Linpus sets date with Moblin 2.0 for netbooks

Taiwanese Linux distributor Linpus Technologies plans to make a version of Moblin 2.0 available for download next week, a move timed to coincide with the annual Computex hardware exhibition in Taipei.

Linpus will show off a new version of its Linpus Linux Lite distribution based on Moblin 2.0 for the first time, including versions based on user interfaces designed by Linpus and Intel, the company said in a notice posted on its Web site.

Linpus Linux Lite will be one of the first distributions based on Moblin 2.0 to be released, it said.

Beta source code for Moblin 2.0 was released earlier this month and the new version of the operating system is tweaked to run on small, low-cost laptops called netbooks as well as handheld computers. Among the features offered with the operating system are the ability to boot up quickly and an improved user interface that allows users to easily update their status on a range of social networking sites, like Facebook.

The earlier version of Linpus Linux Lite was used with some versions of Acer's popular Acer Aspire One netbook.

Moblin started as an effort by Intel to develop a version of Linux for handheld computers it calls MIDs, or mobile Internet devices. The devices have been slow to catch on with users, in part because hardware makers didn't have access to a good operating system customized for small screens and a touch-based interface.

In April, the Linux Foundation took over the project but Intel remains closely tied to it, holding one of four spots on the Moblin steering committee.

IDG News Service

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