Eeebuntu 3.0 Base – First Impression
I decided to give another Linux distribution a try on my Eee PC and went with Eeebuntu 3.0, which is based on Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty. Eeebuntu is customized Ubuntu for Netbooks, specifically the Eee PC range from Asus. There have been reports of it working well with the Eee Box, Acer Aspire One, Samsung NC10 and possible a few more other ones.
As for Eeebuntu 3.0, it is currently only available in the Base version and the Standard and Netbook Remix (NBR) version set to be available at the end of the month. As taken from their website:
Eeebuntu Base is the smallest, lightest and most stripped down of the three ISO’s. Apart from Gnome and its usual configuration applications, Firefox, restricted extras and the Eeeconfigure application, there’s little else, which means it’s up to you to add as few or as many as you need. To date, over 33,000 pro users have installed it onto their machines.
Some of the other things that have been removed to save space are: Compiz, additional language packs (you can install your own later), all office, media and internet applications and their support files (apart from Firefox and Remote Desktop tools), and Java.
Ideal to save space on the SSD and for those who know exactly what they need in their install, Eeebuntu Base gives you just enough without loading you down with unnecessary applications.
The installation went quite smoothly with wireless working right from the start. Logon screen and GUI is nice to look at. Fonts and icons have been shrunken down to fit smaller screens. It appears to have a customized Linux kernel specifically for the Netbook as battery life seems to hold on longer than usual and I’m able to see more wireless AP’s than I normally did before in my area.
Overall, I highly recommend Eeebuntu 3.0 for anyone with the Eee PC. However, I would suggest you wait until the Standard becomes available so that you don’t have to go out and install all the other applications yourself.
