As we discussed on last nights Computex round-up podcast, Linpus have also announced that they will be using the Intel Moblin core as their base for the Linpus Linux Lite OS. Linpus might not be a Linux distribution you’re familiar with but if Acer get their way, it could be on millions of netbooks by the end of next year as it will be shipped in the Linux version of the Aspire ONE.

Taipei, Taiwan – June 3rd, 2008 – Linpus, a leader in the field of Linux solutions for low cost notebook and ultra mobile devices, announced today plans to deliver Linpus Linux Lite to support netbooks, a new category of simple, affordable devices for the Internet. Linpus Linux Lite with its ultra intuitive icon, tab-based interface and high performance on low cost hardware is well suited for this category of devices. Linpus will join the moblin.org project and will develop their products by adopting the Moblin Linux stack, optimized for the Intel® Atom™ Processor to unlock longer battery life, fast boot performance, better internet and media experiences on these devices.

With Xandros and Canonical also announcing support and Wind River and Asianux already on board, the Moblin core and toolkits could provide an interesting opportunity for application developers.

At CeBIT in March, Intel told us that they were the biggest Linux company in the world. We can’t confirm that but we can confirm that a lot of Intel bods are working on Moblin. 150 people apparently. Moblin is being developed as a core Linux build with optimised drivers, development tools and a set of requirements that ensures it squeezes the best performance and efficiency from the Atom platforms and delivers a rich and efficient users interface. Intel already have two companies that distribute Moblin with their own UI and application set on top. One is Asianux, a group of three Linux distro companies in Asia – Red Flag of China, HAANSOFT of Korea, and Miracle Linux of Japan. The other is Canonical, the company that produces the popular Ubuntu who will be launching their Ubuntu Mobile Moblin-based product soon.

Now a third distributor, Xandros has announced their support which means that Moblin is coming to millions of Atom-based Eee PC’s very soon. Here’s part of the press release that’s just gone out.

Xandros, Inc., the leading provider of custom OEM Linux solutions and next-generation Linux desktop and server products, and advanced cross-platform Windows-Linux management tools, today announced that it will deliver Moblin-based products designed to increase the battery life and energy efficiency of a new breed of simple, affordable Internet devices called ‘netbooks’ using Intel® Atom(TM) Processors. Xandros software will include technologies from Moblin.org, the open source community for developing media and Internet solutions for Internet-centric portable and embedded devices based on Intel Atom processors. With the success of the ASUS Eee PC and demand for netbooks burgeoning, Xandros decided to use Moblin.org technologies to take advantage of increased power savings, fast boot performance, and expanded Internet and media capabilities. Custom OEM netbooks using Moblin-based Xandros technology will go to market in the second half of 2008, delivering the rich user experience that customers are expecting on these platforms, plus a 25 percent boost in battery life.

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