Netbook Evaluations
Kubuntu Netbook Edition ten.04 assessment
For those that usually do not know, Kubuntu Netbook Edition produced it for the leading of our listing of “Best Netbook Linux Distro” and why not, it's got an modern strategy of how an running technique need to be customized for a netbook, to produce lives less difficult for consumers like you and me.
Now, before I transfer ahead, let me make clear few points – this evaluation is done retaining in thoughts how a casual netbook consumer would use Kubuntu. Certain, you'll be able to install Gnome setting instead of KDE and allow it to be look specifically like a typical Ubuntu, but that is not we're going to cover here.
Installation
The installation is dead simple, just like Ubuntu. When you have set up any Linux OS recently, you must not have any issue installing Kubuntu Netbook Edition. I set up it employing UnetBootin which allows 1 to produce a bootable USB generate.
Out with the box, every little thing worked, from Ethernet to Wireless LAN – every little thing! This can be excellent as many of the netbook users do not like wandering more than Ubuntu/Kubuntu discussion boards attempting anything to operate. Even the operate keys labored.
Looks
The Kubuntu Netbook Edition makes use of KDE desktop as an alternative to Gnome. After utilizing the Gnome desktop for practically like 3 a long time, KDE can be a breath of new air. The Netbook Edition tends to make issues significantly far better, thanks to wise utilization of display real estate. Netbooks normally activity a resolution of 1024×600 pixels, thus an application really should make full use from the pixels available. In other words, it is precisely what a geek ordered.
For the techies,
Office 2007 Key, the Kubuntu makes use of Plasma Netbook Shell and it looks a lot more futuristic than the Ubuntu, at least to me and my team. I absolutely love the animations and how the windows behave. Excellent – Very. But, right here is often a word of caution – as you would have already noticed from the screenshots, it seems to be quite a lot different from the existing netbook distros,
Office 2007 Download, chiefly because all of them use Ubuntu Netbook Edition as their base. So, it will take a day or two in getting used to the KDE+Plasma Environment.
All the applications run full display screen,
Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007, much like Ubuntu netbook edition. However, there can be a way when you want the application not to run full screen.
The desktop is divided into 3 parts – top bar, favorites panel and application panel. The leading bar contains the basic buttons for shutting down, locking the display, clock and also contains the button for switching between running applications.
Second is the favorites panel. You are able to add application by hovering the mouse over an icon and then clicking on the little golden star on the leading left with the icon.
While on the desktop, you either use the categories to get to your desired application or you start typing the name of application and Kubuntu will automatically start to short-list the applications as you type. It also finds your documents too – similar to spotlight search on Mac
Switching applications is completed by clicking a button present on the top-right of the display, which shows you the numbers of applications that are currently running. Clicking it shows all the running applications with their current screenshots.
Alternatively, it is possible to use alt+tab combo, which gives you an iTunes’ cover flow like interface to switch between apps. Very cool!
Boot Up time
Boot-up time is extremely important for mobile devices like netbooks since nobody wants to wait for 2-3 minutes for an OS to complete its boot. Everybody wants to go online as-fast-as possible. Kubuntu Netbook Edition (referred to as KNE from this point onwards) does precisely that.
Having the netbook set to auto-login, from grub to desktop took 50 seconds and shut down time was 6 seconds. So, the boot-up times are fairly impressive.
Applications
Office:
·OpenOffice Word Processor
·Openoffice Presentation
·OpenOffice Spreadsheet
·OpenOffice Drawing
·Okular
·KtimeTracker
·Korganizer
·Kontact
·KaddressBook
Education
·Kanagram: Letter order game
·Ktouch
·Parley: Vocabulary Trailer
Games
·Kmahjongg
·Krerversi
·Lsat
·Ksudoku
·Kmines
·Kdiamond
·Kpatience
Graphics
·Ksnapshot
·Gwenview: Image Viewer
·OpenOffice Drawing
·Okular: Document Viewer
Internet
·Mozilla Network Installar (more on that later)
·Network Connections
·Konqueror
·Ktorrent
·Kmail
·Kbluetooth
·KPPP
·Quassel IRC: IRC Client
·KRDC: Desktop Terminal
·Kopete: Instant Messenger
·Krfb: Internet Sharing
·Blogilo: Blogging Client
·Akregator: RSS reader
·KnetworkManager
·Browser Identification
·Windows Share
Multimedia
·Kmix: Sound Mixer
·Dragon Player: Video Player
·Amarok: Audio Player
It just kept saying that the requested packages are already put in and the installation of Firefox never actually happened. But,
Office 2007 Enterprise Key, we had no problems with the Konqueror, which is the default web-browser for Kubuntu.
Suggestions?
Well, I do feel that the close button should always be accessible in an application. It ought to not be hidden in the top-bar which hides itself every time to give you more pixels to function with. Secondly. Plasma Atmosphere could be a bit faster.
Firefox installation just fails. Go for the Chrome browser from Google or the Opera. It is magical on the Kubuntu (actually on any Linux distro out there).
Flash player,
Office Enterprise 2007 Key, similar to other Canonical distributions, does not come pre-installed. Same can be said about MP3 and other video codecs. There is an easy solution to this – just install VLC or Audacious. :)
Related posts:
Ubuntu Light for netbooks
Related words : kubuntu 10.04 evaluation, kubuntu netbook review, kubuntu review
Sign up on the Gadgetmix Newsletter (free) for news and evaluations mailed directly to your mailbox CLICK HERE