For the last couple of Ubuntu releases I’ve been running the full desktop edition on my netbook (Acer Aspire 1). These have run fairly well, and I’ve even had Compiz configured to run the cube and other eye-candy such as wobbly windows – although this may in part be due to its slightly upgraded spec (1.5gb ram). However despite swapping Firefox for Google Chrome there were some aspects that were disappointingly slow, this was regardless of the processor-hungry features that I had running. As a result I decided to give the Ubuntu Netbook Edition a try.
I tried what was then Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) about this time last year, during the 9.04 (Intrepid Ibex) release. I was very disappointed with it. I didnt like the look of it, as there were menus going down the left and right hand sides of the screen. I found that this made the distro not as intuitive as I would have liked, and after trying a couple of other lightweight distros, found myself drawn to the Ubuntu Desktop Edition, which I later upgraded to v9.10 (Karmic Koala).
I downloaded the Netbook Edition .iso onto my netbook and created a bootable usb using the usb creator, and having checked everything was OK, installed Ubuntu Netbook Edition on my machine.
UNE boots up nice and quickly, and immediately found my home wifi. It also found my Vodafone mobile i/net 1st time (something that the previous Ubuntu wasn’t always able to do). First impressions are very positive! Firstly Ubuntu’s new purpleness is easy on the eye. After having UNE on my computer for over 2 weeks I’m still using the default scheme. Previously I’ve altered and customised the theme almost straightaway. Secondly, the main menu is now on the left hand side of the screen, which for me makes the user experience a lot easier.
I still use Pidgin for my IM and IRC needs as I’m really a bit too dim, or possibly a bit too lazy to be bothered to work out haw Empathy works. I was a bit disappointed that GIMP is no longer supplied as standard, although it is easily downloaded through either Synaptic or the Ubuntu Software Centre as are the Ubuntu Restricted Extras – which are pretty much essential for easy day to day usage.
The other advantage of upgrading to 10.04 is that this version has long term support (LTS). Which means that Ubuntu will provide security updates for 3 years, as opposed to 18 months for standard releases.
It should go without saying that moving from the Desktop edition to the Netbook Edition I did a clean install. There have been reports of problems for users who have attempted to update to Ubuntu 10.04 using the Update Manager’s update button, so don’t forget to back-up your data, and have a working bootable disc handy just in case things do go wrong.
