i did look at the touchsmart software and found it of little interest.
however, the windows vista 64 bit is a bit inconvenient with the fact that their is several softwares it is uncompatible with.
the built in touchsmart software provides an easy, graphical way to launch programs with a simple touch.
it has vista premium 64-bit so it includes the vista media center which is a great application to use because it's free and it has a free 14-day tv guide.
upon downloading and installing cyberlink's powerdvd 9 to handle my netflix blu-ray rentals and transferring games, music and other desired software to it, we were all set.
i added it to my network and got it configured with the router and added all my favorite open source apps in a jiffy.
it is very quiet and plenty fast for my main two applications (adobe lightroom and canon dpp).
so for a photographer using high end software, and downloading large amounts of files.
the first day i got this, i spent 3 hours just playing with the touch screen and all the cool programs that come with it.
the touchscreen software is pretty good, but the little 'pop-out' toolbar at the side can be incredibly annoying.
i required the touch screen for proper operation of the software being implemented.
in short, i now have four asus devices and i plan on buying one or two more for specific device applications.
support dvd, software dvd,software manual.
the software that's pre-loaded is pretty minimal.
the way, i downloaded and ran ccleaner to clear the cache and registry of clutter, then deleted from the startup menu all the unnecessary acer programs, so the machine boots up really fast.
if you don't want it to bug you every time you try to run a program, turn off the user access controls.
i'm not going to suggest this for the extreme gamer or programmer like myself, but it's definitely worth the price for those that surf the internet and want to watch movies on it.
with just a few minutes set up and a few more minutes to uninstall some bloat ware, and to turn off unneeded programs and services.
i have a hunch this acer desktop will be very reliable.by the way, i downloaded and ran ccleaner to clear the cache and registry of clutter, then deleted from the startup menu all the unnecessary
the machine operates so fast that i have had no problems playing graphically intensive games for long periods while still operating 5 other programs in the background and little to no slowing.
most other applications are considerably faster.
we picked up this box for cheap from hp using the epp program.
there is a lot of bloatware that comes pre-installed (ms office 2007 trial, norton anti-virus trial, various games trial, etc) and i recommend you remove these trials and install your own programs.
summary: this very well design unit is not suited for all applications, but when you need a small pc, with diminished demands, this is an excellent solution at a very affordable price.
if the price comes down, i could use more of these for standalone specialized applications.
the preloaded linux software is sufficient if you're not a hard-core programmer.
i have placed this device at my dental office to run the patient check-in kiosk on my eaglesoft practice management software.
unfortunately, the software was significantly lacking.
what's great about it:?price and power what's not so great:?cant think of anything "looking for a great pc that can handle programs and can process quickly?this can handle the job without breaking
what's great about it:?easy to get started, great price - bundled with monitor and printer what's not so great:?64-bit driver seems to prohibit most current adobe flash program from loading "got
i now use it to program in vs, watch media on my computer, as well as what i previously envisioned.
i also picked up new patches from the asus auto update software from their app - it was painless though other thoughts: i got this box to run full time supporting my weather station software
the windows-xp installation is clean with no trial versions or other nagging programs.
these babies easily run lamp stack (linux apache mysql php) for web applications and websites.
the entire setup, physical and software can be completed in less than one hour and it presents no major challenges.
what's great about it:?media slots, it runs smoothly what's not so great:?should be 4g ram not 3g "i have had some capatability issues with the 64bit, its too new and older programs may have
it's my family computer and all of us have important school work or programs for work.
what's great about it:?pretty quick, wireless, small what's not so great:?definetly not for hardcore gaming or excessive programs "have had this for about 1 year 3 months and no problems thus far.
what's great about it:?most everything what's not so great:?keyboard sux "bought this mainly for running video and audio processing programs.
this is actually astonishing, since i only had a few programs loaded on the computer (mcafee total protection, windows office xp 2003, & sim city 4) which know would not be enough to screw it up.
i have had a few problems with my first one the software for reformatting the drive cause some problem but overall it a value for the price
dvd burnig software does not allow you to burn dvd's (movies) without an upgrade.
and norton software was hard to uninstall "this computer and monitor was a great price for both as one system.
what's great about it:?good if it works what's not so great:?couldn't download drivers for printer do to software problem "tried to download drivers for 2 differnet printers,after 4 hours with
you have to make your own backups disks as none are supplied, though you are prompted to do so with the included burner (need 3 dvds for applications, 1 for drivers) which takes about 1 hour or less.
if you know what will work best with your applications and if this fits the bill, you won't find more value for your money.
- there are no setup disks for the os so i advise making a backup of the system using the gateway software present.
i was sent to a website for a solution that assumed that i had added 3rd party software and had created my own issue.
i called tech support in regards to why an error message always came up when the computer tried to update its norton and windows software.
by the way, i have a degree in computer programming, so i know a thing or two ;)give this one a shot, you cant beat the price.
* cd/dvd burner works like a charm with software provided.
maybe i got a computer that wasnt configured correctly, or it was friday afternoon when someone was loading the software into it.
one thing i don't like about it is that it doesn't have microsoft works/word, because i like a software that is better than word pad so i can check my spelling etc.
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