Should there be a netbook remix?

[d00med]

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.

[newyorkpaulie]

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?

[casey972oo]

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 ' ! ...

[The-Wizard]

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

wizard

[ThistleWeb]

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.

[casey972oo]

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.

Hi there ! ...

I have a smal 'TOSHIBA-NB1oo-Netbook' ... with a screen of 8,9" ! ... just 512-MB RAM ! ... 8o GB hard-disk ! ...
and run 'LINUX MINT 7 Gloria' on it ! ... it's just fine ! ... I'm realy satisfied with it ! ... and no problems so far ! ...

and ... I will tryout your advice ... with 'maximus' ... and 'windows-picker-applet' ! ...
but ... for all those 'newbies' ... I would vote for ... create a real 'Netbook-Remix' ! ... disigned for those smal netbooks ! ...

that's it ! ... what I wanted to tell you ...

[ThistleWeb]

Hi there ! ...

I have a smal 'TOSHIBA-NB1oo-Netbook' ... with a screen of 8,9" ! ... just 512-MB RAM ! ... 8o GB hard-disk ! ...
and run 'LINUX MINT 7 Gloria' on it ! ... it's just fine ! ... I'm realy satisfied with it ! ... and no problems so far ! ...

and ... I will tryout your advice ... with 'maximus' ... and 'windows-picker-applet' ! ...
but ... for all those 'newbies' ... I would vote for ... create a real 'Netbook-Remix' ! ... disigned for those smal netbooks ! ...

that's it ! ... what I wanted to tell you ...

What's with all the !... ? You do realize that stuff like that makes it very difficult for regular people to actually read what you took the time to type? Plenty of people will just skip over a post like that because it's more hassle than it's worth.

[donec]

Hi there ! ...

I have a smal 'TOSHIBA-NB1oo-Netbook' ... with a screen of 8,9" ! ... just 512-MB RAM ! ... 8o GB hard-disk ! ...
and run 'LINUX MINT 7 Gloria' on it ! ... it's just fine ! ... I'm realy satisfied with it ! ... and no problems so far ! ...

and ... I will tryout your advice ... with 'maximus' ... and 'windows-picker-applet' ! ...
but ... for all those 'newbies' ... I would vote for ... create a real 'Netbook-Remix' ! ... disigned for those smal netbooks ! ...

that's it ! ... what I wanted to tell you ...

What's with all the !... ? You do realize that stuff like that makes it very difficult for regular people to actually read what you took the time to type? Plenty of people will just skip over a post like that because it's more hassle than it's worth.

I agree when I see that kind of post I try and scan it, but unless during my quick scan I see something I can easily read and understand I don't go any further as I don't feel like working at reading it. So I just skip it. Hoping someone else's post will clarify it.

[spider2097]

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.

This does raise an interesting point. I use an Asus EeePC 4G (7" screen netbook) bought from eBay. It's original owner had added some extra RAM so it runs 2Gb RAM, I'm not sure what the original RAM size was. I'm able to run Mint 10 Gnome without any problem & it serves my purposes well enough. In fact, it's run the Gnome editions of Mint since Gloria without any faults. (if I say it really quietly, it's even run Mint 10 KDE without serious issue - albeit from the Live DVD). On a personal level, I don't really like these netbook remixes but I can understand why people would favour them. That's my own taste though.

Since there's an Ubuntu NBR, is it difficult to copy the theme/layout off the live CD/DVD of that into an installation of Mint? Or would it depend on which version of Ubuntu the NBR is based on compared to the version of Mint? Would they have to be equivalent or are the later versions backwards compatible?

[donec]

On a personal level, I don't really like these netbook remixes but I can understand why people would favour them. That's my own taste though.

Sorry to put you on the spot Spider but would you enlighten me? I mean I don't like them either and I don't understand why anyone would favor them. What is good about them? Thanks in advance.

[spider2097]

Sorry to put you on the spot Spider but would you enlighten me? I mean I don't like them either and I don't understand why anyone would favor them. What is good about them? Thanks in advance.

Well, with a small screen netbook having all your application launchers on screen and easy to get to is a good thing for some people. It depends how you plan on using your netbook. Does someone who just wants to surf the net really need a fully fledged desktop environment? Personally, I want more from my computer than a netbook remix seems to offer but other people may prefer a simple interface. Maybe I'm missing the point of these netbook remixes & their possible advantages just because I don't like the way they make my screen look

NBR's appear (to me) to be a nice, simple interface that get people "instant" access to their applications without having to worry about navigating menu's. I can see why they would appeal to people who only use their netbooks for basic tasks (surfing the net, email, social networking etc). It's all about how people do what they want to do with their equipment.

