Moblin 2.1 on my EeePC - I like it a lot
When I first tried Moblin 2.0 on my EeePC 901 earlier in the autumn I liked it. I thought it was a good idea, but it was not quite there. I quickly switched back to Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR).
Then Moblin 2.1 came out which really fixed the baked in Browser. Instead of Firefox 3.0 without extensions it was 3.5 with extensions - right in the system. The browser is key to any system - but for netbooks its a real dealbreaker. This improvement - mixed with a few others really changed Moblin.
In case you don't know what Moblin is, Intel developed this operating system and then made it Open Source. It's developed for the netbook, specifically for the Atom processor architecture. This really shows, on my EeePC (which has an Atom) I have it installed on the 4GB fast solid state drive. It boots - completely - in less than 15s. All the time.
MyZone: central place for tasks/calendar, links and social media
The environment is designed for small screens and interconnectivity with social networks. For example, like mobile phones the contact manager is baked into the system - it links to the Instant Messenger and email software rather than phone numbers. Obviously some bright people have been putting some time into the design and development of the OS.
URL Addressbar and search directly from OS Toolbar
Moblin uses "clutter" to code its look and feel. I'm not sure what that means entirely, but I do know if feels really slick. The interface feels really sharp and responsive. The menus animate well - particularly in the media menus.
However, it system is still young and there are some parts of it that I dislike. The software repositories are pretty basic and as an Ubuntu user I find it a bit frustrating not being able to use the software I like. The OS is a bit buggy and other times a tad sluggish. There are some other things I would like to see in Moblin:
- MyZone items to be in list form rather than rectangular icons
- Email integration into the Menubar & MyZone
- MyZone to be more of a list and support Retweeting, etc. Maybe integrate Qwibber.
- Tomboy integration into the Menubar
- Gnome Do integration - this is surely a huge opportunity.
- Some easy way to add Restricted Extras
