Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 in All Things Unix http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21067324 en Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:43:05 EDT Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:43:05 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21096152 usa2k : For the price, I can see many impulse purchases.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21096152 Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:17:29 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21093346 disturbed1 : »news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10038054-1.html

There's the article on it.

I would buy the machine myself. Personally I have no use for all these netbooks. Then again, I'm not the one these machines were targeted for ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21093346 Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:28:46 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21092848 ropeguru :
said by disturbed1 See Profile :

said by john c dvorak :

Hivision in China is using an ARM (or Mips)processor I believe for the Linux running 98$ one they are releasing next month. It will have nowhere the solidity and polish of the Acer and Dell Mini but just because it exists at that price, Im going to have to get one. That's cheaper than we payed for the Wii Fit.
It's a MIPS for the $98 one, and x86 compatible VIA chip for the $300 one. The MIPS one is missing a DSP, so media playback is pretty much the pits. However-absolutely brilliant idea for those that need to check in on the web (wifi built in), or get some work done on the road. 10,000 units have been sold world wide so far.
And I would think that the MIPS processor based would be just fine for remote desktop back to a more powerful machine. These sound like a good deal.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21092848 Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:46:04 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21092184 koitsu :
said by koitsu See Profile :

... My co-worker runs Kubuntu on his T60p and I was absolutely amazed to see that it has a full ACPI driver for IBM/Lenovo notebooks. I'll ask him if he ran into any heating problems; I know he set up some kind of utility in KDE to monitor/graph all of the ACPI thermal zones (and there's something like 12! Pretty impressive).
As promised, I checked in on this. Co-worker says he had absolutely no problems whatsoever, and that he was also able to verify EIST (Intel SpeedStep) was working properly (processor frequency was fluxuating based on workload).

He added that he was able to monitor all the thermals as well, as I stated. :-)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21092184 Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:59:12 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21091098 disturbed1 :
said by john c dvorak :

Hivision in China is using an ARM (or Mips)processor I believe for the Linux running 98$ one they are releasing next month. It will have nowhere the solidity and polish of the Acer and Dell Mini but just because it exists at that price, Im going to have to get one. That's cheaper than we payed for the Wii Fit.
It's a MIPS for the $98 one, and x86 compatible VIA chip for the $300 one. The MIPS one is missing a DSP, so media playback is pretty much the pits. However-absolutely brilliant idea for those that need to check in on the web (wifi built in), or get some work done on the road. 10,000 units have been sold world wide so far.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21091098 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:03:40 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21090466 anon : >and increase the size of the SSD used.

Went to local Future Shop today to pick up an 8GB SD card for my aunt's Acer One (it has two SD card slots) for 29$ and picked up a 8GB USB key for 20$.
She has access to all her audio-video files through the NAS enclosure plugged into her wifi router and when she goes to see clients she has more than enough space.
I've lugged a T21 for the past 10 years and it has a 20GB hard drive.

I'm 189cm, 120kg and have big fingers and the One is fine for general use for the week we had with it us. I have a smartphone because I need email access 24/7 but there is very little productivity (I have a N95 and use a iPhone at work) on a 2 inch screen. The netbook is great for viewing videocasts like twitlive.tv, youtubing and doing about 15-60mins of work at a time. She uses the webcam to talk to her family almost all the time with Skype. Oh yeah, this is the first time she's used a computer in her life and the Linpus Lite easy mode was very intuitive to use (the advanced mode is hidden and you have to know where to access it). Having her use Linux means that neither I or my brother will have to deal with virus, spyware, malware, trojans and all the others beauties we deal with when fixing family's Windows machines (which I would estimate is about 80% of the time)

When Dell gets their act together and finally starts shipping Ubuntu Linux with it, that will be the one we will get but if they drag their feet too close to the wife's birthday, the Acer One will be the one. (caveat; the 3 cell battery is the Acer One's weakness, get the bigger one)

Hivision in China is using an ARM (or Mips)processor I believe for the Linux running 98$ one they are releasing next month. It will have nowhere the solidity and polish of the Acer and Dell Mini but just because it exists at that price, Im going to have to get one. That's cheaper than we payed for the Wii Fit.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21090466 Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:08:39 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21080349 koitsu :
said by Matt See Profile :

said by koitsu See Profile :

It's really more like a "semi-portable PC" than a laptop. :-)
Ha ha. I completely agree with that.

Here is the document that I had my battery replaced under. »www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.···GR-67765

Battery life started getting worse and worse, to the point where I could only get 30-45 minutes out of it, then all of a sudden one day it simply wouldn't charge. There is a utility on that page that will tell you if you have any of the affected models. Even if the battery isn't experiencing the exact issue, I'd check them anyway.
That's the *exact* issue a lot of us here are having! Thanks a ton!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21080349 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:28:49 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21076154 Matt :
said by koitsu See Profile :

It's really more like a "semi-portable PC" than a laptop. :-)
Ha ha. I completely agree with that.

