What is Digg?72 Comments
- inactive, on 12/15/2008, -4/+22Always good to see a Linux recommendation.
- JonForTheWin, on 12/15/2008, -2/+19GNU+Linux on Netbooks is awesome as long as it's Ubuntu SuSE or Fedora. That ass-backwards crippleware Xandros garbage is a disgrace.
- fatas, on 12/15/2008, -1/+13eeebuntu.org
great distribution for the eeepc - nikki2300dk, on 12/15/2008, -0/+11Nothing is wrong with it per se... as the author said using windows requires a higher specification of hardware for the same performance, thus raising prices. Given the typical applications of netbooks windows software is not needed to complete the necessary tasks. So linux is the best solution... from an economical point of view, this is The Economist after all.
- larsalan, on 12/15/2008, -3/+13That's fine too, as long as it's pirated, yarrrggg.
- vuke69, on 12/15/2008, -0/+8So add 30% to the price for reduced performance, and reduced functionality? No thanks.
Granted I would still opt to replace the OS on a Linux netbook, but only with a full install of Fedora. - Samohtneas, on 12/15/2008, -3/+10Puppy Linux would be most adequate, requires something like 32MB to boot.
- Elranzer, on 12/15/2008, -0/+7Open-Source Rocks!
Debian
Ubuntu
SuSE
Fedora
CentOS / WhiteBox Enterprise Linux
ArchLinux
Gentoo
Slackware
FreeBSD
OpenSolaris
..................................FreeDOS...
Take you pick! - PrintScrn12, on 12/15/2008, -0/+5^I mean I love watchin old naked men rubbing each other in the shower as much as everyone else. However there is a time for such. Being surprised by a harmful websites that hijack your browser isn't the best time. I don't see how naked old men having anything to do with linux on netbooks either. Am I missing something there?
- DreadKnight, on 12/15/2008, -0/+5Linux rocks!
- adammharvey, on 12/15/2008, -0/+5The Price
- Rapax, on 12/15/2008, -0/+4So? If 5% of Windows netbooks get returned, that means 20% of Linux netbooks get returned. That in turn, means that 80% are being kept. And of those, you can be sure that quite a lot are 'sowing the seeds' for the user to switch to Linux completely. Netbooks are a great way for users to get their feet wet with Linux, without the sometimes scary experience of going cold turkey on windows.
- Cerebron, on 12/15/2008, -0/+4Plus, some variant pups are pretty slick.
- yaosio, on 12/15/2008, -1/+5Slow down here. They claim you should run it using the OS it came with? I always thought you were supposed to format and install OS/2 Warp.
- johnwoo32, on 12/15/2008, -1/+5I like the Economist for pointing netbooks and linux out to the non-tech crowd. However, i really think that the biggest advantage of netbooks is the long battery life. The author writes that away as an option, not a fundamental. Who would wan't to work on a 9" machine with 2 hours of battery life? For the same amount of money you can pick up a faster 15" with 2 hours of battery life as well. I love my netbook for 6.5 hours of battery life and internet and office on a 'real' machine while commuting, and hate it for giving me cramps.
- ScottyDelicious, on 12/15/2008, -0/+4Pants Rock!
I better go put some on. - Tarnum, on 12/15/2008, -1/+4"For many users, the basic, free software shipped with a netbook will be quite enough."
Like a spreadsheet, word processor, IMAP e-mail client, calendaring app, IM and a browser?
That's quite enough for 90% of the corporate desktops too. The OS doesn't matter. - ThantiK, on 12/15/2008, -3/+6Ubuntu-eee edition is nice, Puppy is nice as well, but as always - I suggest just building an ArchLinux install yourself as it can be MUCH slimmer than both of those.
- inactive, on 12/15/2008, -0/+3Its a shame that the Linpus Lite version you get with the Aspire One is so poor.
Even after enabling the 'advanced' mode there is no easy way to replace the stock front end and apps. - nikki2300dk, on 12/15/2008, -0/+3Not always the best distro for a netbook. Even sticking with "-buntu" products, Xbuntu would often be a better option for a netbook.
- Rekutyn, on 12/15/2008, -0/+3You can't be serious, right?
- Elranzer, on 12/15/2008, -0/+2XP is fine, you just have to read about and apply specific tweaks to get it optimized for the low RAM and the write-caching on SSDs.
- inactive, on 12/15/2008, -0/+2Thinks E live version
- johnwoo32, on 12/15/2008, -1/+3Both in:
"The number of netbooks available is growing as more producers pile into the market (but not Apple—at least, not yet). But if you are buying one, avoid the temptation to get the slickest, most powerful machine available. Much advice on offer online suggests souping up the specification of a netbook so it can run Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system, rather than the free, open-source Linux system that is offered as standard on many netbooks."
and
"For many users, the basic, free software shipped with a netbook will be quite enough."
The suggestion is clearly: Go For Linux instead of Windows XP - jamesmcm, on 12/15/2008, -0/+2GNU/Linux will be better with an SSD as you can disable swap space, and mount it with async enabled, etc. So it doesn't kill the write capacity.
- Naidel, on 12/16/2008, -0/+2How is Arch slimmer than Puppy? A -base- install of Arch is some 300 megs. Puppy is about 100.
- deathguppie, on 12/15/2008, -0/+2The netbooks themselves are very limited in performance. I would be very surprised to find out that any of the people that returned them for windows versions are any happier than they were with the linux version. Even if they don't realize that they are not happier.
Brand recognition is very strong. People will believe they are getting a better product for that reason alone. Even if the windows based netbook they are buying has only a fraction of the features and runs slower. - nixw, on 12/15/2008, -0/+2I have used an Eee pc 701 and an Acer One and have to say the 1024x800 resolution screen of the Acer One is really good, any less like the 701 and you find yourself scrolling horizontally for nearly all your websites. 1024 width seems to be the standard minimum website width at the moment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website_design#Compat ...
