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Comparison of netbook-oriented Linux distributions
List article

Netbooks are small laptops, with screen sizes between approximately 7 and 12 inches and low power consumption. They use either an SSD (solid state disk) or a HDD (hard disk drive) for storage, have up to 2 gigabytes of RAM (but often less), lack an optical disk drive, and usually have USB, Ethernet, WiFi and often Bluetooth connectivity. The name emphasizes their use as portable Internet appliances.

Netbook distributions

There are special Linux distributions, called netbook distributions, for these machines. All such distributions purport to be optimized for use with small, low-resolution displays. They tend to include a broad mix of VOIP and web-focused tools, including proprietary applications rarely seen installed by default by mainstream desktop distributions. For instance, Nokia Maemo and Asus' customized Xandros both ship with Skype and Adobe Flash installed, and Ubuntu's Netbook Edition offers the option to do the same for OEMs.1

Comparison

Features

DistributionWorking StateAimCreatorProducerBase DistributionInstalled Size (MB)Initial Release DateInterfaceLinux KernelDefault File SystemArchitecture SupportApproximate Number of Pre-compiled PackagesDefault Package Management ToolsDefault Installer
Aurora2009

Last Release, development stopped

Asus Eee PC optimizedEeebuntu communityUbuntu2009-05-15Gnome or Gnome + Netbook RemixArray kernel (modified kernel)2APT
CrunchBang Linux 11-201301192015-02-06

Development Stopped

Limited hardware machinesPhilip NewboroughDebian2013-01-19Openbox3.2.35x86 + x86_64APT
Debian Eee PCAsus Eee PCDebian
Debian WheezyWritten from scratchi386, AMD64, PowerPC, SPARC, ARM, MIPS, S390, armhf, s390x. Loongson3
EasyPeasy 1.62012

Last Release, development stopped

All netbooksEasyPeasy CommunityJon RamviUbuntu2010-04-24Gnome + Netbook Remix2.6.32ext4x86APTUbiquity
Eeedora4Asus Eee PC 701Martin AndrewsFedoraXfceRPM
Firefly Linux 1.0 Beta 12009

Last Release, development stopped

Firefly Linux communityArch LinuxLXDE2.6.29.4x86Pacman
Fuduntu2013-04-14

Last Release, development stopped

All netbooks5Andrew Wyatt "Fewt"Fuduntu.org6None (Originally based on Fedora 14)2012-10-01Gnome3.6.9ext4x867 + x86_648RPM + YUM
gNewSenseFree softwareBrian Brazil and Paul O'MalleySam Geeraerts with sponsorship from the FSFDebianLinux-libre 2.6.32Loongson, x86, x86-64APTUbiquity (software)
Joli OS 1.2(formerly named Jolicloud)2013-11-22 Last Release, development stoppedAll netbooks9Joli OSJoli OSUbuntu2011-03-09HTML5 + Gnome2.6.35.10ext4x86APT
Kuki Linux 2.02009

Last Release, development stopped

Aspire One optimizedKuki Linux communityUbuntuXfce
Linux4One 1.5Aspire One optimizedLinux4One communityUbuntuGnome or LXDE
Leeenux Linux v102016 Last ReleaseAll netbooksAleksandar CiricUbuntu 16.04 LTSLXDE, XFCEext4x86, AMD64APT, Synaptic, Software centerUbiquity
Leeenux 2020Supported until April 2023All netbooksAleksandar CiricUbuntu 18.04 LTSLXDE, XFCEx86, AMD64APT, Synaptic, Software center
Lubuntu

15.10

2015-10-22

Active Development

Limited hardware machinesLubuntu Community and LXDE FoundationUbuntu2011-10-13LXDESynaptic
Manjaro Netbook Edition102015-07-25

Active Development

All netbooksRob McCathieManjaro LinuxArch LinuxXfceIntel Atom-optimized Manjaro kernelext4x86, x86_64Pamac (graphical frontend for pacman)
MidinuxAll netbooksRed Flag Linux2007ext3x86
MeeGo 1.22012

Last Release, development stopped

Intel Atom processor netbooks, Nokia ARM smartphonesIntel, Nokia, Maemo communityIntel, Nokia, Linux FoundationNone (it is a distribution developed out of Maemo and Moblin)2010-10-28"Netbook User Experience" (based on Clutter)2.6.35btrfsx86 with SSSE3 supportRPM
Moblin 2.12009-04

Last Release, development stopped

All Intel Atom processor netbooks and MIDIntelIntel/Linux FoundationNone (borrows components for various distributions11)2009-11-04ClutterRPM (may change12)
OpenGeeeU 8.102012-08

