[GRLUG] Pre-installed Linux on laptops

[L. V. Lammert]

At 03:10 PM 1/26/2010 -0500, you wrote:

>It wasn't too long ago that a small size commanded a large premium,
>even for an underpowered laptop.  Compared to then, the netbooks look
>great.  They have pretty darn good battery life, very small and light
>and the atom doesn't seem(to me) to be underpowered.  I bought an atom
>board last year for a small file/multimedia server and it does great.
>It can even do video transcoding(pyTivo using ffmpeg) at a little
>under real time.
>
>My only concern is the screen size/resolution.  800x600 seems just too
>small for just about anything.

That's the reason why UNR (Ubuntu Netbook Remix) is such a great option - 
it optimizes the screen for a small display. Only a single task bar at the 
top which includes the open window bar - it also shrinks as you open more 
windows to accomodate the icons.

IME, the small carry-around-in-the-palm-of-your-hand size totally outweighs 
any negatives on screen size if built with UNR, .. but, my primary system 
is *NOT* a Netbook. If you run your life from a laptop, the equation might 
not tilt so heavily towards a Netbook.

Also, the HP units have mouse buttons on the side of the touchpad - one 
innovaton that really works, especially when you are 'belly mounted'; 
sliding a finger to the side is a lot easier than moving your hand to get a 
button on the edge of the machine.

         Lee