First look at HP Mini 110 Mi edition

“So imagine my surprise when, two weeks ago, I entered a
computer shop and saw a netbook that had not Windows key and
carried no Windows sticker! I was so shocked that I didn’t hesitate
for long and minutes later I was walking away with a box containing
an HP Mini 110-1011TU with Linux – a customised edition of Ubuntu
with an interface called “HP Mi”.

“First, the specifications. This particular model of HP Mini
comes with Intel Atom N280 processor (1.66 GHz, 512 KB L2, 667 MHz
FSB), a 250 GB (5400 RPM) SATA hard disk drive, 2 GB of DDR2 SDRAM,
10.1-inch monitor (maximum resolution 1024×576 pixels), Intel
Mobile 945GME Express integrated graphics controller, Intel 82801G
audio controller, Broadcom BCM4312 802.11b/g wireless network card,
and Atheros AR8132 Ethernet adapter (kernel driver atl1c). It has
three USB ports, a port for plugging in an external monitor, an
audio port for headphones, a built-in HP webcam, and a 3-cell
Lithium Ion battery. It weighs 1.2 kg and cost an equivalent of
US$400 (NT$13,000).

“The most interesting part of the netbook is, of course, its
software. The HP Mi (Mobile Internet) interface is a customised and
simplified built of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (“Hardy Heron”), which was
released in April 2008. As such, the software packages aren’t
particularly up-to-date, with Linux kernel 2.6.24, GNOME 2.24.3,
Firefox 3.0.13 and OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 all somewhat older than the
current latest versions of these applications. But unlike Windows
netbooks, which all come with the same standard (i.e.
uncustomisable) desktop interface, HP Mi’s default desktop is a
different story. It is divided into three columns – the left one
shows your emails (once email settings are configured in
Thunderbird), the middle column has thumbnails of web pages
(similar to Opera’s “Speed Dial”) and the right column is separated
into two parts, with the top one listing any recently played music
files, while the bottom one showing recently viewed photos.”

Complete
Story