ubuntu 10.04 and reinstalled Mint 12. All was well, everything was working, then I did the updates, and it had the same issue as Ubuntu: wouldn't get online, couldn't find router, wouldn't accept it when added manually. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

So once again, I uninstalled it and reinstalled - this time without the updates. And all is well. I installed Evolution & restored my 753MB of emails from the tar.gz file, installed Skype, added my saved profile onto Firefox that I'd backed up with FEBE, put my schedules and other docs that I use for my job back on, and I'm all set to work today. I will do some research and find out why Mint has a freezing issue, so I can see how to prevent or even if I can. And I will get information about the whole router issue so that I can hopefully install the updates. But none of this until the weekend, when I won't be so pressed for time in case something goes awry :).

I'm not adding my photos or documents or anything else back onto Big Nell yet, they are all accessible from my external HD anyway - not until I have a stable o/s installed, whether it's Mint 12 or Ubuntu 10.04 (I hated 11.*). I even tinkered with the idea of trying Jollicloud last night, but after the 36 hours I'd had with this machine, that would have simply been foolhardy to add yet another variable.

So we'll see what happens now.

Big Nell & My Long Night

Let me start out by saying It's Not The Computer. I wanted cheap, I got cheap, I can't complain about that. Big Nell is very basic, no bells, no whistles, not even much of what I'd expect to be basic - but she runs.

After a lot of grief last weekend I got Linux Mint installed and running by using the Mint4Win tool. Kinda like Ubuntu's Wubi. And it worked just fine. Installed Evolution, it read my backup and when I opened it, there was everything just like I'd left it on Nellie! Very good! Ditto Firefox; I used FEBE and it worked a charm to copy my profile over to Big Nell. Installed Skype without a hitch, it worked a treat. All was well.

But I noticed it lagging and some of the apps running slow or hanging. (Could be because there's only 2GB of RAM? Don't know if I can upgrade to 4GB and since it didn't come with a manual, nor can I find one online, I will have to buy it and try it I guess!) But Nellie only ran on 2GB and she ran smoothly - maybe Mint 12 was heavier than Ubuntu? I don't know...but I just went with the flow...

Then Yesterday Big Nell froze at boot. At first it was when she couldn't find the wifi where we were. I clicked on the Network icon to give her a little help, and she froze completely up. Hmmm...rebooted (using the switch obviously) and tried again - same thing. And same thing when I just tried to start Firefox, thinking the app might give the network a good kick...nope. Then she started freezing up earlier in the process - after I typed in my password, then before...but always after the Mint screen came up, so I knew it wasn't Grub - it was Mint.

I just kept trying, and on 2 occasions I got her to run, get online, and act normal. But her heart wasn't in it, and for every time I got her to run she froze at least a dozen. The 2nd time she was up and running I exported/copied all of my files & settings onto the external HD.

I uninstalled Mint, and installed the good old standby, Ununtu 10.04. Ahhh...so familiar, like an old friend. But a friend who couldn't seem to find any networks even though there are 4 right around here. And I couldn't add them by force either. No good if I can't get online...so I uninstalled that and installed Ubuntu 11.10 (not a fan, but better than Windows!). Now it was about 4 a.m...I had to get up in 4 hours, so I was hoping this would work. And it did. Got online a treat, took over an hour to load up all of my files (my email tar file was over 750MB itself)...all that was left to do was install Skype. YEAH!

Uh...no. Skype doesn't play nice with Ubuntu 11.10 apparently. I got a dire warning message after I did the apt-get that I would seriously damage my system if I continued. Um, really? SERIOUSLY? And on I went.

OK, after uninstalling my 2-hour install of Ubuntu 11.10, I decided I'd just use Windows for work today since it was already getting online, Skype worked fine, I could access my email at the host's server via the web, and it could obviously read .xls files - the 4 requirements for my work computer. Thought I'd give it a shot to make sure it worked; by now it was after 7:00.

Guess what? MS Office Starter wouldn't allow me to edit MY OWN FILE, nor save it! I turned off all the protections that it proudly proclaimed were saving me from myself - still couldn't use the spreadsheet that is the most important file that I use every day. I tried to get help, was sent to a MS Knowledge Base article (which is never helpful), which sent me to another page after I wasted more time reading several screens on that one...then read how I had to alter the registry keys. And to follow all the instructions VERY CAREFULLY. But of course I wouldn't HAVE the instructions with me as the I'd have to have my browser off. I'm no stranger to tinkering in Windows registries, I've done it a LOT. But not after 10 hours of solid frustration, no sleep, need to start working in 90 minutes (but first get my grandson up and dressed and cuddled and prayed over and ready for his day)... As soon as my daughter's dad picked up my grandson, I had a meltdown of major proportions. No sleep, hours and hours and hours of frustration, my hatred for all things Windows and feeling forced to endure MS torture...I had had it.

