The guys at Phoronix have written made an intresting article, comparing the performance of the Asus EEE-PC 901 with its Intel Atom processor
Here’s some quotes from the article

Late last month we published our preview of the ASUS Eee PC 901 and we shared our plans for a number of benchmarks using this netbook with Intel’s Atom processor. Following our Linux desktop encryption benchmarks of the ASUS Eee PC 901 and Intel Atom N270 CPU we have a performance comparison of Xandros, Fedora, Ubuntu, and Mandriva on this low-cost netbook PC.

The Linux distributions we used included the ASUS-optimized Xandros operating system that ships with the Eee PC 901, Fedora 10 Alpha, Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4 with daily updates as of August 26, and Mandriva 2009 Beta 2. The Xandros OS ships with the Linux 2.6.21 kernel, X Server 1.4.0.90, and uses GCC 4.1.2. Fedora 10 Alpha uses the Linux 2.6.27-rc0 kernel, X Server 1.4.99.905, and GCC 4.3.1. Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4 with the daily updates still uses the Linux 2.6.26 kernel, X Server 1.4.99.905, and GCC 4.3.1. Finally, Mandriva 2009 Beta 2 is using the Linux 2.6.26 kernel, X Server 1.4.2, and GCC 4.3.1.

In some tests the stock Eee Linux distribution was running quite slow and placing far behind Mandriva, Fedora, and Ubuntu, but when it came to the solid-state disk performance Xandros had the lead. Overall though, it appears that Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 4 had delivered the best performance on the Intel Atom architecture. These are just our initial figures though. We are still running some additional benchmarks on the Eee PC 901 to look for the best Linux OS, but it looks like it is a toss-up right now depending upon how the system will be used. With Ubuntu 8.10 now using the Linux 2.6.27 kernel, the results of the final release will certainly be different.

To read the full article head over to Phoronix

Admin’s Note: This is a guest post by Aditya. Though this post was drafted on 1st July, my work commitments and rather bad memory prevented this post being published. Due apologies.
I know that a title is a bit harsh but I am afraid it is true.
First lets get into some technical stuff.
Dream Linux is a Debian based distro(like Ubuntu) . It has both Xfce and Gnome interface. I’m reviewing the Gnome version.

The Installation

The first screen you get after booting into the CD ask you to choose the interface(Gnome or Xfce)
It also has memtest for testing memory but the CD cant be checked for defects, which is a very important feature, since the disk has to be free of defects as it is an operating system.
I choose the Gnome interface and booted. Here’s where I faced my first nightmare. The whole thing is pretty slow. Even after booting completely. I do know that a live CD is slow as it is limited by the optical drive but this was way slower than other live C.D’s.

[...]

This is a guest post by Aditya.

Most anime watchers who download anime must be knowing what styled subs are but for those who don’t know styled subs are special type of subtitles which have different fonts. The picture below demonstrates why exactly styled subs are needed.
Here’s a picture to show a particular video with styled subs disabled

Here’s the same one with styled subs enabled

Now in the next to images notice the position of the word [Fail]

In the first one the word[Fail] is at the bottom and is white in color , while in the second one when styled subs are enabled it is displayed right under the Japanese word for fail and is black in color
Here’s the perfect demonstration of styled sub in windows media player classic with vobsub filter

Here is the same picture in Mplayer without styled subs

Here is the same picture of Mplayer with styled subs

Note that it still isn’t completely perfect but it is almost there

Getting Styled subs to work
Now the best player for these kind of files is SMplayer. Even mplayer does the job.
You can get them from the following places
Smplayer
Mplayer
After downloading SMplayer or Mplayer right click at any part of the player and select preferences(or you can hit Ctrl+P for SMplayer). Now go to subtitles settings, for SMplayer select SSA/ASS Library tab and select use SSA/ASS library, for mplayerunser subtitles & OSD tab select SSA/ASS subtitle rendering.
Here the pictures of the preferences of mplayes and smplayer respectively

Now load the file you want to play and enjoy!
Note: For Mplayer each time you load it you have to select channel 0 for subtitles.

Part 2 deals with installation of ATi drivers and visually enhancing that ubuntu
First of the Ati drivers
Ati have released catalyst 7.11 for Linux. Download this from their website. Next login as root in ubuntu. Then double click the downloaded file. You will get different options here choose to run the file. The next screen asks you if you want install the drivers or if you want to generate a package. Choose to install the drivers. Then after the installation one will have to manually change the drivers to fglrx. To do this open up a terminal and type

sudo dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg

Go through this wizard and at the part where you have to select the drivers(vesa will be the default one) press the up arrow button and go up to select the fglrx drivers.
Continue the wizard and restart X-server by pressing ctrl+alt+backspace.

Now let’s get some themes
First GNOME& Xfce users go to http://gnome-look.org and KDE users to kde-look.org.

Now in gnome-look.org
Gutsy users can browse through metacity themes and download. Then under System->Preferences
select appearance and then select install theme.
Fiesty users need to download GTK 2.x themes.
For Gnomer’s
Go to synaptic and search for gcursor. Install it. Restart X. Go to gnome-look.org. Download your favourite cursor theme. Open gcursor and select install theme and voila instant pimpin.
That’s about it for now. More tutorials soon!