Last Release, development stopped

Luca De MariniEasy Peasy132009-03-23Enlightenment plus Gnome2.6.27ext3x8626000APTUbiquity
Puppeee Linux 4.3XLinpus is 64-bit onlyAsus Eee PCs with Intel ChipsetsJemimah RuhalaPuppy Linux 4.3.1200MBChoice of IceWM / OpenBox / Flwm with ROX-Filer / PcManFM / LxLauncher2.6.33AUFS + SquashFS + EXT2Atom / CeleronMPetPetGet
Trisquel Mini2014-11

Last Release, development stopped

Limited hardware machinesTrisquel2010-09
Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.102010-10

Last Release, development stopped

Intel Atom processor netbooks14Canonical Ltd.Canonical Ltd.Ubuntu2010-10-10Unity2.6.32x8632000APT
DistributionWorking StateAimCreatorProducerBase DistributionInstalled Size (MB)Initial Release DateInterfaceLinux KernelDefault File SystemArchitecture SupportApproximate Number of Pre-compiled PackagesDefault Package Management ToolsDefault Installer

Specific Features

DistributionTarget Boot TimeWhole OS Loads to RAM

(Default)

LIVE

Medium

Target UsersSSD Write Optimization

(SSD degradation, I/O optimization, etc.)

Specific Supported Hardware
Aurora 3.0
EasyPeasy 1.6LIVE MediumBeginner, highly mobile netbook users.
Eeedora15
Firefly Linux 1.0 Beta 1
Joli OS 1.2
Kuki Linux 2.0
Linux4One 1.540 seconds16
Manjaro Netbook Edition
Moblin 2.05 seconds1718
OpenGeeeU 8.10
Puppeee Linux 4.3X30sLoads to RAMLayered filesystem - caches writes in RAMLightweight kernel compiled for EeePCs only
Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.10

Google Trends

While no public numbers measuring the install-base of these operating systems are available, Google Trends data on a handful of them indicate their relative popularity:

See also

  • Linux portal
  • Free and open-source software portal

References

  1. Ubuntu 10.4 UNE http://www.ubuntu.com/netbook ↩

  2. "Array kernel site". Archived from the original on 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2009-05-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20090517201608/http://www.eeebuntu.org/index.php?page=array ↩

  3. "DebianYeeloong - Debian Wiki". https://wiki.debian.org/DebianYeeloong ↩

  4. Eeedora project at Google Code https://code.google.com/archive/p/eeedora ↩

  5. "Fuduntu Website". Archived from the original on 2011-03-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20110317083940/http://www.fuduntu.org/ ↩

  6. "Fuduntu Website". Archived from the original on 2011-03-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20110317083940/http://www.fuduntu.org/ ↩

  7. "Fuduntu i386". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-12-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20121016003211/http://packages.fuduntu.org/cgi-bin/getiso?name=Fuduntu-2012.4-i686-LiveDVD.iso ↩

  8. "Fuduntu x86_64".[permanent dead link] http://packages.fuduntu.org/cgi-bin/getiso?name=Fuduntu-2012.4-x86_64-LiveDVD.iso ↩

  9. "Jolicloud Compatible Devices". Archived from the original on 2011-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20110112020736/http://www.jolicloud.com/product/compatibility ↩

  10. Manjaro Netbook Edition at SourceForge https://sourceforge.net/projects/manjarolinux/files/community/Netbook/ ↩

  11. Moblin FAQ Archived May 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine http://moblin.org/documentation/moblin-overview/faq ↩

  12. Moblin FAQ Archived May 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine http://moblin.org/documentation/moblin-overview/faq ↩

  13. [1] Archived May 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine http://opengeu.intilinux.com/News/Voci/2009/3/23_OpenGeeeU_8.10_Live_CD_for_Asus_EeePC_released!.html ↩

  14. "Canonical | About the company". Archived from the original on 2009-02-14. Retrieved 2009-09-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20090214213943/http://www.canonical.com/projects/ubuntu/unr ↩

  15. Eeedora project at Google Code https://code.google.com/archive/p/eeedora ↩

  16. "Features of Light version of Linux4One". Archived from the original on 2009-11-25. Retrieved 2009-06-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20091125134847/http://www.linux4one.it/ ↩

  17. Fast boot in Moblin page Archived January 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine http://moblin.org/projects/fast-boot ↩

  18. Youtube video showing Moblin 2.0 prerelease booting in 5 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7NxCM8ryF8 ↩