Lubuntu 13.10 - Perfect for netbooks?

Introduction

Over the past week there has been somewhat of a frenzy in the Linux blogosphere.

I wrote an article highlighting the many articles that appeared due to the release of Ubuntu 13.10.

In that article I mentioned that I would be looking at Lubuntu 13.10 as it is a distribution that I haven't yet reviewed.

Lubuntu is supposed to be a lightweight Linux distribution and therefore it should be more than suitable for my Acer Aspire One D255 Netbook boasting an Intel Atom Processor (1.66 ghz) and 1 GB memory.

So how did it fare? read on to find out.

Downloading Lubuntu 13.10

You can download Lubuntu 13.10 from http://lubuntu.net/blog/lubuntu-1310-saucy-salamander-released.

By clicking the above link you can also read about the purpose of Lubuntu, the features of Lubuntu and changes that have been made specifically for Lubuntu 13.10.

Lubuntu is available as a 32-bit download or a 64-bit download.

How to buy a copy of Lubuntu 13.10

If you have a poor internet connection or a download limit then you may wish to on DVD or a USB drive.

System Requirements

To run Lubuntu 13.10 you will need an Intel Pentium Pro or above. Basically your computer needs to have a CPU with Physical Address Extensions (PAE).

If you are running a computer without PAE incorporated then it is still possible to run Lubuntu but you need to install version 12.04.

In the comments below I have been informed that you can use Lubuntu 13.10 with or without PAE but it has to be the 32-bit version. The information I have given in my review comes from http://www.lubuntu.net/.

I guess the best advice is therefore to give Lubuntu 13.10 a go and if it works then great but if not falling back to a previous version should work.

The minimum requirements state that you need just 128 mb of RAM. To be honest you need more than this. The Lubuntu website is a bit vague in regards to the recommended requirements. I would suggest 1gb of RAM nowadays is a minimum.

Installation

If you are downloading Lubuntu then the first thing you need to do is either burn Lubuntu to a DVD or write it to a USB drive.

If you are using Windows go to http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ and download the Windows version of Unetbootin. If you are using Ubuntu then you can download Unetbootin from the software centre. For all other versions of Linux check the repositories using the appropriate package manager to see if Unetbootin is available.
Insert a blank USB drive and run Unetbootin. Select the Lubuntu 13.10 that you downloaded and then the drive that depicts your USB device.

When Unetbootin has finished writing Lubuntu to the USB drive remove the  drive and insert it into the computer that you wish to install Lubuntu on and boot it up.

From the menu select default and this will load up a live version of Lubuntu. Click the install icon on the desktop.

Installing Lubuntu is fairly easy and if you have ever installed any other version of Ubuntu then it should be straight forward.

Basically the steps are:

1. Select where you are on a map
2. Create a user and password
3. Partition your drive

Now the partitioning is the bit that most people find the trickiest especially if you are installing side by side.

There are options for replacing the current operating system, installing side by side or something else. On a netbook I think it is fine to use either replace (if you don't need what is there already) or side by side. There is no need to get too technical with the partitioning on what is usually a fairly small hard drive.

For a full Lubuntu 13.10 install guide click here.

First Impressions

Lubuntu 13.10 will look and feel quite familiar for those of you who have used any version of Windows in the past 20 years (Windows 8 excluded).

There is a taskbar at the bottom which consists of a menu, quick launch icons and a system tray.

Lubuntu uses the LXDE desktop environment.

The components of LXDE include lightweight panels, menus, the Openbox window manager, file managers, text editors and terminal emulators.

The menu is a throwback to the Windows XP classic menu.

The system tray contains icons for audio settings, language settings, network settings, a clock and an icon for logging off.

Connecting to the internet

As Lubuntu is based on Ubuntu it is very easy to connect to the internet.

Simply click on the network icon and choose the wireless network (or indeed wired network) that you wish to connect to.

You will be prompted for your password and then you will be asked for the security key to the network.

The browser included with Lubuntu is Firefox (version 24).

Applications

Lubuntu doesn't come with a lot of applications but for a netbook there is more than enough to get you started and certainly enough for browsing the web and staying connected.

Accessories

Archive Manager, Disk Management Utility, File Manager (PCManFM), Calculator, Image Viewer (GPicView), Text Editor (Leafpad), Terminal.

Games 

Penguin Canfield, Freecell, Golf, Mastermind, Merlin, Minesweeper, Pegged, Solitaire, Spider, Taipei, Thornq.

