"I can haz Linux back pls?" -- netbook help

Rainmaker · 31 May 2010 at 22:24

Long story short, our house runs a mix of Linux, Windows and OS X desktops and servers. My step daughters have a desktop computer, a laptop and a netbook between them which as a rule are running Windows 7 simply because it makes remote administration and sharing easier (Libraries).

However, I've only recently added Win 7 to the netbook. I have to admit - and I know this is the *nix forum, but bear with me - that 7 runs beautifully on the netbook. Even I was surprised. So fast to boot, everything loads almost instantly, and it's just "nice". Bearing in mind it's only an oldish Samsung NC10 1.6 Atom with 1GB RAM.

Anyway my stepdaughter just approached me looking sheepish, netbook in hand. "It hasn't got many games, there's no webcam apps to have fun with and it's just boring. Can I have Linux back please?"...

I must admit I was a bit like this:

Since kids don't get drawn into fanboi-ism and just tend to use what's easy and works for them, it was nice to have the girls asking for Linux back because it "just works", it's amusing for them (tons of pre-installed basic games, webcam utilities etc) and was easy to use. That's a pretty nice endorsement imho.

Anyway the reason for the post (yeah yeah, cool story bro etc) is that I've had a little difficulty with the brightness on the netbook. Using PCLinuxOS 2010 Gnome edition the screen brightness auto-adapts to the AC adapter being plugged in and removed and it's possible to play around with the brightness manually.

In Mint 9 (which, despite my love for PCLOS I'd rather use), the manual control doesn't work for the brightness, nor does the brightness applet on the Gnome panel. Plugging in the adapter doesn't do much either.

Any suggestions or ideas before I just give up and put PCLOS back on? I know they're much of a muchness considering the intended function, but I do prefer Mint from an admin perspective.

TIA.

Rainmaker · 31 May 2010 at 22:46

Brilliant, thanks!

Rainmaker · 31 May 2010 at 22:58

Depends on what you want it for alexhull24. About the best all-round distro I've found so far was PCLinuxOS 2010 Gnome, simply because everything worked out of the box, it's fast enough (if you ignore synaptic loading all those rpms) and it's light enough to multitask.

If you have the stomach for it and aren't a total noob, a custom Arch or Debian install would probably be best so you can spec it from the ground up. I hear Ubuntu's netbook remix is meant to be fairly decent too, though I've not tried it.

Rainmaker · 31 May 2010 at 23:35

PCLOS 2010 will do you nicely enough, the kids certainly get on fine with it and it's faster than XP was on the same machine. I've just been having this same conversation with a guy I know on IRC and he recommended "Jolicloud" OS to me. It's designed entirely for netbooks and seems to do the job admirably. From the screenies it's got Ubuntu under the hood somewhere but he reckons it's great for basics like Facebook, Skype, YouTube etc (especially for the kids). I'm downloading the ISO now, I'll let you know how I get along.

EDIT: According to their FAQ, Jolicloud is based mostly around Debian with an emphasis on full screen multimedia and web apps. Sounds ideal tbh.

Rainmaker · 31 May 2010 at 23:53

alexhull24 said:
Forgot to ask, you said you were using Gnome with PLCOS, is that for compatibility or is it generally the best desktop to go for? I'd have thought something more lightweight would be better for a netbook, if you're using Gnome you may as well use mint right? Sorry if I misinterpreted, there's so many variations out there it's hard to keep track!

No, you're quite correct. Gnome isn't known for being the lightest of environments but it's 100% my preferred way to work with Linux through a GUI. Since this netbook will happily run Windows 7 with full Aero/3D, Gnome literally flies along on it no problems at all. Why 'demote' yourself to something spartan and basic if you can run the full thing? That's JMHO, obviously everyone has their own tastes and ideas.

BTW the only reason I was running PCLOS 2010 instead of Mint was due to the brightness issue as per the OP, nothing to do with PCLOS being any faster or anything.

Rainmaker · 1 Jun 2010 at 01:25

Well I have to admit, certainly from the kids' perspective, I'm in love with Jolicloud. It's not the best ever, but it's bloody nicely done. I can't wait to see their face tomorrow.

The graphics/icons/splashies are good quality, and it's very nicely laid out. The Jolicloud area for each user can be tied to facebook, so when the netbook is logged in it says "Welcome (child's name)!" and has their FB profile pic in the corner. It has FB chat and Farmville on the apps list (duly installed) so they're going to be stoked.

It's not the fastest distro (PCLOS was faster, and Win7) but it's fluid and looks great so I can see this being a keeper in an 11 year old's eyes. Desktop area (this is way more cluttered than the default, which I kept):

The noob-friendly replacement for synaptic, allowing point-and-click app installs (synaptic is still available from the terminal with sudo synaptic):

EDIT: Oh and yes, screen brightness is automagically controlled so my concerns from the OP are now moot.