Very good Netbook

[jml]

Just wanted to share my experiences with this new category of computer. I am an early adopter, getting the original ASUS 701 (the one with the 7 inch screen) shortly after it came out. It had its limitations, but it convinced me that this new type of product had a future. Their model 900 with 16gig SSD had several serious design flaws. To my dismay, as the product evolved, it became clear that the netbooks that had the best specifications had Windows XP installed and not Linux. Now I know its easy to buy one of those and install Linux on it, but I really did not want to pay for an OS that I did not plan to use, and I wanted to vote with my wallet and support vendors that supported Linux.

Enter a company called System 76.

The "Starling" is a netbook with very respectible specifications. Here is a link:

http://system76.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=92

This is a company that only sells and supports computers with Ubuntu Linux installed. I know that Ubuntu is a contoversial topic in some circles, but I am a pragmatist. I want a computer that works with Linux with as few hassles as possible. When I buy a computer from them, (this is my third,) I know that it has Linux friendly hardware. And while they do not officially support other OS's, I have gotten unofficial help installing straight Debian on the computers that they sold me. They also have a tutorial on their wiki to dual boot with Windows.

The Starling is very solidly built. Screen is very readable. The nearly full size keyboard is very easy to type on, and the 6 cell battery it ships with, while a bit bulky, gives me 4-5 hours of run time. The version of Ubuntu shipped (9.04,) works very well, and it was easy to install the third party codecs necessary for my needs. And no, I do not work for this company, but I am simply a satisfied customer. So if you are looking at a netbook purchase, consider this very nice unit.

Joe

[fos]

Hi Joe,

The Starling does look very nice. The 4 - 5 hour endurance is very enticing. I didn't purchase one of the early netbooks due to the keyboard size. This one seems to solve that problem.

Thanks for the review.

Jeff

[jml]

You are welcome, Jeff. And you are right, while I really like the smaller footprint of the 8.9" units, even with my two fingered typing, the smaller keyboard feels very cramped. The 10 inch units seem to have found the sweet spot. Even Dell Computers have discontinued their Inspiron 9 Netbooks and will only be selling netbooks with the larger screens.

Joe

[jml]

Well I still like my Starling netbook, it does have one significant issue that people considering buying one needs to know about. According to System 76 support, (the company that sells and supports the Starling,) there are problems with the driver for the wireless card. The Starling will only connect and transfer data reliably when there is 100% signal strength. At any lower signal strength, the connection/data transfer is lost. I find that I have to be within 10-15 feet of my access point for my connection to remain functional.

Sorry for the delay in reporting this problem but most of my use was close to my AP, I only discovered the problem when I was on vacation and could not connect to other wireless hot-spot. There are at least two threads discussing the issue on the Ubuntu/System76 subforum. Hopefully, it will be resolved soon. Good thing I did not sell mt ASUS EePC yet.

Joe

[lisi]

I have just bought an Acer Aspire One with 1Gig RAM and 120 Gig HDD. So far I am very pleased with it. But I bought it for use on holiday (vacation) so it has not yet had a real world test.

It arrived with Linpus installed. I shall leave Linpus alone until I get back, and then wipe the HDD and install Lenny. I really dislike Linpus from what I have seen of it so far, but dare not touch it yet in case it takes me a while to get wireless going under Debian. After all, using it on a wireless AP while I am away is the reason - or anyhow the excuse ;-) - that I bought it in the first place.

I keep reminding myself that it could have been worse - it could have been Windows that was preinstalled!

Lisi

[uteck]

I installed Ubuntu netbook remix on my wife's Aspire One and it works fine. Main difference is that Ubuntu takes longer to boot, about 1 minuet compared to 20 seconds with Linplus.

Camara and wifi work and now it is multiuser and has a greater number of packages available.

[jml]

Well, System 76 released a new driver for the Starling's wireless card. Some users report getting 120 foot range with the upgrade. I don't get that good a result, but I have doubled the range that I get. Others still report problems. I am happier with the Starlings performance, but I feel that I have to temper my enthusiasm and recommendation of the Starling which is a pity, because it is one of the most solidly built netbooks that I have ever seen. But in the real world, a netbook with shaky wireless preformance in next to useless.

Joe