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Ubuntu Eee Goes Gold
bjcarne writes in to commend Jon Ramvi and his team, who have delivered their first stable release of Ubuntu Eee, an Ubuntu version customized for the Asus Eee PC. "In December Ubuntu Eee started as a one man project, but [over] the last months several people have joined in on the development. We're trying to achieve something which [hasn't] been successful for any other Linux distribution yet: a OS targeting a single computer which includes the best applications available. This means people can buy this really cheap computer and easily get a great OS on it for free. Ubuntu Eee is just for the Asus Eee. Ubuntu Eee is smaller, faster and we're bringing people the cutting edge of technology (while being stable and free of course)."
But does it run Linux?
Here ladies and gentlemen is what I really love about Linux. Anybody can take it and build it specifically for the platform that they want and still have it inter operate with all the other flavors out there.
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I am writing this in a hotel room, on an EeePc. I happen to like the interface and although I would not put Xandros on any computer, I am fairly happy with how it works. I did add the extra repositories and can switch to the regular desktop, I usually leave it in Easy mode.
So, what does the Ubuntu Eeepc offer me. I will have to try it in a VM and see. They will be hard pressed to improve on this already working system.
how bout something for the OLPC. Sugar is cool and all but a regular interface would be awesome for everyday use
can i add it to my openmosix cluster? :-D
:-)
you know i just realized something. (yea it hurt)
i think theas baby laptops are more powerfull than my daily work laptop. its only 700mhz pII w/256 megs. running debian with kde3...
i love linux
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is it the standard Ubuntu Gnome? because I would be truly amazed if a full gnome setup ran snappy on an Eee. I want to install this on my laptop that isnt an Eee just to see how it runs
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whats more is that if its not compiled specifically for the system, just using Ubuntu with a particular set of programs such as Xfce4 or E17 or whatever, what benefits does it give over just taking the default Eee Xandros and installing those packages yourself? I mean, anybody that knows how to install some random distro will likely know how to add repos - in which case why not just add the repos being easier?
hoewever I have to say that I am more than impressed at what ASUS has done with Xandros on the Eee PC. Ok, it was set up for novice users so I had to switch to advanced mode, get devel packages from debian, but it has been an amazingly smooth experience and everything works exactly as it should (the sd, the usb, the wifi, the camera, the LAN...). So might give Ubuntu Eee a try, but I will definatelly be pleasantly surprised if it can be even better.
I might get moded off topic, but I do have a question for the default Xandros OS of the Eee PC that somebody might know to answer. At work, we have set up a linux gateway that has NO DHCP, so both linux and windows clients that we connect have to be setup with a static IP, plus the internal DNS and gateway IP. However, I just hooked on the Eee pc for the first time and it found the gateway and got an IP, PLUS it found the INTERNAL DNS and could access internal machines by name. How is that possible, it is exactly what DHCP is supposed to do, however we don't have DHCP.
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The default Xandros is kind of, shall we say, odd. It is mostly Debian, and usually plays along with recent Debian or *buntu packages; but Xandros is comparatively proprietary and by adding repos you take your chances.
That said, I've got one sitting on my desk, and the default Xandros isn't bad; but it is markedly less "normal" than I had expected it to be.
Ubuntu's more popular than Xandros. If you are still new to linux and want some help their forums etc are wonderful. With that in mind: (1) It can be a bit of a pain - especially for much of Ubuntu's less-than-super-savvy audience - to do things such as get the eeepc's wifi up or get the fn keys to work from an official ubuntu install. (2) The eee doesn't have an optical disk drive, knocking out a rather popular option for installing an OS. (3) Ubuntu's defaults, even xubuntu, aren't fit for such a small screen. Probably others I haven't thought off, too.
"A witty saying proves nothing." - Voltaire
I will say one thing: UnionFS is kind of neat, but as you add packages to the default EeePC you are using space. It is a bit of effort to remove the UnionFS and at that point it is tempting to try other distros.
I've been thinking of installing Ubuntu on my Eee for a while but I wanted the distro to get to a stable state before installing. Now it has, I have two questions (which I hope /. will be able to answer):
1. What's the SSD wear like? I believe the default Xandros has some clever wear levelling stuff installed. Has this been ported to the Ubuntu edition?
2. I don't like Gnome. Is there going to be a KUbuntu Eee edition?
In years gone by, you'd have to pay through the nose for that, to have an OS and applications configured and built for installation on a single pc system.
That makes F/OSS awesome. period.
It also means that handset makers, private endeavors, and all sorts can ALSO make their own distribution. No matter what it is based on, they can, and that is totally AWESOME.
I know some will not be impressed, but I've been around awhile and to get that, and have it be free too, well... it just rocks in ways that even senators won't be able to commend high enough.
I actually see a future where you can go to a distro download site and specify the pc make and model and get choices of pre-built distributions for that setup. Why that instead of a one size fits all system?
