Ubuntu Netbook Edition is a light weight version of Ubuntu Linux optimized for netbooks. It used to be called Ubuntu Netbook Remix, but this spring it will graduate from “remix” to “edition” status. The operating system is designed to play well with low resolution displays, limited storage capacity, slow processors, and it’s specifically optimized for machines with Intel Atom CPUs. But one thing that’s always puzzled me about Ubuntu Netbook Remix is that some of the applications that come preloaded by default just don’t make that much sense on a netbook.
For instance, why do you need the Brasero disc burning software on a device with no optical disc drive? It’s not like Brasero takes up all that much space, but some netbooks don’t have much disk space to start with, so every megabyte counts.
Now it looks like the Ubuntu team is stripping Brasero and a number of other programs from the list of applications to come preloaded with the next version of Ubuntu Linux. Also missing from the latest nightly builds are the PalmOS Pilot software, and Openoffice.org.
OpenOffice.org is an open source alternative to Microsoft Office, and it comes with a word processor, spreadsheet app, database builder, and presentation application. I wouldn’t say you don’t need these things on a netbook. But some people will prefer to use web-based solutions such as Zoho or Google Docs. And others might simply not use a netbook for editing office docs at all. So I can’t say I blame the Ubuntu Netbook Edition team for stripping a OpenOffice.org from the default installation. It does take up a couple hundred megabytes of disk space, and if you really want it you can always download and install it yourself.
What else would you like to see added or removed from Ubuntu Netbook Edition?
via OMG Ubuntu
