How to use Jupiter with Ubuntu 11.10 to control netbook power features

The Jupiter applet for Linux has offers netbook users a way to control the clock speed of Intel Atom chips and some other advanced features. Jupiter has been available for a few years, but up until recently there was no easy way to use Jupiter with Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot.

That’s not a huge surprise, since Ubuntu 11.10 won’t officially launch until October, but beta versions of the popular Linux distribution have been available for a while. Now the folks at WebUpd8 have put together instructions for installing a hacked version of Jupiter that supports Oneiric Ocelot.

Basically you need to download the special version of Jupiter from the WebUpd8 repository, install a custom Eee utility if you’re using an Asus netbook, and you should be good to go.

Once installed, you can use Jupiter to change the clock speed of an Intel Atom processor to adjust for “power saving,” “high performance” or “maximum performance” modes. High performance is basically the default clock speed, while power saving underclocks the processor a bit to offer better battery life and maximum overclocks it by a small amount to give you a tiny performance boost.

Jupiter also gives you quick access to other settings including the screen orientation, screen resolution, and wireless options for many netbooks.