Dell, Canonical Introduce Ubuntu Moblin Remix
Canonical’s relationship with Dell has faced intense scrutiny in recent months, but the partners showed unity today by unveiling Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition. The offering, based on Moblin version 2, is optimized for Dell’s Inspiron Mini 10v netbook. Here are some more details plus some analysis of the Canonical-Dell relationship.
Here’s the most timely news of all: The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v with Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition pre-installed will be available starting Sept. 24 at www.dell.com/ubuntu.
According to a joint press release, Ubuntu Moblin Developer Edition “gives developer communities a great platform to develop and test Moblin and associated applications.”
The press release goes on to state:
“The Moblin project is pushing the boundaries of Linux user-experiences with fast boot times, new applications and innovative user-interface. Canonical has worked closely with Dell and Intel to create the Ubuntu Moblin Remix which extends and productizes core Moblin OS features as well as the user interface. The image will also be made available by Dell for download.”
Dell also weighed in with a prepared statement from John Thode, VP of small screen devices for Dell’s consumer business. He said:
“Dell continues to take the lead in offering innovative choices in how individuals interact with their PC. By collaborating with Intel and Canonical we can offer early adopters, developers, and Linux enthusiasts, a truly pioneering Moblin development platform, the Inspiron Mini 10v, optimized for overall better performance, quicker boot time, smaller footprint, and longer battery life.”
The Bigger Picture
For starters, today’s news mitigates potential concern about Moblin pushing aside Ubuntu as a popular mobile Linux operating system. Instead, the Dell-Canonical effort allows Moblin services and the Moblin graphical user interface to run atop Ubuntu.
Dell has taken some heat in recent weeks. Critics note that Dell’s U.S. website has not offered a desktop PC with Ubuntu pre-installed since at least July.
Sources close to Canonical and Dell have insisted that the Dell-Canonical relationship remains strong, with more desktops and portable systems on the drawing board.
Today’s news should erase any potential concerns about the Dell-Canonical relationship. But Dell’s promise to re-introduce desktop PCs with Ubuntu remains unfulfilled as of this writing.
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Is there any channel to ask for support for this? I just bought an awesome Vostro A90 (Dell Mini 9 for business), which is running Ubuntu 8.04 plus 600Mb updates. I installed kubuntu-desktop and got myself a beautiful kubuntu netbook in minutes. But software versions are behind, notably KDE-3 instead of 4. I’d like to find out whether Dell will support the Mini 9 through the same software channel. If anyone knows where to ask I would appreciate it.
By the way, I LOVE the netbook, great work Dell, and thank you for supporting Linux!
I decided to takes a look at the link you posted. Funny enough first thing I noticed is the back out option is right at the top. “Not sure Open Source is for You?”. Does Dell think that some poor Windows user may happen upon this page by mistake? I would have placed it passed the information not before.
[...] video, posted on George’s personal blog, covers such topics as: Dell and Ubuntu Moblin Remix; Shuttleworth’s Linuxcon keynote; release schedules; cloud-related goals for Ubuntu 9.10; [...]
It is sad that Dell doesn’t sell their machines “built-to-order” with Linux or even without any OS as all overseas. It’s Microsoft Windows Whateverversion or nothing. They’re actually refusing to sell their products unless they can add a “built-to-order” copy of MS-windows!
Therefore their patchy efforts at portraying themselves as somewhat open-source friendly are indeed quite misleading.
Overseas Linux users can’t even order a Linux-preloaded machine from Dell USA and pay the taxes and shipping!
Couldn’t M. Shuttleworth negotiate a deal with Dell to open a web shop e.g. via Amazon that would sell and *ship* Ubuntu-preloaded Dells (and other compatible brands without MS-Tax) *anywhere* people want them??
[...] Dell和Canonical在2009年9月中旬介绍了在Dell的上网本上运行Ubuntu Moblin Remix [...]
[...] Dell和Canonical在2009年9月中旬介绍了在Dell的上网本上运行Ubuntu Moblin Remix [...]
[...] and Canonical in mid-September 2009 introduced Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition on Dell [...]
[...] Canonical’s credit, the company continues to build strong Ubuntu relationships with Intel and Dell. At the same time, we’ve seen Canonical focusing on interoperability between Ubuntu and [...]