I've been trying many distros of Linux lately, trying to find something I like for my netbook. I started out with Ubuntu, and I can tell you I am a big fan. Ubuntu is now fast to install, much simpler to administer, and pretty light resource-wise. My original install was the standard 32 bit version of 9.04. I tried the netbook remix version of this release, but it was very, very slow. Even the full-blown version used only about 200mb. Much better than the almost 800 that the recommended Windows y version took.

Once the newest release of Ubuntu was released, I decided to try the netbook remx of 10.04. It used even less RAM; only about 150mb. I thought I'd found my OS. I certainly settled in and prepared to use it forever.

Then, someone I know suggested I try cunchbang. It is the most minimalistic UI I've ever seen, using Openbox rather than Gnome or KDE. Very slick, simple and clean. Since I am using the alpha of the most recent version (using Debian Squeeze), the apps provided for you are few...although more will be provided soon. You do have a word processor, etc., although not the OpenOffice you would normally get in Ubuntu.

But the best part? 48MB. That's it. 48mb fully loaded, supporting what I can "hotel services". It's fast, boots quick, and believe it or not, I can even do Java-based development....on my netbook! Pretty slick.

More on it as I use it.