System76 is a company based in Denver, Colorado that provides and supports Ubuntu pre-installed laptops, desktops, and servers. Their Starling netbook was launched soon after the release of Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) in April 2009 and ships with Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 pre-installed.

The Starling netbook has a 10.1" LED widescreen glossy display and is equipped with an 1.60 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 2GB RAM, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, VGA port, 3 x USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jack, SD card reader, a built-in 0.3 MP webcam, Kensington lock, WiFi 802.11 b/g, 10/100 Mbit Ethernet, and a 6 cell Lithium ion battery.

The Starling netbook comes with Ubuntu Netbook Remix 9.04 as the operating system and features additional pre-installed software packages such as OpenOffice.org, Firefox Web browser, Thunderbird mail and Sunbird calendar client, Totem and Xine movie players, F-spot photo gallery, Pidgin instant messenger, GIMP the GNU image manipulation program, GnuCash personal finance software, CD ripping and burning software, Games, and many more. All other machines provided by System76 also run on Ubuntu Linux.

The Starling netbook and other System76 hardware products, such as the Leopard Extreme desktop and the Jackal 1U server are named after and dedicated to animals, as part of System76's work to promote wildlife and open lands conservation. Somehow reminds me of the the engagement for the Tasmanian Devil in the Linux kernel we saw earlier this year.

At the time of writing the price of the Starling netbook is US $359.00 for the standard configuration, that includes hardware options as outlined here as well as 1 year limited warranty and 1 year technical support. Extended warranty and support options are available for extra charge.

Update 27/07/2010

The 1st generation Starling Netbook is no more available, see the page about the 2nd generation Starling Netbook.