Netbooks have become a hugely popular hardware category. So much so, that netbooks have in some cases started to outsell laptops, considering their low prices, excellent portability and web centric approach.

But these mini machines are a lot different from our usual ultra powered laptops and notebooks. They have different hardware set ups from their laptop congeners and thus have different software needs. Keeping in view their moderately powered processors, these netbooks may not be able to handle the elephant that Vista is, though they can pick the load of his brother that we know as XP. But using an OS that is specifically built for a netbook has its own aura.

We will tell you about these Operating Systems that your netbook will just love to spend its day and night with.

Moblin

Moblin is short for Mobile Desktop. It’s an open source project which aims to develop software for Mobile Internet Devices or, Netbooks and Nettops. Moblin is the brainchild of the people behind this initiative and Moblin.org. Built on a customized Linux build, it uses a tailor-made Gnome environment. It’s still in development, with V2.0 Beta already in the market. Targeting netbooks, Moblin is specifically designed for Intel Atom processors, that most netbooks are based on.

With version 2, Moblin has brought an intuitive and easy to use user interface, built for a better media and social networking experience. It also sports a new graphical shell designed to provide the best experience on netbook devices and the likes.

The bar placed on the top of the desktop holds different panels called ‘zones’. Each zone holds applications for different uses. Web surfing is handled by Moblin's self customized browser which is based on Mozilla’s Gecko engine. The media library can be browsed from the top bar from where a user can access music, videos and image gallery.

The connectivity can’t be ignored. With Moblin, you can easily create connections, whether Wifi, 3G, WiMax or a wired one. All of this is handled from the top panel. The home screen, that you see above, shows recent appointments and tasks. It also shows tabs of recently visited websites and messages from social media websites. Last.fm and twitter are supported till now and more should be added as Moblin progresses out of beta. Twitter is also integrated within the panel from where a user can quickly update his status.

Moblin can be downloaded from here, although note that it is still in development and may cause some glitches.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix

Ubuntu Netbook Remix is simply a spin-off of the original Ubuntu, customized for Netbooks and similar devices. With Ubuntu at it’s heart, you will get the security, user friendliness and customization options that Ubuntu promises.

Specifically designed for netbooks, the Netbook Remix has an intuitive interface with large icons and buttons, making it easy to ‘tap on’ with fingers when the OS is used with a touchpad friendly monitor. The default install takes up nearly 2GB, clearly disappointing users with 2GB EEE PCs. But considering the netbooks that come these days, with large volume hard drives and SSDs, this won’t be a problem at all. It comes with most of the default Gnome applications. OpenOffice.org, Firefox, Evolution all come bundled and the Gnome Web cam app, Cheese is also packed which works out of the box.

The current version is 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope. corresponding to the desktop release. It’s just another Ubuntu release (tuned up a bit though) and you should expect it to work like one. The Ubuntu Netbook Remix supports many popular netbook models like Asus Aspire One, Asus EEE 1000, 1000H, 900a & 901, Dell Mini 9 & 10v and a lot more.

Give Ubuntu Netbook Remix a try, Download here!

Jolicloud

Jolicloud is a relatively newbie on the netbook OS plot. Unlike any other ‘OS’, Jolicloud focuses on web based applications and integration of web utilities in the regular desktop experience.

Jolicloud is Linux, based on a combination of Ubuntu and Debian. It is best suited for small screens and netbooks that are always connected to the internet. Within Jolicloud, a user wont be able to differentiate between a desktop application and an application which is web based. Like, you will be able to ‘install’ applets for Gmail, Facebook, Twitter in the same way you install Pigin, Skype, Firefox or Thunderbird.

This is made possible by a customized integration of Mozilla’s Prism project which enables web application to integrate with the desktop. Apart from a regular Linux base, Jolicloud also derived some of its code from the Ubuntu Netbook Remix mentioned above. Jolicloud provides a social platform for users that are using the OS, by making registration compulsory. Upon startup, you will be able to see what applications are used by your friends and what are they upto on social networking sites. This is made possible when you ‘subscribe’ to other users using Jolicloud.

Jolicloud also supports a large list of Netbooks, detailed information for which can be found here. It is currently in Private Alpha, so you’ll need an invite to register an account and download the OS yourself. Interested? Put your name in the goblet here.

Windows 7 Starter (Or Home Premium) Edition

Microsoft surely doesn’t want to lag behind in this new emerging market of netbooks and seems to be playing its moves with an interest equal to any other player on the block. Windows 7 will be released soon and just like Vista, it will have many flavors for the different needs of people.

The lowest in the line is the Windows 7 Starter edition. It will be a lightweight version for netbook computers that will lack the many of the advanced features, such as Media Center and touch screen support. Developed for ‘low cost’ notebooks, Microsoft has indicated the Starter Edition to be its contender in the netbook race. Initially, there was limitation imposed on the Starter edition that allowed only three applications to be run simultaneously. Although it is worth noting that Microsoft announced later that there will be no such limitation in the final edition which will be released in the coming months.

Anyhow, Windows 7 Starter should prove to be a light weight system and hopefully decent enough for a typical netbook. If you have a more powerful netbook, running Windows 7 Home Premium edition shouldn’t be a problem because as recent tests have shown and as already listed by the company, Windows 7 should require lesser system resources than Vista. Vista?! Forget about installing that beast on your netbook.

eeeXubuntu Or Eeebuntu

Some independent developers from the eeeUser.com site joined hands and developed eeeXubuntu – a Xubuntu derivative developed specially for the EEE PCs. eeeXubuntu (pronounced Exxx Ubuntu, probably) has been built to support the EEE PCs hardware out of the box and make Xubuntu compatible with EEE PC’s small screen.

Since eeeXubuntu is derivative of Xubuntu, which is a derivative of Ubuntu, So eeeXubuntu also turns out to be Ubuntu with a modified XFCE environment.  Most of the regular applications are included; Firefox, Thunderbird, Pidgin, AbiWord, Gnumeric etc but OpenOffice doesn’t seem to have made the cut. Although anything on Linux is just an apt-get away, unless it isn’t in the repository.

The file manager in eeeXubuntu is Thunar. In terms of connectivity, eeeXubuntu works very well and supports all the connectivity options that a regular Xubuntu would do. Download eeeXubuntu for your EEE PC (Compatibility with other netbooks not confirmed)

Another option for a Debian based OS can be Eeebuntu, which is based on Ubuntu and sports even the eye candy of Compiz Fusion. As again, it is optimized for EEE PCs but may work with other netbooks as well. There are three editions of Eeebuntu: Standard (with all the applications and tools), Netbook Remix (for small screen devices) and Base (trimmed down version for low powered devices). You can download Eeebuntu from here.

What’s Your Favorite?

Many netbooks come preinstalled with Windows XP. It may work all the way fine, given that recent netbooks are somewhat powerful at heart and do carry some bulk in their hard drives. But still, an OS built for a desktop may not fulfill your needs on a device whose main function is to work like an Internet Device. Different people have different needs and work differently with the netbooks. What’s your use? Say it in the comments. What’s your Netbook OS of choice?