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My thoughts on my Mini Mi
I’ve had my HP Mini 1000 Mi Edition for a couple weeks now, and overall I’ve been very happy with it. The keyboard is the perfect compromise in size at 90%, and even the strange side buttons on the trackpad haven’t given me too much reason to complain. I have the 10.1″ version, but it’s small and light enough for me to carry comfortably all day (a huge different from my 15″ MacBook Pro, which I’m sure is the cause for all my back and shoulder pain!).
The big problem is the OS. Since I went with the Mi Edition, the netbook runs on MIE (Mobile Internet Experience), which is HP’s Ubuntu-based operating system. Admittedly, this was my first foray into Linux, and I’m not letting MIE taint my opinion of Linux whatsoever. Basically, there’s a lot that just doesn’t work right. The home screen, seen below, is supposed to have live bookmarks (and thumbnails) for my favorite websites. Even after adding them, the thumbnails just never loaded.
I wanted to add Boxee for Linux onto it, but adding third-party applications is very difficult. There is an application manager, but it’s locked-down to HP approved apps. There have been some stability issues as well, which I find interesting considering I’m rarely using multiple programs at once or doing anything “crash-worthy.”
At this point, I’m looking at a few different options for the OS: Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Windows 7 beta. I’ve heard great things about both, and I tried to install Windows 7 already and had some issues because I was trying to make a bootable USB on XP instead of Vista, which most of the directions seem geared to. Anyhow, I digress. Suggestions for what OS I should run are very welcome, or if you have tips on making the most out of MIE.
The kiwi above doesn’t come standard, by the way! It’s a GelaSkin called Jealousy, by artist Jen Lobo. GelaSkins are coming out with netbook skins very soon, so stay tuned!
UPDATE: GelaSkins for netbooks now available!
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#52 written by Mo 3 years ago
V! You have got to try gOS gadget edition. Its a lightweight linux netbook os based around google services with native support for google gadgets. I’ve been using it, and totally love it. I am a self admitted gWhore though. I dont know how you feel about google svcs but being that you are so completely awesome Im sure you love them too!
http://www.thinkgos.com/gos/index.html
1st time comment. Love your work
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#53 written by devmod 3 years ago
Hello there, I think pretty much all linux distros bundled in with netbooks will suck…
I got the same laptop last week but days after I changed my mind and exchanged it for an Asus eee Pc 1000h (Bigger hd, battery)
Did you get the one with SSD?
Regarding what linux distro to use, I think it depends a lot on what are you going to be using the laptop for… If you just want to play around with the coolest and latest I would say check out Moblin alpha release:
http://moblin.org/documentation/getting-started-guides/test-drive-moblin
or the soon to be released Jolicloud.
If you want something stable, then I would go with Ubuntu 8.10 or XUbuntu 8.10 (for a much lighter/speedy Window Manager.) You might have to do a little tweaking to get all the hardware working but there is plenty of guides on line on this matter.
I am currently dual booting Windows XP and Ubuntu 8.10 and have not run into any trouble. If I have some time on the near future I plan to experiment with OSX (Can you say mac lover
) to fill in that gap Steve has left on my gadget line up… Any particular reason why you chose HP Mini? I had a very hard time deciding on a netbook, so many choices!
Regards
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I recently bought the Wind U100-279US 10-Inch netbook, and thankfully Windows XP came on it. My only issue is the trackpad. Since I have a MacBook Pro (latest generation), I’m used to not having the bar, so having to click extra hard isn’t something I’m used to. We’ll see how it goes! Great post, Veronica.
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#56 written by Ray 3 years ago
I was considering getting one of these with Linux, but seems like the MIE needs a little work. Kind of surprised because I use Linux on several of my machines and it is very stable.
My old 15″ P4 Laptop has Fedora 10 on it and I use it everyday for work.
I think you should try installing Ubuntu. I would be interested to see how a regular Ubuntu installation runs on Atom.
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#57 written by cacarr 3 years ago
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#58 written by cacarr 3 years ago
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Hi, Veronica
You might want to consider a linux distribution called PCLinuxOS. After trying probably 20 different linux flavors over a two or three year period I kept coming back to, and settled on, PCLinuxOS which never gave me any problems at all, even on a five year old laptop and a seven year old desktop. Easy installation, a great community and hassle free wireless hookup round out a great linux distribution. You can find it here: http://tinyurl.com/2ws8h5 along with download links. -
#63 written by LinuxTipster 3 years ago
Why not just keep the current OS Veronica?
You’re not restricted from getting third party apps from Ubuntu servers. Just go to System -> Administration -> Software Sources. You can add whatever repository you want.
Ask on Ubuntu forums for more info.
http://ubuntuforums.org/ -
Want the best experience, don’t bother with Windows, go with Ubuntu, or if you’ve got some free time, mix it up and turn it into a hackintosh!
