Aspire One, Quick Linux Linpus Lite Questions!!!

[walker01]

Hi im thinking of buying an Acer aspire one for my mum and have a couple of quick question that i need to ask first.
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There are two links to the laptop im thinking of buying on the same site but one is £150 and the other is £200, why does one cost £50 more?, they look the same to me

And my other question is can i easily install Windows messenger, Mozilla Firefox (for facebook, online games like bingo and backgammon, etc) and Microsoft word onto the OS. They are probably the only software that she would want to use.
I would also like to be able to get my Lexmark wireless printer to work with it, would that be possible?

Thanks in advance for answering any questions.

Edit: Im a linux noob by the way

[reed9]

I glanced through the specs and it sure looks identical to me. No idea why one is more expensive, unless I missed something.

There are a number of linux apps that support MSN messenger. Firefox is an open source project with a native linux version. MS Word would have to be installed via a program called WINE. No idea how easy it is to install it under Linpus Lite, the OS for the Aspire One. You can install Open Office on it, though, which is almost completely compatible with MS Office. For basic word processing and such, there shouldn't be much issue.

Check here for compatibility with your printer. OpenPrinting database - Printer Listings

You might want to look at this as well: 30 Cool Acer Aspire One Hacks | LinuxHaxor.net