Review of the System76 Starling Netbook

I wanted a netbook for traveling. I plan to use it primarily for checking e-mail, browsing the Internet,
writing documents, listening to music and watching movies. I may also at some point use it as an e-
book reader and podcast player.
I'm a moderately competent user of computers. I have a little -- but not much -- experience with Linux.
(Want to cut to the chase? Look at the bottom of this page for a blue chart listing Pros and Cons of the
Starling)

Date of review: June 2009

UPDATED: July 19, 2009
2nd UPDATE: July 30, 2009
3rd UPDATE: August 6, 2009
4th UPDATE: August 13, 2009
5th UPDATE: August 17, 2009
6th UPDATE: September 30, 2009
7th UPDATE: December 5, 2009
8th UPDATE: December 13, 2009
Manufacturer: System76 (located in Denver, CO, USA) This company sells server, desktop, laptop,
and netbook computers, all preloaded with the Ubuntu Linux operating system.
Model: Starling
Specs:
• Display: 10.1" LED Widescreen Glossy LCD (1024 x 576)
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
• Audio Output: Intel High Definition Audio
• Networking: LAN (10/100), WiFi
• Wireless: 802.11 bg
• Ports: VGA, 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone Jack, Microphone Jack, SD Reader
• Camera: Built-In 0.3 MP Webcam
• Security: The System76 Web site claims that a Kensington Lock is included, but my netbook as
shipped did not include a lock.
• Power Management: Suspend & Hibernate
• Battery: includes one 6-Cell Lithium Ion 6th UPDATE: It's now possible to buy an extra 6-cell
battery for $99.
• AC Adapter: includes one AC adapter
• Dimensions: 10.4" x 7.1" x 1.3" (WxDxH)
• Weight: 2.6 lbs.
• Operating System: Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) 32 Bit Linux
• Processor: Atom N270 @ 1.60 GHz FSB 533MHz L2 512 kb with Hyper-Threading
• Memory: 1 GB - DDR2 533 MHZ x 1 DIMM. This is the maximum and no memory can be
added. 4th UPDATE: The System76 Starling has been upgraded and now comes with 2GB
RAM installed for the same price as the earlier 1GB RAM version
• Harddrive: 160 GB 5400 RPM SATA II
• Wireless: 802.11 bg
 • Optical Drive: None included but there is an option to add an external USB optical drive. (See
below under Options.)
• Carrying case: None
Cost: $359 US + options + shipping + your state's sales tax

Options: Check the System76 Web site, because it's possible more options have been added since the
date of this review.
• USB External CD-RW / DVD-RW Drive ( +$85.00 ). Model shipped to me was nu External
Super Slim DVD Burner ESW860
• 6th Update: Extra 6-cell smart lithium ion battery (+$99)
• 6th Update: Additional AC Adapter (+$39)
• 1 Yr. Ltd. Warranty and 1 Yr. Technical Support (included)
• 6th Update: 1 Yr. Ltd. Warranty + Accident Coverage and 1 Yr. Technical Support ( +$59.00 )
• 3 Yr. Ltd. Warranty and 3 Yr. Technical Support ( +$90.00 )
• 3 Yr. Ltd. Warranty + Accident Coverage and 3 Yr. Technical Support ( +$130.00 )

Review
Ordering and Shipment
The System76 Web site is simple and straight-forward. Ordering the Starling online via that Web site is
easy. The one downside I must report is that after ordering my Starling, I received an e-mail from
System76 reporting that their Web hosting provider had been hacked and that an "unauthorized person"
might be in possession of the credit card number and other information I entered when ordering.
System76 said it does not store such information; the hack occurred during processing. Not what one
wants to hear, of course. System76 says it has taken steps to ensure that it does not happen again.
I had a few questions about the netbook before ordering. I found a link on the System76 Web site for
contacting the Sales Department and sent an email with my questions. They were answered clearly and
promptly by Thomas Aaron.
I ordered the Starling on Thursday May 28, 2009. It arrived on my doorstep in Seattle six days later on
Wednesday, June 3, 2009. Not bad considering I had opted for UPS ground shipping, the slowest and
cheapest option. Shipping cost was $13.92. Oddly, I received an e-mail from System76 on Saturday
June 6, 2009 giving me a UPS tracking number to track my shipment!

