Comparison of netbook-oriented Linux distributions

Netbooks are small laptops, with screen sizes between approximately 7 and 12 inches and low power consumption. They use either an SSD (solid state disk) or a hard disk for storage, have up to 2 gigabytes of RAM (but often less), lack an optical disk drive, and usually have USB, Ethernet, WiFi and often Bluetooth connectivity. The name emphasises their use as portable Internet appliances.

Netbook distributions

There are special Linux distributions, called netbook distributions, for these machines. All such distributions are optimized for use with small, low-resolution displays. They tend to include a broad mix of VOIP and web-focused tools, including proprietary applications rarely seen installed by default by mainstream desktop distributions. For instance, Nokia Maemo and Asus's customized Xandros both ship with Skype and Adobe Flash installed, and Ubuntu's Netbook Edition offers the option to do the same to OEMs.

Comparison

Features

Distribution	Aim	Creator	Producer	Base distribution	Installed size (MB)	Release date	Interface	Linux Kernel	Default file system	Architecture support	Approximate number of pre-compiled packages	Default package management tools	Default installer
Fuduntu 14	All netbooks	Andrew Wyatt "Fewt"	Fuduntu.org	Fedora 14		2010-01-30	Gnome	2.6.39	ext4	x86 + x86_64		RPM + YUM
Joli OS 1.2 (formerly named Jolicloud)	All netbooks	Joli OS	Joli OS	Ubuntu		2011-03-09	HTML5 + Gnome	?	ext4	x86		APT
Debian Eee Pc	Asus Eee PC			Debian
Leeenux Linux v4.0.1	ASUS Eee PC 7" Screen	Aleksandar Ciric		Ubuntu Lucid Lynx	1.4GB	2011	Gnome + Netbook Remix	2.6.32-21	ext4	x86		APT
Puppeee Linux 4.3X	ASUS Eee PCs with Intel Chipsets	Jemimah Ruhala		Puppy Linux 4.3.1	200MB		Choice of IceWM/OpenBox/Flwm with ROX-Filer/PcManFM/LxLauncher	2.6.33	AUFS+SquashFS+EXT2	Atom/CeleronM		Pet	PetGet
EasyPeasy 1.6	All netbooks	EasyPeasy Community	Lingo AS	Ubuntu		2010-04-24	Gnome + Netbook Remix	2.6.32	ext4	x86		APT	Ubiquity
Aurora	ASUS Eee PC optimized	Eeebuntu community		Debian		2009-05-15	Gnome or Gnome + Netbook Remix	Array kernel (modified kernel)				APT
CrunchBang Linux 8.10.02	Limited hardware machines	Philip Newborough		Ubuntu		2009-01-18	Openbox	2.6.27				APT
Linux4One 1.5	Aspire One optimized	Linux4One community		Ubuntu			Gnome or LXDE
OpenGeeeU 8.10		Luca De Marini		Easy Peasy		2009-03-23	Enlightenment plus Gnome	2.6.27	ext3	x86	26000	APT	Ubiquity
Firefly Linux 1.0 Beta 1		Firefly Linux community		Arch Linux			LXDE	2.6.29.4		x86		Pacman
Kuki Linux 2.0	Aspire One optimized	Kuki Linux community		Ubuntu			XFCE
Midinux	All netbooks	Red Flag Linux				2007			ext3	x86
MeeGo 1.2	Intel Atom processor netbooks, Nokia ARM smartphones	Intel, Nokia, Maemo community	Intel, Nokia, Linux Foundation	None (it is a distribution developed out of Maemo and Moblin)		2010-10-28	"Netbook User Experience" (based on Clutter)	2.6.35	btrfs	x86 with SSSE3 support		RPM
Moblin 2.1	All Intel Atom processor netbooks and MID	Intel	Intel/Linux Foundation	None (borrows components for various distributions)		2009-11-04	Clutter					RPM (may change)
Eeedora	ASUS Eee PC 701	Martin Andrews		Fedora			XFCE					RPM
Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.10	Intel Atom processor netbooks	Canonical Ltd.	Canonical Ltd.	Ubuntu		2010-10-10	Unity	2.6.32		x86	32000	APT

Specific features

Distribution	Target boot time	SSD write optimization (SSD degradation, I/O optimization, etc.)	Specific supported hardware
Joli OS 1.2
Leeenux Linux v3.0	30s (900 MHz)	Yes
Puppeee Linux 4.3X	30s	Layered filesystem - caches writes in RAM	Lightweight kernel compiled for EeePCs only
EasyPeasy 1.6
Aurora 3.0
Linux4One 1.5	40 seconds
OpenGeeeU 8.10
Firefly Linux 1.0 Beta 1
Kuki Linux 2.0
Moblin 2.0	5 seconds
Eeedora
Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.10

Google Trends

While no public numbers measuring the install-base of these operating systems are available, Google Trends data on a handful of them indicate their relative popularity: