Does Mint needs a Netbook edition? Or is Ubuntu that already

[Nikolai_D]

Hi all,
I was just thinking which version of Linux would be best for my 1000h eeepc. And wondered does Mint needs a Netbook version of Mint? Or is Ubuntu already doing it right? I mean Ubuntu is trying to be more like kind of a mobile Linux. And i see that Mint is like kinda more full blowd desktop os. So basically is it so that u can just take Ubuntu and put it on your netbook and be happy? Or does Mint really need a Netbook version?

Thanks in advance,
Nikolai

[AlbertP]

You can just install a normal version on a netbook. The Ubuntu Netbook Edition has their Unity desktop optimized for small screens, but Mint doesn't use the Unity desktop.

I wouldn't call Ubuntu more "mobile". The user interface is different but the base system is the same so if Ubuntu runs on your netbook, Mint will also run on it. Ubuntu can be used as a "full blown desktop OS" as well. I have installed Mint 11 myself on a Compaq Mini 110 and it ran very well (apart from the Broadcom wifi but Ubuntu or its netbook edition won't do that any better).

[nakedj]

Ditto what Albert said, I have been running Mint on a Netbook since 8 and have had no issues.

[KBD47]

I never understood the 'netbook edition' stuff. To me Ubuntu eats up my netbook desktop real estate with that ugly panel frozen on the left side of the screen, same with Kubuntu's netbook edition. I like to have as much screen available as possible and Mint's one-panel is perfect for my netbook. I also like to use Xfce with one panel and a small dock on the bottom for my most used apps.
KBD47

[DrHu]

All a netbook edition would be is a slimmed down distribution, there is no magic sauce involved.

You can easily slim down any Linux version, by removing applications and services you don't want running/loaded

remastersys
--or simply do it via manual edits after the OS is installed

[overthetop]

Like the others have said, a netbook distro does not need anything special other than a better designed ui to maximise working space on a small screen, a low overhead because of a netbook's weaker processor and smaller size because of smaller storage space.

All of the above can be accomplished just by changing/customizing your linux installation. It does not take a special distro, although that is what the lightweight desktop environment/window managers are for.

[Kevin108]

The most important thing to remember when using Linux on a small screen:

If you can't see something on a given window, hold Alt then click and drag the window until you can see what you need.

[KBD47]

What I do to make my netbook usable:
I set the system fonts for best viewing, enabled for lcd, 96, slight hinting, anti-aliasing enabled, rgb. I increase the font size on Firefox and Thunderbird. On MATE I add a few most used apps to the panel. I put the temp monitor on the panel as netbooks can get hot. That's about it.
KBD47

[Nikolai_D]

Hi guys,
Here we go
Do you remember (if u ever heard) Richard Stallmans example to compare Open Source or Code and Programs to recipies? Like he says when you use closed source you only get a ready dish. Without knowing the ingredients. And with Open Source you can use and change the recipies and cook with additions of sause you like.

So here is exsactly the same. You are telling me that i can cook whatever i want. While what im really asking for is what dish is kind of more tasty then the other. And should our mint dish have a peppermint version.

Like Fuduntu for example. THey strive to be best for netbooks. And for me its not so much about the screens real estate. But fine tuned less energy hungry kernel version etc. And the lightweight choice of apps. But i cant use Fuduntu because its fedora. And there i cant have unity. I can use Mint because its my nice Ubuntu with all the nice extras (codecs etc). And the more lightweight versions like EasyPeasy are like abbandoned. What i like in Gnome 3 / Unity / Win7 its build in search function for apps. So i dont have to click around in the start menu to find where that app is this time sitting.
And all those Unity / Gnome3 haters are just to conservative and dont get it. Imho. But ok there is space for everyines taste so dont worry be happy