Unboxing and Setup

Unfortunately, the packing material was styrofoam peanuts, not the greatest choice environmentally
speaking. (System76 claims on its Web site to be driven by environmental concerns: "As you may have
noticed, our systems are named after animals. In fact, they are not only named after these wonderful
beings but dedicated to them. System 76 works to promote wildlife and open lands conservation.")
Here's a picture of the packing box. The external USB optical drive is on the left; the Starling netbook
is in a box underneath the peanuts.
Everything was in good shape and appeared to be of good quality. However, the System76 Web site
claims that a Kensington Lock is included with this netbook. There was no such lock included with
mine as far as I could tell. A diagram of the Starling's ports points to a small lock on the side at the rear,
but all I can see there is a hole. How it functions as a lock, I do not know. Because I am not especially
interested in having a lock, I have not explored further or complained. UPDATE 2: A commenter on
my blog explains that what the Starling provides is a SLOT for a Kensington lock that you would
purchase elsewhere separately.
Minimal instructions/documentation are included. But setup is pretty darn simple. You plug in the
computer; press the "on" button; and fill in language, time zone, keyboard preference, user name and
password. The whole thing took me less than 10 minutes, and I was deliberate rather than hasty about
it.
Here's a picture of the Starling as I peeled off a plastic protective sheet from the screen. You can also
see the power adapter to the upper right.
 Bootup
My desktop Windows XP box takes me 7 minutes from turning on the power switch to having my e-
mail client and browser up. My Lenovo R60 Windows XP laptop takes more than 3 minutes to be up
and browsing the Web. So I was eager to see what the bootup time on this Starling netbook would be.
The time from turning on the power switch on the Starling netbook to having my Firefox browser up
was 55 seconds.
Not surprisingly, the Starling also is much, much faster at coming back to life from "suspend" or
"hibernate" states.

Speed and stability

I have been delighted with the performance of the Starling. I sometimes have seen the statement on the
Internet that netbooks are slow. For almost all of the tasks that I have been performing, this netbook has
not been the least bit slow.
For example, while writing this review in the Bluefish editor, I have my Firefox browser up with 6 tabs
open and I have my Rhythmbox audio player playing some tunes. I've got the Pidgin IM application
open. The File Browser program is open. I'm also using the Picasa photo editing program. The netbook
continues to perform snappily. I've had the netbook on for ~10 hours and see no degradation in
performance, unlike my Windows desktop, which slows to a crawl after a while and must be rebooted.
I've twice played movies on this netbook (not with other apps open though) and they played just fine --
no jerkiness or pixilation or other problems. These are regular DVDs, not high-def. I've watched You
Tube videos with excellent results.
But I have finally discovered one program that runs slowly on the Starling: Google Earth.
I've had no crashes or strange system messages so far. The system seems stable.

Battery
I've done only one test of the battery and got 3½ hours of intensive use (multiple concurrent tasks
including playing music). I did not change any settings to optimize for battery life. It looks as if the
default settings on the machine already make some adjustments to preserve power when it's operating
on battery power.
7th UPDATE: Now that I've been using my Starling for a while, I can say that the battery is generally
good for 3½ to 4 hours.
The battery snaps quickly and easily into the back edge of the netbook. When it is inserted, the back of
the computer is raised as shown in the photo below. If you are using AC power, you don't need to insert
the battery, unless you want to charge it up.