Here is the document that I had my battery replaced under. »www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.···GR-67765

Battery life started getting worse and worse, to the point where I could only get 30-45 minutes out of it, then all of a sudden one day it simply wouldn't charge. There is a utility on that page that will tell you if you have any of the affected models. Even if the battery isn't experiencing the exact issue, I'd check them anyway.
--
Linux Haters Unite!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21076154 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:43:57 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075861 koitsu :
said by Matt See Profile :

I've been pretty pleased with my T60, but I don't carry it around much. I've also not had any trouble with mine and I beat the crap out of it. The battery life is pretty bad, but you know there was a recall on several of the batteries due to abnormally short life right? Lenovo sent me a free replacement that SIGNIFICANTLY improved life. It's completely possible I got lucky and got one that doesn't have issues.
I'd inform my employer of this fact, except I know the information would go in one ear and out the other (IT has a tendency to ignore anything tech-savvy users send them as a "FYI").

If you could point me to a reputable source detailing the recall (I haven't check Lenovo's home page), that would probably be sufficient ammunition against IT. :-)

As far as Linux/BSD, I've had nothing but trouble with it running several distributions. I don't think the kernel or driver controls the SMBus properly. My laptop running Ubuntu gets too hot to keep on my lap, even while it's sitting idle. I don't have this problem with XP or Vista.
Said problem has nothing to do with SMBus (trust me), and everything to do with ACPI. My co-worker runs Kubuntu on his T60p and I was absolutely amazed to see that it has a full ACPI driver for IBM/Lenovo notebooks. I'll ask him if he ran into any heating problems; I know he set up some kind of utility in KDE to monitor/graph all of the ACPI thermal zones (and there's something like 12! Pretty impressive).

FreeBSD could definitely use some improvement in this area, however, no denying that. The best utilities you have for managing that sort of stuff on BSD are 1) acpi(4) sysctls, and 2) powerd(8).

Mine runs Vista. Literally within seconds of logging in, the machine kicks the fan on high, and eventually throttles it down to its lowest speed (which is still annoying loud (I've sensitive ears)). I've tuned most of the power settings in Vista to be power-save-friendly, hoping to decrease performance enough that the temperatures drop and the fan relaxes a bit more, but wasn't all that successful.

On the other hand, I *was* happy to see tpfancontrol was made to work on Vista, and works incredibly well! Warning: web page resembles something you'd find on Geocities.

I can definitely see how carrying it around all the time would get old, fast. I have a laptop backpack that I carry it around it and it's too damn unwieldy to use often. It's just not portable.
I don't even carry mine around; it sits in a cube/drawer most of the time. When I do unleash it, it makes me glad I don't have to take it home or haul it around.

It's really more like a "semi-portable PC" than a laptop. :-)

I consider all of this evidence that the Dell Mini 9 is a great piece of technological evolution. Yep, others did it first, and they deserve acknowledgement too.
--
Making life hard for others since 1977.
I speak for myself and not my employer/affiliates of my employer.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075861 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:47:25 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075595 Matt : I've been pretty pleased with my T60, but I don't carry it around much. I've also not had any trouble with mine and I beat the crap out of it. The battery life is pretty bad, but you know there was a recall on several of the batteries due to abnormally short life right? Lenovo sent me a free replacement that SIGNIFICANTLY improved life. It's completely possible I got lucky and got one that doesn't have issues.

As far as Linux/BSD, I've had nothing but trouble with it running several distributions. I don't think the kernel or driver controls the SMBus properly. My laptop running Ubuntu gets too hot to keep on my lap, even while it's sitting idle. I don't have this problem with XP or Vista.

I can definitely see how carrying it around all the time would get old, fast. I have a laptop backpack that I carry it around it and it's too damn unwieldy to use often. It's just not portable.
--
Linux Haters Unite!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21075595 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:57:55 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21074242 koitsu :
said by Matt See Profile :

I tried to talk my Dell rep into getting me one of these for the $99 deal they had, but he couldn't.

There are so many times when lugging my T60 around is just too much. I'd love to have something like this for simple web browsing. I'm seriously thinking about getting one of these, or one of the super-duper slim notebooks to replace my T60.
My workplace supplied all employees with the T60p. What a pile of junk. I've expressed my displeasure with Lenovo laptops a couple times on FreeBSD mailing lists, citing high temperatures, loud fans that run constantly, and absolutely *horrible* battery life as the main concerns. Said workplace also provided all employees with the extended batteries (which are significantly larger (sticking out the back by 1.5" inches) and add a good 2-3 pounds to the laptop), which gains us a whopping... 1 hour of battery life. Awesome!!! The size and weight of the T60 series is atrocious as well -- just too damn big.

