Optimal OS for my ultramobile PC?

May 6, 2008 5:28 PM

What operating system should I use for my Fujitsu U1010 UMPC?

A gift that I'll need to show I use, but I also like the form factor: it's the size of a paperback book and weighs a pound or two. It came loaded with Vista Business, which is barely functional on 1G Ram. Battery life is short as well--so a couple of Vista boot cycles and it's dead. Considering XP because I have a spare XP dvd and license, but would like to know about other options. It will be used to edit and distribute office docs; for contact management; and to keep up with email and mefi on the road. I'd really like mobile Team Fortress 2, but since that's not going to happen, my preferred applications are:

MS office or OpenOffice
Skype
Opera
Mp3 player
Tablet functions

My priorities are: 1) speed; 2) battery conservation; and 3) matching all of the original functionality. An additional complication: I have no external cd/dvd drive, so ideally I'd be able to do some kind of usb transfer from my desktop or my 4g flash drive. If the best solution is XP, how do I do it? Any and all suggestions appreciated.

posted by Phred182 to computers & internet (4 comments total)

You can boot the XP install from a flash drive. You can even install it on one, for that matter. Why not put ZP on one and, say, Ubuntu on another to see which works best for you before wiping the HD? I would go with XP for photoshop and such, but since you don't seem to need that it's entirely what you like better.
posted by IronLizard at 6:44 PM on May 6, 2008

You'll probably be able to get the stylus to work with Linux, but the state of Linux tablet PC apps is abhorrent. I use Ubuntu on two tablet PCs, and the stylus is just a novel curiousity except when I'm using Gimp, when it's actually useful. The main reason is that there is no handwriting recognition for Gnome or KDE, so you still need the keyboard for almost everything. Some isolated applications try to do handwriting recognition (e.g., Journal, Xournal) but they're half-baked at best.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 6:55 PM on May 6, 2008

Note that if you want to use XP, you should probably see if you can get a copy of XP Tablet PC Edition. While Vista includes the Tablet apps, you need the special edition of XP to do the same thing.

Re. installing it, is it possible to get install stuff from the manufacturer? Many manufacturers offer an XP downgrade these days, even if there device does come with XP.

Of course, you COULD install OSX on it (says the Mac fanboy), but it's probably more trouble than it's worth!
posted by ranglin at 11:24 PM on May 6, 2008

Thanks very much, will try all (except osx, this time)
posted by Phred182 at 11:12 PM on May 8, 2008