Access your applications this way. Image credit: Jolicloud

With Jolicloud you’d have your netbook running Jolicloud and you sync it with your Jolicloud homebase. So that implies you’ve got your entired set up somewhere else. Somewhere in the cloud perhaps, hence the name? I don’t have any way to test it yet though but it looks interesting. gadgetmix.com has a review of Jolicloud.

Interestingly enough the review points out it’s basically Ubuntu with tweaks and the synchronization of your set up in your Jolicloud homebase. It makes everything work out of the box for those with netbooks. So it’s not entirely a rebranding of Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

For new Linux users it could be quite a good experience for the looks of things because there’s no need for other configuration and installation of things they need for multimedia especially. Although of course there’s always Ubuntu Netbook Remix but it depends on the user experience he/she wants to have. Ubuntu Netbook Remix is ready for you to use on a regular basis already. So if you want to use Linux on your computer right away maybe you wouldn’t want to wait for Jolicloud to be mature. But for others who are still thinking about it, Jolicloud could be worth the wait so you have a better idea of what it’s like to use Linux. It could be interesting to try. It’s still in private alpha so it could take a while to try it out.

Post from: New Linux User

Ubuntu Karmic Koala is scheduled to be released on the 29th this month. Just two days before Halloween! So don’t forget that ok? Everyone must be busy preparing for Halloween parties and other such events but before you do that, upgrade your computers first. ; )

Speaking of laptops and netbooks, we need to make sure that our laptops and netbooks are in good shape. After all, these are our tools to make our work easier. (Well, other stuff aside from work too! Like communicating on the go, etc.) If we don’t monitor our little babies we might find them having problems and conking out on us at the most inopportune moments. Gkrellm will save the day and your laptop for you. You will see a stack of information that gives you an idea of how your laptop is like. With Gkrellm you could see if your laptop is too hot and if you might actually have a very dusty laptop. You never know, right? Because all of those dust sometimes gets in and your laptop gets increasingly hot if you never bother to monitor the temperature. Thanks to Rob Reilly and his awesome article on Gkrellm. Now I know and it’s better now that I know about this. I’ve been travelling around with this netbook and goodness knows how much dust there is everywhere.

Post from: New Linux User

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 that they will not make messages that could lead their customers to confusion. It matters what they say in their marketing copy before anything else. Sometimes catchphrases and slogans are culprits in giving customers the wrong impression. I hope that those who are selling netbooks will learn how to NOT give false expectations. Especially because Linux on netbooks is not what users know about all the time. If they don’t want high return rates, then they should do their homework first. If they know that they might have to add trained customer service representatives who will be called for help, then they should make a way. Just because it’s a netbook with Linux shouldn’t make their customers that it is an inferior product.

As for those who are enticed by offers of bundled netbooks with their telco or something, they should do their research first. I personally use a netbook for work. But that’s because I know that I can use Ubuntu Netbook Remix on it and be happy. And even before that I asked around. My co-workers who are more knowledgeable about these matters did agree that with what they know about my work, they knew that the specs of the netbook I chose will work for me. A netbook is a tool after all and it’s up to me to see if it’s something I could work with or not. And this is something I could do even before buying it. I also know people who’ve bought netbooks for the convenience of travelling with a lightweight machine and still have the means to check their email and surf the internet.

So think things over before buying a Linux-powered netbook or before you decide to sell them. It’s better that way.

Post from: New Linux User

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 be. Some changes in the latest version of Easy Peasy:

• It has a new look!
• It uses kernel 2.6.30 that’s been optimized for netbooks so that startup’s faster.
• Support for more netbooks! Hooray!
• An image which could possibly be installed from a Mac.
• Upgraded software like Picasa and OpenOffice.org.
• It uses Ext4 as a file system by default.

Easy Peasy. Logo from the Easy Peasy website.

I am waiting for my download of EasyPeasy to get done so I could blog about my first impressions too. As much as I am excited to try it out because of Ext4 and the latest kernel that’s optimized for netbooks, Ubuntu Karmic Koala’s just around the corner. Hrmm. I don’t know.

