Ubuntu Karmic Koala’s about to be released and I was wondering if I should upgrade or stick with Jaunty Jackalope. Phoronix released an article about Ubuntu 9.10 performance on netbooks. It looks like that there is a perceived improvement with the disk-intensive tasks because of the switch to the EXT4 filesystem. Those who are using SSDs on their netbooks might especially want to take advantage of that. For the upcoming release I am actually waiting for the Ubuntu 9.10 Moblin Remix. I am using the Ubuntu UMPC one right now but the Moblin user interface …read more

I read news that Vodafone is avoiding Linux netbooks because users get confused about it. Confused in their expectations of netbooks, that’s their issue. If they don’t want their customers to be confused about their expectations of netbooks, they should check how they are also marketing these netbooks. If people get confused about

My netbook connected via Synergy to another laptop.
Anyhow, I think that this boils down to people not doing their homework. For sellers, or those who bundle netbooks with their services (like telcos), they should research on their offerings before they do the marketing so …read more

Because your netbook doesn’t need to feel sucky! And it could work better for you too!
Sounds like an infomercial, doesn’t it? ;  )  But thinking about what defaults you might possibly have, there’s gotta be something better.  And I might be biased but there really are other things better on netbooks compared to Windows.  Whether you believe it or not, that’s what I personally think.  Windows looks too cluttered for me even though it’s not as sluggish as I thought it would be.
Anyway, no need to freak out that your netbook isn’t quite as fantastic as you thought it should …read more

Asus was practically the first to popularize netbooks with Linux on them back in late 2007. However, times have changed. It seems as though Asus really has turned its back on Linux. Why? It’s because the people preferred Windows XP. That is why there aren’t many machines with Linux.
They said that it was a business decision to lessen the models with Linux on their netbooks. Other manufacturers like HP and Dell were said to have triggered the change. The Asus notebooks with smaller hard drives paled in comparison thus losing marketshare. I …read more

Trying out Moblin got me interested because I found the user interface interesting enough and it seemed to make sense for a netbook user such as myself. The screen real estate is maximized with such a user interface instead of the regular GNOME or KDE with panels and stuff. I found the panel of Moblin nifty because it’s automatically hidden when it’s not needed.
So, yeah, I think it would be cool if Moblin and Ubuntu joined forces and have an Ubuntu Moblin Remix. Turns out that there will be one such experiment which we will …read more

Possible Linux distros to use Moblin are: Ubuntu, Xandros and Red Flag. Novell also announced a Moblin version of SUSE for Acer Aspire One and MSI Wind. I already blogged about Moblin so you have a better idea of what it looks like, right?
andros is said to be the best distro for Windows users while Ubuntu and SUSE have a lot of users, especially Ubuntu because of how user friendly it is. So I get the feeling that combining Moblin with these distros could be beneficial. The user interface of Moblin seems to maximize the screen …read more

Looking for Android-powered netbooks? Acer might be coming up with something. It is reported that Acer is currently working on a netbook running Android. The market will have another choice when it comes to operating systems on the Acer Aspire One.
Interestingly enough, Acer might be releasing the Android-powered Acer Aspire One in the third quarter of the year. And they could probably even have a netbook sale around Thanksgiving, right? Or around Christmas time. A strategic time of release, don’t you think? Especially if these netbooks would cost lower. For Linux users …read more

Curious about Gyy? It is made from renewable sources such as starch and cellulose so it is biodegradable. You could also have optional solar panels that would extend its battery life. And the interesting thing is that it is Linux-powered. This ultra mobile portable computer is designed by iUnika of Spain. However, one shouldn’t expect this to be a very powerful machine. It only has these specs:

Processor — Ingenic (MIPS) @ 400MHz
Memory — 128MB RAM
Flash — 1GB
Display — 8-inch, 800 x 480 display
Networking — 1 x 10/100 Ethernet port
USB — 3 x USB ports
Communications (optional) — …read more

The other night, I became curious about Moblin because of the different user interface it has. It was said to be made specifically for Intel-powered netbooks. The user interface focuses on your use of media as well as social networks. Looks interesting? It does. Even if its just in Beta, I really had to get its img and try it out myself.

Screenshot by: Clair Ching.
Other Moblin screenshots here.
Unlike your typical Linux desktops, this one doesn’t have fixed virtual desktops immediately. As you launch the applications you want to use, you will define the zone it …read more

School’s starting in my country in two weeks’ time and now I read about Dell Latitude 2100s as K-12 friendly. Interestingly enough these nifty netbooks have rubberized casings so that it won’t easily slip from the hands of students. And the units are quite colorful too.
Some nifty features:

optional touchscreen
webcam (say, “Hi, Teacher!”)
labeling window – personalize your netbook so they know who owns which unit
network activity light that warns teachers if their students are using the WiFi connection instead of focusing on their studies
you could get it with Ubuntu, instead of Windows
3-cell or 6-cell battery
option to choose between an …read more