Unfortunately, such a promising area as the production of netbooks is gradually being phased out, unable to withstand competition with the relatively recent tablets. At least that is what the latest analytical reports indicate.
Nevertheless, people who managed to get a "little brother" laptop often wonder which OS is better for a netbook. The right choice allows not only to fully reveal the full potential laid down by the developers in their high-tech device, but also for the user to work productively with the software.
What is a netbook? Perhaps someone else remembers the slogan that is actively declared at every corner: every student in developing countries has a laptop! Moreover, it was proposed in this way to balance the components so that the cost of each such device was no more than $ 100. Thus, Asus netbooks, better known as EeePC, were created. Of course, although it was possible to achieve the planned border of $ 100, it significantly worsened the already modest capabilities of the device. An acceptable configuration (including the OS for the netbook) cost the buyer as much as $ 200-300. The difference from the laptop is as follows:
- in the latest models, the hard drive has been replaced by flash-based media;
- the screen diagonal is not more than 9 inches (modern models can even “boast” 12);
- the performance of the
central processor does not allow you to comfortably work with complex applications that require significant computing power;
- there is no drive, and the number of ports is reduced to a minimum;
- component upgrades are limited.
Nevertheless, the OS for the netbook allowed you to work with the Internet, run office applications - all that does not load the processor too much. In some recent models, it was possible to connect a discrete graphics card, increase memory, and easily change the processor. Moreover, the advent of Intel Atom has taken performance to a new level.
In other words, a netbook is a "lightweight" model of a laptop designed to solve a specific range of problems. Even the name itself implies the orientation of devices to network work. Given the small size and light weight, this class of mini-computers is much more convenient when traveling.
Accordingly, a number of OSs were proposed for the netbook. Among them, it is worth noting XO-1, Linpus, gOS, Xandros, OS X from Apple and, of course, Microsoft solutions. Despite the seeming abundance of OS for the netbook, there is no particularly rich choice here, and most of it is based on the free Linux kernel. It has long been noticed that this system, all other things being equal, is less demanding on hardware components than the well-known Windows.
Many netbook owners opt for Linux Mint - this is a fairly successful system that allows you to solve all the main problems.
If the user is used to Windows, then nothing is easier - you can install XP. Sometimes even Win 7 is offered in the Starter edition, but still its requirements are higher.
To summarize, we can say that the best system for a netbook is one that is convenient for the user to work with. Indeed, first of all, it is devices that should help a person, and not he - to worry about the "comfort" of his electronic assistants.