Wi-Fi
UPDATE: I have never had to do any configuring or futzing of any kind to get the wi-fi working. It
"just works" out of the box. However, I have on several occasions been unable to connect with detected
networks until I moved closer to the access point.
I traveled recently with the Starling, and most of the time I was able to connect to wi-fi networks in
motels with no problem. But in two cases -- once in a coffee shop and once in a library -- I had to move
closer before I connected. In the library, there were people all over the place using their laptops,
whereas I could connect only in one specific place. In the coffee shop, the access point apparently was
across the street rather than in the coffee shop itself. But other users in the coffee shop were able to
connect, whereas I was not. This suggests to me that the Starling's wi-fi card is a little weak at pulling
in the signals. (Don't know if I am diagnosing the problem correctly here.)
3rd UPDATE: It turns out that many people have had exactly the same wi-fi problem I've had: they
often have to move closer to the access point to get connected. To its credit, System76 got on this
problem and has just released an updated System76 Driver that it says substantially increases the wi-fi
range.
4th UPDATE: I've downloaded the System76 Driver Version 2.3.7 and have found that wi-fi
performance is improved. I can now connect to a network that I could not previously connect to. When
the signal is weak, transfer rates are on the slow side. Moving closer helps in that case. Overall, I
believe the wi-fi performance now is satisfactory. For info on the System76 driver update and more
details on wi-fi performance, go to: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1233219

Screen
The screen displays fonts and pictures crisply. It's bright and pleasant to look at. No eyestrain. The two
movies I've played have displayed beautifully. I was surprised at how well I could read the screen in
sunlight. The glossy screen does not help, but still, I was able to read the screen pretty well.
The design of the hinge prevents the screen from reclining to a flat 180 degree angle. I'd say it goes a
little less than half way between perpendicular and flat. UPDATE: Most of the time, this is not a
problem, but a few times I have wished it reclined further to avoid glare in a particular light situation.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The touchpad is located immediately under the space bar; it is not centered either on the spacebar or the
computer itself, but rather is slightly left of center. There might well be an ergonomic reason for this.
However, I must confess that I am not a touchpad person, so I can't opine credibly on the touchpad. I
prefer a pointing stick -- there isn't one on this computer -- but I most prefer a mouse. In fact, I have
hooked up a USB mouse and am happily using that.
At 2 inches wide by 1-1/8 inches deep, the touchpad is pretty small. The buttons are on either side and
each is 3/8-inch wide and 1-1/8 inch deep.
8th UPDATE: A contributor to Ubuntu Forums says that touchpads are not supposed to be centered on
the computer but rather on the "home keys" where touch typists place their fingers when they begin
typing. The touchpad, he says, should be placed such that a vertical line that runs between the "G" and
"H" keys bisects the touchpad. On the Starling, the line between the "G" and "H" keys runs about 5/8"
from the right edge of the touchpad and about 1 3/8" from the left edge. In other words, it does not
exactly bisect the touchpad. I notice that on my desktop computer's keyboard, the "G" and "H" line
does bisect the spacebar. On the Starling, that G-H line also bisects the spacebar. However, center point
of the spacebar is slightly to the right of the center point of the touchpad.
Another review I read somewhere of the Starling mentioned that the keys had a stiff feel. That seems
true, though it's not a bad thing; in fact, it makes the keyboard seem sturdy and high-quality to me. I
like the feel of the keys a lot.
As is true with netbooks in general, the keyboard is smaller than a standard-sized laptop or desktop
keyboard and takes some getting used to to avoid hitting the wrong key or inadvertently brushing the
touchpad. I've found that the more I use it, the better I get. It does not seem like a big problem. Of
course, people with large fingers might have a different view.
6th Update: My typing experience improved greatly after I turned off the touchpad. That ended the
problem of unpredictable results from inadvertently brushing the touchpad while typing. To turn the
touchpad off, go to the "Preferences" section and click on the "Mouse" icon. Then click on the
"Touchpad" tab and uncheck the "Enable touchpad" box.

WebCam
I'm new to Web cams, so I was wondering how to use the Web cam on the Starling. I did a Google
search on something like "Linux Web cam" and saw a reference to Cheese. I recalled seeing a Cheese
application when I was initially perusing the applications that came with the Starling. I opened the
Cheese application and was immediately presented with a button that said "Take Picture." I clicked on
it and here's what I got in my rather dark study:

At 0.3 megapixels, it's not exactly a powerhouse cam, but serviceable enough.

