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Phoenix Technologies announced yesterday its intention to launch a Linux-based Hyperspace environment that will incorporate elements of the Moblin platform. The goal is to implement faster quick-boot in netbooks, but the move is being seen as a response to Google’s announcement of the upcoming Chrome OS.

Hyperspace is usable by netbooks and can by shipped alongside Windows. It’s an instant-on Linux environment with a simple interface, meant to give access to several apps, a browser, and an office suite without needing to enact the slow-booting elements of an operating system.

By cutting boot times, Linux distributions could be trying to find ways to stay competitive. Linux hasn’t been much of a contender in the netbook market recently, and with Google’s recent announcement that space is about to get much more competitive.

Unfortunately for Phoenix, Google’s no-cost policy might be a more attractive prospect than useful but expensive HyperSpace technology.

Info is not yet available as to how Moblin will be involved in HyperSpace, aside form being optimized to the Atom CPU. We’ve got a full tour of Moblin here if you’re interested in knowing more.

Via ArsTechnica, image via Liliputing.

Christopher Dawson of ZDNet recently installed Moblin 2.0 on his Classmate PC, and had a few things to say about its performance

• Installation took about 25 minutes, but didn’t recognize existing Windows partitions. That means no dual booting.
• The touchscreen didn’t work, which is a major selling point of the Classmate PC, but Dawson thinks a bit of tweaking could fix that problem. Some feedback from Moblin users will likely fix that problem as well as the non-functioning wireless.
• The Moblin UI proved as interesting as advertised, featuring “stackable spaces for various functional groups and automatically hiding toolbars,” which “[made] much better use of the minimal screen real estate than Windows does.”
• Moblin was responsive and quick, and acting as a prime example of the efficiency Linux users are so proud of.

The Clutter Interface in particular sounds amazing on a touchscreen, so I’d be interested to hear more about Moblin 2.0 on touchscreen-enabled netbooks.

Via ZDNet.

The alpha version of Moblin 2.0 has been out for a while, but the open-source Linux stack is stepping it up by releasing the beta. We’ve discovered some screenshots and other delectable details, and I can say with complete objectivity that they look fantastic.

Below is an example of some of the extensive upgrades made to Moblin, including a flashier user interface, toolbar, and “m-zone” home page that rounds up social networking content. This isn’t your father’s Linux.

Linux vendors are hoping that the new stack will revitalize meager Linux sales in the netbook category. Moblin is calling this new version Moblin v2.0 for Netbooks and Nettops, so it’s clear what industry their cross-hairs are aimed at. This may also up the stakes for Google’s Android, whose recent appearance in the netbook industry has made the prospect of Windows alternatives more viable.

Novell announced earlier that it has been working closely with computer giant Intel in preparing a Moblin v2.0 version of SUSE Linux for market. Windows 7 is on the horizon, and as the behemoth approaches more and more members of the Linux community will be looking to exploit holes in its marketing plan. It seems like there’s never been a better time to try to jump ahead of Microsoft.

Below is Novell’s OpenSUSE beta, based on Moblin v2.0 and showing the m-zone home page:

The new UI is certainly pretty, and is optimized for netbooks and nettops. Moblin v2.0 uses the Clutter animation framework and depends on (according to Moblin.org) “GL and the physics engine.” We’ve got a video of the Clutter interface here, and it looks like it’s making exceptionally effective use of multi-touch – perhaps more than Windows 7.

Imad Sousou, director of Intel’s Open Source Technology Center, praised Moblin’s accessability in a blog announcement:

“We feel the code has reached a level where both developers and enthusiasts can play with it… While fine tuning, bug fixing, and polishing is ongoing, so is performance improvement, all of which you should start seeing rolled into the weekly builds.”

The new toolbar (above) shows up when you hover over the top of the screen, saving precious netbook screen space. The icon panels are pleasantly minimalist and “include features such as status, people (contacts), Internet, media, pasteboard, applications, and zones.”

Below is the m-zone appointment screen, acting as a home for at-a-glance access to your daily activities. Calendars with tasks, appointments, recently accessed files and live updates from your favorite sites can be synchronized for instant access and improved efficiency.

DesktopLinux has noted a host of other highlights of the new Moblin 2.0 Linux stack:

Optimized web browser — Based on new Mozilla browser technology revised into a Clutter shell, the Moblin browser includes features such as video embedding and the latest Flash plug-in.

Zoomable media player — Users can zoom from viewing all media down to focusing on an individual picture, movie, or audio track. The media player can detect and index media on external USB devices, as well as networked UPnP devices, says Moblin.org.

UI for connection management — The updated connection manager (ConnMan) now offers improved UI.

Support for Linux desktop applications — Support for desktop applications is provided via GNOME Mobile technologies.

Furthermore, the creators of Moblin have tested the OS on several new netbooks including the Acer Aspire One, ASUS Eee PC 901, ASUS Eee PC 1000H, Dell Mini 9, MSI Wind, Lenovo Ideapad S10, Samsung NC10, and the HP Mini 1010 and 1120NR.

