The best OS for your NetBook…maybe just get an iPad?

With the recent announcement of the Apple iPad I started thinking about how great it would be to have one for my general web browsing, tweeting and online shopping needs!

I then remembered I already had a lightweight ultra-portable computer, the problem was that it had a broken install of Snow Leopard and was gathering dust in the spare room, I’ve had an Acer Aspire one netbook for a while now, and I’ve tried out a wide range of operating systems.

I know one thing for sure, the best OS for a netbook, or any computer as far as I’m concerned, isn’t Windows, I know many might not agree but the Mac OS is the best available at the moment.

Although I have managed to create my own Hackintosh, it wasn’t an easy process, it involved lots of messing around with kexts and hacks, I even swapped the built-in WiFi card for a Dell model as these work easily with OS X.

Leopard worked well on the Aspire One, but there were still too many issues for it to be the perfect NetBook OS.

The obvious alternative is Linux, in fact most NetBooks come with a ‘watered down’ variation of Linux pre-installed, although these are fine for basic tasks they’re not as versatile as most Linux distributions, there is plenty of choice when it comes to Linux distributions, however trying to find the best one for the Aspire One isn’t simple.

After many attempts to find an OS that is easy to install, compatible with the hardware, including the Dell Wifi card that I’d installed, easy to use and didn’t look terrible I came across Jolicloud.

Jolicloud makes it really simple to install and run Linux on your NetBook, the installation was quick and painless, it detected the WiFi card straight away and even the install menus looked nice!

But what makes Jolicloud special is it’s online or ‘Cloud’ features that make finding, choosing and installing software really simple, simply create a user account on their site and this is then accessed from the Jolicloud icon in the top menu of your desktop.

What a brilliant idea, everything is moving to the Cloud anyway, and by incorporating this online resource into the operating system you get a great looking, free OS with the support of the Jolicloud community.

For more information about Jolicloud check out their site here: http://www.jolicloud.com/

Now if those nice people behind Jolicloud could develop a touch based interface, and if I could buy a cheap tablet NetBook maybe I wouldn’t still be tempted by the iPad!