[ThistleWeb]

It could also be aimed at people with a big icon fetish

[donec]

Thanks Spider I had not thought of it like that since I also want more from my computer than NBR's offer and everything they offer are available with a regular desktop.

[casey972oo]

Hi there ! ...

I have a smal 'TOSHIBA-NB1oo-Netbook' ... with a screen of 8,9" ! ... just 512-MB RAM ! ... 8o GB hard-disk ! ...
and run 'LINUX MINT 7 Gloria' on it ! ... it's just fine ! ... I'm realy satisfied with it ! ... and no problems so far ! ...

and ... I will tryout your advice ... with 'maximus' ... and 'windows-picker-applet' ! ...
but ... for all those 'newbies' ... I would vote for ... create a real 'Netbook-Remix' ! ... disigned for those smal netbooks ! ...

that's it ! ... what I wanted to tell you ...

What's with all the !... ? You do realize that stuff like that makes it very difficult for regular people to actually read what you took the time to type? Plenty of people will just skip over a post like that because it's more hassle than it's worth.

.
the question is : "Should there be a Netbook-Remix" ! ...

there is no question : "Should there be some dots in your message" ? ...

when you dont like my style of writing ! ... just pass it over ... skip it ! ... and read something else ! ... OK ! ...

.

[ThistleWeb]

.
the question is : "Should there be a Netbook-Remix" ! ...

there is no question : "Should there be some dots in your message" ? ...

when you dont like my style of writing ! ... just pass it over ... skip it ! ... and read something else ! ... OK ! ...

.

In case it escaped your logic circuits, the point of a forum is for people to discus stuff, which means being able to read each others posts. But if you insist. I'd say this is a case of "careful what you wish for", since you're in for a lonely time here, where almost everyone skips your posts in every thread you contribute to, simply because of your "writing style".

[spider2097]

the question is : "Should there be a Netbook-Remix" ! ...

there is no question : "Should there be some dots in your message" ? ...

when you dont like my style of writing ! ... just pass it over ... skip it ! ... and read something else ! ... OK ! ...

.

Aah, I found these posts hard to read myself & had difficulty understanding what you were trying to say. From what I understand of the forthcoming changes with Ubuntu & Gnome, and the implementation of _both_ Unity (from Ubuntu/Canonical) and Gnome-Shell (from the Gnome project), the need for specific netbook remixes will no longer be there dependent upon whether a distro makes either of these available. Of course, maybe I'm mis-understanding what either of these front-ends will mean for the end user.

BTW, Gloria has passed it's end of support date and so I would suggest upgrading to a newer version.

[casey972oo]

.
the question is : "Should there be a Netbook-Remix" ! ...

there is no question : "Should there be some dots in your message" ? ...

when you dont like my style of writing ! ... just pass it over ... skip it ! ... and read something else ! ... OK ! ...

.

In case it escaped your logic circuits, the point of a forum is for people to discus stuff, which means being able to read each others posts. But if you insist. I'd say this is a case of "careful what you wish for", since you're in for a lonely time here, where almost everyone skips your posts in every thread you contribute to, simply because of your "writing style".

.
if you have problem .... with my writingstyle ... it's ... YOUR PROBLEM ! ... but mine ...
you are not forced to read ... what I put in ... into this forum ! ... and I write ... just the way ... I like it ! .... got this ? ...
there are always people like you ... all over this planet ... and they don't have to read ... they just want to read ... for a lonley time ...
this might escape your logic circuits ! ... and they can all skip my postings ... I don't want them to read ... what they don't like ! ...

by the way ... the Question is ! ... " Should there be a Netbook Remix ? " ...

[Troken]

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

wizard

What kind of customising? How did you solve it? Perhapps you have a screenshot of it? I am curious because I belive that either LXDE or a Debian-edition of Mint would be best for older netbooks. Best would of course be a LXDE Debian-edition, but thats for the future.

[niop]

Hi All,

Want a Linux Mint 12 "Lisa" with XFCE or LXDE Desktop, latest Video Driver that is able to view 720p / 1080p videos and Flash Videos ( like youtube ) in 720p ( with firefox only ), a lot of usefull applications, and scripts that make the job easier ?

Then take a look at my first release, name EMinteePC ( but also for other netbooks, special kernels are in the download section )
http://eminteepc.freeforums.org

Tested on an Asus EeePC 1101HA

For others, feel free to give me feedback about mising drivers ( wifi / bluetooth ) with the model of the hardware, to enable it into the kernel

Have a good day,
Niop