Netbook Review, notebook review, tablet review, PC review » ubuntu

Android Phone Switches To Desktop PC OS

Paul Merak — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:37:21 +0000

Now that modern smartphones are sufficiently powerful to do duty as full-featured desktop computers. Canonical is helping with the transition of mobile tech to the desktop sphere by porting the Ubuntu Linux OS to Android handsets. And that’s as a dual-boot system, giving a choice of two operating systems on a single smartphone. The system [...]

Ubuntu TV Demos At CES 2012

Paul Merak — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:32:42 +0000

There have been rumours that Ubuntu would arrive on our TVs at some point, though few people would’ve expected it at this year’s Las Vegas CES. Nevertheless convention-goers can feast their eyes on a preview in Las Vegas. Granted, it’s largely a technical demo as opposed to a foretaste of the content we can look [...]

Fuduntu now supports Flash 10.2 and Google Chromium

Paul Merak — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:15:53 +0000

Fuduntu is an operating system that is designed for netbooks as well as other small computers. It is based on Fedora Linux and based on its name, it is quite similar to the Ubuntu Linux. With the release of the 14.9 version, the new Fuduntu OS can now support the Google Chromium browser and the [...]

Ubuntu on a NOOKcolor

Paul Merak — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 22:31:51 +0000

We have seen crafty hackers swapping OS before. We have written about an auto rooter for your NOOKcolor eBook Reader. Here is NOOKcolor eBook Reader running Ubuntu Linux. If you’d like to do it yourselves just follow these instructions. All you need is your Nookcolor and SD card with Ubuntu on it. It’s not that [...]

Atom Fanless CPU design on Linutop 3 nettop

Paul Merak — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:43:23 +0000

Linutop has just released a mini desktop that is Linux-based with a processor that is low power. Now, they have released the Linutop 3 and they changed the existing VIA chip with an Intel Atom one. The device does not use top of the line components but compared to its older brother, it is a [...]

GPU Switching comes to Linux

Paul Merak — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:33:08 +0000

Latest version of UCC has been released which includes numerous bug fixes and adds GPU-switching capability. This allows the users to switch between low- and high-performance graphics using the vga-switchero module. This features is god-sent for those who were looking to squeeze out some more battery runtime. [download]

ZaReason Teo – Linux Netbook

Peter — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:51:57 +0000

It is not an unknown fact that Linux OS is still not the choice of OS among the popular netbook vendors. That is why a Linux system builder, ZaReason has launched Teo Linux netbook to make people aware of versatility and power that Linux OS brings to its users.

This netbook features a 10-inch display and uses Atom N450 processor. The innards are right-down basic in nature - 1024x600 resolution, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 6-cell battery. the axiomatic difference is the fact that it comes with Ubuntu netbook OS and a couple of cool Ubuntu stickers on the palmrest that scream that you are an Ubuntu geek.

Dell Mini 10v netbook review

Kamal DS — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:55:45 +0000

Dell Mini 10v has been around from quite a while and is a great budget netbook sporting decent netbook specifications. This Dell Mini 10v is fine for typical business web-surfing and office work on-the-go. Read more to find out about it.The Dell Mini 10v comes with an Intel Atom N280/N280 processor that runs at 1.6GHz/1.66GHz. It comes with Windows 7 Starter, XP Home Editon or Ubuntu Linux 8.04. Equipped with a 10.1-inch display with 1024x600 resolution, you get 160GB/250GB HDD or 32GB SSD for storage. It is available in variety of colors: black, white, pink, green, red, blue, and purpleClick on read more to read the rest of the article

Ubuntu More popular than Britney Spears

Paul Merak — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:51:45 +0000

The term “britney spears” is one of the most searched terms on Internet. But, the Ubuntu has surpassed the popularity of Britney Spears, at least on Internet.

Looking at the graph given below, it is clear that popularity of Ubuntu is multiplying infectiously. So what are you waiting for? Get Ubuntu on your netbook now!

Read Ubuntu 9.10 review

Ubuntu Netbook Remix to be renamed to Ubuntu Netbook Edition

Twinkle — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:32:01 +0000

The Ubuntu Netbook Remix will soon be given a new name Ubuntu Netbook Edition. Here is what the folks at Launchpad.net have to say about it:Ubuntu Netbook Remix has now been a part of the Ubuntu cycle for two releases now, and it should drop the Remix, and become Ubuntu Netbook Edition. This spec is about what changes are needed to enable that.We love Ubuntu and name change does not matter to us until and unless it harms the overall feature set.Read our Ubuntu 9.10 review

Jolicloud: No GMA 500 support – get Ubuntu 9.10 instead!

Paul Merak — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:24:56 +0000

Jolicloud OS consistency with lots of new netbooks have been posted on the website. But there is no support for GMA 500 graphics powered netbooks.Instead of going with Jolicloud, we would recommend our readers to go for something like Ubuntu 9.10 OS (review) or UBUNTU NBR for which GMA 500 drivers are already available.

