Gigabit ethernet adapter for R7 ? (read: why was Acer stingy enough to ship fast-ethernet adapter)

I assume you mean you're unimpressed with the USB Ethernet dongle? Acer's units are built primarily for wireless use, as laptops are meant to be portable and wireless networking is more and more common as time goes on. The usb dongle is provided as more of a courtesy than anything else, they didn't technically have to include one at all. You can technically grab a usb 3.0 ethernet dongle that supports gigabit ethernet but you would need to either find one at a local shop or order one online. And the reason they chose to include the cheap fast ethernet is simple enough. It's cheap to produce, and if it's just to satisfy the needs of the minority group of users who will be using ethernet rather than wireless it stands to reason that they wouldn't add cost to the end users who may not want or need a faster (and more expensive) alternative.

Simple, because the difference between 100x fast ethernet and 10x is discernable to the average pc user. The difference between 100x and 1000x is rarely picked up on by those who are simply looking to check their email. Large corporations hire teams of advisors to save fractions of a cent on items sold in large quantities. If I save one tenth of one cent and I sell a million units I still save a thousand dollars. The cost of production for a 100x unit is cheaper than the 1000x units and to large corporations that's what counts. There are units sold without the dongles at all, which you can imagine is a real pain in the @#$. I deal with Acer routinely, I personally have an R7 and I fully agree that it should have been shipped with a 1000x adapter. The thing is that Acer isn't exactly catering to technically inclined individuals, but rather everyone at once. Those who are technically inclined may have higher standards but we're the minority group. Fact of the matter is that out of the millions of units sold there are relatively few complaints (relative to the units sold that is), and that's a success in the eyes of Acer. They may have to deal with a few angry customers, but if 100 people are unimpressed that's not nearly a large enough number to make them take action. So again, I'm on your side with this one. Just providing some justification for the cheapness on Acer's part. Either way, in case I don't hear back from you before, Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays.

Take care,

ScottyC