Canonical, creators of open-source OS Ubuntu is not about to give all the limelight in the OS market to Microsoft and Windows 7. Come Thursday, the company is to make available the latest version of its OS geared specifically for netbooks – the Ubuntu 9.10.
Canonical chairman, Mark Shuttleworth said that he is looking forward to another head-to-head battle with Microsoft especially in the netbook department. If you have been following the development of netbooks, you’d remember that the Linux OS was first used in earlier netbooks. But this was completely overshadowed by Microsoft when it starts offering Windows XP to netbook manufacturers. In a way, Microsoft’s entry to the netbook market paved the way for its popularity.
Although he admitted the fact that Windows 7 is a credible release, Shuttleworth however calls Windows 7 as still proprietary and expensive. Windows 7 Starter Edition which is suited for netbooks are both pricey and restrictive of what it would allow users to do, said Shuttleworth.
Ubuntu 9.10 on the other hand promises to support all 25 different netbooks and will offer them with an OS that has simpler interface, faster booth and log-in time, better audio framework and improved 3G connectivity.
On Dell’s website, there are two Dell Mini 10Vs listed. One with an 8GB SSD and Ubuntu and the other with a 160GB hard drive and XP. But due to an error on the listing under the specifications, both were listed as having a “Microsoft Operating System”. Under the 160GB model, it was listed as XP, while the 8GB SSD model was listed as Ubuntu. This caused many message boards to jokingly claim that Ubuntu was now a Microsoft product. This isn’t the case though fortunately and word must have got to Dell as the specifications have now been modified to say just “Operating System”.
If you’ve wanting to have a netbook running on Ubuntu but wouldn’t want to go through the tedious process of installing the OS on your own Dell is offering a quick solution. But of course that would require you to purchase their Mini 10 netbook over the others.
Dell is offering an Ubuntu-powered Mini 10 netbook in the U.S. and Canada. For $399, you’ll get a sleek looking Dell Mini 10 netbook with a full running Ubuntu plus plus an additional hard drive storage options. This either a 64GB SSD or a 32GB SDD. The former will cost you an additional $125 while the later will cost you only $75.
But what would you get from an Ubuntu OS which you won’t get from a Windows XP OS? Nothing fancy really. Faster performance perhaps. Plus you’ll earn the prestige of owning a non-Windows powered netbook. And in the tech world that is tantamount to being a cool geek.
But that’s just my opinion really. If you want to find out the Ubuntu-powered Dell Mini 10 really works, watch this video instead.
Other upgrade options made available by Dell aside from the abovemention include:
Version 1.1 of Easy Peasy has been released which fixes some bugs as well as coming with a new splash screen, login screen, wallpaper and a new icon theme. Easy Peasy is based on Ubuntu 8.10 but made for netbooks. This specific distro is designed to work on netbooks with an Intel Atom processor, which is the majority of the netbooks on the market.
Pre-installed on the Operating System is OpenOffice 3 and Firefox 3, as well as the Ubuntu Netbook Remix program launcher.
For those who prefer using Ubuntu Linux distro in their netbooks than Microsoft XP, you might be interested to take the final test version of Ubuntu 9.04 for a spin. The final testing version other wise known as release candidate, is now complete, stable and suitable for testing by any user, said Steve Langasek, Ubuntu developer.
And since this is still a release candidate, expect to encounter some more minor bugs while using Ubuntu 9.04. This is despite the fact that the RC has already been proven to be stable.
This new Release Candidate of Ubuntu OS features faster boot speeds, new desktop notification system, integration with cloud computing, and more integrated mail server stack based on postfix and packages.
But more importantly Ubuntu 9.04 has also integrated the Netbook Remix software which will make it easier to install and use Ubuntu on netbooks. Currently, Ubuntu 9.04 works well with Eee PC 900, Aspire One and Dell Mini Inspiron 9 netbooks.
The final version of Ubuntu 9.04 is slated for release on April 23. You may download the RC here.
Linux based OS developer Ubuntu have announced the arrival of the beta version of Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04, a version aimed, quite obviously, at netbook users for those who use the operating system and wish to upgrade to 8.10 to try out the beta of 9.04.
According to Ubuntu, version 9.04 is almost ready for it’s full release but, until then if you can’t wait to try it out on your netbook the details of the beta can be found here at the official site.
Netbook Remix features:
Built-for-purpose interface: that means that favourite applications and
websites are just a click away, Ubuntu Netbook Remix makes a great choice
for netbook users.
Faster boot times: improvements to Ubuntu’s start-up process mean you
can spend less time waiting and more time being productive with your
Ubuntu Netbook desktop.
Models known to work well:
Asus Eee PC 900
Asus Eee PC 1000
Asus Aspire One
Samsung NC10
Dell Mini9
It’s possible to download the operating system and create a USB drive image on the netbook version so there is no need for installation at all, making it great to test out. A video has been posted up of such a test on Youtube by user omnistegan, showing the Netbook Remix Beta in action on an Asus Eee PC 1000H and the results of the test are very positive with the OS seemingly very quick on the netbook and smooth to use:
LinuxPlanet have been reviewing an Eee PC 1000 which is running Ubuntu which was pre-installed – a deal ZaReason are offering to anyone that would prefer this version of Linux on their new netbook, for $599, the same price as the Eee PC with Xandros pre-installed.
In the review, LinuxPlanet noted that despite a few problems with resolution and display size – namely, menu’s not fitting on the screen which can be partially rectified with keyboard commands but, it isn’t perfect, the EEE PC ran fairly well on Ubuntu and the review was mostly positive, complimenting the Eee Pc especially on it’s good battery life and attractive price.
For those who prefer using Ubuntu Linux distro in their netbooks than Microsoft XP, you might be interested to take the final test version of Ubuntu 9.04 for a spin. The final testing version other wise known as
Entries (RSS)