Ubuntus vector is moving now more towards mobile kind of linux. As i see it. Kind of what Maemo and MeeGo have been trying to might be better accomplished my Ubuntu. Might be. Hence the Unity comes in place. As the next version of improved Ubuntu Netbook Remix interface that EasyPeasy uses. That i installed on my 1000h. But its outdated and abbandoned kinda. And the difference of Mint (and Gnome 3) and Ubuntu (and Unity). Mint (and Gnome 3 to, kind of) are more striving to the desktop. While Ubuntu to the mobile computers. Like Nokia n900 and Asus EeePC's. After playing around with EasyPeasy i know onemoretime. Unity is the interface i want to use. But there are also under the hood fine tunings. And this is what im asking about. I would like to find a good tool and use it. Not to play around with it. And Mint using Gnome 3 is fine. (as longas i can install Unity). Just by default Unity (Ubuntus todays approach) fits kind of better on the Netbook then Mint. And its not wrong. Everything has its place.
Just i was wondering doesnt Mint needs an Fuduntu version of Mint. Or is Ubuntu already doing it good enough and Mint already has its place as desktom version of the kind of more kind of mobile version of Ubuntu.

This all is because i dont know how running Mint 12 with Unity on 1000H compares to running EasyPeasy and or Fuduntu. In the sense of battery consumption etc.

Peace!
Nikolai

[KBD47]

My experience with Fuduntu on a netbook was that it was too slow. I think the Jupiter app kept bogging it down, for instance, I'd have a browser open and be playing music and the music would keep cutting out. The funny thing is that Jupiter app works fine for me on Xubuntu.
I think Xubuntu is excellent on a netbook, so is Mint Debian Xfce, you can add/remove panels, make your own dock and put it wherever you want. Mint with MATE is nice, one panel and it moves along fine on my netbook with 1 gig or ram and 1.66 processor. Regular Ubuntu has broke on me the last two times I've tried it. If you use a Buntu flavor you might want to add the Jupiter app to keep it running cool. If you go Debian you can put just about any desktop on it and it will run fast and cool. That's my experience. Right now running Mint Debian RC and Xubuntu 12.04 2nd beta on my netbook.
KBD47

[Oscar799]

Moved here by moderator

[The-Wizard]

NO

it has Mint lxde which is what i run on my low spec acer one aspire [1.5 processor.5gb ssd,500mb ram]

[eric k]

I would second Mint's LXDE version.

Low resource.

Lightweight applications.

One panel, unobtrusive UI.

[claudecat]

What i like in Gnome 3 / Unity / Win7 its build in search function for apps. So i dont have to click around in the start menu to find where that app is this time sitting.
Nikolai

It may seem like a strange suggestion, but why not try KDE? It has that feature (search function - also you can hit the spacebar or alt+f2 and use krunner for even more functionality) and has become quite stable and snappy of late. I use it on my netbooks (Mint 12 KDE, Mepis, and Chakra) and it is certainly no slower than the 3 you mentioned. Plus you can actually configure things the way you like to a much much finer degree. And yes, there is a KDE netbook interface (I never use it) if you really need that smartphone look and feel with gigantic icons and such.

[gosa]

I'm another one who'd like to chime saying that a specific netbook edition feels very "redundant".

I have the Asus 1000HE (close enough to OP's 1000H) and I've been experimenting with (in the order as listed):

Linux Mint 9
EEEbuntu (I think that is what it was called)
Crunchbang Linux (back when it was ubuntu-based)
LMDE (Gnome version, added LXDE on top and changed between them depending on what I wanted for the moment)
Linux Mint 12 LXDE

LMDE is the one I've kept the longest time - almost a year. That one's been with me during travels, it's been with me delivering training in Sweden during a week last year, it's been functioning as my "download" computer at home and I never felt the need for anything leaner. Think the RAM usage in idle was around 120-130MB.

Now - even though I'm quite ok with LM12 LXDE I still think it's time to get back to a Debian base. This time I think I'll first try running it with Cinnamon, and if that turns out to be to "heavy" I'll go for XFCE (and maybe I'll add LXDE as an option again)

/gosa

[gosa]

I'm another one who'd like to chime saying that a specific netbook edition feels very "redundant".

