[Common question] What OS?

Hi

You've probably been asked this a million times already, but i'm gonna give it a go anyway.

I love my AA1, but as a student i need a little more than what linpus can offer. Even after hacking it, it seems to lack quite a bit of core functionality (i couldnt compile, no ssh, etc etc) that there probably are fixes for (i installed openSSH), but its too much work going around it.

So i went hunting for another linux version, starting with Ubuntu 8.04. It worked decent, but slower startup time and unstable wireless broke it for me. Went to fedora 9, with about the same issues. October came with Ubuntu 8.10, and it started looking like something. But it felt a bit too slow, and suspend didnt work. Fedora 10 is the best i've tried so far, but after spending several hours finding out how to install Flash (finally found some guys repostary that i downloaded from), it got on my nerves and i installed linpus again. F10 also nerfed the wireless 50% of the times i suspended (although it had the best suspend of the ones i've tried), which simply doesnt work for me, running around on campus all the time.

So, are there any good suggestions? I have 4 requirements:
1) It needs to be a fully functional OS (ruling out Linpus, because it lacks so much)
2) Wifi needs to work
3) Suspend needs to work.
4) Wifi needs to work after suspend EVERY TIME

Thanks for any help!

EDIT: I got the SSD version. Also installed an extra gig of ram, so i got 1,5GB RAM.

 

I recommend using: Ubuntu Netbook Remix
http://www.canonical.com/projects/ubuntu/nbr

It has the same support as intrepid ibex but it runs faster and can Fit on a 4GB SSD with space for files.
This will give you help on how to get things working on there: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/AspireOne110L

Cheers

 

I've compiled stuff on mine, and have sshd available to run (I don't often use it); installing a build environemnt for compiling was one yum command, installing sshd one more.

If you're going to use a machine for compiling applications I'd have thought a couple of install steps was very little work to get it working, compared with the time & work often involved in doing compilations!

That said, when there's a fully working 'real' Linux I'll probably switch as well, but AFAIK nothing yet is doing everything (including stuff like XD cards working in the reader, and a boot process speed / battery life similar to the Linpus system).

 

I have to agree with David. It would be nice if there were another linux OS that wasn't as restrictive as this hacked linpus, but that maintained the functionality of the netbook. However, I haven't found a simple solution, and to my knowledge, even the OSes that do work well will have other disadvantages, such as shorter battery life. I agree that sometimes lthis acer modified inpus can be a bit of a pain, but after modifying it to get the "advanced" mode and using a regular XFCE desktop instead of the acer desktop, there isn't much to complain about. Full functionality and much better usability than the original. The only downside is the fear of breaking the system by installing a conflicting package, and that can be countered by keeping a backup, which is advisable in any case. So conclusion is that (IMO) linpus is so far the best bet for this netbook.

If you want to do some non-destructive but very useful modifications to your default linpus install, here are two very useful links:
http://macles.blogspot.com/ <--many useful pages here
http://jorge.ulver.no/2008/08/06/acer-aspire-one-tips-and-tricks/

 

Hmm. I might actually go ahead and install XP, it could be a solution.

So what would be the best (aside from linpus) linux option if the only requirements i set is wifi and suspend?

 

Mandriva 2009 is excellent. A few SIMPLE tweaks, and you are off and running. I prefer KDE, others prefer Gnome.

Check on this forum under the Mandriva section.

D.

 

Hi,

I agree with Dulwithe ,i think that for you Mandriva2009 live one will be perfect , just try it sure you will like it , is easy to install and easy to use.

 

Just as a reference point, I'm succesfully using my AA1 default Linpus installation for regular ssh connections, local web developement (apache/cherokee server, using emacs as editor) accompanied by local MySQL server, and I've also succesfully compiled programs with it. All without very much hassle. The key thing is to install a lot of missing packages.

This is not to meant defend the default Acer Linpus, though, only to give you hope. I don't criticize your choice of changing the OS at all, as sometimes working with a dumbed-down and weird system can be quite bothersome. I use the default system myself mostly because installing an alternative system and getting it to work seems to be quite as much, or even more, hassle.

Hope you find a good OS! When the Ubuntu Netbook Remix for AA1 gets a bit more mature, I'll be sure to check it out myself. But so far, I'm quite satisfied even with the weirness of Acer Linpus.