How to Run Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal (Unity) in Acer Aspire One 722 Netbook?

Few days ago suddenly out of nowhere the Acer Aspire one 722 (BZ454 to be precise) fell into my hands :P. It came pre-loaded with MS Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit). But as soon as I got it, I just wanted to try Ubuntu Linux 11.04 in it (obviously). Since, it doesn't have an optical drive, I went with creating a Live Ubuntu USB disk but it did not work!.

Oh it boot the OS alright ... but after displaying the pretty Ubuntu logo, bugger just freezed!. I then search in few forums and realized that others are also having the same issue. I honestly don't know what really is the issue here... but for some reason it just freezes the whole screen.

I also had a bit similar issue with my now old Laptop while I was trying Ubuntu 11.04 using the LiveCD but was able to fix it by first not choosing to run Ubuntu as a live environment but went for the installation straight ahead.

Dudes, I really got in running! :D...

So, since the 722 also comes with a AMD Radeon GPU (which are a bit troublesome with Compiz) I tried the same thing with the Acer Aspire One 722 but when Ubiquity (Ubuntu's live Installer Wizard) was just about to launch itself, again, the Netbook just got stuck, again.

This time I saw the Wi-Fi card is turned on automatically thus I guessed that it might be the Wi-Fi detection problem which is pretty common with GNU/Linux these days.

Anyhow, just out of curiosity, I decided to give it a try, again, and this time, when the USB boot-menu was loaded, I pressed the "F6" button and chose "ACIP-Off" option. The system booted but when it arrived where previously freeze-d, this time I got an error message (except for the stuck-non-informative window as with previous occasions) saying that the installer cannot find a live file-system to operate.

Now, I'm not an expert on how GNU/Linux Live "environments" work. But when I was creating my Boot-able USB disk I choose the option that says "Discarded on shutdown, unless you save them elsewhere".

the second option is not selected by default... but I guess most of us just use it thus this is where I made my mistake (at lest I thin this is the reason)

So, I just thought re-creating a USB disk using the suggested/default settings called "Stored in extra reserved space" which I did and then, plug-in the USB disk and decided to go with the default Ubuntu 11.04 Live environment and guess what?, it worked!. 

Just make sure that you've chosen this one (selected by default)...

Now I'm not entirely sure what's the real cause here, but I've tested this two times and after going for the default settings, now I can use Ubuntu 11.04 in their pretty Unity desktop interface (yep with Compiz running) even after considering the fact that the Acer Aspire One 722 comes with the AMD fusion (APU - Advanced Processing Unit) which is only fully supported in the Kernel 3.0+, but even after without having that Kernel version + the proprietary AMD/ATI drivers... the Aspire One 722 runs pretty decently without any crashing incidents :).

But to be honest, even after considering the power of the included AMD Radeon HD 6250 (256MB dedicated graphics memory, 280Ghz internal clock speed if I'm not mistaken) Unity does feel a little slow since the proprietary AMD/ATI drivers are significantly faster than the open-source drivers, you should install the proprietary drivers if you want the best possible performance out of that GPU.

And also, if you also have this Netbook, then it should be pretty interesting what the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 could bring from a performance point of view because with 11.10, Canonical is shipping the Kernel 3.0 for the first-time which fully supports the AMD Fusion architecture by default.

Anyhow, the performance even while on the Live USB environment is really good (I'm even writing this post in it!) but it should be even better after installing in the HDD.
 
So, if you're having troubles with trying to run Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal in Acer Aspire One 722 Netbook, then while creating that USB disk, just try the default settings as shown in the third screenshot. Good luck.

Oh and one more thing, the 11.6 inch display has a a resolution of 1366x768 thus things could look a bit too small for some but thanks to the Ubuntu or the Gnome desktop's DPI settings, I think Ubuntu Linux looks + makes things slightly bigger than the original MS Windows 7 thus Ubuntu is certainly my preferred choice while using this Netbook.