Graphics

Document Viewer, mtPaint Graphic Editor, Simple Scan.

Internet

Web Browser (Firefox), Messenger (Pidgin), Email Client (Sylpheed), Bittorrent Client (Transmission)

Office

Word Processor (Abiword), Spreadsheet (Gnumeric)

Sound and Video

Audio (Audacious), Media Player (MPlayer), Webcam (GUVCView), Disc Burning (XFBurn).

System Tools

Lubuntu Software Centre, Package Manager (GDebi, Synaptic), Startup disk creator.

Installing Applications

There are various ways to install applications using Lubuntu. I would imagine the intended preferred method would be the Lubuntu Software Centre.

You can find the software you are looking for using the software centre by clicking on the various categories to browse, or by searching using the search box in the top right corner.

I had an issue on the netbook whilst using the search function and I traced it to this bug report (https://bugs.launchpad.net/lubuntu-software-center/+bug/1043595).

The search function starts searching after just 300 milliseconds of typing. So if you haven't finished typing your search term in that time then you have to wait for the search to complete before you can enter the rest of the search term.

On top of this I regularly received the following error message when using the Lubuntu Software Centre.

The first few times I thought the software centre had stopped responding but by clicking wait eventually it came back with some results. This isn't ideal.

However all is not lost because Synaptic is installed and I think this is a better tool for installing software anyway.

Simply type a keyword or the name of an application into the search box and a list of relevant programs will appear.

To install the applications, mark them for installation and when you have chosen all the items you need press the apply button to install them.

You will need to use the program installer if you harbour any hopes of watching Flash videos, playing Flash games or listening to your music collection (assuming your music is in MP3 format).

Flash and MP3

To be able to play Flash or to listen to MP3s you will need to install the Lubuntu-restricted-extras package.

Either load Synaptic and search for Lubuntu-restricted-extras or open a terminal and use "Apt".

To use "Apt" first of all run "sudo apt-get update" and then run "sudo apt-get install lubuntu-restricted-extras".

As you can see by installing the restricted extras package I was then able to see Jack Wilshere's brilliant goal from last weekend.

I was also able to listen to Chas and Dave in MP3 format.

Everybody now... "I don't care, I don't care, I don't care if he comes round 'ere, I got my beer in the sideboard here, let mother sort it out if he comes round 'ere".

Customising Lubuntu

Lubuntu uses the LXDE desktop.

I found that the default layout looked very uninspiring with just a panel at the bottom and a blue desktop.

LXDE like Xfce is highly customisable and it takes the minimal of effort to turn it into something like this.

I am not going to go heavily into how you customise the LXDE desktop in this article. (I will save that for a later one).

Changing the background is simple a case of right clicking on the desktop and choosing "desktop preferences".

There are a number of decent images included by default with Lubuntu including the one shown above.

You can of course download your own images from the internet and use them instead.

It is possible to create multiple panels and you can place them on all 4 sides of the screen.

Panels can be used in the traditional sense with the menu, launch icons and system tray or you can add an application launcher and add icons for all your favourite applications (similar to the bottom panel in the desktop image above).

Other login options

As well as the standard Lubuntu desktop there are a few other options including Lubuntu Netbook, Lubuntu Games and Openbox.

The above desktop shows the netbook option. It looks like an afterthought as far as I am concerned and not really that appealing and that brings us onto the next section.

Issues

Lubuntu 13.10 wasn't completely free of issues I'm afraid to say.

I have already mentioned the issue with the Lubuntu Software Centre but I have also had a couple of crashes when booting up as shown below.

Other problems I found were to do with the other desktop options including games and openbox. Neither would load beyond a blank screen with a mouse cursor.

Summary

Despite the problems that I have come across in Lubuntu 13.10 I would still highly recommend it for a netbook.

The performance is brilliant (except for the software centre) and with the minimal effort it can look good and be functional.

The software centre issue was a bit disappointing because Lubuntu is supposed to work on older machines and to have search ahead turned on seems counter productive.

The choice of software is adequate because on a netbook you aren't going to be doing a huge amount of work on it.

I tend to use my netbook for getting online quickly and maybe playing the odd game or watching a video or two. Lubuntu is perfect for my needs.

So Lubuntu or Xubuntu? Well that question will be answered in a forthcoming article.