USB External Optical Drive

Because I wanted to watch movies on this netbook, I decided to order the optional USB external optical
drive. System76 gives minimal information on its Website about the drive, other than to say that it is
CD-RW DVD-RW. Cost is $85. The model I was sent is a nu External Super Slim DVD Burner
ESW860.
This drive is available from nu and from other online retailers for $63 -$73. I can't see that the drive
sent by System76 would differ in any way from one that you would order elsewhere online. In fact, the
drive came with a "Nero 8 Essentials" CD that appears to be Windows-only software. And the box lists
only Windows XP and Vista under the heading "OS Compatibility," so it hardly seems as if the drive is
a special Starling variant.
I was a boob and hastily hooked up the USB cable from the burner to the netbook and couldn't seem to
get the netbook to "see" the burner. I did online research to no avail. I recruited my husband to help and
after awhile he saw that I might not have the cable hooked up properly. Aha! Once I hooked the cable
up right, the drive immediately showed up on the netbook.
Below is a picture of the USB 2.0 cable. It's got a micro-USB connector at one end and two regular
USB connectors at the other end. I used the wrong regular-sized connector. If I had paid attention
instead of just hastily plugging in the first one I grabbed onto, I wouldn't have had problems.

And here is a
picture of the
Starling and the nu
drive and its box:

There was minimal documentation with the drive. It's true that all you do is plug it in and the device
shows up on the netbook. But it is up to you to figure out the software you need to use to play DVDs.
(More about that in the Adding Software section below.)
A CD/DVD Creator program comes with the Starling, but before I discovered that, I had downloaded
the Brasero CD/DVD burning program. Brasero has a good, clear interface, but it turns out that Brasero
has a bug. I discovered this after trying unsuccessfully several times to burn a music CD. A Google
search quickly turned up the bug. Fortunately, it is very easy to fix. Go to Brasero's Edit menu, click on
"Plugins" and then uncheck the "Normalize" box. Now Brasero will work beautifully.

USB Thumbdrive
I popped a USB 4 GB thumbdrive into the USB port and it was immediately recognized by the
netbook. I transferred files from it to the netbook with ease.

Sony DSC H2 12X Zoom 6 Megapixel Still Digital Camera

I connected the USB cable that came with this camera to the netbook. The netbook's file browser
immediately came up showing all of the folders on the camera's memory stick. I easily copied the
pictures from the camera to the netbook. I did not need to install any special software to do this. It "just
worked," as have (7th UPDATE) most USB devices so far that I've hooked up to the Starling.

Creative Zen mp3 Player (7th UPDATE)

My mp3 player (which I love) has special software for synching with my PC. Naturally, it's Windows
software, so I was a bit concerned about how I would load podcasts and mp3s from the Starling onto
my Zen.
A "Going Linux" podcast (Episode #35 at http://goinglinux.com/) that discussed media player
management software was a help.
Although Rhythmbox is included with the Starling and works fine as a media player and podcatcher, it
does not provide a way for you to transfer podcasts and mp3s onto your mp3 player. I tried Amarok but
found that it didn't work, even though it is supposed to have that functionality. It is aimed at the KDE
desktop (the Starling uses the Gnome desktop), so perhaps its seeming bugginess was related to that.
The gpodder program also didn't work for me. Next, I tried Banshee, and, thank God, that did work. I
highly recommend Banshee.
I found that it works best if you do things in a certain order:
1. Open Banshee
2. Turn on Zen
3. Hook Zen to Starling via USB cable
4. Contents of Zen should show up in left sidebar of Bansheev
5. Drag 'n Drop podcast and music files from center pane to Zen in left pane
6. Close Banshee (this dis-mounts the Zen)
7. Un-connect the Zen

Sony Ericsson TM506 Cell Phone (7th Update)

