Easy Netbook Linux
When netbooks were first announced to the world there was significant speculation that these would be fertile ground for Linux growth. In part that was because the Asus EEE, one of the first netbooks, ran a version of Linux and soon after so too did the likes of Acer’s Aspire One.
The sudden rise in netbook popularity caught Microsoft off-guard and the software giant had to move quickly to shore up potential losses. At the time, however, its Windows Vista operating system was simply too cumbersome for lightweight netbook hardware and Windows XP was due for retirement.
In a sudden about turn Microsoft pushed back the retirement date for XP and ramped up development on Windows 7, particularly to improve its performance on netbooks. The result was a sudden about turn in the fate of Linux on netbooks with Microsoft quickly establishing itself as the dominant player in the sector again.
But Linux’s declining popularity on netbooks also had something to do with the choice of Linux versions that PC makers chose to run on their hardware. Acer’s awfully-named Linpus Linux was adequate but had none of the coolness of something like Fedora or Ubuntu Linux. And Asus’ EEE Linux also failed to sparkle.
Easy Peasy
Now there is a version of Linux that runs exceptionally well on the likes of the Asus EEE, even on the smallest 4G version with its slimmed down solid state drive. Easy Peasy Linux (http://www.geteasypeasy.com/) 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 it’s new Ubuntu Remix interface, a new installer and the latest version of Ubuntu Linux, Easy Peasy Linux 1.1 is, as its name suggests, easy to use and very usable.
The download for Easy Peasy Linux is a daunting 900+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. Without one, installing a Live CD version of Ubuntu or Fedora was a painful experience. There was a way but it was painful, especially as the limited hard drive space on the 4G version of the Asus meant that users just didn’t have a spare 900MB to save the installer image.
USB bootup
Fortunately Easy Peasy Linux works perfect with Unetbootin which makes it possible to create a USB Flash drive-based boot device for installing the entire operating system. Unetbootin has come a long way over the past year and now is completely straight forward in making a boot image. With an disk image (ISO) downloaded, running Unetbootin opens a graphical interface and users just need to select the target OS and the disk image and Unetbootin does the rest. You do need a 2GB or larger USB flash drive to accommodate the installer files but once done the result is a USB drive that can be plugged into any machine and used as a “live” version of Easy Peasy Linux. With a live version of Easy Peasy running, clicking the “Install” icon does exactly that.
Although called Easy Peasy Linux, it is the work done by the Ubuntu developers that is most obviously the benefit of using Easy Peasy. The Ubuntu Remix interface, which is customised for the smaller netbook screen, is significantly better than earlier versions and is also customisable, something that is important in the small form factor netbooks to avoid excessive navigation. Remix starts up with a list of favourite applications which can be added to by the user over time, which means a single click is enough to launch tools such as Firefox or Thunderbird. Down the left hand side are a list of application categories such as Games, Office, Internet and Administration. Down the right are a list of “Places” such as Document, Home, Videos and mounted disk drives.
Configuration
Out of the box Easy Peasy recognised and configured the special function keys on the Asus EEE 4G which make using the EEE so much easier. Easy Peasy also automatically configured the wireless adapter, something that it struggled with previously. All told the Easy Peasy installer was flawless on the Asus EEE 4G.
The Remix interface is not the same as the standard Ubuntu interface although the capabilities are the same. The entire interface is dominated by the current application so there is no need to drag open windows around and shift them up and down. The top bar of the interface doesn’t house a menu system but rather a tabbed bar which shows which windows and applications are open. Once you’re used to it, it is actually quite efficient.
The one advantage of Easy Peasy Linux over the versions of Linux such as Linpus is that Easy Peasy has access to the broad range of Ubuntu applications that are available. One complaint with Linpus, for example, is that it had limited options when it came to installing new applications and tools. Easy Peasy’s only limitation is the amount of drive space you have on hand, otherwise it can use almost all of Ubuntu’s repositories. Which means that Easy Peasy is very flexible.
The Asus EEE 4G with its ultra-tiny 7-inch screen and tiny keyboard is not the easiest of computers to use for prolonged periods, but with Easy Peasy and the Ubuntu Remix desktop installed the overall experience is a lot more appealing.
Easy Netbook Linux discussion
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