I can barely keep track of all the Linux netbook-related announcements from this week’s Computex trade show, and I follow this stuff for a living. So, I sat down and put together a list so I could a grip on what’s coming up with the Linux netbook for the rest of the year. This is what I came up with.
1) Moblin 2.0, Intel’s, and now the Linux Foundation’s, entry in the netbook Linux operating system race seems to be the early winner. Canonical, with Ubuntu Netbook Remix; Linpus, Novell; Red Flag; and Xandros all announced they will deliver Moblin versions of their distributions for Intel’s Atom architecture.
Of these Linux distributors while Ubuntu has the most buzz, it looks like Novell has the lead in actually getting contracts signed with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). The giant white-box PC vendor, Acer, which seems to be getting into Moblin in a big way, appears to have a deal with Novell. MSI, a smaller PC vendor, will certainly be shipping SUSE Moblin. Xandros also has a Moblin partnership going with Asus.
You can expect to see the Moblin netbooks going up for sale by the start of the fourth quarter. By my count, there will be at least eight Moblin netbooks shipping by year’s end. I won’t be in the least bit surprised though if it turns out that there will be more than a dozen of them.