I'm currently wrestling with getting my cell phone working with the Starling. Once again, it comes with
software for synching the phone to the PC, but naturally it is Windows software. I hook my phone up to
the Starling via a USB cable. My goal is to be able to get photos from the cell phone to my Starling. I
haven't been able to get this to work. I downloaded the Linux cell phone management program known
as Wammu. It's got a nice wizard, but the program is not recognizing my phone. I have a query at
Ubuntu Forums, so I hope I'll get some help on this.
8th UPDATE:Unfortunately, though people tried to help me with this issue on Ubuntu Forums, they
were unable to come up with a solution. Thomas Aaron of System76 ended up concluding that "it looks
like Ubuntu just doesn't play nicely with whatever kind of formatting/filesystem your phone uses."
When I hook up the USB cable from the cell phone to the Starling, I am presented with four options on
the cell phone screen: phone mode, media transfer, mass storage and print. For the media transfer and
mass storage options, log entries on the Starling show that the Starling does recognize that a phone or
USB device is attached. However, I am unable to get access to the phone. The "phone mode" actually
brought up a dialog that wanted to set up a broadband connection with my phone provider, so for folks
who are looking to do that, that might work OK. I did not try the print option.

Printer
Having read a recent Wall Street Journal article that criticized Linux netbooks for incompatibilities
with printers and other peripherals, I was worried about what I would face in trying to hook up to my
printer.
I plugged the USB cable from my HP Laserjet 1022 into the Starling netbook. I immediately got a
message saying "Missing printer driver." However, just as quickly I got another message that said: "For
this printer a proprietary driver plugin from HP is available. Installing the plugin is optional, it
completes or enhances the functionality of your printer. Without plugin at least basic operations work.
The plugin provides the following features: -faster printing. Do you want to download and install the
plugin now?"
Compliments to System76 or Ubuntu for writing a system message in plain English. (Not saying the
grammar was perfect with the run-on sentence.)
I said yes to the download and installation of the plugin. I got a terminal-like screen that gave me three
options: d for download (recommended), p for specify a path (advanced) and q for quit. I typed in d and
the download proceeded.
I next got a dialogue box asking me to give a name to the printer and a location: I typed in "hplaserjet"
and "study" and also was asked if I wanted to print a test copy. I clicked yes to that and immediately
heard the sweet sound of my printer coming to life. The test print was perfect.
I did not consider this process burdensome. It took me about 5 minutes and I never worried or puzzled
over anything.

Ethernet
I plugged my Cat.6 ethernet cable (it comes from the router) into the Starling's ethernet port. I was
immediately connected to the Internet.

Card reader
I'm sorry, but I have Compact Flash cards and Sony Memory Sticks but no SD cards, so I was unable to
test the card reader.

Headphones and Speakers

Like probably all netbooks and many laptops, the Starling's speakers are tinny and unpleasing. I
plugged in my Radio Shack titanium headphones and the sound was beautiful.
 Microphone
This is the first Starling function that I've encountered that I've been unhappy with. I hooked up a
Logitec USB Desktop microphone that cost $30 to the Starling. I went to the Sound and Video folder
on the desktop and found the Sound Recorder application and clicked on it. So far so good.
Sound Recorder has a simple, clear interface. Across the top are the following icons: New, Open, Save,
Record, Play, Stop. You see a drop-down list of seven different formats to record in: CD Quality AAC
(.m4a type), CD Quality Lossless (.flac type), CD Quality Lossy (.ogg type), CD Quality mp2 (.mp2
type), CD Quality mp3 (.mp3 type), Voice Lossless (.wav type), and Voice lossy (.spx type).
I tried recording my speaking on four of these types (ogg, mp3, wav, and spx). At first, only the mp3
worked, and even it was not very satisfactory -- the volume is too low.
I then decided to install the System76 driver. This driver adds support for devices not natively
supported by Ubuntu. It is found in the "Administration" folder on the desktop. After doing that, I was
able to get the .ogg recording to work -- at about the same low volume as the .mp3.
The Sound Recorder application has a slider-type volume control, but it was set on the lowest possible
volume and every time I tried to increase it, it reverted to the lowest setting.
I have not done any online research to see what the problem might be or how my results might be
improved. But my conclusion is that the Starling's microphone function needs improvement.
7th UPDATE:I tried the built-in microphone, though I tested it only in the mp3 format. It worked, but
even with the volume turned all the way up, the volume of the resulting recording is very low. I still
consider the microphone performance sub-par.

