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The Linux distillery Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 on an entry-level netbook
The Linux distillery Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 on an entry-level netbook | Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 on an entry-level netbook |
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| by David M Williams | |
| Thursday, 07 May 2009 | |
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My colleague, Hamish Taylor, tested UNR on his ASUS Eee PC 901 and his results were very interesting. I was keen to see how UNR compared against Windows 7 using identical hardware to avoid any machine discrepancies. The Aspire One is not a groundbreaking machine by any means, but it is certainly sportier than the original 7” ASUS Eee netbook, coming with an Intel Atom N270 processor running at 1.6GHz, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. Windows 7RC installed fine and without any driver problems or other issues. Although the hard disk was more than adequate I was surprised Windows 7 required 7.73GB of disk space just for itself – and that without any other applications loaded. Yet, Windows 7RC isn’t the only new operating system in town. Canonical released Ubuntu 9.04 just a couple of weeks ago, otherwise known as Jaunty Jackalope. Given Windows 7 is still in release candidate stage (the “RC” in its name) Jaunty is actually the most recent complete OS available. Nicely, it comes in a netbook-dedicated version. Unlike Windows 7: Starter Edition which is restricted to only three applications running at a time, Ubuntu Netbook Remix has no loss of significant functionality over the regular version. Instead, it sports a user interface designed for smaller screen devices. Gone is the diminutive menu bar which requires ever increasing accuracy the smaller your screen and mouse go and in its place is a full-screen collection of program icons grouped by category, as well as easy access to your personal files and folders. If you don’t like it you can switch it off and use the regular Jaunty Jackalope desktop. Like Windows 7RC, installing UNR from a USB flash disk was a cinch. Neither operating system burdened me with complex questions or error messages. Both times I opted for a fresh install and to use the whole hard drive, totally trashing previous contents. Once installed, booting UNR from power on to login prompt was a swift 35 seconds. That’s 13 seconds off Windows7 RC’s time on the exact same hardware. Let’s see how it performed in practice. |
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