DELL'S entry into the PC netbook market, the Inspiron Mini 9, landed on my desk last week – and I have to say I quite liked it, but with one or two reservations.
Competing with the likes of the Asus Eee and Acer Aspire One, my shiny black test unit ran Ubuntu Linux 8.04, which has been modified for netbook usage and offers both the normal Ubuntu menu plus a series of tabbed desktop shortcuts.
This is a smart move. The tabbed interfaces gives those unfamiliar with Linux quick and easy access to major programs - like the Firefox web browser, OpenOffice.org office software and multimedia applications (Rhythmbox for MP3s, Totem for movies, F-Spot for photos) - while also offering the full Ubuntu system menu for Linux regulars.
Wireless networking worked fine on my unit – it found my home network and connected quickly once I'd entered my encryption key. There is also a wired ethernet slot, which is most welcome.
I was pleased to discover that the Mini 9 was set up to handle most of the online multimedia I would normally use: Apple movie trailers played fine in the web browser, as did YouTube videos, and I was able to listen to streamed BBC Radio 5 Live broadcasts online too.
Firefox came with the Yahoo! toolbar pre-installed - I don't use Yahoo! at all, so that would have to go if I was to buy the Mini 9.
And the device worked well with USB memory sticks (usefully, there are 3 USB slots) and SecureDigital cards, both of which were automatically mounted and a Nautilus file browser window opened to display their contents. The Ubuntu version comes with an 8GB solid state disk (Windows gets a 16GB SSD) so the ability to handle extra storage is important.
The 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and 1024MB of RAM make this a speedy little unit (it's about the size of a hardbacked bestseller and weighs 1KG, by the way).
But where I take issue is with the keyboard, which is really small – and I have small hands. The 'Enter' key is tiny and the function keys are accessed by holding down the 'Fn' key and then hitting 'A' through to 'semi colon'.
Something has to give with these tiny netbooks but I found the Dell's keyboard hard going – but then I had the same issue with the Asus Eee.
I also don't like the Dell's trackpad which, in the Ubuntu-based device, is way too sensitive and the two mouse buttons, which are equally sensitive and too easy to activate with your palm.
Where the Mini 9 really scores, however, is with its 1024x600 resolution, backlit 8.9inch display, which is bright, sharp and colourful.
All in all, this is a well made, well-implemented netbook and I particularly like the way Dell have customised Ubuntu to work with the device. But would I buy one? Probably not for me, but my kids might find the Mini 9 useful - and that keyboard would suit their eight-year-olds' hands.
The Ubuntu version of the Mini 9 retails at £269 while the Windows XP version is £299. Get either from http://www1.euro.dell.com.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Review: Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook with Ubuntu Linux
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3 comments:
Can't wait for it to be shipped in Greece. I will definitely buy one with Ubuntu pre-installed.
The Mini-9 with Ubuntu does come with a 16gb SSD, that's how I bought my unit, the keyboard is a PITA but as far as a working laptop goes this thing is lightning fast and easy to carry.
ALSO even though Dell won't tell you this or say it's supported, you *CAN* install 2gb of Ram into this device, 2gb is the max that the Atom will support, my only issue with this unit right now is the OS will hang occasionally when it connects to my DLink Wireless, but this isn't such a problem as I despise the DLink anyhow and will be replacing it with a LinkSys wireless router, as soon as I get off my a**e to do so.
Hi,
In every Operating System there is always a way to configure them to your own specs. You have to remember that they come with manufacturer's default and any changes you want can always be done. Below is a step-by-step instruction on how to configure the keyboard, pointer, and mousepad. Hopefully this helps.
Keyboard and mouse/trackpad
Entries for configuring the keyboard and mouse (or laptop trackpad)
can be found on the System Preferences menu—click the Keyboard
entry and not the Keyboard Shortcuts entry to configure the keyboard.
The options presented shouldn’t present any challenges to anybody who
has configured a mouse or keyboard under Windows.
Switching keyboard languages
It’s possible to switch between two or more keyboard layouts on the fly.
This can be useful if you find yourself regularly typing in different
languages. To configure this feature, follow these steps:
1. Open the Keyboard Preferences dialog (System Preferences
Keyboard), and, ensuring the Layouts tab is selected, click the
large plus button (click the +ADD button if using Ubuntu 8.04).
2. Select the keyboard layout from the Country/Variants dropdown
lists. When you’ve made a selection, click the +ADD button.
3. In the parent dialog box, and in the list under the Selected
Layouts heading, click the radio button alongside the entry you’d
like to be default. This will be the layout activated when Ubuntu
boots. When done, click the CLOSE button.
4. Right-click the bar running across the top of the screen, and
select Add to Panel in the menu that appears. In the dialog that
appears, click and drag the Keyboard Indicator entry to a panel.
Then click CLOSE.
From now on you can switch between layouts by clicking the applet—
clicking will cycle through the choices of keyboard layout you selected
in the Keyboard Preferences dialog.
Mouse
If the pointer seems to move too quickly for you, open the Mouse
Preferences dialog box (System Preferences Mouse), and click and
drag the Acceleration slider a little to the left. Changes take effect
immediately, so test the mouse movement and adjust again if necessary
until you’re entirely happy with the settings.
To deactivate touchpad tap-to-click, so that only clicking a touchpad’s
mouse button performs a left click, select the Touchpad tab and remove
the check from the relevant box.
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