Acer Aspire Timeline Review

Author: admin, April 4th, 2010

While the days of laptops having only a 2 to 4 hour battery lifespan are far from being numbered, Acer has come out with a laptop that suits the needs of most people who use their laptops as their primary computer instead of their desktop.

The Good

The battery on the Acer Aspire Timeline lasts up to 8 hours, making the standard scramble to find a power outlet before the battery dies a thing of the past.  Well, maybe not a thing of the past, but with double the normal amount of battery life, you’ll be doing that scrambling only half the amount you would otherwise.  Keep in mind, though, the more processor intensive tasks you do (like watching movies) can cause the battery life to vary.

The 15.6 inch LED backlight widescreen display with 1366×768 pixel resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio is just the right size for the traveler.  17 inches is too big for most, but anything smaller than 15.6 inches can potentially hamper productivity.

More good news comes with the fact that the hard drive is 320GB.  You probably won’t need this much space, unless you’re planning on storing a large amount of music, movies, and more on it.  Even if you are a movie buff, you will end up being better off in the long run by putting all of those files on an external hard drive like the Western Digital Passport to supplement your existing internal hard drive space.  Critical files that you don’t want to lose should be stored on an external drive, anyway, in case of a system crash.

3GB of RAM is more than good enough for the average computer user.  While handling graphics intensive programs like Adobe Photoshop or high end computer games might be a bit of an issue, for those who work on the internet, do spreadsheets, word documents, listen to music, and check e-mail more than anything else, this amount of memory will prove more than sufficient.

The built-in webcam is convenient for anyone who doesn’t want to have to lug around an external USB webcam; but keep in mind that there have been viruses capable of allowing someone else to view you remotely or even listen to you with the laptop’s built-in microphone.  This applies to all laptops that have built-in webcams and microphones.  If you like your privacy, put a piece of tape over the camera when you’re not using it.

Something else a lot of other laptops lack is the ability to keep themselves cool to the touch, despite having run for several hours non-stop.  The Acer Timeline fixes this issue with their ComfyTouch technology.

The Bad

This laptop comes with Windows Home Vista Operating system, one of the most criticized operating systems in recent history.  Fortunately, an upgrade to Windows 7 isn’t too expensive if you just can’t stand Vista.

The processor is only a 1.3Ghz, which suits the needs of the average computer user, but those wanting to push the memory and hard drive capacities of this laptop to the limits might be disappointed.

The Verdict

All in all, if you’re looking for a laptop that’s going to see you through the workday no matter where you choose to have it, be it at the local coffee shop, the park, or a relative’s house, the extra long battery life is the most appealing thing about this model.  At 15.6 inches of screen size and weighing in at only 5.3 pounds, the Acer Aspire Timeline is the laptop for the traveling worker.

Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
Friday, April 2nd, 2010

A Democratic Congressman from Illinois told his constituents that he does not worry about the constitution when it comes to the health care bill signed into law last week by the president, before misquoting from the Declaration of Independence and claiming he had read the 2700 page legislation three times.

Representative Phil Hare made the comments at a meeting yesterday with his constituents in Quincy that was captured on camera.   Watch Videos and READ MORE

New commers to Lincoln Co. need to know that you will not be considered above a worm unless you have more money than God! We have been here 11 1/2 years and still cannot get things done from local businesses. Contractors will say they will do the work but never call back or show up. The car dealerships think every thing they have is worth more than it would cost in Nashville, and thats just a few examples. One of the worse businesses is Johnny Church Auto Sales. We bought one of the sheds he sells, paid cash, it was placed wrong and he has yet to see that it is moved to where it needs to be after over 2 months. I even offered to pay to have it moved. He has gotten so rude that I will not talk to him anymore, and had two young men with a rope and a truck take 10 min. to move the building.
We had only been here 3 weeks when we were told by a local minister, that if we did not join a church we would not fit in. We did join a church because thats how we live anyway and we still do not fit in. We have lived in West Virginia and it is not as clanish as this place. Lincoln Co. needs to grow up!

The State of Florida is facing a financial crisis more serious than anything else it has ever faced.

With an estimated budget shortfall of $2.3 billion, the State of Florida is one of eight states where a deficit of over $1 billion is expected. The budget shortfall is being blamed on everything from lower collections on documentary stamp taxes from a slumping real estate market to reduced sales taxes on the sale of automobiles. Dramatic reductions in tourism, consumer spending, and corporate income have all led to lower sales and corporate taxes. And in particular, for the first time in decades there are fewer newcomers entering the state.

Florida property taxes are still very high. Voters have seen little relief from Amendment 1 passed earlier this year. While the collapse of the Florida real estate market has brought down taxable home values, this has been negated by higher tax rates and the introduction of new taxes that are not based on the value of the home. The bottom line is that Florida homeowners still face massive Florida Property tax bills – even in a depressed real estate market.

Florida homeowners insurance is still expensive and hard to find. Legislation passed in 2007 put much of the risk of a major Florida hurricane on the backs of Florida taxpayers. The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund offered cheap reinsurance to insurance companies in exchange for taking on $12 billion in additional risk. Now the Cat fund says that it doesn’t have the borrowing capacity to meet its obligations – estimating a possible shortfall of up to $15 billion.

The State of Florida was so concerned about the inability of the Cat fund to raise money to cover a major hurricane earlier this year that it paid Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Company $224 million. In return, Buffett’s company guaranteed that the state would be able to raise $4 billion in bond debt if a major hurricane produced enough damage to trigger the Cat fund.