Read More

Asus Eee PC X101 Unboxing Video! (in Vietnamese)

Yes, it's true!. Although it's said that Asus will start shipping one of their thinnest and cheapest netbook called the Eee PC X101 this month for the US customers but it seems that YouTube has just received a Vietnam user un-boxing video of the X101, for real!.


Update: This actually seems like the X101h model rather than the X101 (although the only difference is actually the OS. X101H runs Windows 7 starter and X101 as promised runs the MeeGO platform).

What's interesting is that the fact it has got a VGA port and a Ethernet port. Of course it's ain't necessarily bad but as you can see from the below video this new "version" of the X101 does not look impressively thin thanks to these ports. Although it's not just sure whether they're just dummy ports (now why the heck they'd do that) but nonetheless it's not as impressively thin as the original version.

But other than that the hardware details seems to be just as Asus promised...

*. Intel Atom N435 running at 1.3GHz (single core).

*. 1GB of RAM (DDR3, max supported 2GB).



*. 1024x600, 10.1 inch WSVGA display screen.

*. 8 GB of solid state disk (SSD) which certainly makes things happen faster but I'd have preferred a SATA disk (even if it was about 100GB, don't you?).

*. WLAN 802.11 and Bluetooth 3.0.

Not impressively thinner as the original version (screenshot from the above video)...

*. 4 Hours of batter life (which of course will change according to your actual usage) of the 3Cell battery.

*. MicroSD card, 2 USB ports.

*. VGA and RJ-45 ports as with this model.

Here a side-view of the original version (which is not "dead" or anything seems like Asus has few versions perhaps??)...

Now as said, Asus may have few different versions (with slight variations), so perhaps for all ya folks who were waiting for a sexy looking, very thin netbook, well perhaps Asus has something that looks like the original one (without the VGA and the network ports). But even with these ports, the thickness is not that much increased actually and other than the fact that Glossy looking screen, can't say anything about it's actual performance, etc either.

But if you're searching for a cheap netbooks under $200 then Asus may have just about the perfect companion. But again I'm a bit disappointed with the SSD drive, although it runs the MeeGO Linux operating system thus that SSD should help to cut out some boot-time yet if they have a separate version with a larger SATA drive for the same price range ;-) it would've been just about perfect!, at least for me. Yes there is a separate MS Windows version with slightly larger HDD and faster processor but we won't be able to grab it for a price around $199-200 nonetheless.  

Read More

Few Cheap Netbooks Under $ 200 - 250

In the past netbooks used to cost a lot than their bigger laptop cousins ;-) because those days the manufactures had to make dedicated CPU/RAM/Motherboard, etc that are smaller + still retaining the performance, although the performance wasn't as high as the Laptops but somewhat closer.

But the technology has advanced thus the manufactures have come up with different solutions such as cheaper versions of CPU that aren't as fast as the desktop or the "usual" Laptop versions but in general they've been able to cut the price quite significantly not just by manufacturing "cheaper" versions of the hardware devices (subtle plastic out-fits, LCD screens, etc) but the main reason is the growing demand the "market" which is now quite expanded thus this is one of the reasons for the price being somewhat lower than in the past.

Anyhow, if you want even cheaper versions then yes it is possible to find cheap netbooks under $200 or $ 250 but please be aware of the fact that, in my opinion, if you want a netbook that's a closer match to a usual Laptop than you'd be better of with something that starts with a price range of $350+. But that being said... there are few netbooks around $200-250 that are quite powerful and useful nonetheless.

Also remember, for a such cheaper price you won't be getting a larger screen (I'm talking about 11"+) and as a result all these netboks will have a smaller keyboard thus if you're a touch-typist then again, think twice before you purchase since they're certainly not that comforting neither efficient because of the smaller size (you won't be able to achieve your usual typing speeds with these keyboards).

But that being said in this small list that I compiled has  two 10.1" screen netbooks that the manufactures have been able to include a full size keyboards nonetheless!.

