WSJ - Article on Linux netbooks

[Craig White]

On Thu, 2009-05-28 at 21:22 +0100, Anne Wilson wrote:
> On Thursday 28 May 2009 19:58:18 Craig White wrote:
> > On Thu, 2009-05-28 at 19:22 +0100, Anne Wilson wrote:
> > > On Thursday 28 May 2009 18:43:33 Craig White wrote:
> > > > On Thu, 2009-05-28 at 12:08 -0400, Max Pyziur wrote:
> > > > > Little Laptops With Linux Have Compatibility Issues
> > > > > http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124346723960760371.html#mod=todays_us
> > > > >_per sonal_journal
> > > > >
> > > > > fyi,
> > > >
> > > > ----
> > > > I suppose inherent is the assumption that the problems don't happen
> > > > with Windows and that they are always the Linux software.
> > > >
> > > > My experience with my Acer Aspire One was decidedly different.
> > >
> > > +1
> > >
> > > > It came with Windows. My USB key and hard drive wouldn't work in
> > > > Windows but did work with Linux. After I upgraded the BIOS they also
> > > > worked with Windows.
> > >
> > > Mine came with Lupus (I think) Linux.  I removed it almost from day one
> > > and installed Fedora 10.
> >
> > ----
> > My understanding is that it is called 'Linpus'
> 
> Correct - I knew it didn't sound quite right :-)
> > which is derived from 
> > Fedora 9 or 10. It is clearly a reduced set of software packages. It
> > seems pretty clear that a serious computer user would probably want a
> > normal Linux distribution installed but for something that is usable off
> > the shelf, it seemed adequate.
> >
> I believe it would be - it was certainly better than the xandros on the eeepc 
> 701.
----
well, xandros is a spin off debian so I wouldn't bag on it for that. The
only challenge is for netbook manufacturers to produce a usable system
that they can sell without a bunch of returns.
----
> 
> > It was however very useful for developing some alterations to maximize
> > battery life and performance.
> >
> I wouldn't actually recommend running a full gnome or kde on it, as it is 
> rather slow, but I wanted to be able to evaluate up-to-date kde packages and 
> help with documentation.  It is serving me admirably for my purpose.  If you 
> can live with the speed hit, and I've definitely seen worse, then it will do 
> anything and everything you would wish.
----
silly me, I'm using F11-preview with KDE and I don't notice it slow at
all - at least as long as I'm in performance mode. On battery, well,
that is a bit slower but this isn't a device that I'm choosing for high
performance anyway.

The really big deal for me was to break the 1024x600 limits and I'm
running a virtual 1280x1024 screen now. The wireless and camera worked
out of the box. I do have to boot it in Windows in order to do Yahoo
Messenger w/video though  :-(

It's a good thing that WSJ doesn't depend upon advertisers like
Microsoft for revenue...

Craig


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