MOBLIN ZONE

Moblin is coming to Dell’s netbooks, thanks to Canonical, makers of Ubuntu Linux. That’s one of the most exciting pieces of news coming out of Intel Developer Forum this week — and with a great new netbook bundle that you’ll be able to get beginning the morning of Thursday, Sept. 24. Let’s dive into what’s going on.

If you were at IDF on Wednesday, Sept. 23, and were at Renee James’ keynote address, you saw representatives from Canonical and Dell up on stage, showing off an Ubuntu-based Moblin v2 distribution running on a Dell netbook. James is vice president and general manager of Intel’s Software and Services Group, and the Canonical/Dell collaboration around Moblin fits both those categories.

The demonstration was of a commercially available Dell system, the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v, running Moblin. Normally, this system is offered in two separate software configurations, one running Windows XP Home, and the other running Ubuntu Linux. The one being demonstrated, however, showed a version of Moblin based on Ubuntu Linux.

Special Arrangement

According to a conversation I had with a Canonical project manager, the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v netbooks being shown at IDC are running a special Moblin package. You’ll be able to purchase netbooks with that version of Moblin – or, if you prefer, download the software from Dell.

You see, Canonical already offers a version of its Ubuntu Linux for netbooks, which incorporates some elements of Moblin 1.x. Called Ubuntu Netbook Remix the software is described as,

A remix is a 'respun' version of Ubuntu built for a specific purpose. Although Canonical has encouraged community projects to use this terminology for some time, this is the first time that Canonical has used it. We are using it to differentiate from an 'Edition' which we consider a complete version with daily builds suitable for the average user with no additional work beyond installing the CD.

The Ubuntu Netbook Remix software is designed for hardware manufacturers also referred to as OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers). The version of Linux generally offered on Dell’s Inspiron Mini 10v netbooks is indeed Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

But that’s not what Dell wanted to bring to Intel Developer Forum and show to Moblin developers. It wanted to bring a more sophisticated system based on the pre-release Moblin v2 code. And Dell wanted to make that software available to developers, so that they could begin building applications for Moblin v2 running on Dell’s netbook hardware. Developers could begin tuning and testing their apps to run on the hot new Moblin v2 user interface, for example, instead of Gnome or KDE.

That’s why Canonical created the software demonstrated at IDG – Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition. You’ll be able to purchase that version of Moblin, pre-installed onto the Dell Inspiron Mini 10v.

The systems will be available from Dell beginning Thursday morning, September 24. Alternatively, you’ll be able to access a wiki which will go live on September 24 on the Dell site, from which you can download the software image.

Bear in mind that this netbook plus Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition bundle is designed for Linux developers, enthusiasts, and early adopters. It is not designed for mainstream Windows or Linux users.

Even so, according to the Canonical project manager, “You won’t get a more mainstream machine running a more mature version of Moblin at IDF.”

Dell and Canonical have worked hard to ensure hardware compatibility as well as seamless integration between Ubuntu and Moblin. “We have included all standard Moblin apps as well as a few key Open Source apps like OpenOffice,” I was told by a Dell contact. “Philosophically, we want this to be as-much-as-possible a pure Moblin image, but also to round it out with a few other key applications.”

“We hope that Linux developers will use this product as a platform to build more Moblin-based applications, and in general improve the overall image so it can be offered commercially to mainstream consumers,” my Dell source added. “Ultimately, Dell wants to provide the most innovative choices to our customers. Partnering with Intel and Canonical helps us accomplish that goal.”

So, on Sept. 24, go check it out – the special Inspiron Mini 10v developer bundle and Dell’s developer wiki with the downloadable image. You’ll like what you see.

Let’s Talk Hardware

If you’re not familiar with Dell’s Inspiron Mini 10 series of netbooks, the products are among the top-rated models on the market.

Targeted specifically to meet developers stringent demands, the Inspiron Mini 10v, available with Windows XP Home Edition or with Ubuntu Linux 8.04, is a 2.5-pound netbook with a 10.1-inch, 1024x600 pixel display. It runs the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, with 1GB RAM. The 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 is also available. It uses the Intel 945GSE graphics subsystem.

The machine is available with a 120GB or 160GB hard drive or a 16GB solid-state disk (SSD). It’s the hardware platform used for the IDF demo, which will be made available to developers with Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition. To boot, it also contains a full suite of connectivity, including 802.11g WiFi and Bluetooth.

Focusing on Moblin Developers

There’s a lot of other news at Intel Developer Forum beyond. Tons. If you’re following the conference, you’ve learned about new C++ tools for multicore server development, new graphics technologies, and even new semiconductor products.

However, in terms of making a true difference for the industry, probably nothing that Intel’s doing today is more important than its work with the Intel Atom processor family, with the Moblin Linux distribution, and with its many partners (like Canonical and Dell) who are combining those technologies into exciting products.

While Moblin v2 is still a ways from completion, the demonstration of Moblin v2 running on a Dell netbook at IDF is truly one of the highlights of the conference.

Alan Zeichick is principal analyst at Camden Associates, where he advises enterprises about technology challenges, writes for technology print and online publications and speaks at industry events on enterprise IT, networking, security, software engineering and consumer electronics. Meanwhile, as editorial director of BZ Media’s SD Times, Zeichick drives forward the industry newspaper for software development managers.

A former mainframe developer and systems analyst, Zeichick became a technology analyst and journalist in 1984. He has authored over 3,000 articles, worked with consulting groups including PricewaterhgouseCoopers, IDC and Anderson Consulting, and has spoken at numerous events such as COMDEX, Networld+Interop, Microsoft TechEd, JavaOne and Software Development Conference.

Related Links

Intel Developer Forum

http:// intel.com/idf

Dell Inspiron Mini 10v

http://dell.com/home/netbook

Canonical

http://www.canonical.com

Ubuntu Netbook Remix

http://canonical.com/projects/ubuntu/unr

System Availability and Inspiron Mini 10v Bundle

http://dell.com/ubuntu

Dell Wiki Site

http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Moblin

A former mainframe developer and systems analyst, Zeichick became a technology analyst and journalist in 1984. He has authored more than 3,000 articles, worked with consulting groups, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, IDC and Anderson Consulting, and has spoken at numerous events such as COMDEX, Networld+Interop, Microsoft TechEd, JavaOne and the Software Development Conference.