I have spent some time researching the best linux desktop environment to install on my acer one aspire netbook. Like most people, my Windows 7 Starter OS had become sluggish and I needed a boost in performance. There were a few points that I came up with as requirements for this distro.- The desktop environment should not be too fancy and graphic intensive.
- It should be easy to use and have nice aesthetic features.
- Another important thing was a system which did not use a lot of memory.
In my opinion, I have found one that is great for not only netbooks, but for the low-end desktop as well.
Why?
Here are five reasons why I have chosen this as the best linux distro for netbooks:
- It's absolutely FREE: This Operating System is completely free of charge and it is also open-source :D
- Ease of use: Linux Mint is probably one of the easiest to use linux distributions, especially for someone who is used to a windows environment. When you click the ‘menu’ icon in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, the range of programs appear in a style almost similar to windows. Many essential programs are installed right out of the box like firefox web browser, a mail client and even dropbox.
- Aesthetically attractive desktop: Linux Mint LXDE has desktop that is pleasing to the eye but not too distracting. It also has nice fonts. One of the great things about it being linux is that you can customize how it looks as much as you want.
- It uses less RAM: On my acer aspire one netbook, I have 1gb of ram. With no applications open, only 220mb of RAM gets used.
- Hardware Compatibility: Linux Mint is based off of Ubuntu, this helps in terms of hardware compatibility. Linux Mint is compatible with virtually all hardware, and works perfectly on the acer aspire one.
I totally agree with you - Linux Mint is a great operating system. It is quite Ubunbu-ish, just smoother. But for some stupid reason I can't figure out, they have a problem with Dell hardware. I've tried a lot of different versions of Linux Mint and it stalls in the installation every time. I've googled a bit on the problem and it seems to be related with Dell in many cases.
ReplyDeleteI think you figured out the problem - DELL!
DeleteI thought of having Mint on my Dell netbook until I come across this post. Driver problem hmmm?
DeleteUse the "nohz" boot option. Atom based netbooks sometimes require this or they will stall during the installation.
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DeleteThat's a pity. Personally, I've never had a problem with linux and hardware. If I did, then it usually wouldn't take long to find a fix online. However I don't usually use Dell machines.
ReplyDeleteHow about an openbox based distribution, like crunchbang or archbang. Super light and easy on the eyes.
ReplyDeleteIf its a Dell Computer try to use an better quality DVD-R not an DVD-RW
ReplyDeleteOn my Lenovo ThinkPad X120e I have installed XUbuntu. And I like it.
ReplyDeleteI have a Dell laptop and netbook. Mint works OK on the netbook, can't get anything useful to display on the laptop. My desktop is homebuilt, but has a lot of the same glitches as the laptop seems to. I think the problem is ATI graphic chipsets. Nvidia, even Intel, have no problem with Linux distros, ATI seems to have a problem with the whole open source thing. I managed to get it working once, through the command line. The next time I allowed the updater to do it's thing, it became unusable as soon as the "official" ati drivers installed.
ReplyDeleteI got an HP netbook, all installs work awesome.
That being said, Mint is the refined Ubuntu. Much better usability on a fresh install, ESPECIALLY if you depend on a wireless connection. Ubuntu is a great core system, but mint comes with third party drivers, so you don't have to pull your hair out wondering how to download Broadcomm drivers without being able to connect to the internet.
I have an Aspire one. And Mint 13 works like a champ. Like most people my Windows was running sluggish and had a hell of a time reinstalling windows. So said screw it and installed Linux which is much better. Now my once slow Aspire One screams. Just installed it from a USB drive which was easy. Just had to make an ISO copy and booted to the USB Drive and that was it.
ReplyDeleteFor those having video problems such as blank screen on boot you must add the option 'nomodeset' to your grub boot line after the segment 'quiet splash' in the file /boot/grub/grub.cfg
ReplyDeleteI install Ubuntu 12.04, it is good for my netbook, fast and full features. I have tried many kinds of Linux distro, like fast distro, small distro, and for me full feature is the best because full support.
ReplyDeleteI am running the latest mint (13 Maya) on an Acer Aspire One netbook I bought in spring 2009 (it originally had Linpus lite - yes this was back in the say when u could buy a linux netbook in a store!) I stuck with Ubuntu - netbook remix at first, and did not abandon ubuntu because of unity, but I switched to mint 6 months ago, installed docky, and generally made it look Mac-ish (yes I am a recovering fanboi, but have not bought anything from Mr Jobs's emporium since 2005!) I think my hardware will last a few years yet, but this little netbook has already lasted me twice as long as my iBook, purchased 2005, died late 2007!
ReplyDeleteThat pretty good, on par with Xubuntu, but Lubuntu is better. I'm using 220 mb of RAM with 3 firefox tabs open and audacious. Its more like 100 mb without progs running.
ReplyDeleteI am running Mint 12 on my Toshiba NB505 with 1 gig of memory and if I use 5 workspaces with a full screen app in each one I can push the RAM usage all the way to 418 mb. Even with all that open and running (Chrome, GIMP, LibreOffice Writer, Bluefish, and System Monitor), it is still responsive and very usable.
ReplyDeleteHi, I need to upgrade my Linux but not sure to what - currently running Ubuntu but it's getting a bit sluggish. I have a Samsung N150 Plus netbook - any advise on which Linux to install? Not really a distro fundy so would appreciate any help? Like the Mint thing but don't know if it will work the same as on the Acer Aspire One.
ReplyDeleteHow does it stack up against Peppermint?
ReplyDeleteI have a Samsung N150 Plus netbook and was fed up with windows 7 starter. I am using Lubuntu and have had no problems whatsover.
ReplyDeleteYou lucky,lucky people with your 'no problems' I love linux but have had constant problems with my aspire ao722,never been able to get skype working properly,can't get the mic to work on google talk or any other software. With 4gb of ram I find firefox slow & unresponsive, I get crashes all the time with docky,firefox,vlc etc, vlc is very slow to start (4-10 secs before anything happens). Am using xubunntu 12.04 at the mo' so maybe i should try a non ubuntu based distro?. any suggestions ?
ReplyDeleteJust put Linux Mint May (13) cinammon edition on. Alternatively use Peppermint 3 (Lubuntu based) In both cases use Google chrome (chromium) as your browser as it's lighter on resources than firefox
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