That said, with regards to the Mini 9, I'm impressed. I hope they start making actual laptops based on some of the hardware used (specifically the Intel Atom), upgrade the NIC/PHY to gigE, and increase the size of the SSD used.

I'd also like to know what brand/model of Ethernet NIC/PHY and Wireless chip they used in the laptop. I'm crossing my fingers it's not Realtek, Marvell, or Broadcom. Can someone who has one of these in Ubuntu provide "lspci -v" output, please?

I for one welcome this technology, because it's good to see *actual evolution* happening for once, rather than vendors continually releasing "upgrades" to the same garbage they came out with 4 months prior.

If a 13-15" model comes out with generally standard keyboard layout and other clean-ups, I think that will be the first laptop I ever buy (for personal use). Maybe, for once in my life, I'll be able to accomplish a goal I've had for quite some time: mountain biking for a few hours up a large mountain, and once atop, enjoying a nice game of Nethack over SSH/telnet...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21074242 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:31:16 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21073405 rec9140 :
said by Maranello See Profile :
They're releasing a 12" version and maybe a 10" version too. They were planning on 6 colors so red should be along soon


We'll see....don't like the line in those docs

"limited.....including colors."

Pay attention Dell....... R E D !
--
Ban all copyright, trademarks, and IP laws!//Lorem ipsum ei pro stet equidem labores, at enim animal expetenda nec. Ea vix argumentum dissentiunt, usu esse ridens ex.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21073405 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:31:56 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21071735 Matt : I tried to talk my Dell rep into getting me one of these for the $99 deal they had, but he couldn't.

There are so many times when lugging my T60 around is just too much. I'd love to have something like this for simple web browsing. I'm seriously thinking about getting one of these, or one of the super-duper slim notebooks to replace my T60.
--
Linux Haters Unite!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21071735 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:59:37 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070879 Maranello :
said by rec9140 See Profile :

All the "leaked" pictures showed a red one, and thats what I want the RED ONE!
They're releasing a 12" version and maybe a 10" version too. They were planning on 6 colors so red should be along soon.

»www.engadget.com/photos/dell-e-a···/859923/

A video review of the Dell...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M37j5BnERw

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkqbS0TtUss

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcwxR9kFEnE

The Acer...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf0A6b_wZZM

www.channelflip.com/2008/06/09/acer-aspire-one-launch/

The HP 2133...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW3kOb4Mgks

The MSI Wind (size compare with the Acer too)...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8kBg_NYcyA

Leopard install on MSI Wind though this could be any Atom based netbook as they're all the same.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS7yFH_I3NI

Just to note, the XP 6 cell version of the Acer has a 160GB HDD and 1GB of memory (expandable to 2GB) and was listed on Amazon at $399. The Linux version with the 8GB SSD and 1GB is also $399 ($329 for 512mb expandable to 1.5gb). As with the other netbooks they're offsetting the cost of Windows by using a cheaper mechanical 5400rpm SATA HDD vs the SATA SSD. Samsung will be releasing cheap SATA SDD's next month up to 32GB so there is an affordable upgrade path for those who still want an SSD...

»www.techpowerup.com/69713/Samsun···SDs.html

Actually I was planning on trying one of those out on my gaming system.

Those curious about the Atom CPU but who don't want to spend the netbook money can get an Intel board with the same chipset, GMA950 and the 1.2GHz version of the Atom for $70

»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···D945GCLF

Loyd Case at Extremetech build a PC based on this board (he used mobile parts but you don't need to)...

»www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2···9,00.asp

Interesting thing is the fan cooled heatsink is the northbridge while the passively cooled HS is the Atom... at 4W they don't make much heat at all. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070879 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:41:55 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070402 rec9140 : All the "leaked" pictures showed a red one, and thats what I want the RED ONE!

Only black or white on the ordering pages.

I am looking to test these out for possible use by field personell and if a $400-500 laptop gets stolen or broken its a lot better than $1800-2000

For what these field units do they don't need much more than basic web access, and if the unit really has built in 3G and its EVDO based even better.

I am waiting till the first Linux ones ship and hopefully the red one shows up then too. :)
--
Ban all copyright, trademarks, and IP laws!//Lorem ipsum ei pro stet equidem labores, at enim animal expetenda nec. Ea vix argumentum dissentiunt, usu esse ridens ex.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21070402 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:02:59 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069933 Maranello : I love netbooks! I have a friend that has the MSI Wind and an Acer Aspire One. The keyboard on both are very usable, from what I've read the Dell's keyboard would be a bit smaller than both but the Dell is easier to upgrade. Acer introduced the One with the 3 cell battery but just released the 6 cell version which is the one I'm planning on getting once they're back in stock.

