Life with a Netbook & Ubuntu- a few months in..

I love my netbook. I have a Dell Mini 9, 1GB RAM, 16GB SSD, ubuntu Linux OS. I jumped on it as soon as they were announced and was on a 2 month back order. Very un-Dell-like, but worth the wait. As with everything, it is always good to wait until something matures, but in this case I was eager. Below is a screenshot of my desktop with twhirl opened so you can get a sense for the size.


I know some folks are in the market for a netbook and figured I'd give a list of some advice/experiences.

• I have the 16GB SSD drive, it was the biggest that they offered at the time. You can get way bigger now. I wanted to try life living in the clouds and so far so good. Majority of my files are in the clouds, only thing installed locally are applications. But, I'd go bigger if I had the choice today.
• I went with Linux as something I just wanted to do. ZERO regrets. I am very interested in Linux but was worried how I would interact with the world, ubuntu is truly amazing. It is a completely new way of thinking about Linux. I use it as much for work - office, online interaction.
  
• It came installed with ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) with the netbook remix interface. I have since upgraded to 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) without much issue and have skipped the remix interface.
• Fantastic support can be found here and here.
  
• Know what to expect. A netbook is just that. A computer primarily intended to be used as for web browsing, light office application work.
  
• Watching tv, movies. Works like a charm if downloaded, 70% of the time it works streaming, but sometimes delays etc. Boxee is not working, hulu most of the time.
• Expect to pay $400-500. The $200 being advertised, you will quickly find are very low end machines. Pay the extra cash, its worth it. Extra cash comes with large storage, more memory, integrated camera and bluetooth.
  
• I am getting used to blogging now, but it wasnt ideal initially. I was lost without SnagIt (linux issue, not netbook). Also the tiny keyboard takes some getting used to. I still fat finger it alot.
• Really think about how you will access work, other files. I have settled on box.net, but still not perfect. There are a whole list out there.
• Google docs is a fantastic tool. I couldn't use it all the time, but its awesome. Great tool for netbook users. Collaboration is nice. Downside is if another collaborator doesn't have a google account. They claim otherwise, but that's been my experience. Also, no "review" tools.
  
• BIGGEST disappointment is the lack of 3G integration with the mini9, no excuses at all. It should be a requirement if you have a netbook. Live and learn for me.
• Most netbooks do not come with a CD/DVD drive, I purchased an external one and it was a total waste of money. I used it once to watch a movie.
• I have the Timbuk2 bag, really nice but it fits exactly the netbook and power cord, no room for a pen even.
• Battery life is pretty solid-- I get ~4hr with the larger Dell battery.
• I also bought speakers and a mouse. I would skip both next time. The creative speakers are nice, but they are now attached to my desktop. The mouse is still in the packaging.
  
• Web browsing takes some getting used to as the screen size is tiny. It is working ok for me, but I'd also take a look at the soon to be released mini10.

Here is a shot of the CFdesign home page in Firefox. Should give you an idea of the aspect ratio. I have both the netbook and the iphone. I couldn't imagine life without either. I know there is a trend that smaller is better and everything is going toward the handheld. I agree up to a point, but if I had to choose one, I'd go with the netbook, no question.

Cloud Computing: Life with a Netbook...the beginning

I waited five long weeks for my new personal netbook. I've ranted in the past about my vision to have a small laptop, loaded with linux and other open source applications. I want to use the netbook primarily for browsing the web, email, and general office applications. The hard drive is very small, so the idea is that I will leverage online applications, online storage and backups. This premise obviously implies that I will be connected to the Internet most of the time.

So far, so good. The Dell mini came with Ubuntu Hardy Heron loaded. I ran into a few issues initially.

• The mini is based on lpia architecture, not the standard i386. So, downloading standard applications was a pain initially. There are workarounds available, but upgrading to Intrepid Ibex, addresses this issue.
• Dell still hasn't shipped my external DVD player, so upgrading to Intrepid required creating a Live USB. It took a bit of trial and error with the USB-Creator in Hardy. I finally got it to work and love the idea of Live USB keys to boot/install the OS. Intrepid's USB Creator is much easier to use.

Once upgraded to Intrepid, the main issue I ran into was no sound. I searched every forum I could find to try and fix the problem. The guys at DELLMINI forum, saved the day. Here is the quick fix for the sound issue on a Dell mini.


Some cool things that I am using..

ONLINE STORAGE - chose to go with Box.net; allows me to upload files from my work laptop & desktop (both Vista) & access it anywhere via the web. Also testing out Dropbox.

OFFICE APPLICATIONS - Obviously using MS Office @ works and leveraging Live Mesh & Office Live to share MS docs for work. On my netbook, I am using Open Office. Just figured out that you can open Office 2007 docs (word at least) in Open Office. This is huge for me! I am also using Google Docs quite a bit..I love the "offline" option.

BROWSER - Mozilla Firefox - across the board

IM/PHONE - Skype- working alot better on Vista lately; had to tweak the sound settings on the Linux version (Sound In = HDA Intel (hw:Intel,0); Sound Out = pulse)

MUSIC - using Rhythmbox Music Player - streaming Last.fm.

EMAIL - using Google Mail. I also have my Outlook calendar synced with my Google Calendar.

More to come on this.. Wondering if any other netbook users out there that can provide some insight, cool applications etc..

What would life be like with a netbook?

I am about to jump on the netbook train. If you are not familiar with the term netbook, check out the previous link to give you the low down. The easiest way to think about it; it's a small laptop that is designed to be mostly used to access the Internet. Lightweight, small hard drive , 9-10" screen, no CD-ROM etc. So, many people are probably thinking that it is a laptop to simply browse the web? Well, not exactly.

It is true that most of the interaction you have with the netbook will be via the Internet. But it goes beyond simple web browsers. It is a new way of thinking about computers. It is leveraging "software as a service" (SaaS). In general, the hard drives are very small, so most of the application and data is hosted "online". So, the need to be connected most of the time is a fundamental requirement. Probably not exactly feasible today, but with the adoption of 3G networks, it will be only a matter of time before we are connected all the time. Plus many applications like Google Docs allow you to mark files "offline".

I think when looking at a netbook, you have to keep it all in perspective. Being a CAD/CFD guy, I know that netbooks are not designed to drive these types of tools.

So here is a quick list of the essentials....

Operating System Ubuntu Linux
Office Applications OpenOffice & Google Docs
Voip & IMs Skype
Web Browsing Firefox
Email & Calendar Gmail
Online File Storage box.net
Work CRM System Salesforce.com

What's missing? Well, making the move to Linux always has it's drawbacks (netbooks are available with Windows). Here is a quick rundown of applications I need to replace - itunes, Snagit, Evernote..

Ok, so the big question, why spend $500 on a netbook??? For me, there are a handful of reasons.

1. Portable device to travel with to reduce having to drag out my M6300.
2. Inexpensive way to reacquaint with Ubuntu Linux.
3. An easy way to experiment with an SaaS lifestyle.
4. Expose my kids to computers & Linux at a very early age.
5. A lightweight option to use when I'm in "web mode"

I am looking forward to reporting my findings. I expect some bumps in the road, but really excited to see the market that this product is trying to serve. I love seeing the videos out there showing how easily kids are picking up Linux. The idea of a Linux 'remix' has some huge potential moving forward. Remix is just a fancy word for customized UI of Ubuntu Linux.