I've installed the Ubuntu Netbook remix 9.10 (Karmic Koala) (UNR) on my Acer Aspire One A110L. This has gone very well. Installation was a breeze, and the thing worked straight out of the box.
The thing about the netbook is that I like it to boot quickly. I switch it on, use it, and switch it off again. UNR, while not quite as quick as the Linpus that came with the Acer, is still quick - about 45 secs to a usable system, connected to my wireless LAN at home.
As I've said, I use it for browsing, and the Firefox 3.5 in the distro is great. I've themed it with slickerfox, and I'm set. Email is as you'd expect. I've written a few articles and documents on it, and I'm very happy with it all. Updating the thing is now very easy through the update manager.
All in all, a great op system for the netbook.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
Friday, 23 October 2009
Back up Back up
Get your data onto multiple storage options - don't ever rely on a single device, it WILL fail at some time. With your cherished data in several places (geographically as well as by device if possible), you can be sure to be able to retrieve it. You can then tackle the problem of managing and organising it from a position of safety.
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
What use are Netbooks?
I've heard a lot of discussion about netbooks, that their low power, small storage and small screen size prevents them from being very useful to anyone. I've also heard that so many Linux-based netbooks are quickly returned to retailers in favour of machines with Windows installed.
I think that these facts expose a problem many people have with Netbooks in that they expect them to replace larger laptops and desktop machines. The point of these devises is that they fulfill a different role, that's why they are referred to as 'Netbooks'.
I use this netbook for a very particular set of tasks. I browse the internet, maintain this blog and email using it, I very occasionally write reports/articles on it and that's it. I don't try to replace my laptop with it.
Yes I did find the 800 pixel wide Asus eee 701 limiting, but this 8.9 inch, 1000 pixel screen on the Acer allows me to browse the net with the vast majority of websites working perfectly. I can write on this perfectly well, and email happily.
The small size becomes a bonus, and the low power/low storage capacity is not an issue. I've elected to use a Linux based machine because the fast boot and shutdown times again become a bonus. The few open-source applications included with Linux distributions that I use for the stated uses are easily learned.
So Netbooks are useful, if you don't try to replace your main machine with them. This then has an implication on the perception of Netbooks as a group, and impacts on the possible size of the market for them!
I think that these facts expose a problem many people have with Netbooks in that they expect them to replace larger laptops and desktop machines. The point of these devises is that they fulfill a different role, that's why they are referred to as 'Netbooks'.
I use this netbook for a very particular set of tasks. I browse the internet, maintain this blog and email using it, I very occasionally write reports/articles on it and that's it. I don't try to replace my laptop with it.
Yes I did find the 800 pixel wide Asus eee 701 limiting, but this 8.9 inch, 1000 pixel screen on the Acer allows me to browse the net with the vast majority of websites working perfectly. I can write on this perfectly well, and email happily.
The small size becomes a bonus, and the low power/low storage capacity is not an issue. I've elected to use a Linux based machine because the fast boot and shutdown times again become a bonus. The few open-source applications included with Linux distributions that I use for the stated uses are easily learned.
So Netbooks are useful, if you don't try to replace your main machine with them. This then has an implication on the perception of Netbooks as a group, and impacts on the possible size of the market for them!
Monday, 19 October 2009
Acer Aspire One
So now I'm using an Acer Aspire One as a netbook. The problem with the Asus was the small screen. Not so much the 7inches, but the 800 pixel wide resolution. I really don't mind scrolling down to view more of a wep page, but I don't seem to like scrolling left and right!
The Acer is again great. The Linpus op system on it was very fast, and after I tweeked it a bit (mostly a later version of Firefox), I really liked it. I've recently tried it running the ubuntu netbook remix. This I like a lot, but I'm afraid it takes much much longer to boot, one of the reasons I use a netbook as well as my work laptop.
The Acer is again great. The Linpus op system on it was very fast, and after I tweeked it a bit (mostly a later version of Firefox), I really liked it. I've recently tried it running the ubuntu netbook remix. This I like a lot, but I'm afraid it takes much much longer to boot, one of the reasons I use a netbook as well as my work laptop.