Customising Lubuntu

Click here to read about customising Lubuntu

Other articles that you might like:

• A review of Elementary OS 
• A review of Linux Mint 15 Xfce
• A review of SolydX
• A review of OS4
• Linux for netbooks

Have you tried Lubuntu 13.10? Did you encounter the same problems as I did? How did you find the experience? Let me know using the comments box below.

Thankyou for reading.

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Stress Testing Linux Web Servers

Many businesses depend on their servers and the sites they serve to generate revenue. Comprehensive testing using a selection of the tools we’ve covered here is critical for avoiding lost revenue and the embarrassment of downtime.

Anyone who has been responsible for the roll out of a new website or app will understand the apprehension that is the inevitable result of watching the first cohort of users hit their servers after a feature update. For a web service of any significant level of complexity, there’s a non-trivial chance that a coding error or unforeseen combination of circumstances will result in performance issues or availability problems. Even the big guys like Amazon and Google get wrong-footed on occasion.

While it’s almost impossible to foresee every eventuality, if web developers want to avoid the embarrassment of a non-functioning site, particularly when they’re in the midst of a marketing blitz to publicize their business, they need to exhaustively test their code before launch time. That’s often easier said than done: however solicitously they review their code and infrastructure, real world conditions frequently reveal edge cases that lead to unforeseen bottlenecks and other inefficiencies.

Fortunately, there are a number of tools that allow developers to run simulations on their sites to determine how they function under real-world loads.

Gor

Testing real world conditions is a two stage process. First, developers have to somehow build a simulation that adequately mimics those conditions, and then they need to apply that simulation to their server. Clearly, doing this in a production environment isn’t ideal, so having both a staging or testing server to which changes can be pushed is preferable.

Gor is an HTTP traffic replication tool that allows developers to replay traffic from their production servers to their testing server. It’s a fairly simple application that consists of two parts; a listener that is attached to a port on the production server and a replay component that sends all traffic received on that port to the testing server, allowing developers to build an accurate model of how their production environment will respond once their testing and production servers are synced.

Gor is capable of rate limiting the traffic replay, so that high traffic sites can replay a sample of real world load without overloading their test environment.

Siege

Siege is an HTTP load testing tool. It is a more complex tool than Gor, and allows developers to simulate a number of web clients and direct them to hit a site with requests to give them a good idea of how their code will stand up under load spikes.

Gatling

Gatling is another stress testing tool but it is specifically designed to allow developers to test the interactive features of their site. Gatling allows developers to create multi-step recipes that to run through interactive processes on a site: the checkout process for an eCommerce store or an account creation workflow, for example. It’s a great way to focus testing on a new complex site feature before deployment.

If you’ve had experience with these tools or want to join the conversation, leave a comment below.

About Rachel Gillevet - Rachel is the technical writer for WiredTree, a leader in fully managed dedicated and vps hosting. Follow Rachel and WiredTree on Twitter, @wiredtree, Like them on Facebook and check out more of their articles on their web hosting blog, http://www.wiredtree.com/blog.

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Everybody is talking about Ubuntu's Saucy Salamander

Introduction

The release of Ubuntu 13.10 has sent the social networks and blogs into hyperdrive with a number of reviews and articles already released.

I am not going to spend time reviewing Ubuntu 13.10 today. I reviewed Ubuntu 13.04 not all that long ago and by all accounts there isn't a huge leap between 13.04 and 13.10.

Instead I am looking to focus my efforts on the other Ubuntu derivatives that I haven't reviewed at all including Kubuntu and Lubuntu.

This article provides links to some of the articles that have already appeared for Ubuntu 13.10.

Saucy Salamander Review at Desktop Linux Reviews

In my last review of Ubuntu (Ubuntu 13.04) I noted that Ubuntu has become a bit boring to review. I had hoped that Ubuntu 13.10 would fix that, and that there would be some terrific new features to comment on.

Alas, Ubuntu 13.10 follows in the footsteps of Ubuntu 13.04. The big new desktop feature is Smart Scopes (more on that below). Beyond that there’s not a whole lot that is interesting or exciting to talk about. It turns out that Saucy Salamander is one truly dull amphibian.

Canonical really should rename this release to “Snoozing Salamander” instead.

Jim Lynch has been writing reviews for years and when you review an operating system like Ubuntu it is hard.

The truth is that Ubuntu is one of the best operating systems in the world and it is stable. Unfortunately stability isn't an exciting thing to review and although there are new features in Saucy Salamander there aren't that many.

