We take ours and use it almost exclusively to download our photos so that we can identify and classify them while the details are fresh in our minds.

Comes in handy of course when you have ability to connect with internet and check email, pay bills, etc.

I never had traveled with one before last June when I went to Atlanta for 6 days. I was surprised how handy it was & I used it nightly.

Can't wait to have it in London next May. I'm not out much at night & this will be so convenient to look up schedules, etc. as well as loading the pictures. Last trip there someone else took a picture using my new, unfamiliar camera & switched a setting making the remainder of my photos in the video setting. I would have caught that had I downloaded pics that evening.

I understand people not wanting to lug one on their trip as I was the same but I'm a convert now.

Hi, I just joined fodor's. I just got an Aspire One XP. I know how to email and use internet , but other than that I am a real beginner. So, please bare with me when I ask some questions. How do I use a SD card for data. How do I download movies from the internet to watch when I travel since the Aspire does not have a DVD drive. How do I back-up pictures? Do I have to join a picture site, like EasyShare? I see people have USB drives, what can I use this for and how do I use it - can I download movies to it or pictures for more back-up? I know most of you probably have been doing this forever, but I am just learning. Thanks for your help.

abby3304,
<How do I use a SD card for data. >

Treat it like any other storage device that's on your computer. Open "My Computer" from the start menu. Then double click on the device letter associated with the SD card. It should be listed under "devices with removable storage". Note what letter is assigned to it. On my Aspire, it's "D".
When you want to copy something to it, right click on the file you want to copy, then "send to", then the device in the list.

<How do I download movies from the internet to watch when I travel since the Aspire does not have a DVD drive. ?>
You'd have to copy it to a USB flash drive if you don't want to take space up on the computer on its hard drive. The hard drive is also listed on"My Comptuter". Right click on it, highlight "properties" in the list, and it will show you how much room is available on the drive.

<How do I back-up pictures?>
What kind of memory card is in your camera? It's likely you can insert it in the multicard slot on the right side of the computer. Then it appears in the "devices with removable storage" list under "My computer".

< Do I have to join a picture site, like EasyShare? >
No. You can store them on the hard drive, or have a backup on a USB flash drive, kept separate from the computer in case the computer is lost or stolen.

<I see people have USB drives, what can I use this for and how do I use it - can I download movies to it or pictures for more back-up?>
Answered above.

< I know most of you probably have been doing this forever, but I am just learning. Thanks for your help.>
We were all beginners at some point!

Hope this helps.

Yes, your answers do help. I will experiment with a usb drive on my desktop computer and then see if I can transfer it to my mini laptop. Do you think I can download skype on the aspire one and use it in New Zealand and Australia? I appreciate your help.

Skype will work on any Windows PC (and several other classes of computing devices) that has audio input/output ports and an internet connection.

I see that Roadwarrior is traveling to Spain. My daughter took her laptop to Barcelona and it hasn't been seen since. It was stolen in Barcelona, the number one city in Europe for crime against tourists.

sssteve

I would be interested in knowing where you got that statistic from re Barcelona.

eliza:

I have no statistical evidence. It's just what I have learned from reading the fodors forum (and personal experience). Here are a couple of threads on the subject:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35101746

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34955843

And here's an article about the subject.

http://bobarno.com/thiefhunters/2008...-street-crime/

All, the Acer Aspire One is on sale at CompUSA online for $359. Is this a good price (it's just $20 off retail -- can it be had for a better price?). Are you still happy with your purchase?

http://www.compusa.com/applications/...7&csid=_23

I do not take a laptop. I take an iPod Touch. I use its wi-fi capability to send/check email and keep up with world & local news.

sf7307 - I don't see a lot of variation in pricing for this model. Most retailers seem to be selling it for $379. I suspect that this is about as good as you will get right now. At prices that low, there simply isn't that much room to cut.

There are other netbooks out there, though all seem to hover around the same price. Might be worth looking around, though the Acer does give a lot of disk space for the price, if you need it.

We always travel with at least one computer and often have 3 with us. We are into our 3rd year of an open ended world tour and jokingly call ourselves the 3 laptop family!

We even had a laptop with us when we were in a remote area in the Sahara desert in Morocco!

We often travel for a month or more with just a tiny daypack each and we always have at least one laptop plus homeschool supplies included! ( Sometimes this also includes 3 seasons of clothes!!).

We do almost all of our calls for free on Skype ( local and long distance). Obviously in our case, we do everything online and it is part of what gives us our freedom.

We winter every year in Andalusia and have spent a ton of time all around Spain ( north, south, central etc). We love Barcelona and have spent a ton of time there.

We have never had any crime problems in Barcelona or anywhere in Spain.

http://www.soultravelers3.com

I don't understand the need for a huge HDD in a netbook, which will be used mainly while travelling, for checking emails, a little web surfing, and maybe to download some photos.

I opted for a Dell Mini 9 with a 16GB solid-state hard drive, feeling it will be more robust than an ordinary HDD. I haven't had it long enough to know whether that was the best choice, but am more likely to take it on trips than my 13" notebook computer.

<i>I don't understand the need for a huge HDD in a netbook</i>

I don't think you need something huge, but 16GB can easily get tight, particularly if you want to watch movies or take a lot of pictures, particularly if you use RAW. I would probably put my minimum at 60 GB.

Never have before, but will in a week when we go to Europe. I bought a little netbook, so it weighs about 3 lbs and it's tiny. Figured it will be great for all of the advantages you listed, minute watching movies (mine doesn't have a drive for CDs/DVDs).

Kyliebaby: You can download movies (legally) from iTunes or Amazon, among others, so no need for a drive. There are also plenty of ways to illegally download them, if you prefer.

I take flash drives with movies downloaded. My Asus EEE has only 4G so I don't use up the hard drive with movies, and the flash drives are small and easy to handle.

Solid-state movies are the way to go, be they built-in or plug-in, because they use the least power on playback. Hard drives are second, and optical drives a distant last because of the power consumed by the laser that reads the disc.

I just spent five days in Paris and brought my laptop. It is an Asus EEE PC 1000 which I bought specifically for this trip. It's a beautiful little machine with built in wifi and takes up little space in my day bag. I found cafes with wifi hot spots all around the city but I had to buy a coffee or a beer to get the access code. These were good moments to check my email and reply. I also did some writing and was able to do my expense report on the return flight. In DTW I found a free hot spot and could email again during a five hour lay over. The battery was running down but I found an outlet to recharge.

My disappointment was that my hotel had wifi but it would not connect with my Asus. Such is the fate of a two star hotel.