We have already told you why you need to shift to linux now we tell you how to shift to it
We have choosen Ubuntu as our distro. Why?
Well Ubuntu is the one, our saviour, our salvation……..
Ok coming back to the topic well Ubuntu is the most user friendly distro I have come across. Though Xubuntu is more user friendly due to its minimalistic nature it will take more of your precious time.

The Installation

All the buntu’s follow the simple 7-step installation procedure.
One you go through the steps you will find that there is really no need for this guide but I’ve run out of ideas for articles so I thought of doing this .

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Whacko : lets pay a tribute to the worlds best software windows
Geek : Yeah! Right!
Whacko :At present its the most used Operating system in the world
Geek :Not to mention the worst.
Whacko :Hey Windows XP and Windows Vista are the best.
Geek : Its more like Windows letsPee and Windows it’s-Stuck
Whacko : Why do you say that?
Geek bvious isn’t it. Hackers exploit Windows letsPee so easily that its like they are peeing on you. Windows it’s-Stuck is so slow that people think its stuck.
Whacko : So what windows lets me do a lot of stuff. All I have to do is buy a security suite and I am safe.
Geek : Linux lets most of that and that too for free. Morever you are not safe even with that security suite of yours. Its very easy for a hacker to get past all your protections.
Whacko : There are so many softwares that let me do anything on windows.
Geek k! Then does it let you fly?
Whacko :No! but they are working on it. Can linux play games?
Geek :No!but they are working on it. Moreover I have Doom-3, Unreal-Tournament , Quake, CounterStrike and torcs.Plus we have found a way to get dx-9 in linux.
Whacko :Windows installation is very easy.
Geek : Well they had to make it easy with the way it has to be re-installed every 2 to 3 months. Morever even my little brother can install Ubuntu.
Whacko :Well I couldn’t install it.
Geek :The reason is obvious isn’t it.
Whacko :With Windows Vista the WOW starts now.
Geek :You shouldn’t be too sure of that cause with windows you press start to turn off the computer.
Whacko :Well Linux sucks and is gay.
Geek :Ya it sucks in more and more windows users everyday and makes them gay(as in happy for those guys who take it the wrong way )
Whacko h yeah! Windows is going to save the world along with the Intels Classmate PC.
Geek :Yeah! by killing them. Enough of fighting now. You have lost.
So guys lets give the _|_ to windows

This for all those guys who don’t know which linux to try. These are the ones that had us awed at their usability and features.

Aditya’s Picks:

• Ubuntu
• Xubuntu
• Puppy

My Picks:

• openSuSE
• Kubuntu
• DreamLinux

[...]

Windows vs Linux in a friendly fight to be choosen as the right OS for basic everyday use.
How we ranked

• Installation

Installation shouldnot be too messy and should be user friendly. A GUI is preffered and faster installation obviously scores well.Live Cd’s/DVD’s score plus points.

• Default Software

The operating system must come with a good suite of softwares to take care of all your needs.

• Stability

This is the place where the Operating System has to score. It is very important that it doesn’t spur problems routinely.

• Easy Availability and Installation of Softwares

Softwares for the Operating System should be easily available and easily installable.

• Light on System Resources

The Operating System Should not hog your system resources. By hogging you system resources you will get very little performance out of your system.

Introduction to the contenders

[...]

Re-buntu:-The reviewing distro
Finally a distro that beats ubuntu. Hold your breath and witness the miracle
So which one is it? This is a distro that’s been released along with ubuntu 5.10(no it’s not Kubuntu). Though many know about it is seldom used. Ok lets cut the suspense it’s Xubuntu-7.04. No don’t close the page read the review to find out why it really beats Ubuntu.
Why the hell did I even try out Xubuntu?
Well I needed to install it on a pretty old system(Pentium-3 700Mhz and 256Mb RAM. So what better than the good old XCFE desktop. While puppy(an 90mb distro using XCFE) misbehaved on this system, Xubuntu did not. It worked like a charm although with slow startup time but still very user friendly.

[...]

Every one is trying out linux, if you don’t want to be left out read on.
This topic covers what you need to know to shift to the boon called Linux.

Firstly why do you need Linux? Linux is for geeks and their geek factor right?
Well the answer is no. Linux is for those who need a peace of mind.

Let’s take an example here.
You come home tired after a long day’s work and all you want to do is sit in front of your computer and relax but as soon as you turn it on you get a message could not find system32 and windows wont start whatever you do.
So you call your system mechanic and he will comes the next day reinstalls windows an charges you a good 500 bucks. Now your system runs fine and also faster than before and all is well again right?
Again the answer is no.
Within a month or two you will experience the same or a new problem and again its 500 bucks gone.
Now you might ask if I mean to say that Linux is problem-free. I would say no to that. At present all Operating Systems do have their own problems but in the case of Linux it is lesser and you will find more stability and configurability. If this is not compelling enough then read on and I am sure you will reconsider.

[...]