Software
7th update:Ubuntu releases a new version of the operating system about every six months. My
Starling came preloaded with Jaunty Jackalope (9.04). Since then, Karmic Koala (9.10) has been
released. However, Starling owners have been cautioned not to upgrade to Karmic until System76 can
fix it so that the wireless card will work with Karmic.
System76 is hoping to find a way to deal with the Starling wireless such that they won't have to hassle
with it every time there is a new Ubuntu release. Whether they will succeed at this, I'm not sure. I'm
happy enough with Jaunty but those who are eager to get on to the latest version the minute it comes
out are champing at the bit. It's now been more than a month that System76 has been trying to get the
wireless working with Karmic.
2nd UPDATE: I recommend that those who have not had experience with Linux download the free
Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference, by Keir Thomas, which I have found to be a very clear and
helpful guide for using the Ubuntu operating system.
You can do many things on the Starling netbook, such as browsing the Internet or doing e-mail, without
even knowing you are on a Linux system. But when you go to do more complicated things with your
computer involving folders and files, it will probably help to know something about Linux. This book
will help you.
It is true that the Ubuntu Netbook Remix operating system that is installed on the Starling is not exactly
the same as the regular Ubuntu operating system: specifically, the desktop differs. But there are so
many other similarities that this book will work just fine for the netbook version of Ubuntu.
 Included
The desktop you see when the Starling boots up looks like this:

8th UPDATE:Down the right side of the screen are various folders holding documents, pictures,
music, etc. This also is where external drives show up when they are connected. (It's essentially the
"Places" menu on the classic Ubuntu desktop.) Click on any of these "places" and the File Browser
application launches and shows you the contents of that folder.
Down the left side of the screen is a list of "folders" or categories or sections that contain icons to
launch software applications. (This left side essentially features the "Applications" and "Systems"
menus of the classic Ubuntu desktop.) When you click on a category, the icons within that category
show up in the middle of the screen. When you click on an icon once, the application is launched.
The Preferences section, by the way, has a "Switch Desktop Mode" that allows you to see either the
Ubuntu Netbook Desktop pictured above or the Classic Ubuntu Desktop shown here:
Here is the software that comes included with the Starling:

Favorites:
Cheese (Web cam application),
Evolution Mail and Calendar,
Firefox (Web browser),
Help,
Pidgin instant messaging application.

Accessories:
Add/Remove (for adding or removing applications),
Calculator (choice of basic, advanced, scientific, financial or programming),
CD/DVD Creator,
Character map for the keyboard,
Disk Usage Analyzer,
Manage Print Jobs,
Passwords and Encryption Keys,
Take a Screenshot,
Terminal (gives you a command line so that you can interact directly with the OS via typed
commands),
Text Editor (gedit),
Tomboy (a fancy note-taking application that allows you to link to other documents).

Games:
AisleRiot Solitaire,
Blackjack,
Chess,
Five or More,
Four-in-a-Row,
FreeCell Solitaire,
Gnometris,
Iagno,
Klotski,
Mahjongg,
Mines,
Nibbles,
Robots,
Same GNOME,
Sudoku,
Tali,
Tetravex.

Graphics:
Cheese (again),
F-Spot Photo Manager,
Drawing application of the Open Office Suite.

Internet:
These are all repeats from the Favorites category:
Evolution Mail,
Firefox Web browser,
and Pidgin instant messaging program.

