[weber72]

Seeing as my previous post on this thread (#83) is almost 5 years old now, I figure it's about time for an update.

My Mini 9 is still kicking, and after running various releases of Lubuntu and Xubuntu for a good while, I'm currently on a continuation of Crunchbang (#!), BunsenLabs Linux, as my OS of choice. All of these distros are lightweight and well suited to making the most out of old hardware, and I can recommend them all as good choices for this little netbook. Boot-up and return-from-standby are exceptionally quick on BL, and even with a few extra programs added, I'm still only using up a quarter of the space on my 16GB SSD.

My battery wasn't doing so hot a few years ago, and has finally given out altogether. As soon as I unplug the computer, it'll shut off. I have a replacement coming from Amazon for only $22, so we'll see if I chose a good knockoff or a bad one.

Other than web surfing and as a tool to continue to learn Linux, I have my Mini 9 hooked up to my HF transceiver, where it serves very well for amateur radio purposes such as digital communication and logging.

Considering that I paid $200 for this thing back in 2009, I feel like I've gotten more than enough use out of it for my money, and it's still not only kicking, but performing pretty admirably for such an old machine. Here's hoping I'll have another update in a few years!

[rperitsky]

Just finished install of MXlinux 32 bit. Works great. Root directory on 32gb ssd, home directory on 32gb sd card. 2gb ram.

[Aargl]

I rarely use my Mini9 hackintosh, actually more on Windows XP when I need to tinker something tricky with my Android phones, but it still works ok (MacOS 10.6.7 on the Mac part — yes, it has dual boot).
Instead, I bought a second Mini9 that I use exclusively as a multiFX audio processor connected between a TV and an amp (EQ, compressor, deesser, etc.), very useful for my mum who has hearing difficulties.
I originally bought the Mini9 for hackintosh purposes and it was a great first step into that world: even if the first one was quite expensive (~150€ used, back in 2012...), it made me save a lot when building my next hackintoshes. Hail to the Mini9! :-D

[Sprout]

Mine (Hackintosh running 10.6.8)gets pulled out a few times a year; typically when I need to reconfigure a router via a direct connection, or test a network connection (as when I was configuring a NeXT Colorslab Turbo for networking). Unsurprisingly, the battery gave out several years back, and I still struggle a bit with the tiny keyboard, but it's a keeper!