Anyhow if you're ready then I don't have a huge list since I tried to come up with reasonable ones rather than cheap shitt* stuff (these are all highly rated products, 4/5 or more user ratings) ... so here it goes...

1. ASUS Eee PC 1001PXD-EU17-BU 10.1-Inch

Buy directly from Amazon!

This is a beautiful looking Netbook from ASUS EeePC family, and from the beginning the Asus Eee PC family had one of the best looking netbooks in comparison with other products. When considering the hardware details and customer feedback, its asking price it is more than acceptable.

Hardware details in brief...

*. Comes with three color choices (Blue/Black/White). 

*. Intel Atom N455 (1.66GHz).

*. 1 GB DDR3 (max up to 2GB).

*. 250GB Sata HDD with 5400 rpm.

*. No CD/DVD drive but can plug-in a separate external drive nonetheless.

*. 10.1-Inch Matte 1024X600 WSVGA LED Display.

*. Wi-Fi, 0.3MP front web camera, Reader MMC/SD(SDHC).

*. 4 Hours of battery (will change according to the usage).

*. Comes with Windows 7 Starter pre-installed.

*. Total weight (including the battery) is about 1.1 kg. 



2. ASUS Eee PC 1001PXD-EU17-BK 10.1-Inch 

Buy directly from Amazon!

As you can see from the name this is almost "copy" of the above mentioned model (including the hardware details) So what's the catch ;-) ?. Well it's the price. It's about $20 cheaper than the above model but it weights a bit higher which is about 1.5 kg. Other than that little weight increase I think this is an excellent netbook around $200-250 range.



3. Toshiba Mini NB255-N245 10.1-Inch 

Buy directly from Amazon!

This one is from Toshiba and in my experience they're not the ones with cheaper prices usually. You can buy this netbook from Amazon but please be aware that they don't have brand new ones only have used and refurbished ones only. But again this is another product that has a lot of positive user feedback and importantly you can expect for a 8 hours + battery life from it as well. 

Hardware specifications...

*. 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N455 processor (512 KB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB).

*. 1 GB DDR2 RAM and expandable up to 2GB (note: unlike with the other models on this article... this one comes with the a bit older "ddr2" RAM module thus there may be a slight decrease in performance but since the processor FSB is also 667MHZ it doesn't make a lot of sense to have a DDR3 on the other hand either).

*. 160 GB SATA hard drive.

*. Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 up to 250MB shared memory.

*. Wi-Fi.

*. Has an excellent Full size keyboard which is very rare for a 10.1 netbook!. Excellent for touch typists.

*. Memory card reader and 3 USB 2.0 ports.

*. 6-cell battery with up to 8 hours of battery life (this again will change according to the usage from the user).

*. Total weight of 1.04 kg and is one of the most lightest too.

*. Comes with MS Windows 7 Starter edition. 



4. Acer Aspire One AOD257-13876 10.1-Inch

Buy directly from Amazon!

Another beauty form Acer Aspire series. If I'm not mistaken I think it was actually Acer who was among the first few manufactures to introduce the whole "mini Atom Netbook" thing -;). Although they do have the never AMD Dual-core versions but it costs a bit high at the moment... but this model is another netbook under $250 range and comes with powerful hardware and is certainly more powerful than the above mentined models since this one comes with a dual-core processor!.

*. Intel® Atom? Dual-Core N570 1.66Ghz with 1MB L2 cache.

*. 1GB of DDR 3 Memory.

*. 250 GB Sata HDD (5400 rpm).

*. 10.1 WSVGA Acer CrystalBrite LED-backlit Display.

*. Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 (64MB dedicated).

*. 4 Hours of battery life (will change according to your application usage, etc).

*. 3 USB 2.0 ports.

*. Card reader.

*. About 1.2 kg of weight. 

*. 0.3MP front camera and Wi-Fi are among the main hardware details.

So as said these are actually a few cheap netbooks under $200 - $250 range (more likely under $250 actually)  and if you have more suggestions or recommendations, I'm more than willing to hear. Good luck.

