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 Channel Futures

Open Source


System76 Refreshes, Expands Ubuntu Netbook and Desktop Lineup

  • Written by Joe Panettieri 1
  • August 11, 2009
As Dell continues to adjust its Ubuntu system lineup, niche Ubuntu PC makers are pressing ahead with expanded Ubuntu-driven offerings. A key example: System76 has refreshed its Starling Ubuntu netbook with more memory and the company has introduced two new Ubuntu desktops.

system76_ubuntu_pcsAs Dell continues to adjust its Ubuntu system lineup, niche Ubuntu PC makers are pressing ahead with expanded Ubuntu-driven offerings. A key example: System76 has refreshed its Starling Ubuntu netbook with more memory and the company has introduced two new Ubuntu desktops. This could be the start of a busy August for Ubuntu systems: I’m expecting multiple Ubuntu netbook developments later this month.

According to System76 President Carl Richell:

Our Starling Netbooks are back in stock… and now with 2 GB of memory. We also launched two new Ubuntu desktop products. Here’s the announcement:

Introducing New System76 nVidia Ion and Intel i7 Desktops

The new Meerkat Ion combines a Dual Core Hyper-Threaded Intel Atom CPU and nVidia GeForce 9400M GPU to create a powerful, energy efficient NetTop. Supporting 1080p HD video and 5.1 surround sound, the Meerkat Ion is perfect as a Boxee or MythTV appliance or as a replacement to old power-consuming desktops. http://system76.com/meerkation.

Driving Ubuntu toward gaming and content creation, the new System76 Leopard Extreme features Intel i7 CPU’s, Triple Channel Kingston HyperX DDR3 memory, high performance RAID 0 options, and the fastest nVidia graphics cards available. The Leopard Extreme was designed to enable the unfettered use of Open Source games and multimedia content creation software available on Ubuntu. http://system76.com/leopard.

Mixed Perspectives

While System76 and other niche Ubuntu PC makers march forward, there’s mixed Ubuntu systems news elsewhere. Two prime examples:

  • As of August 11, Dell still had not fulfilled a July promise to introduce a new Ubuntu desktop PC. Dell’s U.S. Ubuntu web site (www.dell.com/Ubuntu) only lists netbooks and notebooks, and no Ubuntu desktop PC options are mentioned.
  • US Big Box retailers (Best Buy, Staples, Target, etc.) have recently distanced themselves from Linux netbooks, increasingly offering Windows XP netbooks instead.

Still, Ubuntu-centric system builders sound upbeat. Back in July, System76 said it was having trouble keeping up with Ubuntu netbook demand. And more recently, another Ubuntu PC specialist told me they plan to introduce an Ubuntu netbook (potentially in August 2009) to fulfill growing customer inquiries.

From a purely selfish point of view I’m happy to hear about the developments. I’m in the market for an Ubuntu netbook right now.

Netbooks and Ubuntu One

Many WorksWithU readers have told me to check out Dell’s Inspiron Mini 10 with Ubuntu.

However, I’ve hesitated to purchase a Dell netbook because the preload is Ubuntu 8.04. Instead, I need Ubuntu 9.04 so that I can also test Canonical’s Ubuntu One shared storage service.

Yes, I could manually upgrade a Dell 8.04 netbook to Ubuntu 9.04. But the point of purchasing Ubuntu preloaded on a netbook is to avoid immediate upgrade hassles in the first place. So, I’m taking a closer look at System76’s Starling netbook (with Ubuntu 9.04 preloaded) and other third-party netbook models that will likely launch in August.

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Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Mobility Open Source

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17 comments

  1. Avatar Leo August 11, 2009 @ 4:25 pm
    Reply

    Hi

    Thanks for the update, gotta love System 76. I don’t want to sound critical, but really the refreshing the Starling netbook is needing is in the screen resolution, to the more standard 1024×600 (these missing 24 vertical pixels are very important for usability). The other constructive critique I’d like to make is that ATI seems like a better option, in that they are supporting open source driver development, and there already is working hardware acceleration in the latest xorg/mesa (although there is still a lot to be done, see Phoronix for more). I am almost positive that the newest ATI graphics cards will run just fine with open source drivers by 10.04 …

  2. Avatar dragonbite August 11, 2009 @ 5:15 pm
    Reply

    It would be great is System76 offered a choice between LTS or the latest Ubuntu installed.

    I can understand, though, their desire to stick with the stable, supported 8.04 instead of testing (and hoping) each new release. Businesses should go with the 8.04 LTS release for stability and all that while consumers can try the latest and greatest.

  3. Avatar dragonbite August 11, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
    Reply

    Wait… just configured them and they’re offering “Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope)”

    I still think they should offer both the LTS and latest version as a choice.

  4. Avatar Joe Panettieri August 11, 2009 @ 5:46 pm
    Reply

    Deagonbite: Yes, System76 offers 9.04. Dell has been sticking with 8.04.

