While there are many netbooks on the market from a variety of different vendors, for the most part they are composed of the same hardware. When it comes to Dell with their popular Inspiron Mini 9 netbook, they happen to be using Ubuntu but with a few modifications.

For the past year my netbook of choice has been the Samsung NC10 as while it shipped with stock Intel Atom hardware like other netbooks such as the Dell Mini 9 and earlier ASUS Eee PCs, the Samsung was built very well and possessed a rather large and well laid out keyboard for only being a 10.6" mobile computer. Catching my attention recently though has been the ASUS Eee PC 1201N netbook.

So this guy buys a Dell Inspiron Mini 10.1-inch netbook but either isn't happy at its lack of cellular coverage, or just has a severe phone fixation and decides to rip it apart and turn it into a Dell Mini 3i phone, complete with Android-based OS.

Dell is taking the netbook market by the horns, it would seem. First it refuses to accept that the Psion netbook trademark is a valid one, and now it bucks the market trend for not being able to sell Linux powered netbooks.

When it launched the netbook phenomenon a couple of years ago, the most noticeable thing about the Asus EEE PC, apart from its size, was that it typically ran Linux. Suddenly everyone was predicting the demise of Windows and the rise of Linux.

Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 Netbooks running Windows XP and Ubuntu are on sale. But US newspaper advertisements from Dell and Best Buy show Dell’s Windows XP netbooks to be a far better bargain than Dell netbooks with Ubuntu Linux. Here are the details.

Dell & Ubuntu's mighty Mini 9 Want a great Linux netbook for a great price? Then, give Dell's Ubuntu-powered Mini 9 a try. I like netbooks. Not all netbooks are created equal, though.

A Dell executive said that his company's Linux netbook returns are roughly equivalent to those for Windows-based netbooks, says an industry report. The remarks were in response to Microsoft's COO Kevin Turner, who gave a speech claiming Linux netbook returns were four or five times higher.

That shiny new netbook is light and portable, plays music and movies, and cost less than an iPhone (with service). Problem is: you might be ready to chuck it off a bridge. The answer to the netbook dilemma is: find an alternative operating system.