Linux Netbook Operating systems – A list

It is a proven fact that most Linux operating systems, if not all run like a duck soup on the netbooks now. That is why, it makes perfect sense to install them as a secondary operating system. We have compiled a list of compatible distros for the netbooks which  support the hardware of the netbooks; are easy to install and run at acceptable speed.

Click on “Read more” to read the entire article

EEEBUNTU 3.0 REVIEW (Base and Standard Editions)

Learn why we consider the EEEbuntu as the best Linux distro for netbooks. EEEbuntu works out of box and everything works!

Firefly Linux: Another Linux distro for your netbook, but based on Arch Linux

In the last few months, numerous Linux distros (Ubuntu NBR, EEEbuntu 3.0) have been released for the netbooks. Here is another one, but unlike the two distros mentioned above, it is based on highly sophisticated Arch Linux, which is generally considered for the pro users.

Firefly Linux is a lightweight operating system designed with netbooks in mind. Firefly Linux Float, our main edition of Firefly, comes with the small and fast LXDE desktop environment and many popular applications to help you make the most out of your netbook. Firefly Linux isn’t under-powered and doesn’t limit you to a "netbook-oriented" interface – you get a full Linux distribution (based on Arch Linux) in a tiny package, designed for your netbook.

Its install size is 559MB which is significantly smaller than the Ubuntu NBR. However, it still manager to pack in all the basic apps like web-browser, Open Office, Skype and GIMP (for image editing). Also, everything works out of box (including Wi-Fi).

Click on read more to see some screenshots of it and for download information!

EEEbuntu 3.0 now available – based on Ubuntu 9.04!

Update: Right now, only base version is available. Other versions will be available in few days

EEEbuntu 3.0 has been released today, which is based on the latest Ubuntu 9.04. Although the Canonical did released a netbook version of Ubuntu 9.04, the EEEbuntu uses a custom kernel which makes all the hot keys and shortcut buttons work out-of-the-box!

Like earlier versions of EEEbuntu, it also comes with 3 versions:

• Standard version: All the standard stuff
• NBR: Standard version + netbook remix launcher
• Base: This comes with only basic applications like web browser installed.

[Download EEEbuntu 3.0]

Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix to be available soon!

Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, has announced the availability of Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix. The newer version of ubuntu is going to be made available this coming Thursday. The newer version sports faster boot times. It also comes with an interface which lets them launch their favorite application easily and quickly. Other improvements include better power management and easier switching between networks.

Although, I really enjoyed EEEbuntu, which is actually an Ubuntu 8.10 with EEE drivers, but its long bootup time was the main turn off. That is the reason, I kept going back to Windows XP. I’m really looking forward to download the Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix version. I hope the improvements are enough to make me use the Ubuntu full time.

After EEEbuntu, here comes another Linux distro for netbooks – KDE netbook version

After the great success of EEEbuntu and other custom linux distros for netbooks, KDE has announced that they will also produce a distro for netbooks. Netbooks, no doubt are one of the hottest selling tech-products in the market. However, KDE is not going to make a custom distro just by re-skinning the interface of the original distro.

We aren’t making an interface for a “smaller laptop” or a “larger handheld”; the interface is for a netbook, which has a unique set of use cases and should have a unique, if familiar, user interface. To our knowledge, nobody is really doing this yet. We feel that just as Apple made popular an interface style on handhelds that is for handhelds with their iPhone/iPod touch interface, netbooks deserve a similar treatment.

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Canonical to Microsoft “Let’s do it on real facts!” – Folks at Ubuntu not happy

Last week, B. Lebanc at Microsoft made a post about “Windows on Netbook PCs: A Year in Review” (link), where he mentioned how the netbook scene has changed from the past couple of years. He mentions,

Not only are people overwhelmingly buying Windows, but those that try Linux are often returning it. Both MSI – a leading netbook PC OEM – and Canonical – the vendor supporting the commercial distribution of Ubuntu Linux – stated publicly they saw Linux return rates 4 times higher than Windows. Why such a disparity? Because users simply expect the Windows experience.

Ouch! Linux fans are not going to like this. Folks at Canonical disagree with the Microsoft and say that the return rate is actually similar to that of Windows based netbooks. According to them, it is the quality and out-of-box experience matters the most and is responsible for the returns.

Whatever Microsoft says, they have to admit one thing that the future is very bright for Linux. Ubuntu can run on ARM processors which consume nearly 1/10th (in some cases) of what the Atom consumes.
Read the full post!

EEEbuntu on ASUS EEE 1002HA – works fine!

The EEEbuntu works just fine on the EEE 1002HA. Just make sure that you select EEE 1000H from EEEbuntu config and you will be all set to enjoy EEEbuntu on your EEE PC. Everything works (incl WiFi) just the same way it works on the EEE 1000H. Here is the screenshot of EEEbuntu running via live DVD.

RAMdisk setup on EEEbuntu/Linux

A lot of us have switched to EEEbuntu on our EEE PCs. If you are like me, who likes to keep his netbook clutter free, you will want to set up RAMdisk. And if you thought that setting up RAMdisk in Windows XP was easy (see this article), then in EEEbuntu, it is even easier.

• RAMdisk is located at “/dev/shm”
• Open firefox and type in about:config in the address bar
• Click on “I’ll be careful”
• make a new string browser.cache.disk.parent_directory
• give it a value /dev/shm
• restart firefox

Usual warning about RAMdisk: you will loose all the data upon restart. That is why, it is only recommended for web browsers

Where is Super Hybrid Engine (SHE) in EEEbuntu? [Netbook]

If you have just installed the wonderful EEEbuntu, you will have a hard time figuring out the Super Hybrid Engine. The EEEbuntu does not come with SHE, but instead it comes with a SHE-equivalent, CPU FREQUENCY CONTROL.

Soon, after the installation, you may not be able to find it. Here are the steps to put it somewhere so that it is always accessible.

• Right click on the Dock
• Select Dock Preferences
  
• Go to Applets
• From the list, select CPU FREQUENCY Control
• Click on the Activate button
• Close

After adding it to the Dock, you can simply click on the the applet to change the CPU frequency. I recommend the onDemand profile which scales the CPU speed as per requirement