Mar 10
Dell Mini 9 Netbook: Ubuntu Linux Version
After much anticipation, my new netbook (which I got a screaming deal on) was delivered this afternoon. It’s a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook with Ubuntu Linux, though this version of Linux is slightly different than your standard install. While it is technically Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy), it has its own interface which I will do a walkthrough of below, outlining all the differences I can find between this Dellbuntu (my own term) and a standard Ubuntu install.
This screen shot walkthrough will look at the unedited, uncustomized Ubuntu install on my Dell Mini 9. I’m sure I will do plenty of customization down the road, but for now you get the virgin version.
The Standard Desktop
The desktop is very clean and appealing to start off with. There are no folders or icons on the desktop itself, which will be quite a surprise for anyone coming from a Windows environment. The large bar across the top is called the Launcher and presents most of the essential programs in a graphical interface. Below are shots of each tab individually.
The Entertainment Tab
While this menu has the typical Music Player (Rhythmbox) & photo manager (F-spot), this is the first time we really see the net-focus on the netbook. Having a specific icon for LastFM shows the imporantance of working in the cloud…which is essential since the Dell Mini 9 comes with only 4GB of memory standard.
Also, notice how I had to specify that the music player and photo manager have actual names. Dell has completely debranded most default programs, which we will see more examples of soon.
The Games Tab
The games tab has many of the typical Ubuntu games so there isn’t a whole lot to discuss here, however there are a few things to note. First, and most disappointing, is that Wormux, my favorite of the Ubuntu standard games, is not included in this install. I’m not sure why they would do that while adding Potato Guy instead! Let me tell you, potato guy is one of the most annoying and pointless “games” I’ve ever run across. Stay away!
The Learn Tab
I don’t know who came up with the Learn tab, but I don’t think I’ll ever seriously use it. I guess the Japanese Study Tool and Stellarium might be good for a handful of people, but these do not seem like programs that were worth including in a default install. Actually, more interesting than that is the fact that all of these programs have Kubuntu-style names in the normal programs menu. What this means I’m not sure.
The Productivity Tab
The productivity tab includes all the default OpenOffice.org programs, plus a handy folder called “Dell Contract.” Of all things I want in a quickstart menu like the launcher, I DEFINITELY want fast access to my Dell Contract at all times. Thanks Dell!
The Web Tab
The web tab is probably the most interesting of all, which is to be expected from a netbook. Can you tell who Dell partnered with to bring netbook services to the Mini 9? Let me spell it out for you…Yahoooooooooo! Not only do they have an entire quicklaunch section dedicated almost entirely to Yahoo pages, but the “Web Browser,” or Firefox, defaults to Yahoo.com for the home page, has the Yahoo Toolbar installed, and defaults to Yahoo search from the quick search bar. While I have no problem with companies partnering with each other to do promotions, Mozilla is largely funded by Google search which is shown by defaulting the Firefox home page & quick search bars to Google. Without this funding, development for Firefox in general would be at risk. But this is an issue for a separate post.
The Keyboard
While the entire set of hardware behind the Dell Mini 9 Netbook is interesting and generally super high quality, what is worth sharing the most is the keyboard.
This keyboard is super tiny, but also extremely functional. My one problem, which I have yet to get over, is the positioning of the apostrophe/quotes key. Dell moved it from its normal position next to the colon key to the bottom row next to the left arrow. See it? Yeah, that will take some getting used to.
That’s it for now. I’ll update if I find anything else that stands out from typical Ubuntu installs. Until then, let me know if you have any questions in the comments and I’ll get back to all of them asap.
March 10th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
On a related note, this entire post was written & edited on the new netbook, which was a feat in and of itself. This tiny little keyboard is not intuitive yet and led to a TON of typos. Oh well, this sure is fun!
March 10th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Wow, that interface is *way* different than what I had pictured. The launcher is completely different than the typical Ubuntu “Netbook Remix”. Do you know if it uses typical Ubuntu repositories for updates? Or special Dell repositories? What if you try to install ‘firefox’– I wonder if you’ll get vanilla branded Firefox.
