Netbook OS
Netbooks were big news in 2009 and we can expect them to be just as popular in 2010. But, being small and ultraportable there are compromises to be made: smaller screens, slower processors and smaller keyboards are just some of these. So, to get the best out of your netbook you need to pair it with an operating system built to make the most out of the smaller form factor.
Here are five operating systems worth installing on your netbook.
Easy Peasy Linux was previously called Ubuntu EEE and, as its former name suggests, is based on the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution. Ubuntu EEE was originally just a slimmed down version of Ubuntu with a few reduced font sizes to cater for the ultra-tiny screen of the Asus EEE 4G.
But with its new Ubuntu Remix interface, a new installer and the latest version of Ubuntu Linux, Easy Peasy Linux 1.5 is, as its name suggests, easy to use and very usable. The download for Easy Peasy Linux is a daunting
800+MB but contains just about everything you need to install on a netbook.
The one problem with netbooks in the past has been the lack of an optical drive. As with most operating systems listed here Easy Peasy is easy to install from a USB flash disk. The Ubuntu Netbook Remix interface is custom designed to cater for the smaller screen size and makes it easy to navigate around the system, which is important on the ultra-small netbooks.
EeeBuntu
Another EEE PC-focused version of Ubuntu, eeeBuntu is also based on Ubuntu Linux. EeeBuntu is available in one of three different versions. The Standard version is pretty much what its name says. It is a full version of Linux and the same OS that you would likely install on a desktop PC. This version is better for larger netbooks. The NBR version includes the Netbook Remix interface which better caters for smaller screens. The Base version is the smallest of the lot (a little over 500MB to download) and is stripped back to the bare essentials. Base is a working desktop but doesn’t include all the extra applications that the Standard and NBR versions do.
Mandriva Linux is one of the standard distributions that runs exceptionally well on most netbooks. The most recent Mandriva release, 2010, specifically includes support for almost all netbooks out of the box. Mandriva is also well known for its ease of use. Mandriva 2010 supports all current EEE PC netbooks and all the system’s standard configuration tools have been tweaked to fit into the lower resolution screens common on netbooks. The Mandriva team also did work on many third party applications to ensure that they fitted into the smaller screen sizes.
Puppy Linux
If you’re looking for something small to run on your netbook then Puppy Linux is the best choice. Puppy is a tiny (under 100MB) download and is light and fast when installed. Although tiny in comparison with most other releases, Puppy does include all the basic tools needed to work on a netbook.
It has a browser and e-mail client, the Abiword word processor and Xara for graphics editing. Because it is so small it does mean there are some compromises in using Puppy Linux. The most important, for new users, is that there is some configuration needed to get everything to work on a netbook.
This can be fiddly and requires a little knowledge. But, for the committed, once installed Puppy Linux is a fantastic netbook OS.
Slackware is one of the longest-running versions of Linux. And Slax is a version of Slackware that is meant to be run as a live CD but can also be used comfortably on a netbook. The base download of Slax is just 200MB in size. Slax’ most unique feature, however, is that the system can be customised before downloading. On the Slax site you can pick and choose features you want to include in your system and then download an image with this included.
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