Linux Mint Forums

Thanks to all that replied with ways to setup your own Mint NBR. I have been playing with them on my laptop. When I get my netbook I will just make my own Mint NBR until if or when an offical version comes out

Edit to add a screenshot of my laptop with the netbook interface.

I would like to see how the Mint team would approach the concept of a Netbook Remix. Can they do it better? Can they do it without seeming to condescend toward our diminutive ultra-mobile PCs? I bet it would be interesting.

Oh yeah, and does anybody know how to get the netbook launcher with the folders on the right side? I think that's just spiffy.

My whole re-interest in Linux was started by buying an Acer One netbook and finding that the OS didn't even work the way Acer crippled it.

Count me in for a Mint green desktop.

Yeah. I've noticed screen resolution being a big part with my computers with Kubuntu and some times ubuntu. I had a pc with a AMD processor and I couldn't instal my GFX drivers. If I did it would knock my SR to like 5000x5000 and be Not able to display as it would say and then I'd have to reinstall or just make it go back normal way with a bootup terminal or something then install Some program that did it. I think it was called Envy-NG

PcPixel wrote:I found a guide online for making a "netbook remix" of Linux Mint. To try it out, this is what you need to do:
1. Get Linux Mint 8 installed on your netbook.
2. Install all patches.
3. In the Package Manager, install "maximus" and "window-picker-applet".
4. Move the main panel to the top of the screen.
5. Remove the default task manager, and add the Windows Picker applet to the main bar.
6. Under "Start Up Programs", make sure that Maximus will run on start up.
7. Reboot your netbook.

The performance is not bad at all, and this maximizes the screen real estate for Mint. I've been very happy with it, and just recently converted a friends netbook the same way. I realize this isn't a full blown netbook remix, but it's definitely a better way to use Mint on the small screen.

Update: I got my netbook and set it up using the above directions. It works great. For all those wanting a Mint NBR give it a try.

Could someone post pics of this "Window picker applet"?

I've heard of it before but I've never seen nor tried it.

Detective RooTz wrote:Could someone post pics of this "Window picker applet"?

I've heard of it before but I've never seen nor tried it.

Here you go. When you use maximus it removes the title and close x from the top of your windows. The window picker applet puts the title and close x in your bar. When you minimize a window it just turns into a symbol in your bar. Notice the google chrome symbol next to the opened rhythm box in my top bar. Thats this webpage minimized. I found this website that explains what each of the netbook packages does.
http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/col ... xplanation

I tried out the NBR method, and netbook-launcher kept disappearing. Then it would appear for just a second right before logging out or shutting down.

Nice. I've just downloaded it I hacve one problem. See I deleted my old tool bar at the bottom that normally has the programs that are open like browsers etc. I've added it back because I had used tint2. Now, I want to use this. How and what is the addon to the toolbar to get it back the current open windows. I'm in the add to panel and I don't see it... :S

greatbigdragon wrote:I tried out the NBR method, and netbook-launcher kept disappearing. Then it would appear for just a second right before logging out or shutting down.

Do you have it set in start up applications to load when you start your computer?

Detective RooTz wrote:How and what is the addon to the toolbar to get it back the current open windows. I'm in the add to panel and I don't see it... :S

Are you talking about the button you click to minimize your windows and show the desktop? Thats the show desktop button.

Detective RooTz wrote:How and what is the addon to the toolbar to get it back the current open windows. I'm in the add to panel and I don't see it... :S

I think you might be talking about the "Window List" applet. You should just be able to right-click your taskbar and click "add to panel" and then choose it from the list of applets.

8andsand wrote:Do you have it set in start up applications to load when you start your computer?

Yes, I did. I don't know why, but it would either disappear or it wouldn't show up at all when logging on, but it would work if I killed the task, because it would come right back and then it would be up. I just decided instead to use a combination of Gnome Do and Avant Window Navigator to launch my apps, leaving my desktop free and clear.

infamous wrote:You can make it a netbook remix yourself. Just install netbook-launcher and add it to session to have it start automatically.
sudo apt-get install netbook-launcher
netbook-launcher

now you have netbook remix

I've been thinking about getting an Acer netbook, but I don't want to have to use Windows so I tried your installer method
on my Thinkpad (using Mint-8) and it worked!
The result was great. However, it does seem to slow things down a bit. When I did a restart the netbook screen came on again. This showed me that the remix would be "permanent"... a good thing, but I wanted to go back to my original configuration and didn't know how so I did a sudo apt remove which brought back the laptop look after a restart. Is there a way to choose between the netbook or the laptop screen so I can "test" the netbook look?

