Installing the Ubuntu Netbook Remix operating system

Netbooks, also known as mini notebooks, are a rapidly evolving category of small, light and inexpensive laptop computers, that are perfect for general computing and web based applications on the go. Popular examples of netboks are the Asus Eee and the Asus Aspire One. The operating system on a netbook should support encrypted files and folders as netbooks are subject to theft and loss.

The Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) operating system from Ubuntu makes a perfect choice for netbooks. UNR supports encrypted files and folders by the use of eCryptfs, which is a cryptographic file system for Linux, derived from Cryptfs, with advanced key management and policy features. eCryptfs can be thinked of as a sort of file encryption, based on The GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG, GPG).

UNR requires, that the netbook is based on the Intel Atom processor, has 512 MB RAM or more and a solid state disk (SSD), also referred to as a flash disk, or a harddisk with 4 GB storage or more.

In this example, we will install UNR on a Asus Eee netbook.

If we have not already done so, we  create an USB startup disk, that we can install UNR from. We boot up an Ubuntu desktop computer, visit the homepage of Ubuntu, meet the requirements and download UNR from a local mirror. We launch System > Administration > USB Startup Disk Creator, attach a USB stick to the computer, select and format the sdb1 device, on which the USB stick has been recognized, select and transfer the downloaded ISO image to the USB stick. The USB Startup Disk Creator confirms, that the USB stick is ready to install Ubuntu on other computers. We unmount the USB stick and detach it from the computer.

We insert the USB stick in the netbook, connect the netbook to a network cable with internet access and power the netbook on. We ensure, that the boot device will be the USB stick. On the Acer Eee, this is done by pressing F2 shortly after power on to enter BIOS and then configuring the boot media priority to disk and then configuring the boot priority to the USB disk. The netbook now boots up from the USB disk.

We select installation of UNR. We erase and use the entire disk. When asked, who we are, we add a system administrator user, which is different from the daily user. The reason for this is, that we want to be able to control the user ID and group ID for the daily user in order to make the IDs compatible with a network file system. We require the password to log in and to decrypt the home folder. This will install the encryption software, that will be needed, when adding the daily user. The installation is confirmed, the netbook is rebooted and the USB disk is detached during the reboot.

When UNR boots up, it presents the neat login screen. We log in as the system administrator and listen to the classic Ubuntu log in theme sound. We configure the group, that daily user will be a member of. This group should have the same ID as the ID on the network file system. Accessories > Terminal. We change the color scheme to green on black and enable transperancy. The change will not affect the user because the user is a member of its own group.

sudo groupmod users -g 1001


We create the daily user. We need to do this from the command line in order to encrypt files and folders.

sudo adduser --encrypt-home ann


We open System > Users and Groups. We ensure, that the profile, user privileges, group and user ID for the daily user is correct and matches the network file system. We confirm the user and log out.

We log in as the daily user, listen to the classic Ubuntu log in theme sound and the UNR recommends, that we take a note of the strong passphrase, that has been auto generated and used for encryption. We do that and store it far away in another galaxy.

We configure fixed and wireless networks.

We update the operating system with updates since the image. System > Update Manager. Check. We reboot the netbook in order to test the installation of these updates.

In order to access a local network file system (NFS), we need to ensure, that the user ID on the client is the same as the user ID on the server, create a mount point, install an NFS client, configure the list of local file systems and connect. Accessories > Terminal. We change the color scheme to green on black and activate transperancy.

mkdir starnix
sudo apt-get install portmap nfs-common
sudo nano -w /etc/fstab
starnix.lan.foobar.com:/usr/home/ann /home/ann/starnix nfs rw 1 1
sudo mount -a
ls ~/starnix

In order to use Open Office on the NFS, we configure the file locking.

As a kind service, we open the browser and bookmark a link to Open Tech SmbA. :-)

In order to view streaming websites, such as DR (live Flash), YouTube and Facebook, we need to install a Flash player plugin for Firefox via System > Ubuntu Software Center. We install the Adobe Flash Plugin and test it in a browser. We bookmark and test these websites.

In order to view H264 streaming, such as DR channels, we need to install a player client. We open System > Ubuntu Software Center, install VLC and test it. H264 streams has faster frame rates and displays more smooth than Flash streams. We bookmark the list of streaming URLs.

In order to listen to streaming websites, such as Digitally Imported, we need to install an MP3 decoder. Audacious, which is a neat audio player and similar to XMMS and WinAmp, includes an MP3 decoder as well. We install it, visit the homepage and configure the browser to associate playlists with it. We bookmark the website.

/usr/bin/audacious2

In order read mail, we need to configure a mail client. We will use the default Evolution Mail client. If we have a backup file from another Evolution Mail client, we open Evolution Mail and restore from the backup file. If we does not have a backup file, we configure the account, address book and mail preferences.

In order to edit images, we install The Gimp.

We activate graphics enhancements. System > Appearence > Visual Effects > Extra. Now, we can switch applications with Super-Tab, zoom with Super-Scroll. The Scroll can be activated from right side of mouse pad and on mouse.