Ubuntu 9.04 Beta comes with improved netbook support

ubuntu-904

The next full version of the popular Linux distribution Ubuntu is due out in April. But you can already download and try out a beta version of Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope if you’re willing to put up with the possibility of finding a few bugs. One of the most exciting changes in Ubuntu 9.04 is improved support for a number of netbooks, particularly models with Intel Atom processors.

I downloaded the latest beta and loaded it onto a 1GB USB flash drive using UNetbootin. You can try out Ubuntu without making any changes to your system by running it as a LiveUSB. If you decide you want to install it, just click the install icon on the desktop and follow the instructions. You can either overwrite any existing operating systems or try to make them live peacefully next to one another.

Long story short, when I plugged the Ubuntu 9.04 flash drive into my Eee PC 1000HE, the operating system booted quickly and all of the hardware just worked. The keyboard shortcuts for adjusting the volume and screen brightness work, the WiFi card is recognized, and I connected to my home network in a matter of seconds. The only problem I noticed is that the speakers seem substantially quieter than they are under Windows XP or Windows 7.

Ubuntu Mini reports that Jaunty Jackalope also supports the Dell Inspiron Mini 9. Have you tried Ubuntu 9.04 on your netbook yet? Let us know how it went in the comments.


Posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009, 5:04 pm by Brad
Tags: , , , ,
 Subscribe to our RSS feed


Related Posts
  • ok , i had my ubuntu 8.10 running flawlessly and had the wifi working , then i made the upgrade as it was the first day as a public release.... anyways now it shows my wifi , and when i try to connect it meerly says Network Disconnected.. and then tries to connect...... but doesnt seem to connect..... and ive tried multiple times.... and everything is correct in the settings.
  • Anil
    I am trying it on Intel classmate PC first gen. Not much of an improvement over 8.10. I still have suspend n hibernate problem. System doesn't recover after suspend or hibernate.
    Evolution is still small screen friendly (I have 800x480)
    Not many useful features!
  • Anil
    oops I meant Evolution is still NOT small screen friendly
  • Installed 9.04 beta on Acer Aspire One 150 Netbook and cannot get the wifi (Atheros AR5) to work.
    Everything else is spinning.
  • abc
    Wifi card is not configured by default, just blacklist "acer_wmi" adding this line: "blacklitst acer_wmi" at /edc/modprobe.d/blacklist and restart your computer.
  • Running 9.04 since alpha 5 on my ASUS S101. Works great!

    Fixing the audio is just a matter of going into the sound settings (Volume Control) and cranking everything, including LineOut, up to max.
  • animatio
    "The only problem I noticed is that the speakers seem substantially quieter than they are under Windows XP or Windows 7."
    hint: you should adjust volumes via alsamixer a console tool
  • Ben Bennett
    Regarding the quiet speakers. Try right clicking on the volume control icon and select "Open Volume Control".

    Then drag LineOut up a bit.
  • Mike
    It works on eeeBox B202 100% No worries.
  • TheWalt
    Installed on my 900HA with no problems. Everything works as it did with custom array.org kernel when running intrepid.
  • J
    I'm running Ubuntu Netbook Remix (lpia optimized like HP MI) Jaunty on my HP Mini 1000 MI and everything works fine, including suspend and hibernate. All the fn buttons work well.

    The only issue I've come across is the application switcher on the keyboard between the alt and ctrl button on the right side doesn't seem to be auto-recognized. I'd imagine for Windows based Mini 1000s this probably isn't an issue. And the key can be mapped, I'm just lazy.

    Wifi works out of the box, but hasn't been reconnecting quickly after waking up from suspended mode (sleep in windows).

    Webcam works, but have not tested the mic. No sound support yet.

    -J
  • I have been upgrading my machines to 9.04 over the past week. First an old"test bed" desktop with A6, and all went well. Then a Wubi laptop with the beta , and installation was seamless with no loss of functionality. Finally my Dell Mini9 with beta, and the result was the same.

    Note that I did not load fresh from either a CD or USB, but ran the update-manager to grab the latest version. I will probably do a fresh install on at least two of these machines after the production version is released so as to take advantage of Ext4.
  • Mikez
    Warning!
    Do not use Ext4 (or xfs) on a machine which may suddenly power down - -
    They cache too much file system data for your file system to survive the experience.
    (That caching is one of the things that give them their speed of operation.)

    Many portable machines will just "power off" on a "low battery" condition rather
    than do a clean file system shut down - with Ext4 or xfs - your file system is then toast.
    It is unlikely that even the recovery utilities can save it.
  • Jeremie
    Downloading alsa drivers will solve the volume issue. Also be sure to check that the master volume is at 100%. I know that sounds funny but for some reason it seems that Ubuntu installs start with the volume way down. In fact, I've noticed that volume seems to be much louder in Ubuntu that XP or W7 on the laptops I've installed Ubuntu on.
  • babau
    WIth 9.04 on my 1000HE I found the master volume was fine, but the "line out" volume was low, and it was affecting overall speaker volume. Once that was increased I was fine.
  • Alex
    Toshiba NB100 (Windows Edition) - Everything works. Except for the keyboard shortcut to control "fan speed" which is in fact just a "performance / energy saving mode switch" which is available in Ubuntu UI.
  • Mikez
    It looks like it "mostly just works" on VIA hardware also:
    http://www.hp2133guide.com/forums/viewtopic.php...
    http://www.hp2133guide.com/forums/viewtopic.php...
    http://forums.mininoteuser.com/post5790.html#p5790
    - - - -
    Jaunty (will) ship with a 2.6.28 kernel - if you change that out for a 2.6.29 kernel -
    It looks like it will "mostly just work" on the Cloudbook / Sylvana G also:
    http://forum.netbookuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=887
blog comments powered by Disqus