Question about the different OSes

So I am getting a really awesome looking AAO for christmas, and while it is here, it is under the tree and I can't get it out and play with it until the 25th. So I am doing my research and getting a to do list ready for it. The first thing of course, is getting rid of the XP pro the previous owner had on it (I got it off ebay used) and put a good linux OS on it. While I am not a complete stranger to linux (have ubuntu as a dual boot on this machine for 2ish years) I am far from an expert. Well I have heard a ton of different OSes being thrown around for an AAO and was wanting to get some kind of informed opinion on which one is currently the best... The list so far i've seen consists of more or less...

Ubuntu Netbook remix
EEE-Ubuntu
Normal Ubuntu
XUbuntu...


There are a bunch of others as well... From what I've read, the only thing that would make me stay away from the netbook remix, is the fact that i think i still want a desktop environment, while the netbook remix lacks any form of desktop. I do believe that I am going to attempt to install the kernel that is specifically designed for the AAO. From what i read, it sounded like it could be applied to any Ubuntu derivative or something... I did a search, but didn't come up with anything conclusive but I didn't look too hard so if its already been posted, i apologize.

Thanks in advance!
Matt

 

I would go with windows. Of course.

 

There are other Ubuntu options:

Kuki (still in development; customized for AA1)
Linux Mint
Simply Mepis (or is that Debian now? I can't keep track.)
gOS
Kiwi Linux (includes multimedia codecs, adobe flash etc.)

Sorry I can't recommend one since I use Fedora XFCE spin.

 

The basic question is what kind of harddisk is in it ?
-If- ssd then it is very sensitive to what you are trying to do with it.
-If- normal spinning harddisk is does not matter so much.
2c --Japser.

 

If you install the netbook remix image, there's an option in the preferences panel to go to a GNOME desktop. Also, the Favorites section acts a lot like a desktop that can only hold symbolic links. There's reasons to not want it (you want faster loading, less RAM-intensive XFCE), but I think the interface for the remix is brilliant, but it's just a collection of GNOME utilities you can install and uninstall by package.

 

its got an SSD upgraded from 8 to 16GB, but it also is upgraded on ram from 512 MB to 1.5 GB

 

My favourite OS is Xubuntu, so I naturally installed that. Your choices are pretty much all the same (Ubuntu-derivatives) and mainly differ in Window manager or desktop layout. I think all of them are equally good, and the "best" is mainly up to your personal preference. The only thing I can really recommend is downloading the CD images, "burn" them to a USB stick, and try them out. You can try them out without installing them to the hard disk.

If you don't know how to burn a CD image to a USB stick, see:
http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

Some of your distros are already included.

 

The Netbook Remix interface is awesome. If I had Ubuntu on my desktop, I'd be inclined to install it there too (although the screen is way too big)

As has been said above, the Netbook Remix interface is really just a launcher program that starts on system boot and a collection of GNOME Panel applets. You can always hit [Alt + F1] to get access to the main GNOME menu.

 

If you go with a -buntu variant or derivative, I highly recommend sickboy's kernel.