Another Blog
So, just created this Blog. I guess I'll try posting more frequently to this in order to diary what I do, and to get a feel for the Blogger Blog.
Monday, 17 December 2007
Asus eee pc
So this is my second post. (I guess I’ll stop numbering them when it all becomes more natural for me.) I’m writing this with my Asus eee pc which my wife bought me as a birthday present at the end of last year.
I really like this machine. I saw it in the press and immediately thought “I want one of those”. The problem was that this was the end of November last year and everywhere I looked, people were saying great things about it, but you couldn’t get one for love nor money. No one had one in stock, non of the regular shops, non of the on-line stores I use (also, in fact, non of the stores I’d never used!).
One store had a number in when I looked one day, but by the time we came to order it in the evening, they had sold out.
We were having a similar problem with a Nintendo DS lite for my nine-year old daughter. Again, you couldn’t get one anywhere. (At the time of writing this, we still haven’t got her one.) Anyway, we went into Toys ‘R’ Us for the Nintendo and there were dozens of the Asus eee pc for £219, which at the time was comparable to the prices quoted by all those ion-line stores which didn’t actually have them.
I won’t go into a long review of the machine. Suffice it to say that I have a standard 4Gb machine, still running the software it came with and I love it. It does the jobs of writing, internet browsing, emailing and the occasional Soduko perfectly. I’ve not had any problems with connecting it to wireless networks. (I was having to manually connecting to my wireless network, including typing in the security key, until I recently found the on-boot option in the network configuration, so I’m even happier.) Every SD card or Key I’ve inserted has worked first time.
The beauty of the machine for me is the boot and shutdown times - about 15 - 20 seconds in each case. I will pick the thing up and use it for just a short, simple task, then switch it off again.
Compare this to my laptop which can take 2 minutes to be usable from start, and when you switch off, can take several minutes to ’save my settings’ and ’shutdown’. Especially when the thing has decided to update the software on shutdown, leaving the office can sometimes be a slow and frustrating affair! I know I can ‘hibernate’ my laptop, but this still takes a while to write the 2Gb of memory to disk and shutdown, and startup again takes quite a while.
I really like this machine. I saw it in the press and immediately thought “I want one of those”. The problem was that this was the end of November last year and everywhere I looked, people were saying great things about it, but you couldn’t get one for love nor money. No one had one in stock, non of the regular shops, non of the on-line stores I use (also, in fact, non of the stores I’d never used!).
One store had a number in when I looked one day, but by the time we came to order it in the evening, they had sold out.
We were having a similar problem with a Nintendo DS lite for my nine-year old daughter. Again, you couldn’t get one anywhere. (At the time of writing this, we still haven’t got her one.) Anyway, we went into Toys ‘R’ Us for the Nintendo and there were dozens of the Asus eee pc for £219, which at the time was comparable to the prices quoted by all those ion-line stores which didn’t actually have them.
I won’t go into a long review of the machine. Suffice it to say that I have a standard 4Gb machine, still running the software it came with and I love it. It does the jobs of writing, internet browsing, emailing and the occasional Soduko perfectly. I’ve not had any problems with connecting it to wireless networks. (I was having to manually connecting to my wireless network, including typing in the security key, until I recently found the on-boot option in the network configuration, so I’m even happier.) Every SD card or Key I’ve inserted has worked first time.
The beauty of the machine for me is the boot and shutdown times - about 15 - 20 seconds in each case. I will pick the thing up and use it for just a short, simple task, then switch it off again.
Compare this to my laptop which can take 2 minutes to be usable from start, and when you switch off, can take several minutes to ’save my settings’ and ’shutdown’. Especially when the thing has decided to update the software on shutdown, leaving the office can sometimes be a slow and frustrating affair! I know I can ‘hibernate’ my laptop, but this still takes a while to write the 2Gb of memory to disk and shutdown, and startup again takes quite a while.
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