Is there a way to choose between the netbook or the laptop screen so I can "test" the netbook look?

Yes, you can choose the environment at the gdm log on.

I once thought netbook remixes were going to be lighter, less resource intensive versions of their desktop counterparts, but that isn't the case at all. In fact, where Unity is concerned, the opposite is true. I'll stick with a standard desktop instead.

infamous wrote:You can make it a netbook remix yourself. Just install netbook-launcher and add it to session to have it start automatically.
sudo apt-get install netbook-launcher
netbook-launcher

now you have netbook remix

Is there a way to "toggle" this, that is to be able to have this launch OR NOT without having to uninstall it?

Katzedecimal wrote:I and my Acer Aspire One would certainly be down with this. I ran Mint XFCE livestick on my AA1 but it did not like the AA1's screen resolution (hard to install when you can't reach the buttons )

I tried Linux4One, an Ubuntu-based remix for the AA1, but the boot time was painfully slow and for some odd reason it did not offer me any wireless at all, couldn't even find it on the network manager. But I did find the Ubuntu-remix interface preferable to the AA1's default "Fisher-Price" interface and I liked that it came with VLC as its media player Easy Peasy is uuuuuuuuuuuuuuug-ly!! (Same Ubuntu-remix interface with "EASY PEASY" scrawled in huge letters across the backdrop, just in case you forgot which distro you were using... ) There was a lot that I didn't like about EP, including choice of software. Then too, it's mixed for the EeePC, so there was much it didn't like about the AA1 as well *lol* So I am back to the default Linpus Light, which is alright on its own but as support for Fedora 8 falls away, more and more users are running into Dependency Hell any time they try to install a program (such as the much-loved VLC)

I have no expectations for a Mint netbook remix (a MintEEE or a Mintspiration? ) but if anyone did develop one, I'd be quite happy to help test it out.

.
Hi there ! ...
I also have a ' Acer-Aspire-One ' ... with .. LINUX Mint 9 (Isadora) on it ... and it's true ... you got into problems .. by install some new programms ... with ' synaptic-package-installer ' ... can't touch the button ... to install your choise ! ...
and you can't change the size of the popup-window ... it's just too long ... going down all the way ... where you can't follow with the courser ! ...
and why ? ... ' vlc ' will be not installed ? ... mostlikely the best media-player around ! ... is not supported ? ...
this need to be fixed ! ... of course ... I like VLC ! ... and in ' LINUX Mint 7 (Gloria) ... you'll have it ! ...
this needs to be thought over ! ... maybe in a new version ... called ... ' LINUX Mint Special Netbook Remix ' ! ...

I have just finished customising Mint 10 LXDE on my aspire one and it runs beautifully

wizard

The only advantages the Ubuntu netbook UI gives is bigger buttons, meaning easier to see and navigate on a small screen, and the presets of apps opening maximized. I'd imagine it'd also be much easier to use with a touchscreen and fingers instead of a pin sharp mouse / track-pad / pointer. It's all theming. I can see the advantage for a 7" netbook, but the 10" models which are very common now work great with a regular desktop UI, with the odd app that has a default or fixed size window that's too big.

The UNR / UNE has went through a lot of changes too from Ubuntu 10.04 / Mint 9 to Ubuntu 10.10 / Mint 10. The Ubuntu 10.04 version was pretty sweet, still Gnome and very flexible, while the Ubuntu 10.10 version was the first look at the whole Unity concept, where a lot of the concepts they want to add are not there yet.

It's an interesting evolution. It started as an unofficial edition, which proved to be rather popular, so Canonical brought in on as an official edition with a new name, to it's current status of a dead product. Does that mean Canonical have decided netbooks are dead? I'd doubt it, it looks more like their plans are to have a single UI that's flexible enough to work well on various sized screens, as well as tablets. Whatever Canonical decide will affect how easily Mint can be themed towards a netbook.

I'd argue that neither Ubuntu or Mint are ideally suited to a small or older netbook, for that you'd be looking at some distro as light on resources as possible, anything built on Gnome isn't going to be ideal. That said, I run the main Gnome Mint 10 on my 10" MSI Wind and it runs great, even with Compiz. It's all what you're used to and what performance you expect. I'd imagine that some would look at my netbook and deem it unusably slow, while it's fast and flexible enough for me.