Canonical confirm Ubuntu Moblin Remix plans

A very early glimpse of Ubuntu Moblin Remix in an unreleased beta
Source: Canonical Canonical have confirmed that they are developing Ubuntu Moblin Remix, based on Moblin v2 and Ubuntu Linux, for release later in the year. As previously reported, this move sees Canonical joining Novell and Xandros, among others, in producing Moblin v2 based Linux distributions for netbooks.

UMR will be aimed at OEMs and ODMs who manufacture Intel Atom based netbook systems. A publicly available install image of the operating system will not be available, although source code will be. The Moblin Remix is not displacing Ubuntu Netbook Remix, the currently available netbook Ubuntu distribution which uses the Ubuntu Launcher to simplify the user interface so it is suitable for touch devices.

Gerry Carr, head of Platform Marketing at Canonical, said that existing Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) users and OEMs should not worry as Canonical was committed to pursuing both strands of netbook Linux. For example, Canonical have also announced a deal with Intel which will see Ubuntu Netbook Remix supporting the Intel Classmate PC's special features, such as its touch screen and ability to convert between a tablet and a conventional laptop. Canonical have also been working with SanDisk to improve the performance of SSD equipped notebooks and netbooks in an attempt to extend battery life, generate less heat and increase performance.

The competition between Linux vendors over Moblin based releases is primarily about selling to the OEMs and ODMs who build netbooks, rather than the consumer, by offering the best integration with the OEMs hardware, in a timely manner. Consumers in stores should see a range of Moblin based systems which should work in a relatively consistent manner.

(djwm)