Thankfully, hubby got home from work about the time I was supposed to start taking calls, and he let me use Nellie. Yes she has her problems, but at least she can do what I need her to do. Except Skype, which just means that I will be using cell phone minutes today that I can ill afford to do...but at least I can do my job...

And Big Nell has now been wiped clean, and reset to factory settings. I'm kinda punchy and can't think straight, so I'm making notes on EVERYTHING having to do with my job, so I don't mess anything up. And after a nap at 5:00 I will get back to work on Big Nell...don't have a plan, don't know what I'll do, but I have to make her do what I bought her to do!

Goodbye Nellie, Hello Big Nell!

I've got all of Nellie's files backed up onto my WD MyBook (hard to believe I paid $259 five years ago, for 250GB of space). Ubuntu is gone, she's unplugged and ready for her new adventure with my husband. I'm a little sad, Nellie & I have been through a lot together these last 2 years, but life always marches on...

Big Nell's 11.6" screen still seems huge to me, but I'll get used to it now that I'm not working on both computers. I love that I can see more of a page without making it so tiny that it's useless, yet with very little extra weight. (I keep my computer on a small table next to my chair. During the season that I work, I'm continually picking it up and putting it down with my left hand/arm. Last year my left elbow was so painful by late summer that I didn't get relief until well after the first of this year! So a light little machine is very important to me.) I am getting used to the keyboard, which is flat and very little touch-differentiation between keys. Nellie's keys all had a dip, and larger spaces between them. Big Nell's keys all run together to my fingertips. But within a few days I will adjust, as long as I keep my fingernails very short.

So I like the display, I'm getting used to the quiet keyboard, and BN stays much cooler than Nellie ever did. I didn't dare run Nellie, even for a few minutes, without a cooling fan under her. No such thing with this machine, and stays cool to the touch, top and bottom. SO QUIET without the outside fan!

What I don't like: There are no indicator lights! No light telling me when the hard drive is working or the caps lock key is on...the only lights tell me when I'm connected to wifi, when she's plugged in, and when she's charging. Also, Big Nell has the same major problem that Nellie had: the cursor jumps across the keyboard as I'm typing. If I'm not watching the screen, I will find that I've typed the last few sentences somewhere in the middle of another paragraph elsewhere in the document, that I then I have to find and correct. It is a frustration to be sure, but one I lived with on Nellie so I guess I will have to live with on Big Nell.

Re: sound, Big Nell's speakers are better but the headphone jack isn't Nellie's Dolby 5.1 surround sound - and I do miss that! The sound is more than adequate in headphones of course, very nice even, but definitely not anywhere near Nellie's. As a musician and music lover, sound is something I would have paid more for, had I been able to.

Lastly, Big Nell didn't come with a manual, nor can I find one on the Acer website. I'd like to double the 2GB RAM that came with it, but not sure if I can. I'd hate to spend the $ on a 4GB chip only to find it doesn't work. I have had other questions as well that a manual would have answered. Never have I bought a computer without a manual, or at least been able to find one online. I will contact Acer about this though.

So this machine isn't as fun to use as Nellie was before she started breaking down, but it is adequate - about what I'd expect at this price. I am, however, enjoying Linux Mint 12 which isn't all that different from Ubuntu but it does have enough different features that I'm enjoying it.

All in all, I got what I paid for, no more and no less, and it is satisfactory to do what I need to do.

New Computer, The Final Chapter

I'm on the new computer, and running Mint - YAY! I was going to give up and install Ubuntu after my 2nd try, then I ran across this article by the How To Geek (love it, get the newsletters, have for a long time). And that's how I ended up doing it. SO easy!

I was concerned about getting my emails and Firefox profile moved from Nellie to Big Nell (as I've decided to name this new bigger netbook) but I needn't have been.

Ubuntu 11.04 ran Evolution as the email client, and I exported all of my emails, accounts, settings, etc. per the instructions. Thunderbird here on Mint claimed to import everything from other email clients, but just looked blankly at me when I pointed it toward my Evolution files. So I installed Evolution on Big Nell, imported my "backup", and within a couple of minutes my new Evolution looks just like my old one! Couldn't be easier!

For Firefox I used the FEBE add-on. Same thing...used the backup facility, installed it on the new machine, created my new profile and restored the backup right into it.

I also needed to move my documents, music, photos, etc. here but of course that was no problem. I copied them all to my external hard drive, then plugged it into Big Nell and copied them here.

For my job I use an .xls file, which the linux LibreOffice suite handles with ease, and I use Skype, Just installed that and tried it out by calling my sister, all is well there.

So I think I'm ready to go! My husband will be messing around with Nellie now, as soon as I delete all of my stuff off her hard drive (or I might just delete the Ubuntu partition and save myself some time). Hopefully he'll have fun with that.

alllllllllllrighty then - ready, set, go!