All of that on top of two-second boot times? I’m a convert. You can download the Moblin v2.0 beta here, and be sure to share your experience with us here at NBB.

Via DesktopLinux.

Moblin has once more started a buzz, as Intel and Novell have recently announced a joint plan for an Atom-Moblin Linux setup.

ZDNet reported the plan as follows:

Novell will create a Moblin-based product for netbooks;

Novell will establish an open lab in Taiwan to push Moblin adoption;

Intel and the Taiwan Moblin Enabling Center will validate designs for Moblin compliance.

Moblin was a 2007 Intel project completed by the Linux Foundation. Novell has thrown its own tweaks as well, including “window, email, and media management code.”

A Moblin netbook will hopefully make use of the OS’s incredible 2-second boot speeds, and a tablet/touchscreen version would be likely to support the Moblin Clutter Interface, which is freaking cool if you haven’t heard.

Here’s an architecture overview that’s surfaced along with the news of the joint Intel-Novell effort:

Via ZDNet.

No, that’s not a typo – Intel is promising that its new open-source Moblin project could generate quick-boot netbooks that are faster than ever, all on an Atom-optimized platform.

While quickboot this fast may have been a mere dream in the past, the Linux platform will be getting a better look as time goes on. At a Linux summit in San Francisco Imhad Sousou of Intel announced plans to make the two-second booting netbook a reality, and we couldn’t be more pumped.

The project will definitely take a bit of work to make happen, but if it does, this could make netbooks’ role in consumers lives a very different one. Near-instant access from anywhere at any time is the ideal, and the reality’s hot on its tail.

Via Gizmodo.

We have a bit of unfortunate news – Microsoft has officially put down the popular belief that it would be making a netbook version of Windows 7. The machines will still run the OS, of course but the official lineup of new SKUs didn’t include any mention of netbooks.

The list includes Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate. Home Basic is only going to be offered to emerging markets.

Mike Ybarra, Windows General Manager, announced that Microsoft expects netbook manufacturers to run Ultimate, the most powerful of the new OS group.

We have designed Windows 7 so different editions of Windows 7 can run on a very broad set of hardware, from small-notebook PCs (sometimes referred to as netbooks) to full gaming desktops.

Apparently, Ultimate works fine on netbooks, as he went on to describe:

At beta we’ve had a lot of people running our most premium, full-featured offering on small-notebook PCs (netbooks) with good experiences and good results. So we’re pleased to see that on this class of hardware Windows 7 is running well.

From the consumer end, however, this really just looks like another way to increase profit margins and drag consumers away from the cheaper Windows XP which has thus far been standard in netbooks. Josh Bancroft may be right – all the clues are saying Windows 7 is going to be expensive, and the expectation that netbooks use the most powerful version of the OS only supports this suspicion.

Either Microsoft is going to pull something surprising and offer a reasonable price for Windows 7, or sales are going to Linux. Linux is losing its image as a tech elites-only OS which is too complicated for average consumers. Just take a look at the new, simplified HP Ubuntu OS. Even Moblin 2.0 is going to offer the awesome touch-sensitive Moblin Clutter interface – nothing screams accessability like touch sensitivity. If Microsoft’s raising of Windows netbook prices chafes consumers enough, Linux is going through the roof.

Via ComputerWorld.

The Moblin Project is a project by Intel, designed to produce a Linux-based toolkit for mobile devices. The projuct recently released an alpha version of its second-generation “Moblin V2″, and it’s targetting not MIDs but – you guessed it – netbooks.

Moblin.org says the Moblin V2 Core Alpha for Netbooks is available for testing now, and we’re as excited as ever. While the MID version of the Moblin toolkit will take until 2010 for release, the netbook plan will move into beta in April.

The focus of the Linux-based mobile stack isn’t MIDs, as before. Intel wants to put Moblin in a netbook, demonstrating the growing role of the mobile devices.

LinuxDevices.com mentioned multiple-level testing of several new and awesome features in the alpha version of Moblin 2.0, which we lifted right from their page:

• Core Linux OS, boot process, inter-process, and package interactions
• New “Fastboot” feature of Moblin, which fundamentally improves boot time
• Connectivity and networking, using the new ConnMan connectivity manager.
• Kernel 2.6.29-rc2.
• Moblin Core Components (first look), including Clutter and all other UI development tools (see video below)
• Xserver 1.6 (with DRI2)
• New Moblin Image Creator (MIC2) and installation tool

Netbook fastboot/quick-boot sounds awesome, and it’s something we’ve heard will be featured in the up-and-coming Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset.

Linux has had a huge role in netbook technology since the beginning, being the first OS to be featured on netbooks such as the Acer Aspire One and MSI Wind. Moblin should augment netbooks in the future, and be an excellent tool for netbook users everywhere.

Be sure to check out this video we found ot Moblin’s ‘Clutter’ UI, a touch-capable feature that could mean big things for netbooks:

Via LinuxDevices.