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As much as I love Ubuntu Linux and all its open source glory, I really am not a fan of the current logo and the color scheme. Come on, brown. I understand that they took the current design inspiration from the word Ubuntu’s African roots, but that particular shade of brown they used isn’t exactly the most enticing thing to see. Read more…
We’ve seen netbooks flourish for the last two years. These cheap and relatively underpowered mini-laptops have been super portable. Add the fact that they can do almost all the basic computer user’s needs at an affordable price, so it’s really no surprise that netbooks have been the number one product for many computer manufacturers.
But it looks like in 2010 we’ll be seeing the portable computing landscape changed yet again. Lots of talk about a new class of mini-laptops running ARM-based processors have been on the news a lot lately. Since they’re running ARM, they won’t be able to run Windows XP or Windows 7. They’re all going to be on Linux. However, they’ll be able to last for a long time on a single charge, and some will be featuring integrated 3G connectivity and HD video acceleration features.
You also get the ability to receive emails, instant messages, and other data even while the computer is in sleep mode. Basically, you are going to get the best of both worlds in terms of notebooks and smartphones, hence the name “smartbooks.”
From Liliputing:
The president of ARM Korea says that as many as 20 ARM-based smartbooks could hit the streets in the first quarter of 2010.
Most, but not all of these devices will likely be sold by mobile broadband providers at subsidized prices. That means you may be able to pick up a smartbook for less than $200 up front. Some might even be free. But you’ll probably end up paying up to $60 per month to actually use the 3G wireless capabilities, which means that over the course of a 2 year service contract you could end up paying between $1400 and $1600 for a device that looks like a laptop, but which has a slower processor and won’t run Windows.
Are you willing to put up with Linux if it means that you’ll be able to get more out of a single charge? Give me your thoughts!
Ok, so I guess you’re pretty excited for Google’s entry into the operating system market with Google Chrome OS. I don’t know how anyone could get pretty excited over an OS running a web browser and nothing else, but if you’re into cloud computing and you would want to have a feel of what Chrome OS might turn out, you should try BrowserLinux.
BrowserLinux is a fast and small linux distribution for surfing the web. In fact it’s so small that it claims that it eats up only 78Mb upon installation. It’s actually based on Puppy Linux, which is by itself one of the most lightweight Linux distros available.
Unlike Google Chrome though, BrowserLinux is not all browsers. It also has a few applications installed, and you have options to add extra software if you want to.
The applications that come preinstalled on BrowserLinux are:
To install BrowserLinux, you need to download the ISO and run Unetbootin.
Okay, if you’re looking to install this on your main computer, I really wouldn’t advise doing that. Having a lightweight operating system is well and good, but to run a system as stripped-down as this, you’re going to run into something that’ll need an application not available for your OS. Better stick with a bootable flash drive if I were you.
I’ve been totally excited about Chrome OS for some time now, and I was eagerly looking forward to the big yesterday. But the screenshots that came out left me with a feeling of “that’s it?!”
Okay, I knew all along that Chrome OS will be cloud-based and that you won’t be able to do much with it without an internet connection. Fair enough. I just wasn’t expecting that they’d turn out this uninspired design that looks no different from Chrome, the browser. Read more…
Apparently, Acer’s Android netbook will be available to the general public by November. The reported of the netbook is around $300 to $350, and it won’t be all that much cheaper than the current 10-inch Aspire One since it still runs Windows and will have comparable specs.
So now I’m wondering why install Android in the first place if Windows is still going to be running alongside it. I’d rather wait for the Google Chrome OS netbook, mind you.