Ubuntu is at the point where evolution is taking place as opposed to a couple of years ago when it was all about revolution.

Click here to read the full review of Ubuntu 13.10.

10 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 13.10

So you have read Jim's review above and you bit the bullet and installed Ubuntu 13.10. Now What?

OMG! Ubuntu! have a list of the 10 things you should do after installing Saucy Salamander.

As a sneak peak here are 3 of them:

• Get up to speed with Ubuntu
• Install media codecs
• Enable additional drivers

Click here for the full list

8 Things To Do After Installing Ubuntu 13.10

You might feel a little short changed after reading this title. The last one gave you 10 things to do but this one only gives you 8.

Best of Ubuntu has a different list of things to do after installing 13.10 and most of them are different to the OMG! Ubuntu! ones which means in total you now have 18 things to do after installing Ubuntu 13.10.

Another perspective on Ubuntu 13.10

OMG! Ubuntu! has also reviewed Ubuntu 13.10. This review is less about personal opinion and more about the new features.

Ubuntu 13.10 is a solid, reliable release that cements its position as the ‘go to’ Linux distro for new users and seasoned pros alike.

At face value this release does seem like more of a footnote in Ubuntu’s history than the start of a whole new chapter. A handful of small, iterative changes, including a more performant Unity desktop, certainly make it a worthwhile upgrade - but far from an essential one.

Click here for the full review.

Dual Boot Windows 8 and Ubuntu 13.10

I wrote this guide for Ubuntu in general and so it is as relevant for Ubuntu 13.10 as it is for Ubuntu 13.04, 12.10 and 12.04.

If you are thinking of trying Ubuntu but you want to keep Windows as well then use this guide in conjunction with the Ubuntu installation guide.

Click here for the full guide to installing Windows 8 alongside Ubuntu 13.10.

Xubuntu 13.10 was also released today

I am a huge fan of the XFCE desktop and if you have been a regular reader on the blog you will no doubt have seen my recent reviews of Linux Mint and SolydX.

So what can you expect from the new version of Xubuntu:

• A new version of xfce4-settings has been uploaded, bringing amongst other things a new dialog to set up your displays
• A tool for changing your theme colors easily, gtk-theme-config, has been added to the default installation
• New wallpaper
• New releases of our Gtk themes (with Gtk3.10 support) as well as the LightDM greeter, fixing many visual bugs
• Updated documentation

 Click here for the full announcement

If you do decide to use Xubuntu 13.10 then why not read the following articles as well:

• 20 applications to improve Xubuntu
• Customise the Xubuntu desktop
• 4 of the best music applications for Xubuntu

And let us not forget Lubuntu

Lubuntu 13.10 has also been released with the very lightweight LXDE desktop environment.

I will be reviewing Lubuntu 13.10 next week.

Here are the new features in 13.10:

• New version of pcmanfm / libfm (1.1.0) including a built-in search utility.
• Artwork improvements, including new wallpapers, community wallpapers, new icons ...
• Removing catfish, since pcmanfm has its own search utility
• Fix a very old bug causing gnome-mplayer to crash with some CPU (P4)
• Several fixes for the image viewer gpicview.

 Click here for the full announcement

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OS4 OpenLinux - Lightweight Linux based operating system for the Commodore Amiga enthusiast

Introduction

OS4 is a custom Linux distribution compatible with Ubuntu and Debian Linux. It aims for ease of use and user friendliness.

The above quote was found on the and clearly outlines the intentions of OS4 and it is therefore the basis on which I will writing this review.

The version of OS4 that I am running is version 14.02 with the XFCE desktop environment.

System Requirements

For the 32-bit version the minimum requirements are:

• RAM - 512 mb
• Processor - PIII or above
• Hard Drive - 10 gb
• Graphics - Standard VGA

For the 64-bit version the minimum requirements are:

• AMD 64 or Intel 64 1 ghz Dual Core optimum
• RAM - 1 gb
• Hard Drive - 10 gb
• Graphics - Standard 2D Acceleration

Please consult this page for the .

Installation

Click here to download OS4.

You will notice that if you click the above link that you are shown a donation page. You are encouraged to make a donation to help the project run but there is no obligation to do so.

If you prefer you can . It costs $20 in the form of a donation.

Finally you can also from .

Installing OS4 is simple enough and if you have ever installed a Ubuntu based version of Linux before then you should have no issues at all.