Simple, if built right it is much faster while containing all the same applications. It's also not cluttered with support files for everything your uncle harry wants but you do not. I hope to see OEMs doing this in the near future. Imagine if Windows were tuned for each OEMs box? oh... what the fuck was I thinking there... it is, but it's tuned to run slow... sorry about that.
Still, I'd like to see it in the very near future. click and go, updates scheduled etc. and have it fit the EXACT hardware that I have (under condition that I bought a specific OEM pc).
Yep, that would make it much easier for ma and pa kettle to use the F/OSS with their internet pc thingy.
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I have a desktop with a 15" 1024x768 monitor and these interfaces aimed at subnotebooks look very appealing. From screenshots they almost remind me of MythTV, but not hideous. Has anyone played with them enough to know if it is worthwhile?
I am currently evaluating the Eee platform for my children's school. I use Debian (Ubuntu) quite a bit and would like to install it instead of Xandros, just for my own comfort and ease of use. However, thats not a good enough reason to dump Xandros and go with something else. I have my doubts about Xandros such as the status of their updates, but don't have any concrete reason that I should dump it for Ubuntu.
What can I go back to the technical director at school with as proof that Ubuntu is "better" for us? Is it faster? Easier to use? One thing I would like to get working is mesh networking. Xandros doesn't have it, Ubuntu might.
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Have you updated/upgraded the system after adding the extra repos? I'm thinking about Ubuntu for my eee because the Asus and Xandros updates are some of the worst I've seen in a while. Simple UI icons go missing (backup simpleui.rc and copy it back), the network panel stops working, (still haven't found the cause of that, appears to be a KDE update) other stuff breaks. I hit F9, rolled it back and haven't updated it since. A good repository and decent updates from ASUS would make this thing perfect.
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You ever see a budgie with the flops?
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In related news, Apple's Mac OS X, iTunes, and iLife products will be ported to the Asus EEE by an informal group of enthusiasts. The rag-tag hackers will operate under the name IEEE.
There are some Debian EeePC problems, but it's quite ok.
BackTrack 3 Beta has fully support for the EEE and this was completed before the EEE was even released into the wild?!?!?!?!
http://www.offensive-security.com/
http://remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html
So, what did they change from the normal Ubuntu release? I don't see any page on the wiki explaining to me what is special about that flavor! Even more so, the wiki mainly seems to be full of hints how to tweak your (Eee?) Ubuntu. One would think that those tweaks could/should already be implemented.
The EeePC will not be "cutting edge" until it uses the Screen Technology from Pixel Qi (that company that licenses the OLPC dual mode screen for commercial use).
http://www.pixelqi.com/
This company also has several other new LOW POWER screen features (such as a Paper type of screen that is a nice invention).
The whole netbook class of computers uses way too much electricity, and thus, the battery life is less than perfect. Where is the EeePC that has a $10 replacement battery like the OLPC has?
Since Breezy my Samsung R55 has always worked out of the box with no problems at all and that was years ago. I'm talking WiFi, hotkeys, everything and that was years ago. Be sure that you install the latest BIOS for your laptop because that fixed a ton of problems for me when I was starting out with Linux.
The only problem I have with this laptop is that Samsung using a weird power cable with a pin in the middle and now mine is slightly bent which means I have to push and prod it around before the power comes on. I'd never get another Samsung unless they use a standard power cable.
I wrote a review of it yesterday: here. It has quite a few problems, it's a fun and nice machine, but it doesn't live up to the hype.
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Studies show that the creator was trying to just squeeze of a stinky one, and was surprised to realize he just pinched off a universe.
Hold on, rewind a minute. I was going to say "well if you're new to linux then Xandros is commerically supported so who needs the forums"...
But then I realised...WTF? I though the idea of using Linux on the eeepc was to reduce costs by using free (beer) software, but looking on the Xandros site, they usually charge $99/desktop license - not all that much of a saving from Windows XP. They must have slashed their licence costs on the Asus bulk deal, and if so I wonder what kind of profit margin they are making out of it, if any?
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To add to that, could there be a link here with why the pricing has f_cked up on the newer Eees with Windows being cheaper than the Linux version? Maybe Xandros kicked up a fuss about how little they made from the revolutionary gadget and stung Asus for more cash this time round. Combine that with MS anticompetitive practices and you get the hugely disproportiante difference in prices that are now evident rather than just a small undercut.
Sorry about replying to my own post, my mind is working overtime on this now. Does anyone know anything about the licensing deal between Asus and Xandros? Does Xandros have some kind of exclusivity deal on the eee platform, for example?
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...to pay your $699 licensing fee you cock smoking teabaggers!
Think if you were Asus for a moment.. you build hardware, not software. Would it not be a smart business decision to out-source the software to a commercial company to support your hardware?
Sure you could hire developers to work on drivers and some thing, but your business is not a linux distro -- so you find a commercial vendor with a decent price-per-device and go with it.
Just a thought.