The best netbook-friendly Linux distros

The best netbook-friendly Linux distros

Android on your Eee, anyone?

Hands-on We loved the Xandros based OS the Asus put on the original Eee PC for its simplicity and direct access to applications. Toshiba Laptop Battery,Likewise Acer's version of Linpus, installed on the Linux versions of its Aspire One netbook. For 90 per cent of the tasks anyone's likely to perform on a netbook, they're spot on and allow the machines to boot up in under 20 seconds.

But what about that other ten per cent of tasks? Try to do anything the UI wasn't designed for and you had to delve deep into the terminal - often to find that key code, like driver software, wasn't included. Trying to connect to the internet using a 3G dongle is a case in point.

Android on your Eee, anyone?

Then there are the folk who want a full desktop operating system on their mini machines. For them, for anyone who's out-grown the original UI, for enthusiasts who want to see what a full Linux distro can do and for anyone who's had enough of Windows, PA3591U-1BRS, we've downloaded and tried a heap of netbook Linux variants to see how they well they perform on a trio of typical netbooks: the Asus Eee PC 1000, the Acer Aspire One and MSI's Wind.

We looked at many more distributions than those featured here. Most were good, but either offered nothing more than the ones below do, or lacked drivers or software necessary to run smoothly on a netbook. What we've listed below are those that we feel are most worthy of your attention, the ones you should try first.

We've also included some more leftfield options which, while not ready for everyday netbook use,Portege 4000, are generating a lot of interest in the netbook world. How well do they justify the hype?

We'd certainly encourage you to try others too. Linux distros can evolve rapidly, and new releases are coming out all the time. Almost all Linux distros now come as "live” CDs, meaning they boot PA3591U-1BRS, Portege 4000, Satellite A10 Series, Satellite A100, Satellite A70, up off the disc to give you the entire OS without actually installing anything. Just download the distro's .ISO file and burn it to a CD or DVD on your main machine.

Let go of Linpus and upgrade to Ubuntu

If you have an external optical drive, this is the best way to go, Satellite A10 Series, and you can quickly install the OS you like best after trying the various live discs. It's also possible to convert the .ISO images into a bootable USB stick. Unetbootin is a utility that attempts to do this all for you - you can download it and get full instructions here.

Did we miss out your favourite netbook distro? Use the Comments section to tell other netbook users why they should give it a try.

AMD to take on Intel's Atom... but not netbooks

A nose by any other name

Is AMD developing a netbook processor PA3591U-1BRS, Portege 4000, Satellite A10 Series, Satellite A100, Satellite A70, to rival Intel's Atom, or isn't it? Despite what AMD says about the part's target market, it is.

Not that AMD is denying that it's working on a would-be Atom smasher. Company CEO Dirk Meyer was reported today as saying the part will sample sometime next year. AMD will sell it for less than Intel charges for Atom, and the part will deliver more functionality too, he claimed, which is what AMD not unreasonably says about all its processor.

So it's a netbook chip,Satellite A100, right? Not according to AMD. Meyer once again said that the term 'netbook' will disappear, as netbooks become more functional and the gap between small machines and their larger brethren is sealed for ever, if it hasn't already now that netbooks are creeping up in price and gaining 12in displays.

All this is just semantics. Whether a small machine with a screen that measures 10in or less is called a netbook or a notebook, its compact size means it needs a small battery and, in turn, more energy efficient PA3591U-1BRS, Portege 4000, Satellite A10 Series, Satellite A100, Satellite A70, components than a regular laptop requires, in order to deliver a decent battery life.

That means a different CPU than the one in a more mainstream machine, and that means two market segments - mainstream and mini - not one.Satellite A70, So why not call the latter netbooks?

Because that would confirm Intel's logic in devising a new market segment with a new name, and that's something AMD doesn't want to do