If you have downloaded OS4 then you can either burn the ISO file to a DVD using disc burning software or you can use a program called UNetbootin to burn the OS4 Linux ISO to a USB drive.

For a full install guide refer to the Ubuntu installation guide.

First Impressions

OS4 is relatively quick to boot and starts up with a fairly bland looking blue desktop with 2 XFCE panels.

At first glance it is hard to see whether there is anything different from Xubuntu 13.04 apart from the fact that the bottom panel has a separator that makes it bigger than Xubuntu's bottom panel.

To be honest there isn't a huge difference between Xubuntu and OS4. 

In OS4 the menu is on the bottom panel instead of the top panel and is defined by the OS4 logo which is a red chequered sphere.

The other items on the bottom panel include Tomboy Notes which is a sticky note type application and a web browser icon. On the right hand side of the panel is an icon for the waste basket.

The top panel has the following icons from left to right:

• Minimise all windows
• Power settings
• Audio settings
• Online messenger settings
• Network settings
• Bluetooth
• Tomboy Notes
• Virtual workspaces
• Clock
• Application switcher

Changing the background

As OS4 uses the XFCE desktop and as it is based heavily on Xubuntu you can follow this guide for customising the OS4 OpenLinux desktop.

The quickest way to change the wallpaper is to right click on the desktop and choose desktop settings.

There are a number of images to choose from or you can click the plus symbol and find an image on your hard drive.

What I find amazing is that there are some really nice images included yet the one that is used for the default desktop is so dull.

There are a couple of nice little touches. For instance if you click the icon in the top right corner you can see a list of all applications on all workspaces and you can instantly switch to the window you wish to go to without any of that Alt tabbing nonsense. I will save the best for later though.

Connecting to the internet

Connecting to the internet is as simple as clicking the network icon on the top panel and choosing your wireless network (or indeed wired if you are living in 1999) of choice.

If your wireless network requires security information then you will be asked to enter it.

To launch the web browser click the appropriate icon on the bottom panel. The default web browser in OS4 is Chromium.

Flash and MP3

Those of you who like things to work straight away will be pleased to know that Flash works in OS4 without any fuss.

You will also be pleased to know that you can listen to MP3s without the requirement to install any further plugins.

Applications

The applications in OS4 are the main thing that sets OS4 apart from Xubuntu. 

The office applications in OS4 are Abiword and Gnumeric. These are ok-ish for home use but you would be better off installing LibreOffice or using Google's office suite.

Multimedia applications include Audacious for playing music, audacity for editing audio and VLC for playing videos.

As well as the Chromium browser there is a program called Claws which is an email client, Pidgin which is like MSN Messenger, XChat IRC and Transmission which is a bittorrent client.

GIMP is installed for those of you who like to edit photos and images.

The games section is full of the usual stuff like Mahjongg and Sudoku..... but hold on a minute, there is an icon for Steam.

Unfortunately clicking on the Steam icon brings up the same issue as when I installed Steam within Ubuntu 13.04.

The Steam installer basically says that I am missing various libraries. Clicking this link will take you to a forum which has various solutions for fixing Steam on 64-bit computers running Ubuntu based distributions.

There is one more exciting application that I want to discuss but I am going to put this in a section of it's own later on.

Installing Applications

OS4 states that it is a Ubuntu/Debian based Linux distribution. The chosen desktop environment is XFCE (which gave me the impression that it is in fact a Xubuntu based distribution) but the software centre is the Lubuntu Software Centre.

I have to say that the Lubuntu Software Centre is actually very good and much more user friendly than the Ubuntu version.

You can either search for a package using the search tool or browse through each category one by one.

There are three tabs to the software centre. The first tab enables you to find and download new software, the second tab gives you a list of software already installed and the third tab lists software that you have selected for installation but not yet installed.

To install an application click on it and press the "Add to apps basket" button. When you have selected all the items you wish to install, go to the "Apps basket" tab and click "Install Packages".

Hands up if you are a Commodore Amiga fan 

The best part about OS4 is the inclusion of FS-UAE Launcher and FS-UAE. 

FS-UAE is a Commodore Amiga emulator. FS-UAE Launcher is a graphical user interface which makes it very easy to launch FS-UAE.

