Which distro for a netbook?

[Ardesco]

Just moved over to Linux Mint Debian Edition and it's great! I then switch from gnome to KDE4 which IMHO is the much better GUI, but that takes a bit of tweaking

(This is on my laptop mind where I do work)

I find as a work platform Linux rocks, the terminal is just so useful, but then you do have to learn how to use it properly. I still use Win 7 on my desktop, but that's just so the games will run.

[realityhack]

Well, I cracked it. It was a real kickself moment.

After about 3 days of trying all manner of Terminal shit:e trying to get the network card to work, I found an old USB WiFi key and thought 'what the hell' and stuck it in the netbook.

Ba-da... WiFi network immediately found, connection established, and all updates (including the proprietary drivers for the nuisance network card) downloaded and installed.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix + Unity GUI up and running - and it's the perfect UI for my silver surfer friend. She loves it.

Moral of the story: There's probably only about 1 or 3 'nix distros that are intact enough to install for others - but don't assume the hardware will play ball. Check (carefully) on the relevant distribution pages for compatible hardware before buying your machine of choice.

Through this journey I discovered a whole community of hackintosh folks running Snow Leopard on hither and thither machines with glee. That's my next project.

[RichardCranium]

Ubuntu Netbook Remix + Unity GUI up and running - and it's the perfect UI for my silver surfer friend. She loves it.

[amcdonald]

It does goad me that we're faced with such limited choice.

Surely there's a massive gap in the market for a reasonably priced, secure, elegant operating system with the usability of the Mac, the universality of Win, and the security and stability of a robust 'nix system.

Isn't a Mac just running BSD with a shiny gui on top, ie the Mac equivilent of Windows 95

[Cliphead]

Through this journey I discovered a whole community of hackintosh folks running Snow Leopard on hither and thither machines with glee. That's my next project.

I've built a couple of these Hackintosh machines although I don't have one running at the moment. Check the various forums for compatible hardware which will save a lot of time and grief.

[NickFitz]

Isn't a Mac just running BSD with a shiny gui on top, ie the Mac equivilent of Windows 95

It's a tad more complex than that

[realityhack]

Check the various forums for compatible hardware which will save a lot of time and grief.

Thanks for the tip.

Either that or buying a unibody pro, which is very tempting right now.

[Bunk]

Thanks for the tip.

Either that or buying a unibody pro, which is very tempting right now.

I'm holding off buying a Pro at the moment as the current ones are pretty near the end of their run. There should be new specs announced within the next few weeks.

Linky

[realityhack]

I'm holding off buying a Pro at the moment as the current ones are pretty near the end of their run. There should be new specs announced within the next few weeks.

Linky

Cheers Bunk, I'm having to buy the latest and greatest by March 14th, so will hold out for the latest mac news. It's going to be a mac or a nice linux box. If a mac then I'm getting the CS Master Collection, plus all the RAM I can cram.

[Bunk]

Cheers Bunk, I'm having to buy the latest and greatest by March 14th, so will hold out for the latest mac news. It's going to be a mac or a nice linux box. If a mac then I'm getting the CS Master Collection, plus all the RAM I can cram.

New Macbook Pro's are out today. Quad-core and it's cheaper to upgrade to 8GB than before.