Best tool to use in this situation is pcdecrapifie!

This is the link you would use to remove the pre-installed lets call it Crap on the new computer, Including Trial versions of Norton and or McAffee..

Here is a link that might be useful: pcdecrapifie

Thanks Zep. I have bookmarked for future reference.

Jean

I have the pink one of course LOL really it did not come with a lot of extras but it did come with McAfee and it was not only pre-installed it was active so that will have to be removed and of course that is a bit of a procedure, you will need to use the McAfee removal tool but if you do a search here for McAfee removal you will find the info or just ask when the time is at hand.

I have not had an issue with the 3 hour battery simply because I rarely use it on battery. Even when traveling I have a plug in for the cigarette lighter I got a fry's that has a regular 3 prong electrical outlet on it instead of the little round plug so I can use it for anything I own that uses a 3 prong electrical outlet, which is awesome. My battery lasts pretty much exactly what they say in the specs. You can buy bigger batteries of course but they are not cheap. If you think you will need to use it a lot on battery power it would be worth it to get one with a bigger battery.
One thing I would advise is to also remove the adobe reader from it and instead download pdf-xchange it does not have all the security problems that adobe reader does and it is much smaller plus it is free. Ask if you need that link.
I got mine at walmart.com and was just checking them yesterday for a friend of mine and saw they do still have it there in pink and I think it was cheaper than the price you have listed.

Thanks Raven. Looks like I am getting closer to purchasing the Aspire..My main concern is, will my external Plextor DVD/CD drive work on it for installing software.

I removed McAfee from my husbands Vista machine using the removal tool so no problem there. How does pdf-xchange compare to Foxit?

I'm assuming the card reader will accept my MicroSD.

I really don't travel much, but I would very much appreciate a link to the adapter if you don't mind.

Jean

Jean, I have a HP and it didn't come installed with anything except Windows. Everything else was on a flash (including McAffee) and you could put on whatever you wanted. I used Avast and installed very little. Mine has a 3 cell and I use it that way all the time. The battery lasts a long time, much longer than a 6cell on my laptop. The netbook is very streamlined and doesn't use a lot of resources so the battery lasts for hours.

What size screen are you getting. Mine is a 10" and I find it too small for photos. I probably need glasses, but I would not try to edit on that size screen.

Jane

Jane,
I plan on getting the 10" screen. I would do my editing on my desktop with a 19' screen using PSP. Then copy the photos to the netbook. I plan on installing Family Tree and take it with me when visiting family and gather information. I now use my Dell laptop and it is quite heavy to lug around.

Which HP did you buy? I have to travel quite a distance to get to a computer store to really look at the netbooks. Also concerned how easy the keyboard will be to use.

Jean

I would think that your external DVD/CD drive should work if it is usb, everything should be fine.

I do not have a real problem with the keyboard it does take some getting used to for me it was the touch pad, but I have little to no feeling in my right hand fingers and I am right handed so trying to use touch for anything is difficult for me which is why I went with the mini mouse.

Foxit is also quite good but it has also been falling into the security problem areas which has required doing security updates for it also. I started using PDF-xchange when all those security holes started popping up and I really like it.
PDF-XChange

The Wagan Smart AC 100 USB
there are various models of the adapter this one is really nice it not only has the 3 prong electrical outlet but a usb slot and another cigarette outlet on it.
I wish I had that one. I have the one with only the 3 prong outlet like this
SmartAC100 Inverter

Thanks for the links Raven. I was 99.99% sure that my external DVD/CD would work. I use a mouse on my notebook, so will most likely use one on the netbook.

Jean

you are welcome! good luck, I am sitting in my recliner using my little pink acer right now and enjoying it very much. I was at bed bath and beyond over the weekend and found this really great laptop table, it has multi level legs and adjustable top plus a built in mouse pad and light, it was under $25 there but sells for much more online,
MYPLACE
that is the one, exact same one, but I paid $24.95. Very glad I got it, love it.

Still shopping. I looked at the pink Aspire and didn't really like the white keyboard. Now I'm looking at this one at Newegg. Their extended warranty looks pretty reasonable.
Any thing on the specs that I should be cautious of?

Tiger Directs specs says PS/2 Mouse Connectors:N/A
PS/2 Keyboard Connectors:N/A. I take it that I would have to use wireless?

Thanks again,
Jean

I like newegg but will not purchase a pc from them because of their no refund policy, they will only replace, I had a choice of them and walmart on 2 different computers I have bought and got both from walmart for their super return policy, can take it right to any store. So be aware of the policy at where ever you do buy. i do buy most of my memory from newegg and other parts.
Acer Aspire 11.6" Netbook with Intel Atom Processor, 6 Cell Battery and Windows XP
you can select any color you want there.

it has usb ports you can use usb mouse or keyboard I use a usb wireless mouse with mine but you can use a usb corded version. there is not a ps2 port. it does have one vga video port.

my biggest complaint on mine and this seems to be pretty consistent with most netbooks is how weak the speakers are, I have hearing issues and on some things I can barely hear it, if there is any noise in the room I can not hear it but carrying a little set of earbuds that I can plug in fixes that problem or connecting to stand alone speakers or a head set.

Thanks for the link Raven. Do you think it's wise to purchase the extended warranty?

I have no idea I did not purchase it, I have never purchased one. So I can not comment on that. However I did go read the actual user testimonials and reviews there on that link for the extended warranty and they are quite good, I do like to have that kind of review on stuff, real people reviews you know. You might want to take a look at those.

Thanks Raven. I did read the reviews and they were good. I have never purchased and extended warranty either. Seems like if things go wrong, it's usually early on.

Jean