    Best,
    -jp

  5. Avatar Jef Spaleta August 11, 2009 @ 6:45 pm
    Reply

    Joe:

    Can you explain why you prefer getting an OEM install with 9.04 instead of the LTS? Aren’t you going to be required to do a manual upgrade at some point later or is the expected in-service use of the device that you are looking to purchase now only 18 months? Is the not-so immediate upgrade hassle which you have to do at Jaunty EOL going to be less of a hassle than an immediate upgrade?

    The better question is this… is Canonical going to make UbuntuOne available for their LTS users?

    -jef

  6. Avatar Joe Panettieri August 11, 2009 @ 8:15 pm
    Reply

    Jef: I can answer your first question. I am going with 9.04 because I need that to test Ubuntu One.
    -jp

  7. Avatar WIebelhaus August 11, 2009 @ 10:37 pm
    Reply

    Thanks for the update! But sadly the desktops from system76 are lacking , I could build a much higher spec Desktop for about the same price. But I’d buy the Starling with the quickness! very good deal for a very sexy machine.

  8. Avatar Leo August 12, 2009 @ 9:09 am
    Reply

    @Jef: interesting question, and this goes hand in hand with the previous discussion here about updates policies.

    In principle, regular users don’t what to fsck around with a massive software upgrade every six months (and the small but certain possibility of a non-working system as a result). So LTS seems the choice.

    OTOH, the users can’t plug in their new photo camera and get it to work 2 years after the LTS release, because the kernel drivers will not be ready. A way around would be for the OEM to work with Canonical on QA and testing of certain backports to the LTS, such that the system remains essentially up to date, on top of an LTS.

    Canonical, in turn, could enhance its own backport infraestructure, and have a special backport repo for the LTS release, where users can optionally cherry pick upgrades. The OEM’s would reuse that infraestructure, and validate it in their hardware (for instance, Dell may verify that the backported 2.6.31 kernel works ok in 8.04, in their Mini’s, so they would provide it as an “official” update.

    BTW, besides our own entertainment, does anyone know if anyone from Canonical and or Ubuntu related vendors benefits from our discussions at all?

  9. Avatar dragonbite August 12, 2009 @ 10:09 am
    Reply

    Thanks for correcting me on which vendor is offering which version of Ubuntu (Dell=8.04 LTS, System76=latest)

    If I remember right, System76 does not include codecs while Dell does include Fluendo codecs.

    To some degree this shows the issue of LTS, which is backporting things as time goes on which divides the developer resources some but may be an important detail.

  10. Avatar Marketing_Secret_Sauce August 12, 2009 @ 1:05 pm
    Reply

    I like their netbook. $444 with a USB optical drive. 160 Gigs, webcam included.

    Nice.

  11. Avatar grnich August 12, 2009 @ 1:19 pm
    Reply

    Don’t forget to look at http://www.zareason.com/shop/home.php to comparison shop. THey offer a good selection of pre-loaded linuxes, including Ubuntu.

    It’s good to see choice in the marketplace.

  12. Avatar Leo August 12, 2009 @ 1:58 pm
    Reply

    @grnich: yes, and I believe zareason is the vendor that Joe hinted at, as one with an imminent netbook release … (of course he might have information that he can’t make public, I don’t 🙂 ).

  13. Avatar Joe Panettieri August 12, 2009 @ 11:30 pm
    Reply

    Leo: No comment – yet 😉

    As soon as I can confirm the netbook vendor and the product I will post a comment and a blog.

  14. Avatar Joe Panettieri August 13, 2009 @ 1:26 am
    Reply

    Leo: Another update. ZaReason CTO Earl Malmrose just sent me details about the company’s new netbook. Here’s the info.

  15. Avatar Leo August 13, 2009 @ 10:16 am
    Reply

    Thanks, Joe! This is a sweet netbook, configurable from inexpensive into ultra-portable road-warrior!

  16. Avatar dca August 13, 2009 @ 12:38 pm
    Reply

    “US Big Box retailers (Best Buy, Staples, Target, etc.) have recently distanced themselves from Linux netbooks, increasingly offering Windows XP netbooks instead.”

    …the interesting thing about Linux being pulled from big-box retailers has little to do w/ MS pushing the issue but everything to do w/ an eighteen year old clerk not knowing diddly about FOSS having grown up w/ an MS bib.

  17. Avatar Jared Spurbeck August 18, 2009 @ 1:59 pm
    Reply

    I still don’t like System76 a great deal. Their service responded quickly, but weren’t very knowledgeable about my problems, especially the well-documented Intel driver problems. They just kept telling me to turn down the graphics settings. I had to find the stickied workaround on the forums, which apparently they didn’t know about. And if I asked multiple questions in an email, they’d only ever answer the first one.

    I’m also displeased about Ubuntu One. If our Free Software desktops are tied into a proprietary online service, what does that make them? I’m all for making money off of Ubuntu, but this sounds like the wrong way to go about doing it.

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