Does anyone just stick with Linpus?

I recently got the linpus version of the aao and as I mainly use linux on my other computers and linpus is based on an old version of fedora I immediately thought of installing something else. Browsing through the forums though I see a lot of posts about working with the linpus distro. I do like the way it obviously works with all of the aao hardware. Hence, instead of writing it off as I initially did I am now wondering whether to stick with it and try and update it to a more useful level.

Has anyone else chosen linpus instead of installing a more recent distro? Is it worth putting up with its limitations to keep that full hardware compatability or is it best to go for one of the other distros that seem to be popular ie f10,mandrake, ubuntu.

 

First post, just like to thank all the contributers to this site, it really has helped me get the best of my Linpus Aspire ONE.
Well being a Linux novice I have found Linpus great. I have used these boards to install, gimp, bluefish, VLC, sopcast, veetle and recently had 99% success with bluetooth devices. I think Linpus may well have converted a fully fledged Windows user into a Linux convert. Not to sure what limitations it has though, when compared with other Linux distributions, but I am very impressed.

 

Anyone who hates pain, yes. I will upgrade when there is a drop-in replacement but, last time I looked there was none. FWIW I am a Linux veteran, and I appreciate 100% working hardware without having to tweak it all.

 

I've stuck with Linpus & have merely added a few programmes (such as Opera).

I'm typing this from my 5 year old XP desktop & the Acer is just for use when travelling.

So the Netbook should require as little maintenance & fiddling around as possible.
For most aspects it's just fine. The file manager's a bit difficult to get used to.
The real deal breaker is the unreliable WiFi, which is a damn nuisance as browsing the web & sending e-mails is the main purpose of the thing.

 

yes i was really glad to get away from windows the one worked straight out of the box and until i messed up the usb harddrive access it was all going really well

mike46

 

I've stuck with Linpus. I've only had limited experience of Linux systems, but it's been very little problem. I didn't like the Acer desktop, so I'm using the xfce desktop. I've updated Firefox and installed Thunderbird, Open Office Base and Stellarium.

I've only used the wireless connection in a few locations, but it's been totally reliable so far.

Thanks to the more experienced members - I've learned a lot from their responses to queries.

 

I use Linpus, too. Coming from windows, I'm not attached to a particular linux distribution or desktop. There was a little struggle at first but now I'm a whiz at adding icons to the Acer Linpus page. This forum has great advice and helped get a bluetooth dongle talking to a GPS receiver, connecting wifi to a network printer, and adding RAM to the netbook. My regular notebook is just a dust collector now.

 

Why I stick with Linpus:
1. Resume from sleep *always* works. This was occasionally a problem with everything I tried if you slept/resumed multiple times.
2. The aufs utility that automagically uses your SDHC as part of home without corrupting it. Very nice. SDHC corruption is something to guard against with other distros.
3. Many guides to getting software to install (hacking around the custom setup).
4. POWER CONSUMPTION. With a few tweaks, this distro gets the best battery life of any distribution. Install powertop and see for yourself.

I just turned this post into a new topic on the state of the various distributions here.

 

Yup, I'm still using Linpus. I agree with what someone else said that having all the hardware working without having to tweak things yourself is nice. I don't mind having to do that... My gentoo thinkpad has a lof of hours invested getting every piece of hardware up and running... but for this little guy I'm willing to take the work someone else did an enjoy the benfits. Also since it's still LInux you can go under the hood and change the things you want. I've modified my Linpus a lot, but it's still LInupus.

The only "limitations" you have is your own level of proficiency with a Linux OS. All the tools available on other (redhat based) distros are there. Start using them

 

I switched to Linux Mint, it is a tremendous improvement over Linpus. I had to change the Wifi card from Atheros to Intel for wifi to work flawlessly. Mint works great ( mint is based on ubuntu which is based on debian), and you have a whole universe of applications. I am extremely please with the switch to Mint.

 

Many thanks for the replies. I think I will probably double boot with another distro or maybe even triple boot with winxp and see how I get on. I think it is a shame that acer haven't updated linpus more and didn't offer more apps for it. Especially as they are a major owner of Linpus and there is a more recent version of linpus lite. Netbooks like the aao are ideal platforms for a specific optimised linux because of their limited hardware. I wonder whether a campaign of emails by users might prompt them to more action?

