went back to linpus lite.

after using several distros i have gone back to the default linpus lite os, why because the wireless support is much better than any distro that i have found, also seems quicker and smoother.

i have tried the following distros.
UNR 1.0.1
ubuntu intrepid
xubuntu intrepid.
linux4one
puppylinux 4.1.2 (i think)
fedora 10 xfce

the best distro that i have tried was fedora 10 xfce.

i have used several guides to update linpus with oo3 and firefox 3 and vlc.

when distros have great wireless support and decent speed i might try again, but linpus meets my requirements at the moment. shame you cant use the wireless driver from linpus on other distros.

 

Doesnt Linpus use MadWiFi though? I felt WiFI in Linpus was allot better than ath5k in Intrepid, but MadWiFi offers an identical level of performance in my experience.

 

You may want to give Eeebuntu a try, even though it's clearly Eee-oriented.

I thought it would be another Wi-Fi no-hoper and I'd have to go back to Linpus, as you did.

But with a bit of fiddling (see http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11495) I was able to get the wireless going and it works a treat - just as well as it did under Linpus, I'd say.

A couple of tweaks from https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne110L and you're ready to go.

Might just be me, but it feels like the battery life's a mite longer too. But I'm not reinstalling Linpus just to check!

Tony
Editor
Register Hardware
www.reghardware.co.uk

 

I tried a bunch, but not including Fedora, so can't compare there. But I have been working under Mandriva -- and i mean working not fiddling -- for almost 2 months without major issues. I run latest OO, Opera, TrueCrypt, Skype, Pidgin and VLC primarily, so pretty simple. There WERE issues getting TrueCrypt and MS network to work, and I did get some Linux expert help (10 - 20 minutes IIRC). Skype mic needs some fiddling with settings. And FF3 still does not run YouTube or any video very gracefully, but Opera does after forcing the right Flash plugin. I also get a bunch of harmless error messages when running CLI, but i seldom do that, so don't care. The wifi lights don't work, but the wifi works great and with no fiddling, so I don't care about the lights either.

Multitasking works quite well, i can run more than I expected. Make sure to use native disk format. If you get periods of momentary 'stalls' disable the automatic update checker (easily done from top tray).

Battery life is the only downside compared to Linpus, down from about 2:50 to 2:10. Boot is probably longer, but not that much to actual usefulness, and again this is not important to me.

I run the 8Gb Intel SSD A110 with 512RAM, so if mine can run it, anybody can. Use SDHC for my file storage (TrueCrypted, so even if anybody got hold of the card, no issue).

It's not perfect, but it is a very usable traveler than you can toss around, and it can do 98% of what I can do in the office (tho my needs are simple as noted above). I can run the latest of what I need, and not fear running updates. Not bad for total investment of $250.

That's my experience -- yours may vary.

Good luck,

Ken

 

Yeah I'm right here with you. After back and forth with Ubuntu 8.10 and a failed attempt with Fedora, I just re installed Linpus for the 10,000 times lol...I have some stuffs to work out, but as it turns out, the AAO has become my 2nd computer, so just a quick email and internet check and go is enough to go with Linpus...

 

Just to make a mention, you should try Fore Sight Linux: http://www.foresightlinux.org/

Their Mobile version is the one you should look at. They have it tested for the MSI Wind and the EEE but I will tell you I have it setup on my AA1 as part of a dual boot setup and it works great. WIFI works fine, they do report WIFI after suspend issues, I think all Netbook linux distros are having that issue. Also the GDK package manager is having issues so command line is the way to go, but they have an excellent document on it.

Some issues I noticed with Fore Sight on the AA1. The netbook easy desktop mode. You know tabbed sections of what you want to do. It is not working well, screen refresh issues and even though I have a traditional desktop setup as my default it appears here and there, so I may have to tweak something. It seems the easy desktop mode (not their name, what I call it) is done using Compiz and I think that is where the problem lies.

Anyway otherwise it does very well on the AA1. Very Open Suse feel to the way they setup gnome, and I am not just talking about the green.

Anyway I looked at the other distro options for the AA1 since I bought an XP model and decided to try this one first and have been happy so far. 90% of what I have to do on my netbook I do in Linux. There is a rare occasion where XP is easier for some things. But they are rare. I keep it on there as dual boot as I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Incidentally setting up the AA1 as dual boot is tricky, reinstalling XP formats the whole drive, eee-buntu does as well as Linpus. This was unacceptable in my book. I was thinking of either installing Xubuntu and adding the netbook packages, or giving openSUSE a whirl and customize it, I also debated trying ZenWalk for a more Slack based system. Then I found Fore Sight. However fore sight does not repartition in a way you could preserve and resize an existing Windows partition for example. So I used GParted to solve that then ran the Foresight install. I have noticed a lack of good tutorials for getting the AA1 setup as a dual boot machine. I could write one if need be. The key though I have found is to use gparted before even trying a linux install. And not to use any install that will force you to format the whole drive out. Not only for preserving the XP drive but also that E-recovery drive.

Anyway before you settle on Linpus you might want to give Foresight Mobile a try.

Ken

 

i would like to say thank you for all the suggestions to this.

i will some of the suggestions if i go to another distro for the netbook.

 

If you installed Mandriva 2009.... wifi would work out of the box. couple of simple changes to a txt file to make the right side SD work. Presto, you're done.d

 

Or just install sidux and the whole lot will work

 

Ive gone back and fourth with other distro`s also.
Cruncheee worked but wasnt happy with wireless compared to to linpus.
Puppy 4.1 AAO1,,This was an Acer aspire one ready build,,,It works surprisingly well.
But wasnt happy with the wireless settings,,and the hoops you had to jump threw just to get connected
to the wireless.It wasnt hard to do,,It just wasnt as simple as Linpus.
Ubuntu Netbook remix,,,I just didnt find it as fast on boot up
and for some reason it was glitchy on my system.

Ill be trying Linux4one light soon.Im interested in the LXDE desktop and hoping it will be better then the
Ubuntu Netbook or the standard Linux4one.

The one thing linpus will allways have over all the others out there is Boot up time.
And you know that everything will work properly,,,But im into trying to make stuff work.
And thats why i keep trying others.

 

I have enjoyed Linux4One Lite. Power on to wifi connect is 40 seconds.

I just wish it had OpenOffice 3 is not in the standard repositories.

 

I have Interpid+Netbook Remix+SICKBOY kernel and everything is working with 24sec boot