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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)."
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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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.
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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.
Ubuntu is still basically just a snazzied up Debian. You can choose which WM to run just like you would anywhere else.
You've got to keep in mind, though, that the resolution of the screens are 800x480 for the 7 inchers and 1024x600 for the 9 inch model. At such a very low resolution it seems to run Compiz, GNOME, XFCE, and KDE without any major problems. There are plenty of videos on Youtube demonstrating as much.
You're right. My laptop has a resolution of 1280x800. The 9 inch EEE has a resolution of 1024 x 600. That's 1024000 vs. 614400 pixels. Pretty close to half. It has even less than half if you go with the 7 inch, which only has 800x480 resolution, and 384000 pixels. There's no reason the EEE shouldn't be able to handle a full Linux distro. The only thing holding it back, is the size of the SSD.
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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?
Well, the XO-1 is already capable of running Ubuntu with a GNOME desktop.
Next up, you could load it up with, say, Ubuntu Netbook Remix (I'm guessing that would be a bit choppy as the XO-1 doesn't have OpenGL acceleration), or Ubuntu Mobile Edition, and you have a nice mini interface that's perfect for its small screen.
As a long-time Xandros user who moved to Kubuntu, I have a good idea of what the trade-offs are:
1) Ubuntu will have much more software, and it will be much newer. With Xandros, you may find yourself looking for 'backports' and other specially-packaged versions of software that is otherwise commonly available under Debian and Ubuntu.
2) Xandros' integration with Samba really works, whereas the K/Ubuntu integration has never worked for me. I later learned that NFS is far better/easier for sharing so this became irrelevant.
3) Ubuntu has more drivers owing to the newer kernel and other packages, but the hardware that Xandros does support tends to get configured somewhat better. Advantage here goes to Ubuntu because now that the distro is tailored for the Eee PC in particular: USB add-ons will be better suported than with the pre-installed OS.
4) Xandros updates the OS extremely infrequently. You could wait a year or more for ANY security updates to come through.
5) Xandros' File Manager app is very nice but got increasingly flaky and slow over the years.
6) Xandros Inc. said they were switching their focus to servers a couple years ago.
The final straw for me which insured I'll never go back to Xandros is that they signed a Novell-like dreaded deal with Microsoft. Xandros thinks that by using Linux (not just their distro) you are using Microsoft's 'intellectual property'. Worse still, when GPL3 came out it was specifically worded to grandfather-in only the Novell deal, sticking it to the little "me-too" distros that sold out (i.e. Xandros and one or two others): Xandros will be on increasingly shaky licensing ground as the years progress.
Personally I would avoid lining the pockets of a company like Xandros or Novell by purchasing their systems either bundled or directly.
IMHO whether the one who is evaluating for the school switches or not can be summed up in the answer to a few simple questions: Are you going to need support for AD and Exchange? What about login scripting? Are you going to have to share resources with Windows machines? If the answer to any of the above is yes,or if your students are going to be allowed to take these machines home where they will want to interact with the Windows boxes,then I would stay with Xandros. I have been using it for nearly 3 years and there really isn't anything that is as good at integrating with Windows networks IMHO.
If the answers to all of the above is no,or if you value bleeding edge over integrating with Windows and don't mind giving up a little stability for it,then you should like Ubuntu. But as someone who has to deal with all kinds of networks I will be keeping Xandros on my laptop. It is fast,stable,and works beautifully with AD and Exchange. But that is my 02c,YMMV
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
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.
Gnome is modified. Check out MArk Shuttleworth's blog for some screenshots. They made the window title appear in the top bar for instance, so they understand the spacing issue and are trying to maximize it.