Presenting Fedora Mini – Lightweight Linux for netbooks

Brooke — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:39:53 +0000

Following the path of Ubuntu, which released Ubuntu NBR few months back, Fedora has also come up with special version customized to netbook environment.The Fedora Mini SIG is a group of Fedora contributors that are interested in Fedora on small devices. Initially aimed at supporting NetBooks, Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), it could over time be expanded to also cover things such as Set Top Boxes (STBs).Right now, it supports EEE PCs, Aspire One and Dell Mini 9It is not available for public download at the moment. However, if you are using Fedora 12 (alpha) at the moment, you can test it by typing yum groupinstall "Moblin Desktop Environment" and re-login.Note: Netbooks with GMA 500 chipset are NOT supported at the moment, although it may be supported in the future, but not for now.

Sharp PC-Z1 MID/Smartbook – Not that impressive after all – Quick Look

Kamal DS — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 14:10:58 +0000

At the IFA, Sharp unveiled a small Smartbook that is much smaller than the regular netbooks that we usually see in the market. The Sharp PC-Z1 is very small, even more compact than the now obsolete, EEE 701. Not only its dimensions are smaller than the EEE 701, but it's much lighter too (just 400gm).Hardware-wise, the Sharp PC-Z1 does not has good keyboard. Well, you cannot have a compact device with touch-type-able keyboard. Can you? Moving ahead, the screen is great. It packs a lot of pixels (1024x600) into its 5-inch display, which is at par with the Fujitsu U810/U1010 that was released a couple of years back. However, unlike Fujitsu, this does not run Vista or Windows XP. In fact, it cannot even run one even if you wish to as it is not an x86 device.Ubuntu is there to save us, but given the unpleasant fact that it took 10 seconds just to launch Firefox, it is disheartening for many of us. Openoffice writer took 40 seconds to load! So, although you will be able to enjoy great battery life (Sharp claims 10 hours), you will have to adapt yourself to slow performance.It will be on sale in Japan later this month for the price of 350 Euros.Commentary: From the looks of it, I'm sure, it is gratifying, but once you start using the device, it is then you realize the mistake you did when buying such a slow piece of hardware. I confess, I'll call this device a pass

Why is Linux unable to take off? – How can Windows 7 affect Linux?

Paul Merak — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:15:59 +0000

This is a topic that has been discussed trillion times on the Internet. Now, with Windows 7's release right round the corner, it is important to know where the Linux OS goes from here. ASUS was the first manufacture that revolutionized the world of netbooks. Their first netbook, known as EEE 701 ran Xandros OS, which is a Linux-based OS. The company was able to maintain low price for it as the Linux OS is free of charge, which helps the company to reduce the price of their netbooks.Click on read more to read the full article!

EEEBUNTU/UBUNTU – How to get the title bars back?

Paul Merak — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:23:42 +0000

It is a common problem in Ubuntu that if you install Compiz, you will sometimes loose the title bars. Users often get very frustrated as there is very few information online on how to get them back. Anyway, after some hours of research, I was finally able to get them back. Here is how to do it:First get Emerald. Get it by typing this in the terminalsudo apt-get install emeraldThen, go to system>preferences>startup applications and add the following in the list: (without ' ')1. Use name as 'compiz' and command as 'compiz --replace' 2. Add another startup application by using name as 'emerald' and command as 'emerald --replace'Restart computer and you should get your title bar back! Now, I am running Compiz without any problems on ASUS EEE 701.

Dell not perturbed about their Linux-netbook returns

Paul Merak — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:28:21 +0000

Few months back, Microsoft said that netbooks running Linux have experienced higher number of netbook returns as compared to the netbooks running Windows OS and most (~96%) of the netbooks in the world run Windows OS . Dell, however thinks that it is not the whole truth. According to the Dell, the number of Linux-netbook returns are same as those for Windows netbooks, atleast for Dell netbooks. In fact, they are quite pleased with the stability and soundness of their Linux netbooks.Here is the remark made was a Dell official, which is contradictory to many said in the past. Todd Finch, Dell senior product manager, says that ‘this is false, calling it a “non-issue” and that “they are making something of nothing” in response to Microsoft’s claims. He says they see about the same in return rates’.That said, the demand for Linux netbooks is no-where as Windows netbooks. Reason is pretty simple: people do not much about Linux and their advantages over the Windows-based operating systems. Fortuntaely, Dell has realized this fact and now they are going to be little more aggressive in advertising Linux."If you take my marketing budget, add it to Ubuntu and Red Hat's marketing budget it's not even a rounding error for Microsoft. For us to generate the market awareness to say: 'I want Linux on a netbook' is going to be incredibly hard because we don't have the tools to do that," Brockmeier said.

Canonical working on a new interface for Ubuntu Netbook Remix version

Peter — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:50:28 +0000

Folks at Ubuntu seem to be very busy these days. Just few hours ago, we posted about Kubuntu Netbook version and now, we have some more fresh Ubuntu news. Canonical, the creators of Ubuntu OS are working diligently on a redesigned version of Ubuntu Netbook Remix. It will be bundled with the release of Ubuntu's upcoming OS - Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala which will be launched in the month of October.New Features:-

toolbars located on the side were eliminated
places menu has been integrated with the right-side panel
slightly refined color scheme
easier addition of program shortcuts to your Favorites area
sleek GUI

Click on read more to see screenshots of the new interface!