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#67 written by anon 3 years ago
I’ve been using Linux for a few years now, but I haven’t tried this particular spin(in fact I heard of it only an hour ago or so), but I can say a few things: 1.this is beta software, none of the pics have thus far shown the live bookmarks working correctly, 2. add your own repos(find out what distro it’s based upon[Debian, or Fedora most likely] and add their repos-this should given you a much larger number of apps; if you’re comfortable at the terminal you can always build what you want, but dependencies can be a pain), 3. try Ubuntu Netbook Remix–I had it installed on my Aspire One for awhile and really liked(very nice looking, easy to use, and has the Ubuntu repos– I only stopped using it because I wanted to run something trimmer and I pretty much only use Gnome-Do(similar to Quicksilver but with plugins that allow it to do many, many things) to launch apps).
Best of luck! -
#68 written by Felipe 3 years ago
I’m running both Win 7 and Ubuntu 8.10 on my spare PC (a Dell M2010). Win 7 has been a wonderful experience so far, is way snappier than vista and it has worked “out of the box” perfectly.
Ubuntu is great because is just so customizable (www.gnome-look.org-> there, I’ve just taken at least 12 hours of your life that you’re going to spend downloading and tweaking with themes, wallpapers and icons for Ubuntu), and it also works great out of the box.
I really think that both are fantastics OSs, but I would reccomed Ubuntu or UNR since you’re going to use that netbook for a long time, and the win 7 beta will expire later and you’ll probably have to reinstall and backup your data. -
Check this out, VB.
Paul Thurrott just put W7 on a netbook (1.6 Atom & 1.5 GB RAM) and it runs great. I’m running W7 on my desktop w/ only 1 GB RAM, and I love it. And if I had a 16 GB SSD on my netbook (I only have 8GB; 16 is min.), I’d run it there, too.
Along w/ XP & W7, I’m also tripple-booting w/ Ubuntu on my desktop. I’ve installed it a number of times, but I’ve never been able to use Linux on any regular basis. Due to what I use a computer for on a daily basis, Linux is almost more trouble than it’s worth. At least for a full-time OS. I *NEED* iTunes, so I can’t avoid using Windows or Mac. As a toy, Linux is fine.
As for the ISO issues, can’t you just use Daemon Tools Lite (http://www.daemon-tools.cc/downloads) to mount the ISO, then just copy the files over to the thumb drive? Or, just borrow a USB DVD drive. Maybe send Paul a tweet (http://twitter.com/thurrott) and ask how he did it. Then tell me, because my Acer came w/ restore disks, but then didn’t include instructions on how to do a restore w/o a drive to out the disks in.
jbh
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#72 written by Travis 3 years ago
If you can’t get Windows 7 running well, I wouldn’t rule out trying the regular Ubuntu Desktop (currently 8.10 http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download ). It’s probably just as easy to use as the Network Remix, and may give you more functionality if you need it. I’ve never used the Network Remix so I don’t know this for sure, but my point is that using Ubuntu is quite simple. Interface-wise, it’s not all that different from what you are used to in Windows or OS X.
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#73 written by Andy 3 years ago
Great rundown! My Mini 1000 just shipped today, so I was anxious to hear your thoughts about the O.S.
A number of people have told me that if you can mount the Windows 7 ISO image, you should be able to run the installer without a bootable USB. As long as you choose a clean install, it will copy the install files before rebooting the system.
I have not done this myself, but it sure would save a few steps if it’s true. If you try it, post your findings.
Love Tekzilla. Thanks for sharing.
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#74 written by Tore 3 years ago
You may try Windows 7 first, but lack of drivers and some issues installing it after a Linux install (Partition problems)
Windows 7 is light on resources (vs Vista) and looks nice…But how about a standard Ubuntu 8.10 install, I think that may work perfect…
Ive used the last couple of days trying to get some sort of OS into my laptop, XP was buggy, Ubuntu didnt support my GPU, and now problems with installing Windows 7…
Love from Norway
Tore -
Saw this and was reminded of this post.
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/02/06/177231&from=rssAlso, I use Ubuntu on several systems, including Ubuntu Netbook Remix on my netbook (it’s decent when compared to “real” Ubuntu), and I really like it for day-to-day usage and programming. The key thing with Ubuntu Netbook Remix is to take it off the “netbook interface” and switch it to standard Ubuntu.
Enjoy!
-Blaine
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Interesting, I just heard about HP’s netbook release today and someone posted a link to your blog entry here:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/02/04/hp-releases-netbook-interface-for-ubuntu/
Mandriva (http://www.mandrivalinux.com) is apparently coming out with their own netbook distribution, which supposedly loads remarkably fast (http://www.liliputing.com/2008/09/mandriva-mini-another-custom-linux-distro-for-netbooks.html). However, it seems first destined for preloading on machines. I suspect it will find its way into the wild as soon as the machines make their way onto people’s desks.
