Print
These days, netbooks have become a very popular alternative to conventional notebooks for mobile computing. Netbooks are lightweight, have great battery life, and are relatively inexpensive compared to full-sized notebooks. This makes them ideal for students or people on a budget. Of course, the lower cost and extended battery life does not come without a trade-off—many netbooks have lower system specs as well, which means that they are not designed for heavy-computing applications.
Although many netbooks now run Windows XP because of Microsoft's hurried entry into that market, many earlier models were built to run Linux. (For instance, the Asus Eee 700 Series ran Xandros, and the current models are offered with either Linux or Windows) And although most current netbooks are x86-based (running the Intel Atom CPU), the usage of ARM-based CPU chips is likely to increase in the future since ARM offers far superior energy efficiency over x86 and battery life has always been a major factor in mobile computing. ARM chips have been used successfully for some time in smartphones and music players, including the newest Zune HD. Since ARM is a different CPU architecture than x86, Windows will not work on ARM. Earlier this year, Microsoft's Steve Guggenheim said that the company currently has no plans to port Windows 7 to the ARM architecture. Therefore, any new wave of ARM-based netbooks will run Linux once again. Unlike Windows, most Linux distros can be compiled for ARM if you have the requisite skills for doing so.
Linux is an ideal choice for netbooks for multiple reasons in addition to CPU architecture. Netbooks generally have lower specs than most full-size notebooks (not to mention desktops) so they are ideal for lightweight applications like web browsing, document preparation, etc. Linux does these tasks very well without the bloat that Windows systems have to deal with from anti-malware utilities. This primer will help you set up and optimize Linux for your netbook.
While any Linux distro will work for your netbook with some degree of success, it is better to use one that is explicitly designed for that purpose. Many specialized distros (optimized for a specific hardware configuration) have sprung up for models like the Acer Aspire One, The Asus Eee, and several others while more generalized distros exist for all netbooks. Most netbook distros are based on Ubuntu, since Ubuntu is very well developed and has enjoyed unparalleled success on more conventional systems.
The first distro we should address is Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which is a trimmed-down variant of Ubuntu designed for netbooks. It is compatible with most netbooks makes and models on both x86 and ARM architecture. (mainline Ubuntu support for ARM is coming soon)
Easy Peasy is another Ubuntu-derived distro that ships with a few proprietary applications. (Skype instead of Ekiga)
Crunchbang is a scaled-down variant of Ubuntu that is especially good since it packs in plenty of software and has a very small memory footprint compared to standard Ubuntu. Crunchbang uses the OpenBox window manager; like on Fluxbox, most activity is done through right-clicking.
Eeebuntu is an Ubuntu derivative that has been designed specifically for the Asus EEE. Unlike Ubuntu Netbook Remix, Easy Peasy, CrunchBang, and Eeebuntu only support x86 at this time.
Standard Xubuntu is also a good choice for low-spec systems, including netbooks.
Comments are closed on this article
hath80
November 11, 2011 at 8:23pm
Of course, the lower cost and extended battery life does not come without a trade-off—many netbooks have lower system specs as well, which means that they are not designed for heavy-computing applications. dvd creator, dvd video tool
MAXPCreader07
October 05, 2009 at 8:31am
I would not recommend Xubuntu if you want a light-weight distro:
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20090427#feature
http://www.linux-mag.com/cache/7520/1.html
Modred189
October 03, 2009 at 11:21am
I am shocked that Moblin is not on the list, especially considering it's recent press coverage AND that it's designed (from the ground up, as opposed to Ubuntu remix) for netbooks. It's the only distro I have tried that came with ALL of the drivers for my Acer Aspire One, and for which I did not have to tool around in the command line.
zbeckerd
October 02, 2009 at 8:42pm
Puppy linux is the sweetest low footprint OS. It is awesome at hardware detection. I run it regularly on a amd 400 processor laptop to listen to podcasts in the kitchen. It is also comes with a lot of lightweight tools. It is quite a fun os.
Larry Lee
October 04, 2009 at 10:25pm
Puppy Linux version 4.3 is under development by a retired computer science professor in Australia.
I have used Ubuntu and Mandriva distros, and I can say that Puppy Linux, and its many variants, is definitely the top dog for netbooks. The size of the distro is 105 MB, and is easily installed on a bootable USB thumb drive, which is perfect for netbooks.
PhoneyVirus
October 02, 2009 at 8:39pm
Crunchbang I tryed on the system I sold and like it but after that there was noting more for me to do with Linux. Might play with Linux after Windows 7 if I got time, I love little How-to's like this one thanks.
monitor stands
March 05, 2010 at 5:33am
Interesting read, thanks for helping keep me busy at work ;)
pet minding melbournehttp://www.urbanpaws.com.au/
zbeckerd
October 02, 2009 at 8:31pm
I and many others have been running ubuntu 9.04 on a arm based Zaurus. It has given new life to a linux based pda. Nothing sweeter than a micro laptop running a full linux distro that has a touch screen, keyboard and swivel display. Battery life is up to 8 hours. It is really just for the geeks among us right now. Search on omegamoon if you are curious. The author calls it zubuntu.
1337Goose
October 02, 2009 at 4:25pm
Nice article.
There have been a number of MaxPC articles about changing your netbook's operating system. I've done it, and I've never looked back. It was a good decision.
~Goose