The first things you will need are the Commodore Amiga Kickstart ROMs. Now these don't come with OS4 and there are probably some very good legal reasons for that. In theory you need to own an Amiga with the Kickstart ROMs to use the software. (As a retro gaming enthusiast I do actually own a few Commodore Amigas so I had them to hand).

You can pick up the Kickstart ROMs from here. If you are using Windows to download these files it is worth doing a virus scan.

To pick up games ROMs for the Amiga you can visit FreeRoms. Be careful when downloading ROMs because there are some seriously disreputable sites out there.

The inclusion of the Amiga emulator is by far the best thing about OS4 and I think the OS4 name comes from the fact that the last version of the Amiga operating system was also AmigaOS4.

OS4 also used to be called PC/OS and so the change of name has to be significant.

Summary

There is nothing specifically wrong with OS4. It works fine and now I have it on my laptop I will probably keep it for a while.

It works pretty much the same as Xubuntu and because I really like Xubuntu I find it fits my needs perfectly.

Is there enough that separates OS4 from Xubuntu? 

If Steam had worked on my 64-bit system then I would have said that OS4 is like Xubuntu but with the issues ironed out but because Steam failed with exactly the same errors as Xubuntu/Ubuntu then I would question whether the developers even tried the Steam option on a 64-bit system. 

The redeeming feature that gives OS4 an identity is FS-UAE. If you are a retrogaming fan then OS4 is great. You will be hard pressed to find another Linux distribution with a working Amiga emulator installed by default and even more hard pressed to find one with the FS-UAE Launcher which makes it easy to configure the emulator.

If you love the Commodore Amiga and want to play all those classic Amiga games again then OS4 is perfect for you.

If you couldn't care less about Amiga emulation then all you are getting extra with OS4 is the inclusion of GIMP and a couple of different choices with regards to audio and video packages. It will also save you the trouble of installing "Xubuntu Restricted Extras".

Thankyou for reading.

Everybody is talking about Ubuntu 13.10

Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander has been released. Read this article which highlights the reviews and articles that have been published for Ubuntu 13.10.

Other articles you might like

• A review of Xubuntu
• A review of SolydX
• Buy a laptop with Linux instead of Windows
• Subscribe to the best Linux Blogs

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Keep up to date by subscribing to these Linux blogs

I was reading the articles on Reddit earlier today and somebody asked for an OPML file containing the feeds to some good Linux blogs.

I didn't have a list of RSS feeds to share at the time and I had no idea what an OPML file was. I have however done a bit of research and I have since created my first OPML file containing feeds from the following sites:

• LXER
• Linux Today
• Linux Journal
• Phronix
• ARSTechnica
• IT World
• Desktop Linux Reviews
• Everyday Linux User
• Larry The Crunchbang Guy
• Larry The Free Software Guy
• Dedoimedo
• Linux Notes From Dark Duck
• My Linux Rig
• Das U Blog
• The Var Guy
• Linuxaria
• Gaming on Linux
• Linux Insider
• LinuxBSDos
• Eye On Linux
• Linux Security
• Ubuntu Geek

To be able to use the OPML file you will need to use an RSS reader that can handle OPML files. The one that I used was a web based reader called Bloglines.

To use bloglines go to www.bloglines.com and click the create an account link.

Fill in the form with account details and confirm your email address by clicking on the link in the email that you receive.

When you log in to bloglines click the add a feed link.

Click on this link which takes you to Rapidshare and download the file. Now within Bloglines click the browse button and find the file that you just downloaded.

Click the import button.

A list of articles will appear in date order from the feeds listed above.

I hope you find this useful.

Thankyou for reading.

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12 great Linux operating systems for netbooks

Introduction

One of the most common questions asked on the Linux based sub-reddits at Reddit.com is "Which Linux distribution would be the best for a netbook?".

The truth is that what works for one person may not work for another. I have however reviewed a large number of Linux distributions and many of these reviews have been conducted using  an Acer Aspire One D255 Netbook.

The Acer Aspire One has a 1,6 ghz Atom processor, just 1gb of RAM and a small 160 gb hard drive. The netbook comes pre-installed with Windows 7 starter, dual booting with an old version of Android. To be honest it runs like a hog.

With Linux installed the Acer Aspire One is actually a very nice little netbook but it does rely on you being sensible about what you are installing.

The following distributions have either been installed on the Acer Aspire One or I believe would run perfectly well on an Acer Aspire One. I have included links to the original reviews so that you can see any issues that I found.

