about Ubuntu Netbook Edition

Ubuntu Netbook Edition (UNE), known as Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) prior to the release of Ubuntu 10.04,

 was a version of Ubuntu that had been optimized to enable it to work better on netbooks and other devices with small screens or with the Intel Atom CPU.

UNE was available starting with Ubuntu release 8.04 ("Hardy Heron"). UNE was also an optional preinstalled operating system(OS) on some netbooks such as Dell Inspiron Mini 10v and the Toshiba NB100, and also ran on popular models such as the Acer Aspire One and the Asus Eee PC.

Canonical, the developers of Ubuntu, are collaborating with Moblin project to ensure optimization for lower hardware requirements and longer battery life.

Beginning with version 10.10, Ubuntu Netbook Edition used the Unity desktop as its desktop interface. The classic netbook interface was available in Ubuntu's software repositories as an option.

Because Ubuntu's desktop edition has moved to the same Unity interface as the netbook edition, starting with Ubuntu 11.04, the netbook edition has been merged into the desktop edition.

Installation

UNE could be installed in several ways:

• by first installing the regular Ubuntu package, then adding the UNE repository and installing the relevant packages. Starting with Ubuntu 10.04, the packages are available on main repositories.
• by downloading UNE directly from the Ubuntu server, as either a .iso or .img file and writing the file to a USB stick (using Ubuntu Live USB Creator or UNetbootin) or CD.
• an option to install via the Wubi installer is available for the 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" release.

Unity

 Starting with UNE 10.10, the interface was switched to Unity. Due to the desktop version of Ubuntu also being changed to the Unity interface, the netbook edition was rolled into the general Ubuntu distribution starting with Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal and the netbook edition was discontinued as a separate distribution.

Variants

Dell Ubuntu Netbook Edition is built specifically for the hardware profile of the Inspiron Mini 9, and is also available for the Inspiron Mini 12. It includes a custom built interface and launcher as well as non-free codecs such as MPEG-4 and MP3. It began shipping on September 22, 2008.

EasyPeasy is considered to be among the first UNE-based distributions, with a focus on the usage of proprietary software like Skype by default and also integrating a set of different standard applications and drivers.

Specifications

Minimum System Requirements

Processor	RAM	Storage
1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor	512 MB RAM	4 GB Flash disk (SSD) or hard disk

Ubuntu Netbook Edition installed and ran correctly on the original Celeron M 900 MHz Asus Eee PC, but performance and graphical displays were hindered in comparison to Atom-based netbooks.

Applications

Standard

• Web browser - Firefox
• E-mail client - Evolution
• Instant messenger - Empathy
• Media player - Rhythmbox
• Photo viewer - Shotwell
• Office suite - OpenOffice.org

Optional

• Adobe Reader
• Java Virtual Machine
• Skype
• Banshee

Codecs for OEMs

• MPEG-4 (H.263)
• MP3
• AAC
• Windows Media

Other

• Thunderbird
• Songbird
• BBC iPlayer (needs to install Adobe Air to run)
• GIMP

Devices

Ubuntu Netbook Edition was officially shipped with the following netbooks:

• Sylvania G Netbook Meso
• Toshiba NB100
• System76 Starling Netbook
• Dell Mini10v, Mini10, Latitude 2100 & Latitude 2110
• Advent 4211C
• Samsung N110
• ZaReason Terra HD netbook and other ZaReason laptop models