I’m so excited for your new toy!
March 11th, 2009 at 2:31 am
So nice !. I’m very interecting with Ubuntu Mobile and I will plan to buy Dell Mini 10.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:20 am
“Actually, more interesting than that is the fact that all of these programs have Kubuntu-style names in the normal programs menu. What this means I’m not sure.”
Well, considering that all of them (except tuxmath and tuxpaint) comes from the kde-edu “branch” that’s not all that surprising…that’s where Potato guy comes from too btw.
Which makes me wonder…why on earth did they decide to use, by default, both gtk/gnome and qt/kde-apps on a netbook? Seems like a waste of resources to me.
March 11th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Scott: I haven’t found out yet how the repositories work & considered installing Firefox separately as well. I’m going to experiment and see what I can find out, but I want to make sure I can keep my nice clean netbook install in tact as well.
Jonas: I wondered the same exact thing. Why are these kde & gnome apps playing together. But more importantly, why these specific kde apps as opposed to anything else? It was a conscious decision to include the kde-edu set of apps, I just can’t figure out why someone would consider that a good idea.
March 20th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Dear sir…
-How many space req. need to install the Ubuntu in Dell Mini 9?
-After install, first time running, how many space UBuntu installed on it?.
It’s can for my reference/planning to install Win XP (original-Build-in) and Ubuntu, so Dual Boot/Operating System in my Dell Mini 9 with the 8GB SSD.
Thank you, I waiting for your reply.
Best Regards
March 21st, 2009 at 10:15 am
Bowo: The OS takes just under 2 gigs on here. That is larger than the normal Ubuntu OS, which makes sense since additional resources were installed by default that a clean Ubuntu install would not have. Also, the required resources to run the OS are very low: I only have 1 gig of ram, but that is an upgrade from the default 256 megs that Dell supports on the machine.
As long as you keep in mind that you are on a netbook and should be living “in the cloud,” having 4-8 gigs of hard drive space should not be a problem at all.
March 24th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
On the Game Tab you do no show the full list of games, could you tell me all of the games loaded on to the Dell Mini? I was specifically looking for a game I played on ubuntu previously – it was an octogon type numbers matching game. Thanks!
March 24th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Hey Christine. The games you are not seeing in the screen shot are Tali and Tetravex, which sounds like the game you are looking for.
March 24th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Thank you!!! I was going crazy trying to remember the name of the game, now I can sleep at night!
March 25th, 2009 at 2:55 am
regarding comment : http://www.automaticable.com/2009-03-10/dell-mini-9-netbook-ubuntu-linux/#comment-779
Please can u take a screen shoot about space available after original restore Linux..
Cuz, I have got a iso restore from http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2006#p2006 and I try in VirualBox for to know how many space need after restore.. It’s shown 5GB!. CMIIW.
best regards
March 25th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Hey Bowo. Unfortunately I have added a number of programs since the initial install, so I will not be able to screen shot the space available after an original restore. What I can tell you, however, is that when I started up the computer I checked the HD space and found that I only had between 4 and 5 gigs left (of my 8 I started with), so this Dell install is quite a bit larger than a normal Ubuntu install.
March 25th, 2009 at 6:40 am
OK, Thank You sir. The other way, I’ll to Ghost and install it, so, I can restore the previous OS,
Thank dear..
April 9th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I’ve got one of these and am really happy with it. I bought it for my fifth-grade daughter, who loves it. Despite the somewhat humble processor, it “feels” extremely fast, probably because of the solid-state drive. The keyboard is only slightly small for adult hands (I also have a OLPC XO, where the keys *really* seem small). The 9″ display is extremely sharp at 1024×600.
I think this machine works great for almost anything you would do with a “normal” laptop, with the biggest limitation being the display size (not intended for GIMP/Photoshop type stuff).
April 9th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
David I completely agree. Now that I have had it for a while the only issue I have found is that running streaming flash video full screen is usually too choppy to even attempt. There are a few online players that run smoothly, but the majority (like YouTube) I can only watch in the original size.
That is a small price to pay for all of the other benefits if you ask me.