Read More

Asus Eee PC 1215B Netbook Hardware Specifications (& Personal Thoughts)

Recently I was searching all over the internet because I wanted to buy a new netbook. In my search for a reasonable netbook I came up with quite a few actually. But one in particular took my attention because of the general design (keyboard, screen and the other nice look-n-feel) and is called the recent Asus Eeep PC netbook model the 1215B.

Things that matter...

*. Keyboard & Display (goes hand-in-hand).

I'm a touch typist and use the Dvorak layout. Although it really didn't hit me you know, all those reviewers saying how bad the 10.1 inch screen "mini" models keyboards are (small), until recently I went into a local store and actually got my hands on a 10.1 inch netbook. I tried putting my palms on the keyboard (the typing stance - kiyahoooo ;-)) and I could barely move my fingers.

Images via: liliputing.com

It was really uncomfortable. It was so small that my fingers easily collide with each other and I wonder if someone buy these so called "mini" models and while touch typing they give them such a pain in the as*. So if you're a touch typist, then make sure to go for a net-book that has a 11.6" + screen size or the keyboard in comparison is about (at lest) 95-96% of the standard size otherwise typing is gonna be really problematic.

This is one of the main reasons why I love the Asus Eee PC 1215B models, because it comes with a 12.1" larger display screen thus the netbook in general has plenty of room to integrate an almost full size standard keyboard (96% to be precise).

Watch-out for the Touchpad!

Although the HP Pavilion DM1Z has 11.6" screen still they've managed to include a full size keyboard but I don't like their arrow keys design and the big touch-pad which is very troublesome, because when you type and rest the palm near the touch-pad area the hands get on the way thus moving the pointer!. This seems to a "standard" issue with a lot of netbooks... so before buying pay extra attention to whether the touch-pad is capable of not getting in your way while typing.

*. CPU & GPU

A lot of other netbooks have Intel Atom (ether dual core or single core) but I'm really impressed with the new AMD APU design called AMD Fusion, where both the CPU and the GPU (vga processor) are both integrated into a singe chip/core thus making they're highly efficient as a result the current version of the AMD E-350 dual core processors (1.6 GHz each) beat Intel Atom CPU (including the dual-core versions) at every step!.

The Asus 1215B has a AMD E-350 dual core CPU design and an ATI Radeon HD 6310 which is more than capable of playing HD videos at 1080p.

Other hardware specifications in brief...

*. 12.1" LED Backlight WXGA (1366x768) Screen.

*. DDR3 2GB, upgrade-able up to 4GB (2 slots).

*. 2.5" Sata HDD (250-500GB).

*. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

*. 0.3 Front camera.

*. 2 USB 2.0 ports and a singe USB 3.0 port! - This may not necessary at the moment and since its netbook having USB 3.0 may not make much of a difference... but when comparing with the HP DM1Z the USB 3.0 port is a handy feature concerning the near future.

*. 6-cell battery and Asus say about 8 Hours battery life. But according to actual testers such as Brad from Liliputing computing has an excellent review and according to his tests, under typical usage (web browsing, video playback, etc) it lasted about 5.5 hours which is pretty decent.

*. HDMI port, card-reader (SD/ SDHC/ SDXC/ MMC) and Rj-45 LAN output.

*. Dimensions - 296 x 203 x 38 mm (WxDxH).

*. 1.45 kg of weight (including the battery).

*. Genuine Windows 7 Home premium (64-bit) comes pre-installed.

Although it would've been nice if you Asus had a GNU/Linux pre-installed to cutout the cost a bit more. Anyhow, after considering its excellent performance I think if you're looking for a netbook with a powerful features (for its caliber) then Asus Eee PC 1215B is an excellent little companion for a reasonable price (around $450-500).

Read More

Asus EeePC X101 Netbook , Powered by the "MeeGo" Linux Operating System!