In the meantime, I hear Mandriva One seems to work well on netbooks – I have used it often on laptops / desktops and it does an excellent job with hardware detection. The user interface is well-put-together and simple to use, with a launcher positioned similarly to Microsoft’s Start button.
Enjoy!
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The app installer that you have a screenshot of looks like ubuntu’s standard distro app manager. It is very possible that HP modified the valid distro sources to use only their approved software.
If this is the case it should be fairly easy to modifiy the authroized repositories list file.
This link may help with your app situation:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/UbuntuHope it helps
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#79 written by Jack 3 years ago
Horrible review. You must be working for Microsoft. Most of this is dead wrong. I didn’t experience any of these issues you claim. There are a TON of problems with every Microsoft Netbook on the market directly related to Microsoft’s operating system design. For instance have you tried getting anything installed? You can’t. There is not CD-ROM drive on these netbooks. That basically means the cost skyrockets. plus, you end up having to pay for hundreds of dollars more for software that doesn’t work well on them. These systems aren’t designed for bloatware. They can’t handle it. You need something like GNU/Linux just to get them to work right.
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#81 written by ArtInvent 3 years ago
That is a VERY cool skin on the cover.
It looks like you are running the basic application manager found in the main menu, which on Ubuntu is a much cut-down affair. Whatever version of Linux you try, you ought to instead figure out how to install and run Synaptic, which is the full software package manager for Ubuntu. You’ll have to learn a little about enabling repositories and other Linux basics, but it’s not that difficult, and you will be able to install tens of thousands of Linux programs. Once you add the official repository for Boxee in Synaptic, you ought to be able to just install it with a click or three.
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Yeah, I had heard a lot of people expecting MIE to be brilliant, but it seems fairly weak. You have a few options. First, if you have a rescue system, go ahead and change as much as you like. I think it is possible to install boxee, once you get access to the real dpkg/APT installation system.
Also, you could just get a fresh version of Ubuntu. That seemed to work fairly well on an eeepc I tried it on, and is extremely flexible.
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#88 written by Felipe Figueroa 3 years ago
With any Linux distro, I would reccomend the new Gnome Do ver 0.8, which includes a really cool dock bar. I was skeptical at first of depending too much on the keyboard and not so much on the mouse/touchpad, but only after a couple of days of using it I’m in love with the app. You summon it, and then you type the name of whatever app or thing you want to do. The beautiful thing it’s that it never really takes you more than 3-4 keystrokes to launch the app you want.
I think it would be perfect for your netbook, since touchpad real state is really scarce in all of them. -
#89 written by Aj 3 years ago
Ronnie, why are you responding to crazy people? You’re obviously working for the government… of Sweden.
Anyway, I’d go with Ubuntu Netbook Remix. I prefer a linux distribution on low-powered machines because they tend to manage limited resources better, and linux software tends not to be bloated = swooosh. Also, Jaunty Jakalope comes with ext4, and there are reports of epic write performance on ssd, and not too bad read performance either.
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Have you tried the new Developer Studio 2010? I haven’t yet the time actually, however I did download it onto my computer, the build instructions are very complicated. What else I visited my sister the other day (she’s my favorite sister actually I have two). Well I’ve got to wait for my brother who gets back from work in 7 hours from now.
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I don’t know about mini.. but I can tell about the OS. Windows 7 RocX.. I got a beta key from microsoft and installed it.. Even though it’s a beta, trust me, it is far smoother than Vista and I still didn’t find a reason to complain 7 as for a beta, it’s more than someone could expect.. (but tht’s for a beta, ok.. mind you, still it’s not done – so there are errors.)
On the other hand, there was a time I loved Ubuntu and I used it for some time too.. To be frank, it is kewl for a hobbyist to play around, but.. well.. Though linux core is rock solid, i didn’t find the GUI versions so, ’cause they do not behave as sometimes they are supposed to..
But i’ve read online that some people have successfully installed Mac OS in their minis so you can consider that as an option ‘cuase afaik u are a apple fan girl..
But if I were you, I’d wait for windows 7.. I’m already in love with it..
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#100 written by WanderingMexiCan 2 years ago
Thank you for the appraisal of the HP Mini Mi. I’ve been lusting after that thing since its reveal last fall but wanted someone to do a review first before laying down some cash; my trepidation was due to poor reviews of netbooks as ‘severely’ underpowered. Plus, I was hoping Apple might reveal their answer to netbooks at MacWorld.
Please continue to update us on your experience. As for form factor, your critique reinforces my assumption that it the best in its category (and the sexiest, excluding Sony $1K non-netbook netbook).
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i have owned a net book for a while and they usually ship with ridiculous UIs.
I would recommend looking at the Ubuntu Network remix option.
better battery life as opposed to windows
more hard disk space
less vulnerability on the web
although Linux is confusing and also many website/services do not function well at all. eg. BBC iplayer
it may require a good play around with.