The situation at Florida’s state run insurance company – Citizens Property Insurance Corporation isn’t much better. Citizens Insurance covers some of the riskiest homes in the State of Florida and doesn’t charge enough to Florida homeowners for the risk that it takes. It has $433 billion of property exposure on its books with a $4 billion surplus on hand to pay claims.

Policyholders of Citizens face two issues. First there is the risk that Citizens can’t meet its primary claim obligations for lower level storms because of its own trouble raising cash in the bond market. Second, once losses reach a certain level, Citizens will look to the Cat fund for reimbursement after a series of major Florida storms – a fund that just might not have the cash needed by Citizens.

While all of these developments in Florida are serious, there is really nothing new about a government that doesn’t live within its means and takes on obligations that it doesn’t have the cash on hand to meet.

What is new and frightening is the fact that the state can’t rely on the bond markets the way it has in the past. In effect, Florida has used up its credit card.

Why is it so hard for states like Florida to borrow in the current bond markets?

Quite frankly, it used to be easy for state and local governments to issue bonds. It was a simple process and no one thought twice about it. That’s all changed since the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.

Despite a very low bond default rate, it is very difficult to attract bond investors these days. Companies that used to insure new bond issues have had their ratings downgraded. That’s caused bonds to be less liquid and not attractive to investors. And it makes states like Florida have to offer higher payments for interest and principal in order to sell out a bond issue.

With severe revenue shortages and a frozen bond market all Floridians should be demanding that the state keep tightening its belt. That process is already underway. But you should also expect strong resistance to spending cuts from those who believe that there is no such thing as too much government.

These groups will demand that Florida lawmakers increase taxes rather than making additional cuts in spending. Don’t make the mistake of not anticipating where this could lead. Many items that are currently exempt from Florida sales tax could suddenly be taxable in this crisis environment. Expanding the sales tax could lead to new taxes on everything from Internet sales to various types of consulting services. All of which would dramatically increase our own cost of living and make it that much harder for Florida to emerge from this recession.

And never underestimate the risk of Florida legislators dealing the final death blow to the state – instituting a state income tax.

It is our job to make sure that never happens!

If there is one lesson that all governments need to learn during the current financial crisis it is this – there is nothing wrong with the “pay as you go” system. It will always stand the test of time no matter how shaky the bond markets are.

About The Author:
Michael Letcher is an executive and is a CPA. Florida consumers use his on line guide to find low cost Fort Lauderdale homeowners insurance. Subscribe to his free monthly newsletter and get all the facts about Fort Lauderdale home insurance by visiting => http://www.homeinsurancebuyers.org

The finger of silence is one of those successful marraige tools that you pick up over the years that nobody tells you about when you get married. I always invoke the finger when I haven’t yet downed the requisite amount of coffee necessary to kickstart my brain into normal daily function.

The wife usually invokes the finger when she is carrying in bags of things that have department store logo’s on them. And so it works for both of us. Yesterday I watched in amusement as the Right Reverend Obama spoke to an audience of his peers. (Crooks, con men, shysters, hucksters, thieves, quacks…I mean Democrats.)

It looks like the Right Reverend has decided that he is going to talk us into submission, telling one whopper after another nonstop until November, when it will only be two years until he has to be renominated.

Now last week he said that his spending increase was actually a tax cut for middle Americans, (the most abused term ever coined), that he was fighting the war on terror, (one minute out of every sixty), that health care needed to be passed, that jobs was his number one priority, and that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell needed to be repealed.

Then yesterday he told his audience that they shouldn’t listen to cable news, which is just a rehash of last years feud with FOX. He managed to remember CNBC, and MSNBC, but his main criticism was aimed at FOX, because nobody watchs the other shows. (Killer Keith Olbermann’s act is down 44%, while O’Reilly is up 55%, and even Democrats rate FOX as the best source of news.)

The Right Reverend doesn’t want you to watch FOX because you might actually get to thinking that HOPE and CHANGE are just so much BS, and under his “leadership” the country is going to hell in a handbasket.

He’d rather you watch Obama approved television, such as NBC, CBS, and ABC. That’s where his brown nosing lackeys pontificate on what’s good for you and the country, because youse is too dumb to figger it out for yerselfs.

This morning the Right Reverend is at a prayer breakfast, no doubt telling the audience what God wants, and he’s just the humble messenger. “If you won’t listen to me…then listen to what God wants…and you won’t find that message on FOX.” (Or will we?)

Now I won’t ever claim to be a god squader, but I do remember the concept of free will, which clearly states that you have a choice in how things go, which means that there must be an alternative argument. If you don’t ever listen to the alternative, how are you going to know what the right decision is? And who says the Right Reverend is on God’s side? (When all your friend’s are atheists, there is a high chance that you are too, even if you’re wearing the collar, and quoting all the right chapters and verses.)

It’s that old “watch what I do, not what I say,” and the public is catching up fast. No wonder the Right Reverend is running scarred. Instead of hearing the sweet flutter of twenty dollar bills, he is hearing the tinny clang of spare change in the collection basket.

Keep your eyes open, your ears tuned, and your synapses firing, even as the Right Reverend dangles his pocket watch back and forth, back and forth…no one can be hypnotized against their will.

My good friend the Greedmaster once told his followers that one of keys to weight loss was “Sitdowns.” When asked by a BBW what a “Sitdown” was, he replied, (in true Greedmaster style), that a “Sitdown” was when a Lardassian got the urge to stand up and go get some ice cream, to just “Sit their fat ass down.”

So I have coined “Doodaoppozit.” Whenever the Right Reverend tells you what you should be doing, (which is anytime his mouf is open), “Doodaoppozit!”

About The Author:
Unless you want dangerous criminal mooks to attack, rob, and maybe even kill you or your loved ones, buy pepper spray and a stun gun.