I got Ubuntu onto my Acer Aspire One and Samsung NC 10 through an external DVD/CD-RW USB disc drive. The latest version of Ubuntu (Intrepid Ibex) which is also called Ubuntu 8.10 has a feature where by you can install and even run Ubuntu from a USB flash drive.

I got the Samsung because of its larger screen size and battery power which is around 7.5 hours on a conservative battery power scheme. The Acer Aspire One I have has a 120GB hard drive disc and 512MB RAM. It runs Ubuntu Linux (that is, the latest kernels) superbly. But the battery power is unimpressive when compared to the Samsung NC 10. There are fixes available for the integrated WiFi card.I got both of my netbooks to work within minutes by making the necessary changes to the relevant system files.

It was so goddamn epic when I bought it. During the entire month of October, the national provider that imported these laptops in all Mexico folded under the economic crisis and the sudden rise of the dollar, and there were absolutely no 120 GB Acer Aspire Ones in the entire country. You could only buy the one with the 8 GB SSD, and that’s not a choice because I’m an engineering student and MATLAB itself weights 4 GB. You could see people selling them for $700 at the Mexican eBay!

Then, one day, my mom was buying groceries at a Sam’s Club, and she saw the Acer Aspire One. There were 20 claim tickets for the one with the HDD. She went out to buy something else at a nearby Superama. Half an hour later, there were only 8 tickets left! I was still at work, so she grabbed a ticket, called me, told me to get there at once as soon as I left from work, and we bought it with all the money we could scrounge at the moment.

And I tell you: I’m the coolest guy among my friends ever since! :D The little screen is sometimes uncomfortable (especially because I have a huge-ass 19″ flatscreen monitor at home), but it’s so light and small I can carry it around everywhere, it’s surprisingly powerful (can run Simcity 4 almost as fine as I do in my desktop with a Pentium Dual Core), and it’s awesomely practical. ^^

What I found strange is that my computer came not with a 6-cell battery, but with two 3-cell batteries…

PS: HOW THE HELL DID YOU MANAGED TO INSTALL UBUNTU ON YOUR COMPUTER!? I first tried to install it but it failed no matter what, then I tried to install Debian but it never worked good enough, then I installed openSUSE but the wireless LAN doesn’t works. :S

Specific guide to take apart your Acer Aspire One here:
http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=609546&highlight=bb320

Not for the fainthearted. Removed my laptop hard disk once (last night) and wouldn’t want to do it again.

I already had a try out in-store. Seems fine to me. Just the little trackpad and the tiny backspace key that kind of bothers me but I’m sure I can get used to them.

So… What about the Acer Aspire One then? =P

Nevertheless if you want to buy a netbook, I would strongly recommend to try the ergonomics in a local computer store before you order it online. Since most of the inner specifics are pretty much equal.
Although I read that the EEE PC is quite noisy.

@Kalimachos
What do you mean by “silent” mode… You mean using Maximum Battery Mode? You turn the brightness and CPU down?

I’m asking all this because my laptop always ends up making ppl look up in the library. MBM keeps the fan quiet but once I plug in, even in this mode the fan will come on as the battery heats up.

One reason why I’m switching machines.

I can only guess why this netbook needs a “silent” mode, even at max. power I can hardly hear anything. but even then I would never consider it being noisy.
the only flaw in my opinion are the pitiful speakers, they are agreeable for youtube and stuff, but for anime I would definitely prefer to use headphones :/

ps: Moyashimon & Denno coil & 5 Centimeter are h264’s the later ones have AAC sound encode.

I can’t hear the fan at all if there’s even one. Maybe that’s a bad thing. LOL. The battery lasts at least 5-6 hours with wifi and mp3.

@Kalimachos
Forgot to ask… what’s the battery life like in the NC10 and does the fan ever get noisy?