Ubuntu and Moblin to work together

Paul Merak — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:23:02 +0000

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu will be demonstrating Netbook Remix version of the Moblin Linux at the Computex, 2009. Not only that, Canonical is in talks with Intel, where it would providing Canonical with the beta code.So, first we had the Ubuntu Netbook Remix and now, we will soon have Moblin Netbook Remix to play with!

Dell: We do not care about Linux Enthusiasts

Peter — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:59:29 +0000

Although Canonical released the Ubuntu 9.04 nearly a month back, we were still waiting to hear something about updating the Linux netbooks from Dell to the latest version. Now, the news has come that they won't be offering the newer version to the users. Why?"We are trying to stay on a 12-month cadence to keep costs down, and build a stable platform,”“A mainstream user does not care if it’s [Ubuntu Linux] 8.04 or 8.10 or 9.04 (he/she does not know what those are)—she just wants it to work right and be stable/safe…Most of the Linux enthusiasts would not like to be so far behind (i.e., 8.04 vs. 9.04), but they are not our primary target audience for the [operating system] image.”“In addition to 8.04, we chose to control our updates (via our own update repository—similar to MS update). We go the extra mile in double qualifying all updates (that one would see in stock 8.10 and 9.04) and only publish those that are rock-stable. We will [put in] select features over the course of the year that make sense for the product, like wireless improvements,”Whatever Dell says, but noone is stopping you to install the latest version of Ubuntu. It is better and faster than the previous versions of Ubuntu. So, why not give it a try?Ubuntu 9.04 Review

Fit PC 2 nettop launched

Paul Merak — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:00:19 +0000

The Fit PC 2 nettop has been launched, which sports an Atom processor running 1GB of RAM, your-choice-of-hdd, wifi and even HDMI out. For OS, you have the choice of running XP or Ubuntu on it. It even packs micro-SD for expansion. It retails for $245, which is a pretty normal price for a nettop.

Netbooks should have 3G and Windows 7 – Linux doing no good?

Paul Merak — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:53:56 +0000

Those are not my words, but from the Lenovo worldwide competitive analyst, Matt Kohut. According to Kohut, the netbooks must come equipped with a 3G module and Windows 7 is a must-have for netbooks.Kohut said that netbooks that will come with Windows 7 will push the linux out of the market. This is a baseless comment. I'm pretty sure that those who have given a try to the latest Ubuntu 9.04 netbook remix are very impressed with it. Windows and Linux, both have their own separate pros and cons. Making such a blunt statement will do no good for Lenovo. Here are his exact wordspeople "didn't know what to do" with Linux, and that despite it saving them between $50 to $100 per netbook, Linux loaded lappies were returned in droves.Most of the netbooks that come with Linux are bundled with the required Windows XP drivers so that in case the users find the linux a little awkward to use, they can always switch back to more familiar XP.

Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix REVIEW – Mixed Impressions

Paul Merak — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:55:50 +0000

I've always been a huge fan of Ubuntu due to their ease of use and virus-free environment. When we came to know that the Canonical has unveiled a special netbook edition specially tailored for the netbooks, I could not stop myself installing the it on my EEE.Read what we think of the recently released Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Edition!

Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix to be available soon!

Paul Merak — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:20:35 +0000

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.

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

Paul Merak — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:33:24 +0000

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!

Meet the very cheap MID – SmartQ 5 MID

Paul Merak — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:40:08 +0000

The SmartQ 5 MID from China, costs just $130 (900 Yuan) and runs ARM-based Ubuntu. It has a 4.3-inch display with WVGA (800x480) resolution. The display should be crisp at that resolution. It also comes with built-in BT connectivity and WiFi b/g/a. It also comes with some pre-installed applications (StarDict dictionary and FBReader ebook reader). It may not be running the best CPU around, but we should not underestimate ARM-processor, which powers more than 80% of the phones that we use in our daily life. Also, I need not reiterate the fact how less power the ARM processors consume.

Dell mini 12 now comes with Windows XP and Ubuntu option

Peter — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:43:24 +0000

Until now we knew that the Dell’s Inspiron Mini 12 came only with Windows Vista Basic. This was not a nice thing to do on Dell’s part as not everyone is a fan of Windows Vista Netbook. Looks like Dell has listen to the people’s wants and has now made available the Mini 12 in [...]

Canonical bringing Ubuntu to ARM-powered devices

Peter — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:13:38 +0000

It was inevitable, really – now that ARM processors are bound for netbook and the like, it follows logic that ARM would tag team with Canonical to bring Ubuntu to their shells. The two firms have collaborated in order to bring full Ubuntu Desktop operating system to the ARMv7 Processor architecture to address demand from [...]