Office:
Dictionary,
E-book reader(FBReader),
Evolution e-mail (once again),
Presentation application from Open Office Suite
Spreadsheet from Open Office Suite
Word Processor from Open Office Suite.
(Open Office is a high-quality, capable suite of office applications. On the Starling, however, it does
not include a database.)

Programming:
This category contains no applications. (It's possible that I myself added this category through the Main
Menu preferences application mentioned below -- I forget.)

Sound and Video:

Movie Player,
Rhythmbox (music player),
Sound Recorder (for use with microphone).

Universal Access:
CellWriter (a handwriting recognition program that, after you've trained it, turns your scrawled letters
into typewritten ones).

Preferences:
About Me (enter your personal info),
Appearance (themes for your desktop),
Assistive Technologies (settings for disabled users),
Bluetooth,
Default Printer,
Display,
Encryption and KeyRings,
Keyboard settings,
Keyboard Shortcuts (you can add new ones or remove existing),
Main Menu (allows you to add or remove the "folders" or categories that run down the left side of the
desktop),
Mouse settings,
Network Connections,
Network Proxy,
PalmOS Devices (Gnome Pilot),
Power Management,
Preferred Applications (allows you to select which applications you want to handle basic tasks such as
e-mail, Web browsing, music player, terminal emulator, etc.),
Qt 4 Settings (appearance of your user interface),
Remote Desktop (allow other machines to look at your desktop),
SCIM Input Method Setup (don't know anything about this),
Screensaver (select from a long list of options or select "blank"),
Sound (settings are beyond my ken),
Startup Applications preferences (select or unselect which programs launch at startup),
Switch Desktop Mode (choose either Ubuntu Netbook or Classic Ubuntu desktop. The default for the
Starling is the former),
Windows (preferences for selecting and moving windows around).

Administration:
Authorizations,
Calibrate Touchscreen (odd since the Starling does not have touchscreen capability),
Hardware Drivers,
Language Support,
Log File Viewer,
Login Window preferences,
Network Tools,
Printing configuration,
Services (everything is grayed out so not sure what you can accomplish with this),
Software Sources (use this to add repositories of software to Synaptic Package Manager),
Synaptic Package Manager (application for automatically finding, downloading, installing, configuring,
updating Linux software),
System76 driver (supports devices not natively supported by Ubuntu),
System Monitor (gives realtime monitoring info about CPU, memory and network),
System Testing,
Time and Date settings,
Update Manager (checks if any software you have on your Starling has updates available for download
and will download the updates if you say yes),
and Users and Groups.

Adding Software
My experience has been that installing software on the Starling is usually much faster and easier than
doing it on Windows. There are some exceptions. It depends on which software you are wanting to
install.
You will be able to get most free, open-source software that is not already installed on your Starling
easily through the Add/Remove or the Synaptic Package Manager applications that come with the
Starling. I personally LOVE these two applications -- it is a breeze to install and update software using
either one of them. (Add/Remove is simpler to use but lists less software. I generally just use Synaptic,
which is plenty simple to use.)
There are hundreds if not thousands of applications out there that you can add via this easy process. I've
added Hearts (game), Brasero (CD/DVD burning program), and Bluefish (html and programming
editor).
Here is information on using Synaptic: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto
But to get non-open-source software, you must generally first add software repositories through the
Software Sources application that comes with the Starling. Once you have added the repositories, you
can use Add/Remove or Synaptic to install the applications. (A third, distinctly less appealing
alternative is to manually install applications. I try to avoid this if possible.)
If you want to play DVD movies, go to this Web site to learn how to install the needed software:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats/PlayingDVDs.
To add the Skype application, go to this URL for guidance:
http://knowledge76.com/index.php/Installing_Restricted_Formats
I had trouble installing Google Earth (mainly because of the Google EULA that I needed to agree to,
which was hard to do in the Terminal window). I finally did get it installed. I guess I wouldn't
recommend trying to install it.
Here are some other Web pages that may help with installing software:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/InstallingSoftware
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/Ubuntu
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Medibuntu