Bodhi Linux

I reviewed Bodhi Linux last year when it was version 2.1. The latest version is 2.4.

Bodhi uses the e17 desktop environment and it looks very stylish. The installation is quick taking between 5 and 10 minutes.

Connecting to the internet was simply a case of clicking on the network icon on the top shelf and choosing the appropriate wireless connection.

Flash doesn't work out of the box but it is easy enough to install.

There aren't many applications installed by default but Bodhi provides applications in bundles that can be installed via the Midori browser. You can also install applications by using the familiar Synaptic application.

There were a couple of minor issues (which may have been fixed now) but Bodhi is easy to use and very responsive on the netbook.

Read the full Bodhi review here.

Crunchbang

I tried Crunchbang earlier on this year and although I didn't try it on the netbook I did try it on a computer with fairly low specifications.

Crunchbang perhaps isn't for people who like their bells and whistles. You will be amazed however at the performance Crunchbang gives you.

Connecting to the internet is simply a case of selecting the appropriate wireless network by clicking the network icon from the toolbar at the top.

Crunchbang comes pre-installed with GIMP for image editing, VLC media player, Abiword and Gnumeric.

There isn't an audio player installed by default but you can use Synaptic for downloading and installing applications.

Flash works straight away but to play MP3s you have to install the GStreamer Ugly Plugin.

Click here for a full review of Crunchbang

Linux Lite

If you are a Windows user then you will find that Linux Lite looks quite familiar especially if you are used to using Windows XP.

You can connect to the internet by clicking on the network icon in the system tray. Linux Lite uses the WiCD application for connecting to wireless networks. It is fairly obvious what you have to do. Pick a network and enter the relevant security details.

To install software in Linux Lite you can either use Synaptic or to install common applications use the "Install Additional Software" menu item. The latter option makes it easy to install WINE, Virtualbox and the Restricted Extras package (which then gives you Flash, the ability to play MP3s, Java and truetype fonts).

Applications included by default include GIMP for image editing, LibreOffice, Mumble voice chat, Steam, and VLC.

Linux Lite is very stable, responsive and comes with a good set of applications.

Click here for the full review of Linux Lite

LXPup

LXPup is a variation of Puppy Linux that uses the LXDE desktop. 

Puppy Linux comes with a great range of small applications that just do the job required without too many bells and whistles.

For instance to connect to the internet you can use the simple network setup tool. There are dozens of programs installed by default including Abiword and Gnumeric.

LXPup includes CD rippers, media converters, video players and the excellent PMusic player.

Flash isn't installed but there is a menu option that makes it easy enough to get it.

Puppy Linux is great fun to use and you get so much installed by default and it is incredibly responsive. 

Click here for the full LXPup review

MacPUP 

MacPup is another version of Puppy Linux but this time it is set up to look more like a Mac desktop.

MacPup is excellent and is my favourite version of Puppy Linux. It comes with the usual number of applications that you expect with Puppy Linux and there is also the Quickpet application which makes it easy to install programs such as GIMP and Audacity.

Connecting to the internet is as simple as using the simple network setup tool. Flash isn't installed by default but can easily be installed via the package manager.

Click here for a full review of MacPup

Manjaro

I didn't actually try Manjaro on the netbook but I did try it on a computer with fairly low specifications and as the version I reviewed was the Openbox edition then it should be perfect for a netbook.

The first thing you will notice is the ultra quick boot time. The performance of Manjaro overall is also very impressive.

Connecting to the internet is as easy as selecting the network icon and then choosing the appropriate wireless network.

Navigating around Manjaro requires right clicking on the desktop and navigating to the chosen application.

There aren't many applications installed by default but you can use Pacman to install applications.

Flash worked but getting music to play via the default XNoise application was a little tricky.

I would say that Manjaro is for the more experienced user and might not be the first port of call for people who are new to Linux but for people who don't mind experimenting and who have the skills to find their way around Linux it is ideal.

Click here for the full review of Manjaro

Linux Mint 15 XFCE

Most distributions running XFCE will be great for a Linux netbook. Linux MINT provides a standard interface whether you are using a laptop, desktop or netbook.

For more powerful machines the Cinnamon desktop would be the desktop of choice, however the look and feel is the same with the XFCE version but without the glamour. Substance over style.

With Linux Mint you get everything working out of the box. Connecting to the internet is as easy as clicking the network icon and choosing the appropriate wireless network.

