As of today, one of my computers is going to be testing a new OS : Moblin. For those of you who don’t know about Moblin, this is an Opensource OS developed by Intel to fit the Netbooks.
So I’ve downloaded and installed the disk image, made a bootable USB stick and fired my testing machine : an eeePC 1000HE. First off : the thing is fast to boot, around 15 seconds (this is off the USB stick, but the value remains after installation). But most importantly, it keeps its promise.
Moblin 2.0 user interface
The OS is damn beautiful and its interface does a wonderful job in using the 10″ of my screen. Using Ubuntu and Gnome, I had to cut down the fonts to a small 8pt. With Moblin, not only are the interface fonts bigger, they’re really well rendered (the default used font is Droid, sounds familiar?).
The overall interface is based on a single all-mighty menu bar placed on the top of your screen. It groups several icons for most common services : MyZone, Internet, Status, People, Multimedia, Applications, Sound and Battery settings, Networks.
The home page (called MyZone) is really what a netbook user like me is looking for. Direct view of tasks and appointments, emails, internet bookmarks and social networking updates.
Speaking of user interface, one aspect of Moblin which is really intriguing at first is how “zones” work. Zones are actually where applications are launched (though it seems sometimes IM results in message boxes in the same zone as Internet browsing), but resemble virtual desktops. That is, for each application you launch, a new zone is created and your application comes resides there. This is something very unfamiliar for a behaviour, I’ll have to use more of Moblin before I can say it suits my needs or not.
The other point I’d like to make about Moblin is how fast is that OS is. On the eeePC I run, everything is smooth and launching in a snap. from boot to using your IM client or writing emails, you’re productive within seconds. That is amazing, speaking of an OS still in early alpha state (the version tested here is Moblin 2.0 beta).
Wireless works out of the box, so does the webcam, internal mic. Flash card reader, trackpad… everything. Just awesome.
If you want a full review of Moblin with more screenshots and insights, then you should read Ars Technica’s review. The thing is I’m really excited about this whole project and I’ll be testing it thoroughly and watching the development closely. Moblin is on my eee, and it’s here to stay.