When Asus launched the EeePC "project" it was a hit because EeePC gave users the ability to purchase low-end netbooks with lots of features for a very reasonable price (not all of them are cheap, anyhow). They consume less power, has a longer battery life, light in weight... perfect companion for our busy daily schedule.

Although I can't really remember the name but the first few EeePC came with an Chinese Linux distribution which was actually a mixture of applications/toolkits (you know the file manager was Konqueror and had several GTK written apps, etc).

And those were the "early" days of the powerful Mobile OS platform known as MeeGo.

It wasn't durable and ready at that time but now after several years the MeeGo mobile OS (funded by Intel, Maemo and Nokia) is looking pretty awesome and strong!. And as a result yesterday, Asus officially released one their latest EeePC netbooks called X101 which runs MeeGo as the operating system.

The catchy thing about the X101 is actually its price. When Google boasts about their Chrome Netbooks, Asus on the other hand has come up with "something" that has...

*. 1.33 Oak Trail  Intel Atom CPU.

*. 1GB of RAM/Memory.

*. Uses Intel GMA 600 GPU (since Intel has an open source friendly GPU designs... overall integration of Intel graphics are almost always better than Ati or Nvidia).

*. 10 Inch display area with 1024x600 resolution.

*. Wi-Fi

*. 2 USB ports.

*. Lithium Ion 28Whr battery (2600 mAh, 6-cell).

*. MicroSD card slot.

*. 16GB SSD drive as the main storage device.

*. Sizing at just 17.6mm, watch out Mac Book Air!.

*. Weights less than 1kg (950 grams to be precise).

and has a much lower price tag!. When considering all these decent hardware features, the X101 is gonna cost around $199 in US! (£150 in UK, but it's yet to be confirmed). There will be an option to pre-order it with Windows 7 (will rise the cost as a result - thank you Microsoft :P) as well. Anyway, I think by using MeeGo has a definite impact on the lower price without a doubt.


A little about MeeGo...

MeeGo's original name was actually Moblin. It's basically a separate Linux project under the supervision of Linux foundation and several other commercial companies such as Intel as mentioned earlier. The interface is optimized for mobile devices (you know, it's efficient and won't "waste" that precious "spaces" of these smaller touch/screens) and the UI is written using Qt toolkit. But other portions of MeeGo is written using the GTK+ and Clutter as well.

Although some portion of the OS (such as the Kernel few other parts) are released under GNU/GPL license but the whole Linux OS in general is an opensource project rather than a "true" GNU/Linux distribution. But the rest assured, it looks very very promising and totally free of charge!.

Will the X101 and MeeGo be able to impress the users??, well, I think when considering the price and the OS and the hardware features... heck ya it can! ;-).

Read More

Acer Might Introduce a Chrome OS Based Netkbook in the Near Future!

Few days ago Sony introduced their first sets of Android Honeycomb based Tablet PCs called S1 and S2. Now it's rumored that Acer in the near future might come up with a sleek looking Netbook that's powered by the Google's Chrome OS!.

Although no one could predict that how we would "define" the ultimate, all purpose operating system of the future... but one way or the other... Google has two of 'em (Android or Chrome, smart move eh :D ).

Upcoming Acer Netbook called ZGB!...

Although this won't be the first official netbook to carry Chrome OS since it was in 2010 (around December) when Google first introduced a netbook called Cr-48 which was only shipped for 60,000 testers via Chrome OS Pilot program but the rumored Acer netbook is not a prototype nor just another testing device... it's gonna be a real laptop that we, as normal users are going to be able to purchase!.

Although it's not clear about all the hardware details at the moment (obviously).

Anyhow it's codenamed "ZGB", powered by an Atom processor (Intel), 1366x768 HD display resolution, the screen size could vary between 10in to 12 inches, a HDMI port that uses an encoder chip from Crontel, etc are the hardware details that were reported by a recent post at trustedreviews.

It's dated around mid 2011... so we should hear "something" from Acer in the very near future. So until then, hold your breath... 'cause Chrome OS is coming!.

Read More