June 26, 2008 at 01:37A small review of Ubuntu MID Edition 8.04
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I present to your attention a free translation of an article about the new version of Ubuntu for Internet tablets.
2 months after the release of Ubuntu 8.04 and a month after the first presentation of Ubuntu Notebook Remix , Ubuntu MID Edition 8.04 is finally released. This is a new Canonical product from the Ubuntu family, designed specifically for Internet tablets (MIDs). Ubuntu MID Edition is a slightly truncated version of Ubuntu 8.04 for desktop machines, most software packages are specially redesigned for best performance on the Intel Atom processor and on the mobile peripherals. This was made possible thanks to the Moblin project .
A certain number of packages has been changed, deleted, added specifically for maximum performance on Internet tablets or UMPC. For example, one of the new programs was a web browser on the Gecko engine with the ability to scale and specially designed for small screens. It is called “ MID Browser ”. The package includes: Pidgin for instant messaging, Cheese for working with a webcam, Claws Mail as an email client and Moblin Media for playing video and sound. Also included are games such as Neverball and Frozen Bubble . For reading books on an internet tablet, Ubuntu MID offers
FBReader in one of the standard packages. The kit also comes with many small but important applications, such as a clock, calculator and address book. Although the interface looks slightly different, Ubuntu MID still uses NetworkManager for network connections, while XServer 1.4.1 prerelease and Linux 2.6.24 control the system from the inside. Ubuntu MID uses a lot of the Moblin project, such as user interface parts, a browser, a multimedia system, and applets. All this software is undoubtedly optimized for the Intel Atom and Menlow platforms. Several Menlow-based UMPCs were presented at CES in January this year.
Canonical provides various options for Ubuntu MID Edition 8.04 for various purposes. For example, if you just want to try this system in action without having an Internet tablet, then you can download a special version for installation using KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine). The company also provides special assemblies for McCaslin and Menlow platforms. Canonicle used the Samsung O1U, based on the McCaslin platform during development, and support for Menlow appeared later. However, the images presented are intended, rather, not for end users, but for manufacturers and developers. Apparently, significant changes will be required for the system to work on an unsupported Menlow device. Nothing announced so far to support the recently announced NVIDIA Tegraor VIA Nano . The KVM version of Ubuntu MID 8.04 is 471 megabytes. Ubuntu MID Edition 8.04 can be downloaded from Canonical servers . I’ll add on my own that I was interested in the fact that when creating the distribution, they were based on the desktop version, due to which, it seems to me there should not be big problems with the number of programs, as with the same Nokia Maemo . However, Nokia’s interface, visual theme seems to be much more thought-out; in the above screenshots of Ubuntu MID, the interface looks childish and awkward. Separately, I turn the nose on the fonts used. So, the undertaking is good, but much will have to be undermined, IMHO. Crosspost from my Ubuntu site to Onego.ru .
2 months after the release of Ubuntu 8.04 and a month after the first presentation of Ubuntu Notebook Remix , Ubuntu MID Edition 8.04 is finally released. This is a new Canonical product from the Ubuntu family, designed specifically for Internet tablets (MIDs). Ubuntu MID Edition is a slightly truncated version of Ubuntu 8.04 for desktop machines, most software packages are specially redesigned for best performance on the Intel Atom processor and on the mobile peripherals. This was made possible thanks to the Moblin project .
A certain number of packages has been changed, deleted, added specifically for maximum performance on Internet tablets or UMPC. For example, one of the new programs was a web browser on the Gecko engine with the ability to scale and specially designed for small screens. It is called “ MID Browser ”. The package includes: Pidgin for instant messaging, Cheese for working with a webcam, Claws Mail as an email client and Moblin Media for playing video and sound. Also included are games such as Neverball and Frozen Bubble . For reading books on an internet tablet, Ubuntu MID offers
FBReader in one of the standard packages. The kit also comes with many small but important applications, such as a clock, calculator and address book. Although the interface looks slightly different, Ubuntu MID still uses NetworkManager for network connections, while XServer 1.4.1 prerelease and Linux 2.6.24 control the system from the inside. Ubuntu MID uses a lot of the Moblin project, such as user interface parts, a browser, a multimedia system, and applets. All this software is undoubtedly optimized for the Intel Atom and Menlow platforms. Several Menlow-based UMPCs were presented at CES in January this year.
Canonical provides various options for Ubuntu MID Edition 8.04 for various purposes. For example, if you just want to try this system in action without having an Internet tablet, then you can download a special version for installation using KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine). The company also provides special assemblies for McCaslin and Menlow platforms. Canonicle used the Samsung O1U, based on the McCaslin platform during development, and support for Menlow appeared later. However, the images presented are intended, rather, not for end users, but for manufacturers and developers. Apparently, significant changes will be required for the system to work on an unsupported Menlow device. Nothing announced so far to support the recently announced NVIDIA Tegraor VIA Nano . The KVM version of Ubuntu MID 8.04 is 471 megabytes. Ubuntu MID Edition 8.04 can be downloaded from Canonical servers . I’ll add on my own that I was interested in the fact that when creating the distribution, they were based on the desktop version, due to which, it seems to me there should not be big problems with the number of programs, as with the same Nokia Maemo . However, Nokia’s interface, visual theme seems to be much more thought-out; in the above screenshots of Ubuntu MID, the interface looks childish and awkward. Separately, I turn the nose on the fonts used. So, the undertaking is good, but much will have to be undermined, IMHO. Crosspost from my Ubuntu site to Onego.ru .