Archives for May 2009

May 27, 2009

Intel Moblin 2.0

What is Intel Moblin 2.0? Intel Moblin 2.0 is a Linux distribution built on top of Fedora and Gnome’s desktop environment. Moblin 2.0 will compete with Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system as well as with Google’s Android in the mini notebook market.

Recently, the Moblin project was turned over by Intel to the Linux Foundation in order to gain more community support. Moblin 2.0 main draw is simplicity and ease of use. The distro is somewhat similar to gOS, which essentially is Google applications running on top of the Ubuntu desktop.

May 27, 2009

Dell XPS 13

Dell is now offering Ubuntu and Vista on the XPS 13 for roughly $1000. The good news is that Ubuntu Linux is now an option. The bad news is the hardware upgrade options for Ubuntu seems to be on the short end of the stick.

The standard Dell XPS 13 comes with 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo processor. Vista buyers can upgrade to 2.53 GHz and 2.6 GHz processors, while Ubuntu buyers can only upgrade to a 2.53 GHz processor.

In terms of RAM memory, Ubuntu buyers can only go up to 4GB, while Vista users can upgrade their systems to either 6GB or 8GB. The same goes for batteries. Ubuntu users don’t have upgrade options to purchase 9-cell batteries. Finally, there is no mobile broadband option for Ubuntu.

This doesn’t seem fair for Ubuntu users, but then again you might not need the extra bells and whistles if Ubuntu runs quite well on lower hardware requirements. The XPS 13 comes with Ubuntu 8.10 or 7.04 with 1 year of Basic Support.

May 19, 2009

Palm Pre

Introducing the Palm Pre, slated to be out June 6, priced at $199 after rebate with a 2 year committment with Sprint. This Linux powered device does multi-tasking quite well, better than the iPhone. It has an integrated browser, a universal search feature, email and calendar sync with Outlook, Google and Facebook calendars.

The Pre has wi-fi support and a GPS. It also comes with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and with a 3 megapixel LED flash camera. You can read more details about the Pre from Palm’s website as well as the review from Gizmodo.

Lastly, here’s a couple of videos worth seeing.