Hi Again,
Just wanted to clear up some errata and add some additional information. The Cedarview graphics chip used by the D270 is actually the Cedarview gma600_gfx, also known as the Intel GMA-3600, licensed by Intel from PowerVR. Since my last post I've had the opportunity to explore running other variants of Puppy Linux, and have discovered at least two more which handle the D270's capabilities very well. If you're interested in how to get any of those Pups up and running on your computer, see my posts @ Puppy Precise & Raring and Slacko Pups on the D270.
Someone commented above about not having to worry about viruses on Linux. Well you don't, but not because viruses can't be written to invect Linux systems. It's just that they're not. A virus is a program. Programs can only run on the operating system they're written for. Linux is open source, which means anyone can use it and modify it. So there are now hundreds of different Linux distributions which may, or may not, be able to run applications written for a different Linux Operating system. Additionally, a couple times a year Linux Devs build new kernels in order to take advantage of hardware advances. Once a year, sometimes more often, each of the creators of a Linux Distribution may rebuild a new version of their distribution using the new kernel. Applications which ran under the old kernel may not run under the new kernel. The result is that there are thousands of Linux Operating systems, which may, may not, or somewhere in between, be able to run programs from some other Linux Operating system. If you were a malcontent and were going to spend hours of your time trying to screw up other peoples computers, would you direct your energies to at most the couple hundred thousand computers running the most popular Linux Distriubution, or the couple hundred million users of Windows 7-8, or XP?
Part of the reason Puppy Linux runs as fast as it does is that it does not have to run anti-virus applications in the background. [It does, however, run a firewall providing a additional line of defense against intrusion to that provided by your router's firewall]. The other reason is that most Puppys require only 256 Mbs of RAM. Programs are usually smaller than their Windows equivalents and Puppy, when there's sufficient RAM, will load an entire program into RAM. The largest programs seldom exceed 100 Mbs. The D270's stock 1 Gb of RAM provides more than enough memory to multi-task three or four programs without any noticeable delay.
If you hear "Linux" and think "arcane" and "absence of Graphical User Interface" you're about 20 years behind. Google "Puppy Linux" and select "Images." Most of those images look like Windows XP, which is what most Puppy's look like the first time you boot into them. But you'll see some which look like Apple. Some Puppys come that way. In others, there are applications which can easily be installed to create that effect. And there are other applications, also easily installed, which will make Puppys look and behave nothing like Windows or Apple.
By the way, just so that this post doesn't read soley as a plug for Puppy Linux, when I asked on the Puppy Linux Discussion Forum what computers long-time users recommended, the Acer Laptops and Netbooks were among the first to be mentioned. And I purchased one only after considering its competitors.
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