The Moblin Weblog

Forget about alphas — the official beta of Moblin v2 for notebooks and nettops is here.

So, what would you like to do?

* Check out a cool video: http://moblin.org/documentation/moblin-netbook-intro

* See the screen shots http://moblin.org/documentation/moblin-netbook-intro/how-get-around-moblin-netbook-ui

* Download the beta images http://mirrors.kernel.org/moblin/releases/2.0/images/

According to Imad Sousou, Director of the Intel Open Source Technology Center, the beta images should work on Intel based netbooks and nettops. Intel has been testing with the following platforms: Acer Aspire*One, Asus eeePC* 901, 1000H, Dell Mini 9, MSI Wind, Lenovo S10, Samsung NC10, HP Mini 1010 and 1120NR (wired networking only at this point).

The team expects to post beta builds weekly, focusing on performance, bug fixes, fine tuning and polishing.

The folks at Intel have released an exciting new Moblin tool, called Moblin Image Manager. It’s a GUI toolkit for mic2, the Moblin Image Creator 2 command-line tool.

Here’s how you install it, according to the official instructions. Note that mic2 must be installed first.

1. follow http://moblin.org/documentation/moblin-image-creator-2/requirements to install all the required packages beforehand.

You can start moblin-image-manager from terminal by running “moblin-image-manager” or from system tools menu. It requires root privilege, and all its tool also require root privileges.

Netbooks are the hot, and will be getting hotter, as Nokia’s new device will show. The centerpiece of the new Nokia Booklet 3G will be its always-on cellular data modem using the HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) protocol. The Windows-based device will also have a WiFi card.

Details of the netbook are still scarce (it’ll be unveiled in early September), but it has a 10-inch screen and weighs 2.75 pounds. Nokia says that it will have an HDMI port, so it can be connected to a high-resolution TV; integrated Bluetooth; and a built-in Assisted GPS (A-GPS) system.

They will likely be sold through wireless carriers, along with a 3G data service plan. That’s where the money’s going to be; like with mobile phones in the U.S., the Booklet 3G will probably be subsidized significantly by carriers, in exchange for a multi-year service contract.

While the Booklet 3G is indeed a Windows device — not a Moblin netbook — this new entry from a new player shows how active the netbook market is.

Handcase, a Brazilian software company, is bringing its applications to Moblin. The company says that it has 346 applications for Palm devices, and now it’s targeting Moblin (and also Android).

Here is the announcement. (Pay no attention to the fractured English, it’s pretty clear what they’re trying to say.)

Handcase presents the first 60 applications for Android and Moblin

The Handcase time, will detail in the exclusive website, the beta versions of each of the first software 60, when then officially communicate the launch.

Download their software catalog (2.5MB PDF) here.