My main concern with linpus is that being based on redhat 8 I assume the apps in the redhat 8 repos are all old versions? It can be annoying enough when I am running ubuntu to know that an app I use a lot has a more recent version with improvements but that it isn't available yet unless I compile it myself (which I have never got round to learning how to do).

 

yup I've stuck with linpus, albeit tweaked a bit, even though I'm a linux veteran.
I wanted to keep the fast boot and standby and the default config and start scripts seem reasonably well sorted out and organised.

I have however configured it with a standard desktop since I want to actually use the machine for normal linux development, and I've updated a few apps that I wanted newer or standard versions of (pidgin, network manager, firefox, thunderbird, open office).
Cheers,
Ivor.

 

i used linpus for half a year, cause i didn't had time for a change of the os. just little things like change to xfce desktop and small modifications. i changed to ubuntu a week ago, and i have to say i made the right decision!
everthing works fine except the wifi led but i will solve that with a new kernel next sunday.
so far my new 150l will get the same distro, and my old 110l is for my daughters, as i allready mentioned in another thread!

greetz klaus

 

I recently bought the AA1 with Linpus Lite on to use for travelling (email and internet) and for dropping photos on for a quick look.
However, after finding this forum and realising that there was other programmes I could download I started a bit of mild tinkering.

So far I have successfully installed Gimp, VLC, F Spot, Amarok and Skype - admittedly not without a bit of pain, but all the solutions to my problems have been solved with the fantastic help of the more Linux technically astute members of this forum.

I am very happy with it and plan to buy a desktop machine so that I can run a fuller Linux OS.

No turning back now.

Nick

 

I'd consider myself a *nix power user, as I've been using it both home and in the office for decades. I've been using Linpus for a full day now, and I'm actually quite impressed with the default Linpus interface... not to mention the 15 second boot up time! The only complaint I have is the lack of network drive mapping out of the box. Not a big deal for someone with my background to sort out, but considering the infrustructure is there, I'm sure Acer could have figured some way to integrate fusersmb. Its a Netbook, shouldn't it be able to see Network drives?

Has anyone tried other Atom/netbook specific distros such as eee-buntu? I havn't had a chance to look into these myself, only saw them referenced while I was researching my new toy.

ps. I just noticed I've been running 6.5 hrs on battery now, with probably just enough juice to get me to 7. wow. i've never seen a battery extend beyond 2/3's of published specs, let alone meet them. (6cell)

pps. my oqo model 2 just went on sale lol

 

I have just stuck with the stock linpus after the addition of a few programs that I wanted to add....my thought is it works for what I purchased it for and don't feel the need to go through the hassle of configuring another distribution to work with it

 

Yup - me too. Now I have got network drive mapping sorted, then it does everything I need it to.

If I get bored, I might have a go with other distros - but only once I have backed this installation up!

Glen

 

I have stuck with Linpus as well. I have my eye open for a "plug and play" distro when they get the bugs worked out, but I don't have the time to playing with things. I only really type, browse the web and use the calendar, so it works perfectly for this college student. Besides adding things like VLC and tweaking a few things, it works fine for me.

 

Hi folks. I have to admit to being a windoze convert too! My desktop at home runs Vista(URRGH!!) but I recently starting dipping me toes in the water with Linux. Had a look at Ubuntu (desktop is now a dualboot with Vista) and have now purchased the A150L linux version. I was considering immediate Ubuntu install until I read these forums and discovered other peoples hardware probs. I didnt much fancy doing that to my new AAO so I decided to stick with Linpus with a couple of additions (Skype,Gimp,VLC,Amarok, Wine and a couple of better games) and I have to say it runs a treat. Add to that a toggle between Linpus and the standard xfce desktop and its just what I need for travelling etc...being a noob I don't want to mess around too much with what I think is a really great bit of kit....

does everything I want it too,,,what more do you need?

 

I just gave up and XP'ed mine. Functionality trumps speed for my needs. I need guaranteed software compatibility and when on the road the AA1 makes a surprisingly good little Netflix viewer.