I wish I had had the chance to spend a few more hours with all the Moblin 2 distributors that were at IDF09 this year but I simply ran out of time and got kicked out of the showcase exhibition as it closed. Sigh!
One company I had the chance to spend quality time with was Linpus. They’ve got at least three versions of a Moblin 2.0-based distribution in progress and they look so much better than the Linux-based netbooks from just a year ago. Linpus have put out a press release (below) but it might be more interesting to watch the video. Linpus Moblin Enhanced is shown at the beginning of the video but there’s a slick looking version at the end too. Both of these should be available for download within two weeks.
Linpus Moblin™ Enhanced Version Now Available
Linpus Moblin™ Enhanced based on New Version of Moblin™ Technology Offers Robust Netbook Experiences
San Francisco, California, September 23, 2009 – Today, Linpus Technologies, Inc. released Linpus Moblin™ Enhanced, their 2nd consumer Linux product based on Moblin version 2 technology, an optimized open source Linux operating system project for rich Internet and media experiences on Intel® Atom™ processor based devices.
In the Linpus version the Moblin UI has been enhanced to improve the delivery of key online information. The right side of M-Zone is designed to send live new tweets, messages and photos from your favorite social networking sites such as Twitter, Flickr, Myspace and Last.FM. In Moblin, all this information flows through one tab. Linpus has redesigned this so that each social networking site has its own tab. Linpus has also added a module that that delivers the latest emails from different webmail accounts.
Linpus has also made a number of other improvements:
- A robust, commercial LiveUpdate function that can deliver device and manufacturer specific updates.
- To the network manager we have added support for numerous 3G modems, WLAN, VPN, and LAN connectivity.
- Third party software such as OpenOffice
- Support for nettop resolutions.
- Dual booting enhancements.
Additionally, Linpus Linux Lite has a number of applications to encourage adoption. If users want to dual boot with Windows, the PIM Sync and Folder Sync applications were created to help the sharing of key information between the two systems. In the case of PIM Sync, it copies a user’s email and calendar information from Outlook, and, in the case of Folder Sync users are able to copy important files, music and videos to Linpus Linux Lite.
“We are really excited by the rich technology provided by Moblin™ technology, specifically, fast-boot and Clutter,” said Rita Jing, vice-president of sales, Linpus Technologies, Inc. “With Moblin technology, we have been able to take the browsing, multimedia and social networking experience to a new level – As well as improving general overall usability.”
Moblin v2 technology, which is currently available for netbooks, is the latest from Moblin.org, an open source community that supports the creation and distribution of Linux-based operating system products for Intel Atom-based platforms, including netbooks, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), nettops, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and embedded systems. Intel launched Moblin in June 2007 and incubated the project until April 2009 when the Linux Foundation became the host of the community. Intel continues to contribute key technologies and work with the developer community to advance the effort.
“The release of Linpus Moblin™ V2 Enhanced is a success for the entire Moblin™ community and for users of Intel® Atom™ processor based netbooks,” said Doug Fisher, vice president of Intel’s Software and Services Group and general manager of the System Software Division. “The Moblin™ community’s efforts enabled Linpus to build a superb consumer Linux product that fully utilizes the latest features of the Intel Atom processor and incorporates the robust Internet and media capabilities that are inherent to Moblin v2 technology.”
Linpus is working with a number of OEMs and ODMs to deliver Linpus Linux Lite to a range of customers in multiple industry segments.
