11.6-12 inch "uebernetbooks" users - your impressions?

ilembitov · 2009-11-02 15:00:22

Basically, I would like to ask the guys who are already using non-Atom based netbooks with the screen size of 11.6" or 12". That includes HP Pavilion dv2, Acer Aspire 1410, Samsung NC20/Lenovo Ideapad S12 (the VIA-based flavor), the Dell Inspiron Mini 11z (is that already available anywhere? The Russian Dell website already has it listed, but I haven't seen anyone selling it yet) and the models like these. My particular interest is Acer Aspire 1410.
Basically, the questions are:
-what kind of things are you doing on these machines (may be even what apps are you mainly using, what DEs, distros, etc.)
-whether or not you had any issues with the hardware (the most interesting questions are, what's the current state of the drivers, and whether or not you had to use any closed source drivers in order to get all the hardware running)
-could you actually use it as the only machine

It's especially interesting for me, whether or not the Intel CULV CPUs are really faster than Atom (I mean, noticeably).

ElkMonster · 2009-12-09 13:46:54

Although it's a bit late, maybe you're still interested...

I have a NC20. It has Arch (32 bit) and the pre-installed WinXP on it. I'm using Awesome as my window manager. I do pretty much everything that I do on my desktop computer, only at different proportions. Apps and activities include Thunderbird, browsing with Opera and Firefox (see below), some programming (Eclipse), graphics (Gimp, Inkscape, some diagram app), (Go-) OpenOffice. Quit usual, probably.

Issues with hardware: Using Openchrome drivers is not that much fun, they're not using DRI currently and are pretty slow sometimes (speaking of 2D; 3D acceleration is not going to be supported anytime soon). However, it's not that bad - I can do all the things listed above.
Another problem was the Wifi chip that periodically stopped working due to some bug, but it seems to be fixed or at least worked around now in kernel 2.6.32.

Use it as the only machine? For me, not really:
- Eclipse is slow. Windows and GUI elements lag behind, syntax completion can sometimes take more than a second to build and display a list of possible completions, changing modes (debug and back) or opening files can sometimes take a while, as well as scrolling (Eclipse seems to dynamically load data).
- Browsing is alright most of the time, but flash movies often don't play very well, at least for me. This might be Openchrome's fault, or the processor's, I don't know. I have to note that I use Opera with a disabled Flash plugin most of the time, opening Firefox for Flash content if necessary, so my impressions might not be valid for everyone. Also, I hardly use any heavily-JavaScript based sites, so I also cannot comment on that.
- The screen is too small for my taste, but that depends on what you want to do, really. Using Gimp or Eclipse, one easily runs out of space, which can be very annoying (welcome to scroll hell).

That's all that comes to my mind currently... hope it helped.

Last edited by ElkMonster (2009-12-09 13:50:44)

ilembitov · 2009-12-16 06:26:04

ElkMonster wrote:

Although it's a bit late, maybe you're still interested...
I have a NC20. It has Arch (32 bit) and the pre-installed WinXP on it. I'm using Awesome as my window manager. I do pretty much everything that I do on my desktop computer, only at different proportions. Apps and activities include Thunderbird, browsing with Opera and Firefox (see below), some programming (Eclipse), graphics (Gimp, Inkscape, some diagram app), (Go-) OpenOffice. Quit usual, probably.
Issues with hardware: Using Openchrome drivers is not that much fun, they're not using DRI currently and are pretty slow sometimes (speaking of 2D; 3D acceleration is not going to be supported anytime soon). However, it's not that bad - I can do all the things listed above.
Another problem was the Wifi chip that periodically stopped working due to some bug, but it seems to be fixed or at least worked around now in kernel 2.6.32.
Use it as the only machine? For me, not really:
- Eclipse is slow. Windows and GUI elements lag behind, syntax completion can sometimes take more than a second to build and display a list of possible completions, changing modes (debug and back) or opening files can sometimes take a while, as well as scrolling (Eclipse seems to dynamically load data).
- Browsing is alright most of the time, but flash movies often don't play very well, at least for me. This might be Openchrome's fault, or the processor's, I don't know. I have to note that I use Opera with a disabled Flash plugin most of the time, opening Firefox for Flash content if necessary, so my impressions might not be valid for everyone. Also, I hardly use any heavily-JavaScript based sites, so I also cannot comment on that.
- The screen is too small for my taste, but that depends on what you want to do, really. Using Gimp or Eclipse, one easily runs out of space, which can be very annoying (welcome to scroll hell).
That's all that comes to my mind currently... hope it helped.

Thanks. Any details on the OpenChrome? I mean, VIA is supposed to be in support of the development of all open source drivers for their hardware, right? So, AFAIK, all the specs are open, aren't they? Is the work to bring 3D support active? Second, what wifi adapter does it have?
Too bad Russia doesn't have NC20-s. And when it had, it was way more expensive than Lenovo S12.
I actually believe a machine like that could suit my needs. I don't run anything like Eclipse or GIMP and I am perfectly willing to drop Flash support as a compromise for lightweight.

ElkMonster · 2009-12-18 11:08:14

I don't have much insight into the whole driver development thing, from what I know VIA is not directly involved in the OpenChrome development process. However, with Harald Welte they have someone working on patches for the kernel. I saw a patch committed for 2.6.33 which seemed to enable better hardware acceleration support (2D, of course). I don't know whether anybody is working on 3D support. There's also a thread on the NC20 in the Ubuntu forums, there you can find (on one of the last pages) a guide on how to make VIA's own drivers work (which include 3D). I don't know whether the drivers work for Arch, though, plus they are not completely open source, AFAIK.

P.S.: I might find the time and leisure to try VIA's drivers during the christmas days. I'll report back if so.

Last edited by ElkMonster (2009-12-18 11:09:45)

demian · 2009-12-23 11:30:24

I'm using Thinkpad X200s as my only PC. At home i put it in a docking station which is again connected to a 24" monitor and of course keyboard, printer etc which makes for a fully functional desktop pc.
Thanks to SSD the laptop is very fast, it takes ~6 seconds from GRUB to my Openbox desktop. The X200s performs great on battery too. Mine consumes around 6 to 8 W with wlan enabled surfing the net (which are 10 to 12 hours at a 9-cell battery). With LED the resolution is 1440x900, which is more than netbooks usually have. Actually it's more than even some 15" laptops provide.
The keyboard is great, the design is also very appealing to me. Wireless connectivity is very good and there are 3 usb ports. Lenovo/IBM is also supported very well by linux. Currently, pretty much everything works OOB.
It's the perfect netbook without actually being a netbook. Personally, i wouldn't trade it for any other laptop.

If you don't play games that require a good gpu it's the perfect pc.

Last edited by demian (2009-12-23 11:38:26)

Arch Linux

#1 2009-11-02 15:00:22

11.6-12 inch "uebernetbooks" users - your impressions?

#2 2009-12-09 13:46:54

Re: 11.6-12 inch "uebernetbooks" users - your impressions?

#3 2009-12-16 06:26:04

Re: 11.6-12 inch "uebernetbooks" users - your impressions?

#4 2009-12-18 11:08:14

Re: 11.6-12 inch "uebernetbooks" users - your impressions?

#5 2009-12-23 11:30:24

Re: 11.6-12 inch "uebernetbooks" users - your impressions?

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