netbooks apps

Kingsoft Office: Best MS Office Alternative for netbooks?

Kingsoft Office is an office productivity solution which includes 3 office applications such as Writer, Spreadsheets and Presentation. It has a user interface similar to Microsoft Office 2003. It also functions pretty much the same as Microsoft Office.

Kingsoft Office is very lite on hard drive and memory too. According to Binary Now, it only takes up to 120MB of disk space after installation.

Not only on you can save on your hard disk estate but on your pocket too. The Kingsoft Office retails for $59.95 but with 33% discount, you can get it for only $39.95.

via Binary Now

Fn F2 not working on Easy Peasy 1.1 [Solved with EEE Control]

My 2-year old Eee PC 701 has finally found the OS that suits it. I will be using it mostly for internet purposes and watching some anime series. I installed Easy Peasy 1.1 since it’s what I got and I don’t think I have anymore problems encountered and needs to address so far. Upgrading the OS is now also very easy with the new Easy Peasy.

Out of the box, I initially had two problems with Easy Peasy. One is the Sound not working which is solved already with some very easy steps. And the other one is the Fn F2 not working.

With Easy Peasy’s default configuration, I noticed that my Wifi is always on. Pressing the Fn F2, which is supposed to do the job of turning it on or off didn’t work. I used to go to the Bios just to toggle the Wifi. And not only that, I also noticed that the Wifi LED is always on no matter if Wifi is off. Good thing there’s the Eee Control that successfully addressed them both.

Here are the steps I followed:

1. First, install python-smbus, which can be downloaded from Debian.
2. Then in Administration > Synaptic, reload the repository.
3. Search for the Eee Control and mark it for installation.
4. Click Apply. This should install the Eee Control successfully.
5. Go to Preferences > Session and create a new entry to start the Eee Control at start up with the following command:
   /etc/init.d/eee-control start
6. Add another entry to start the Eee Control system tray using the following:
   eee-control-tray
7. Restart Easy Peasy and you should be done. Verify if it works. In my case, it certainly did.

Calendar for Netbooks looks cool, can get even better

Business-minded netbook users may now have another productivity application to enjoy in the next week or so. Managing your appointments and all the kinds of meetings you usually miss could be easier with the newly developed calendar for netbooks, which currently has no name yet.

This calendar application runs on Linux and fits well to all kinds of netbooks currently available according to the author. The codes are based on the libraries hacked out from Evolution. The application is lite, though it’s just looks cool that way. Still a work in progress but will be available soon. Hats off to Srini for the great job!

More screenshots on Srini’s blog.