Another OS launched to fulfill your netbook apetite

BrowserLinux comes in as a 78MB download

We have seen a couple of operating systems based on Linux in the past couple of months be it Moblin, Ubuntu, Puppy Linux, etc. the list is unending. Well, it makes a lot of sense if one goes in for these operating systems to power their netbooks because these operating systems consume far less resources than the traditional Windows. As we all know that netbooks are stripped down versions of notebooks. Most of the netbooks are powered by a less powerful Intel Atom N270 processor with 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard disk drive. Keeping this configuration in mind, I think that it makes more sense to install an operating system which takes up less disk space and which is light on the system i.e. it consumes lesser system resources. 

Well, Browser Linux, the newest operating system in the netbook market is just the sort of OS which consumes less disk space as it comes in as a 78MB download file. Moreover, this OS is quite light on system resources as it fulfills just a few basic functions. This loss of functionality might trouble a few but, for netbook users who have quite specific needs like browsing the internet this OS will definitely make sense. Browser Linux is a stripped down version of Puppy Linux. It has been built specifically for people who want to use their netbooks to browse the internet. What users will get is Firefox 3.5.5, a file manager, PDF reader, Flash 10, and an audio player (alsaplayer).

The best part about this operating system is that you can easily install it on a USB flash drive using Unetbootin. If you are wondering what that is, UNetbootin allows you to create bootable Live USB drives for a variety of Linux distributions from Windows or Linux, without requiring you to burn a CD. This way a user can run the OS from the flash drive without installing it on the system. A word of caution though, while running the OS from the USB flash drive a user might experience slower boot times and response times. I suggest that in order to truly appreciate this OS install it on your hard drive first. 

The advantages of Browser Linux are as follows:

• Very small size (78MB download file)
• Can be run via a USB flash drive
• Consumes very little system resources (good for under-powered netbooks)
• Easy to use 
• Faster boot up times
• Carry anywhere (portability)

The main disadvantage is the loss of functionality but, as I said before this OS is only for users who have specific needs like browsing the internet.