A user-friendly and fast Linux for netbooks?

Thanks to MakeUseOf I discovered Jolicloud, a version of Linux optimized for netbooks.

For the last year or so I had given up on using my Asus Eee 900 for anything more than the occasional recipe surfing in the kitchen, it was simply too slow to open tabs or do any normal computer work. The original Linux wasn’t too slow, but nothing near fabulous either. I tried Ubuntu Netbook Remix, which felt even more unresponsive to me. Some months ago I switched to Windows 7 just to get disappointed once more.

Apart from the slow performance, all of these operating systems suffered from stability problems; for example, Windows 7 would usually come up with a black screen after waking up from suspend mode. Thanks to Jolicloud, this problem is gone and my Eee feels actually usable for the first time. Installation was child’s play and everything, including sound, wifi, stand-by mode and the webcam worked out of the box.

But I think what surprises me most is not the ease of use of Jolicloud, but that it changed my view on Linux in general - I had this connotation that Linux was an OS that could only be either stable, user-friendly or powerful, not all of them at the same time. Unlike most other distributions (versions of Linux) their website is quite sexy, probably inspired from Apple - in a good way. Thanks to the developers for combining the speed of Windows XP with the usability of Ubuntu Netbook Remix!