Every one of these has the same chipset and 1.6GHz Atom CPU except the Asus 900/904 which uses the 900MHz Celeron and the HP 2133 which uses the 1.2-1.6GHz Via. The HP runs Vista Business and believe it or not, Vista actually runs fine... it's not butter but it's not laggy either. XP runs great on the Atom and yes, you can install OS X on it too... my friend replaced Linpus Linux on this Acer with OS X (Tiger).

You can get a cheap laptop for the same cost but that isn't the point of the netbook. These are 2-3 pound, thin and tiny 8.9-10" notebooks that are meant for media consumption, internet browsing and email instead of carrying around a 6+ pound notebook. Its not your main system, it's a second system.

Dell is using a custom version of Ubuntu. I understood the delay was because of that custom part. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069933 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:26:53 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069838 usa2k : And the Ubuntu software is supposedly delaying shipment :hmm:

CPU base maybe? Intel® Atom Processor® N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K cache)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069838 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:27:29 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069823 cork1958 : There is no way in heck I could use that thing and I have rather small hands.

Besides,
A REAL notebook doesn't cost much more than that puny thing does.

First thing I'd do with that thing is blow that hog Ubunutu off it and install Zenwalk 5.2 also!! Ubuntu is the same kind of hog as Vista is, IMO! Not necessarily resource usage wise, but a hog just the same.
--
The Firefox alternative.
»www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069823 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 07:11:16 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069575 Digibits : Here is a pretty thorough review of the Dell Mini 9.

»www.notebookreview.com/default.a···sID=4578]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069575 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 02:35:00 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069012 sporkme :
said by happylurk :

The jury's still out for me on sub-notebooks, but right now if I were in the market for one I'd be taking a strong, close look at the Acer Aspire One »www.acer.ca/public/page4.do?link···16819777
If that could be turned into a hackintosh.... Mmmm.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21069012 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:20:55 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068924 MHoltum : You can still get XP from Dell.. At least you could 3 months ago.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068924 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:01:08 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068900 usa2k :
said by jays2345 See Profile :

what no vista on it? prob take 3 of em to run the hog
I noticed that too. My son-in-law is unhappy. he bought a Vista PC and it does not work right for his Fantasy Football -- yet I think Dell all but stopped selling XP.
--
Jim, VoIP since 12/2002, VOIPo 2/7/2007

FAH-Tool ... Whales ... VOIPo Forum ... VOIPo Review]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068900 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:56:20 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068873 jays2345 : what no vista on it? prob take 3 of em to run the hog]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068873 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:50:05 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068582 anon : The jury's still out for me on sub-notebooks, but right now if I were in the market for one I'd be taking a strong, close look at the Acer Aspire One »www.acer.ca/public/page4.do?link···16819777

It's selling right now here in Canada with Linux installed for $349...

Cute little toy, but right now I don't really need one enough to justify the expense.

I DO like the thought of having a REAL 120 Gig HD in there instead of a claustrophobic flash drive though :)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068582 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:04:46 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068124 usa2k : I'm sure its better than the Dell PDA I spent $500 on maybe 18 months ago! It was not an impulse purchase, but I wish I could blame it on that. Maybe if Palm OS could over-write the WinOS :hmm:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21068124 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:56:52 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067936 FastEddie :
Here's a picture of an adult hand on the keyboard.

I would use one. I could WiFi from the couch and check the forums.

I'll accept one as a gift. :)


[attachment=1]


--
Here's To You
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067936 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:14:14 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067913 MHoltum : For less than $450 its not so bad.. I think its.... cute.

I am not looking for "cute", but I am sure it is fine for some people.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067913 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:08:19 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067826 GunnarDanne : The resolution of the screen is hideous...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067826 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:44:48 EDT Re: Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067366 Candle : Shows a little kid typing on it.I don' think I could type on it.
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»tinyurl.com/6g9po2]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067366 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:39:34 EDT Dell Mini runing Ubuntu 8.04 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067324 usa2k : »ud.ed10.net/r/DBNY4S/UUCPJ/26OIU···01663155

[att=1]

Somehow 11" screen seems better to me than 9".

»www.dell.com/content/products/pr···spiron-9

Remember when $2000 - $3000 seemed great to run DOS? :hmm:
--
Jim, VoIP since 12/2002, VOIPo 2/7/2007

FAH-Tool ... Whales ... VOIPo Forum ... VOIPo Review

Odd?
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21067324 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 09:24:04 EDT