I have the Asus 1000HE (close enough to OP's 1000H) and I've been experimenting with (in the order as listed):

Linux Mint 9
EEEbuntu (I think that is what it was called)
Crunchbang Linux (back when it was ubuntu-based)
LMDE (Gnome version, added LXDE on top and changed between them depending on what I wanted for the moment)
Linux Mint 12 LXDE

LMDE is the one I've kept the longest time - almost a year. That one's been with me during travels, it's been with me delivering training in Sweden during a week last year, it's been functioning as my "download" computer at home and I never felt the need for anything leaner. Think the RAM usage in idle was around 120-130MB.

Now - even though I'm quite ok with LM12 LXDE I still think it's time to get back to a Debian base. This time I think I'll first try running it with Cinnamon, and if that turns out to be to "heavy" I'll go for XFCE (and maybe I'll add LXDE as an option again)

/gosa

Ok - have to admit it - I'm quite new with Linux (1,5 years more or less) so my way of doing things might not always be correct...

BUT - Just for the fun of it I ran "sudo apt-get install cinnamon" on top of my LM12 lxde. Rebooted and logged into Cinnamon, and the first thing I met was the need for adjusting my monitor. (good thing that Fn+F8 seems to work) and cycle through the settings until I was back at running on external monitor only. Then I went for the menu - which took it's time to load. When loaded there is a considerable "lag" when moving between the different menu items (hover over Administration and move to Preferences - takes time for the sub-items to show). After another reboot I had to cycle through the different monitor modes again to get "full" desktop. Same thing with menu - loads very slow the first time, and then the lag between the menu items, and the general experience is that things are a bit sluggish.

My conclusion is that even though the "pure" LMDE-based Cinnamon might run a bit smoother it could very well be that Cinnamon might not be the best choice for this netbook (the 1000HE). Waiting for a new hard drive to arrive in a couple of days ("upgrading to a larger 7200rpm one) and will probably try an install of the new spins (LMDE) just to see, but it is starting to smell like XFCE might be a better option if I want to run LMDE)

/gosa

[Nikolai_D]

Hi all,
For the moment i have installed Mint 12 with Unity on it.
Its not super fast but since i use it on all my PC's (home(macmini),work to, and now on 1000H) i pretty like it and get accustomed.
Ill see when i get some more time to play/work with it and will share more/further progress if it will be something interesting to share.
have fun,
Nikolai

[Nikolai_D]

Well,
i see that Mint 12 with Unity works fine for me (because i like Unity functionality wise) but its not that fast sometimes. Although i have even been busy with a Win XP virtual machine. Which works. Not super fast but works. It uses 512 mb ram out of 2gig the 1000h has.
Now im looking back at your suggestions. I guess ill try some Xfce edition. That would be kind of lighter i guess. Also going to try the Unity on the Xfce edition. (Xfce seems more interesting to me then Lxde). Now i wonder does MLDE Xfce has also all codecs and stuff included or not?
ty,
Nikolai

[Nikolai_D]

Im downloading LMDE Xfce. And ill see how it works out. Will post back when i play with it. I wonder now if the LMDE Xfce has Unity in the repos. Just to try it out.

[KBD47]

Well,
i see that Mint 12 with Unity works fine for me (because i like Unity functionality wise) but its not that fast sometimes. Although i have even been busy with a Win XP virtual machine. Which works. Not super fast but works. It uses 512 mb ram out of 2gig the 1000h has.
Now im looking back at your suggestions. I guess ill try some Xfce edition. That would be kind of lighter i guess. Also going to try the Unity on the Xfce edition. (Xfce seems more interesting to me then Lxde). Now i wonder does MLDE Xfce has also all codecs and stuff included or not?
ty,
Nikolai

Unity 2D seems much faster and cooler running on my netbook. But the only way Unity is remotely tolerable, for me, is to put every possible app I would use in the launcher so I don't have to do a search for it, and shrink Unity down to its smallest size so it doesn't eat up the side of my screen, also turn off HUD. I tried the launcher hide feature, but its borked, you have to get a running start and ram your cursor into the side of the screen to get it to launch even on the highest sensitivity setting.
LXDE will fly on a netbook, Xfce will as well, and it gives you more settings/control. On a Mint Debian install MATE is very fast.