Flash works without having to install anything and MP3s play without installing extra codecs.

Linux Mint 15 comes with LibreOffice and GIMP installed by default.

Click here for the full review of Linux Mint 15 XFCE

Peppermint OS

I reviewed Peppermint 3 but the latest version is now Peppermint 4. 

Peppermint utilises the concept of cloud computing.

Basically you use web applications for all your needs and using the concept of a site specific browser you turn the web application into a desktop application.

If you don't like that concept then you can use Peppermint Linux in the same was as Lubuntu. Peppermint uses the LXDE desktop and comes with Synaptic for installing desktop applications.

Click here to read the full review of Peppermint Linux

SolusOS

SolusOS uses the Consort desktop environment which is the Phoenix out of the ashes of Gnome 2.

The layout will again be familiar for Windows users and the menu system looks very similar to the Windows 7 menu.

Flash and MP3s work straight away and connecting to the internet is as simple as choosing the appropriate wireless connection after clicking on the network icon.

SolusOS comes with PlayOnLinux installed, Dropbox, Firefox, LibreOffice, Rhythmbox and VLC player.

I used SolusOS for a number of months on the Acer Aspire one and I can vouch that it works really well.

Click here for a full review of SolusOS

SolydX

SolydX uses the XFCE desktop. It is based on Debian and is very crisp and clean looking.

SolydX uses the WiCD network manager for connecting to the internet and comes with Flash and MP3 codecs installed by default.

There is a good range of fairly lightweight applications including Firefox, Exaile (Audio), VLC player, Abiword and Gnumeric.

SolydX provides a great blend between functionality and performance.

Click here to read a full review of SolydX

Xubuntu

If you want to go more mainstream then Xubuntu is Ubuntu with the XFCE desktop.

For me Xubuntu provides the best method of navigation around the XFCE desktop by providing the panel at the top and a panel of icons at the bottom.

Using Flash and playing MP3s requires the installation of Xubuntu restricted extras. 

There aren't many applications installed by default but you can use the software centre to install anything you require.

Click here for the full review of Xubuntu

Zorin OS Lite

Zorin is now at version 7. My review was written back at version 6. 

Basically Zorin OS is made to emulate the look and feel of other operating systems. You can choose to make the desktop look like Windows 2000 or Mac OSX within Zorin Lite.

For users used to Windows it really does provide a familiar look and feel.

Connecting to the internet is as easy as choosing the wireless connection by clicking on the network icon in the system tray.

You can choose the browser that you wish to use using the browser manager.

Flash and MP3s were supported straight away and Zorin OS Lite comes with Audacious as the music player which is a good choice.

There aren't many applications installed by default but there is Abiword for editing documents, a PDF viewer, a messenger, a personal organiser, calculator and mail client.

You can install extra software by using the Software Centre, Synaptic or the Zorin Extra Software tool. The Zorin Extra Software tool includes WINE and VLC.

Click here for a full review of Zorin OS Lite

Summary

When choosing an operating system for a netbook you need to go for a more lightweight distribution but that doesn't mean you have to compromise on functionality.

You can have a stylish looking desktop and all the applications you would normally use.

Thankyou for reading.

Other articles you might like

• Linux Hoodies and Goodies
• The 21st century Sinclair Spectrum
• Buy a Linux enabled laptop
• Who said Linux is harder to use than Windows?
• Ubuntu or Windows, you decide
• An Everyday Linux User review of Crunchbang Linux

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Linux hoodies and goodies

Introduction

I was trawling around the internet looking for new t-shirts when I realised that there is a lot of good stuff on Amazon.

If you are in the market for some new clothes then why not check out the links below. 

I have only listed the items that I personally like but there is a whole range if you click through to Amazon and search for Linux clothing.

T-Shirts

The text on the t-shirt says "Linux, DOS, Vista, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Available in multiple colours.







The text on the t-shirt says "and you shall know my name is ROOT when I lay my vengeance upon thee".

Available in multiple colours

Hoodies

Text on the hoodie just says "/dev/random".

Available in multiple colours








Evolution of a geek hoodie.

Available in multiple colours

Spreadshirt

Text says "PICNIC, Problem in chair, not in computer".

Available in multiple colours

Cuff Links

Tux the penguin cuff links.

Does anybody really wear cuff links anymore?

Wouldn't it be cool to go to a wedding wearing these babies.

Handmade Sterling silver. A bit pricey at £120.

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