Support
I have found support to be a mixed bag, though now that I think of it, my husband got no support for
the Apple iMac he bought a while back and I've never gotten any support for the Windows machines
I've bought, so maybe Linux support is better than average.
As I mentioned above, System76 representative Thomas Aaron responded promptly when I e-mailed
him prior to buying the Starling. But when I mistakenly thought my new external USB optical drive
was not working (because I had plugged in the cable wrong), I sent Thomas Aaron an e-mail telling
him it wasn't working and asking him for suggestions. I sent the e-mail on June 3, 2009 and never have
heard from him. This despite statements on System76 literature like this: "We take pride in building our
systems to suit all of your computing needs. If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to
email or call us." (Note: Thomas Aaron says on Ubuntu Forums that he did respond to my e-mail. That
could be true, as on rare occasions I have not received e-mail that others have sent me.)
Another problem is that the documentation you are referred to on the System76 Web site is out of date.
It does not apply to the new Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 OS that is on the Starling. And there's almost
no documentation at all on the Starling itself.
OK, that said, here are the pluses. System76 Support is conducted as a section of the Ubuntu
community forums. I did post a question there and got two good answers within a day -- one from
Thomas Aaron. 4th UPDATE: After having the Starling for more than two months, I can now say that
the System76 Support on the Ubuntu Forums is quite good. You can almost always get good answers to
your questions fairly quickly there.
Also, the Netbook Remix OS is not that different from regular Ubuntu, from what I can tell. The main
difference for the user, it seems to me, is in the desktop interface. I have found that almost all general
Ubuntu advice has worked for Netbook Remix. And that's a good thing, because there is a lot of
Ubuntu help out there. I found the answers to almost all of my questions fairly quickly either through
Google searches or, usually, through Ubuntu online documentation.
Here are some links to Ubuntu help:
http://ubuntuforums.org/ (A bunch of "main support categories" are listed toward the top of the Web
page; click on "System76 Support.")

https://help.ubuntu.com/community (good explanations and how-tos often found here)

http://knowledge76.com/index.php/Main_Page

http://knowledge76.com/index.php/Star1 (not much here)

Miscellaneous

Usable abroad
5th Update: James Broad, who has a European travel Web site and is knowledgeable about electricity,
had this to say about the Starling and its power adapter ("brick"): "That brick, and computer, is good to
go around the world. The cord will need an adapter plug almost everywhere but that is not much of a
problem. For more details on overseas electricity see my page at http://tinyurl.com/2y9zvv."
For those who know about such things, here are the data off the Starling power brick: The AC/DC
adapter is Delta Electronics R33030 Model ADP-30JH B. Input is given as 100-240V~ 1.2A 50-60HZ
LPS Output is given as 19V === 1.58A

The Starling: One size fits all

The Starling was initially offered with few hardware options. 6th Update: But System76 has added
several, such as an extra AC adapter and extra battery.
System76 says: "To be notified when new features become available, you can create an account on our
website and sign up for our low-volume newsletter. Alternatively, you can follow us on twitter:
http://twitter.com/system76"

PROS and CONS (6th UPDATE)

PROS CONS

• Sturdy,high-quality feel • Microphone function did not perform well

• Fast and easy to set-up
• Most things "just work" out
of the box
• Performance (speed) and
stability are good
• Boot-up is quick
• Screen is sharp and bright
• Good collection of
applications are included
• Desktop user interface is
• Documentation is not bad but could be better
• Software essential to a few tasks such as watching DVDs
should be easier to find and install.
• Web cam is a puny 0.3 megapixels
• Lid cannot recline flat
• In some situations, you might have to move closer to the
wi-fi access point to get connected or to get satisfactory
speed, but most of the time the wi-fi connects
satisfactorily.
 easy to use
• Machine has been upgraded
and now comes with 2GB
RAM
• Extra battery is available for
purchase
• Good support is available
on the System76 section of
Ubuntu Forums

Bottom Line: I recommend the Starling. I like mine.

Comment at my blog: http://jah46.blogspot.com/ OR on twitter: waxwing@twitter.com