Also I use linux on both. 'Vanilla' Ubuntu still requires some tweaks to run on either machine although I hope this is fixed for the Jaunty Jackalope release. I find it amazing that Microsoft had to extend the sale of XP and massively reduce the licensing costs for manufacturers for the netbook market because they couldn't compete. If anything GNU/linux has brought a massive amount of competition to the table to benefit all consumers. - Ouze, on 12/15/2008, -2/+3That's some mighty fine selective reading, johnwoo. It doesn't seem clear to me at all. Probably because you omitted the next sentence which included context. His actual point was, and I think both sides of the fence can agree on this -
1.) As you up the horsepower to run XP, you also increase the price, at which point a laptop becomes competitive.
2.) For users that just browse and check email, the linux variant preinstalled will probably do.
To see anything else in that, like an endorsement of either OS, is akin to seeing jesus in toast. - nixw, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1Where the writer bags perceived common online advice of choosing XP over Linux:
"Much advice on offer online suggests souping up the specification of a netbook so it can run Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system, rather than the free, open-source Linux system that is offered as standard on many netbooks."
Where the point is made that upping the specs of the hardware to run XP and it's associated software accrues additional costs where buying a laptop instead of a netbook may have been a better choice:
"Yet increasing the specification only makes sense for people who want to run (and to pay for) Windows and specific Windows-based applications. The extra hardware and software costs start to push the price of a netbook towards that of a standard laptop, which will invariably be better because it has a bigger processor and superior graphics."
Where Linux is praised for running well even on low spec'd hardware:
"It has 8 gigabytes (GB) of flash storage and 512 megabytes of RAM, which is a bit puny. But that is perfectly adequate to run the customised version of Linux that comes pre-installed on it, along with a suite of software, including Open Office." - tigertee, on 12/16/2008, -0/+1they can recommend whatever the hell they want, i don't see people changing over anytime soon, people have been spoiled with windows xp.
- Cerebron, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1Xbuntu is still pretty hefty for netbooks.
- mktwo, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetail ...
Dell has one with 12.1" screen (1280x800) which is a common resolution used in many laptops. - csarak, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1Failure to understand GNU/Linux. They are two different components of the experience that most people refer to as Linux. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU/Linux_naming_cont ... for more info.
- charlie55, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1i am typing this on an asipre one with hardy. ibex ran like ***** on it. but hardy is smooth, after some tweaks. linpus lite was too simplified.
- Claverhouse, on 12/15/2008, -1/+2Better to wait a few days. 11.1 on the 18th...
- csarak, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1I think that the title on Digg is misleading, because less than half the article is about that, but it is there.
- Ouze, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1i think you'd like this
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070921/hp-pavil ... - subgeniusd, on 12/15/2008, -1/+2Digg people hate Windows so much Digg would never even consider having a Microsoft section ........:P
- cheeseplease, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1rocks
- ramvi, on 12/19/2008, -0/+1Ubuntu Eee is without a doubt better :)
www.ubuntu-eee.com - inactive, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1Unix rocks..
- LostSoul83, on 12/17/2008, -0/+1I'm avoiding paying Microsoft with my next PC purchase, but it's not for economic reasons. I would love to buy a netbook, but I've heard rumours that MS cripples them by making the manufacturers sign contracts that artificially limit their hardware specifications to be "allowed" to sell Windows. I don't want to fund this sort of behaviour either. My next machine might just be scraped together from old/used parts when this Athlon 3200+ eventually croaks. As I only play old games, there is really no need for a new machine at this point.
- nikki2300dk, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1@stutimandal
You have a point about the time. But, if your asus is an eeepc, putting Ubuntu on it is predictably gonna take some extra effort, as it's not the best distro for the hardware. I suppose the most cost-effective solution would be to buy a netbook with a default linux configuration that meets your needs. Hmm. But then you gotta do some research and that takes time. So maybe it's better to consider how you like to spend your time/money.
On a side note, I think one of the things I like about the linux community is the stubborn enthusiasm, even when it leads to over-optimistic predictions of the potential popularity of linux. Personally I like linux, well unix in general, because it got me excited about computers again after getting really burned out. There's something about the logic of unix just meshes better with my brain. - subgeniusd, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1Xandros is not "disgraceful crippleware" to a Windows noob looking for a cheap Net appliance. It works just fine for basic usage.
- Ouze, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1/shrug
i did it for the lulz - courtjester555, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1Between all the netbooks, I don't think there is any real correlation between operating system and battery life. There are much, much bigger differences between Linux distros and XP than battery life.
- DAC1138, on 12/16/2008, -0/+1Linux boots faster and shuts down faster on the netbooks. While your XP netbook may have longer battery life, do you really want to waste that extra life waiting for apps to load and the operating system to boot up?
- sadilak, on 12/15/2008, -0/+0whatever happened to UMPCs?. Last year, we were being hit by samsung, Asus R2H, Flipstart, HTC <something> etc etc.?
I do remember Intel mentioning something about coming up with a linux based UMPC.. - stutimandal, on 12/15/2008, -1/+1Most linux article writers forget that (time = money).
I installed Ubuntu on my netbook (Asus), and guess what? It went to the Unix command prompt and stayed there. I have only two choices from there: (i) Waste 2 hours fixing Mr Ubuntu's problems so that it recognizes my netbook's display, (ii) Use something that recognizes the screen and gives me a GUI.
Even at a meagre student's salary, 2 hours would be roughly equal to $40. You can get a 2GB Ram stick for $25 now. -
Show 51 - 72 of 72 discussions
Digg is coming to a city (and computer) near you! Check out all the details on our 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is