So i've been playing around with the 9.10 releases of Ubuntu NetBook Remix (NBR)
Ubuntu main page here
NBR official info here and useful info here.
I've been using 9.04 NBR on my Acer Aspire One for the last 6 months, and overall really liked it with a couple of annoyances (such as intermittent wifi signals & reconnection issues, and also slightly rubbish video playback such as youtube inconsistencies).
A quick trip back to the repair factory however lead to the mahcine being wiped, and so on it's return to me I tried 9.10 Alpha 5, which was the latest at the time.
Initially it looked interesting, but was buggy and various bits either didnt work, video stutered etc, and the changes just looked wierd.
The primary visual change was that the previous menu system on the right side, basically shortcuts to all the primary folders (video, desktop, music etc) had been amalgamated into one folder on the left, thereby freeing up all-important space for the primary icons. On a 1024 x 600 screen, this really makes a difference.
As the updates went by, then to Alpha 6, then to Beta (which we are on now as i type this) this OS has absolutely transformed however and is now fantastic. I'd even go so far as to say that the NBR version should in fact be the default version at install even for desktops, it's that good.
The new Intel drivers (which Phoronix describes in far more detail than i understand - their NBR preview is here) have also seriously helped video playback, and even some of the simpler 3d efects work well now (maximising and minimising windows has a lovely smooth 3d fold up / fold down effect), which although you'd be right to think "its 2009, we ought to have 3d effects" did not work properly, or easily, on previous versions using the Intel 945 graphics.
All in all this thing works, nicely, smoothly, it's great. I've swapped Songbird (my previous media player of choice) to Banshee, and decided that even the .avi playback is as good, if not better, than i've ever seen before.
Try it! I cant wait for the full 9.10 release!


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