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JoliCloud is an alternative operating system (OS) for netbook PCs like Asus’ Eee PC, which are small in every way – small processors, small bodies, small memory… and as a result are the perfect thing to throw into a bag and have with you at all times.  In the past they’ve struggled with Windows (small screen size, small storage, particularly in the earlier models) and also with Linux (not enough focus on making the installation and maintenance seamless and simple for the average user), but a new wave of OS’ are on the horizon which will make them a lot more practical to use.Windows 7 sounds like a bit of a winner overall as Microsoft are fully embracing the hardware constraints of netbooks, but with my limited 4 gig primary drive on my Eee PC 901, my mission is to find a linux variant which boots and gets me online faster than my current customised Windows XP installation.  I’ve had EeeBuntu NBR (Netbook Remix) as my backup OS for a while now – when Windows would get a bit bloated and I didn’t have time to trim and tweak, I could just load it from the SD card slot and be into firefox in 5 minutes, Skype in 10.  But still, it feels like a standard Linux distro with the right drivers and an awkwardly-integrated application launcher, which constantly gets in the way if you have multiple windows open.

So – Jolicloud.  I heard about it in a TechCrunch post a few months ago, and signed up to the alpha/ beta programme, not expecting to hear anything back.  As fortune would have it, the day after my 25 meg broadband got installed, I received my official invitation to try alpha 2b, which I jumped at.  Download the iso, load onto a USB, press ESC during boot on the Eee and it was up and running.  No config required, 1 min later JoliCloud was running on my machine, and after entering my wifi credentials, I was online with Firefox – that’s fast, and I imagine it’d be even faster booting from a full installation on the built-in SSD rather than running live from USB.

Next step – install it over Windows… wish me luck!

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