But yeah, those who are new netbook owners could benefit from distros whose teams are always seeking ways to make it easier for newbies to use Linux. They make sure that the applications that users will look for are there. Like Picasa or Skype.

And it’s really great that the Easy Peasy team has gone beyond supporting Asus EEE PC so other netbook owners could enjoy the benefits of this distro.

Just wait for me to check it out and I’d post my screenshots and write my impressions of this version of Easy Peasy. I already have the image and so I just need to put it on a USB flashdrive for a review later.

Post from: New Linux User

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 hope that they won’t totally eradicate Linux. After all, they have helped create a community around their EEE PC and they have created ways for us netbook users to use Linux without much trouble.

Sad to say decisions like that are based on business and income. It’s not a matter of advocacy. I’d like to hope that there will be companies that will really have their decisions considering the principles of free and open source software.

Post from: New Linux User

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 see when Karmic Koala or Ubuntu 9.10 is released this October. You could even check the wiki page about Mobile Karmic Moblin Remix.

One of the issues though is that Moblin uses RPM packages and not DEBs. So how now, right? And there are no migration plans for those who want to use Ubuntu Moblin Remix. This is a release that’s made for demonstration purposes. Oh well. I’d still like to try out anyway! Especially when I saw the screenshot on the internetnews.com blog. Of course the screenshot had the usual brown Human theme of Ubuntu, that’s why I am hoping for the best!

Maybe it’s time for a new desktop environment geared towards netbook users. There are a lot of combinations of window managers and docking apps but wouldn’t it be easier if by default, there is an easy to use interface for newbies who happen to be netbook users? Ubuntu Moblin Remix might show that a new interface might be better and this could be the beginning of an awesome netbook future ahead of us.

Post from: New Linux User

Moblin

Will these netbooks be available within the quarter? I am hoping that Moblin will be polished early next quarter so that more users could get a feel of things there. I’d like to see more feedback about the user interface. Of course it is different from the rest of usual desktop environments so there might be much resistance or acceptance.

Post from: New Linux User

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 who want to play around with Android on their netbooks, this would be interesting because at least you get hardware that works with the software already. Unless Acer releases something half-baked, that is. I don’t think they would be doing that because their customers could end up complaining.

Somehow, I’d like to see Android on even smaller devices like the Sony Vaio P Series that just looks like a pocketbook because it somehow feels right to me for it to ‘feel very mobile’ due to its size. Or maybe something like a DS Lite or a DSi. The DSi could even connect to wireless internet even with WPA security so I wonder if there’s a way to load Android there for the heck of it.

Post from: New Linux User

• 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) — WiFi, ADSL, CDMA, GPRS
• Power — 4-hour battery; optional solar panel charger
• Dimensions — 9.1 x 6.3 inches (23 x 16cm)
• Weight — 1.54 lbs (700 grams)

Maybe a really light Linux distro, like Puppy or Damn Small Linux would be fine on this UMPC because it only has 128MB of RAM. It would be interesting if they could improve on the specs. But for its introductory price of 182 USD and its environment-friendly features, well, this might not be so bad.

Post from: New Linux User

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 will go to.

Some things I immediately liked about Moblin:

• The menu/task bar is automatically hidden when you are not using it. This way, the screen of the netbook is maximized for the apps.
• Icons on the menu/taskbar look sleek and clean. And you could easily see what they stand for.
• Conventional keyboard shortcuts to navigate from one zone to another are still CTRL-(arrow keys to the left or right)

What didn’t work on my machine:

• Videos and audio did not play on my Acer Aspire One 150Bb.
• Some of the icons got me confused. When I opened a PDF, the reader had a caret-like icon on the upper right hand corner. I thought it meant that it will maximize the app but it didn’t. It closed the app. In the file manager/browser, the caret-like symbol meant that it will go to the directory that’s one level higher.
• There was also this issue about not having a power button or even a log out option. I was wondering how the heck I would stop from using the live USB. I ended up pressing the netbook’s power button.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience for me to use Moblin. I guess some of my worries include the availability of the applications I use a lot as well as adding an extension monitor. (I wasn’t able to test that.) I plan to check out Moblin again when the official release is available already.

Post from: New Linux User