Ubuntu to Create Mobile Linux-Based OS

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070507/tc_pcworld/131608' target='_blank'>http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/200..._pcworld/131608</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Developers meeting at the Ubuntu Developer Summit, which runs through the end of this week in Seville, Spain, will discuss details of the new Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded project, announced on Saturday. Ubuntu programmers will develop a mobile version of their Debian-based Linux operating system in collaboration with Intel Corp., which plans a new low-power processor and chipset architecture designed to allow full Internet capability on mobile devices, according to a statement published on the Ubuntu Web site."</i><br /><br />This is an important development: it is the beginning of a broader <i>standardized</i> Linux-based operating system for mobile devices. Existing Linux efforts have primarily focused on use of the Linux kernel with some proprietary user interface. While that's technically Linux, it's not particularly of interest from the end-user's perspective, and is certainly not an analogue to Windows Mobile. The Ubuntu effort, on the other hand, has the potential, and the backing, to create a standard OS based on Linux that <i>could</i> be a real competitor to WM. That said, I don't think this is anywhere near competition just yet; WM is an established product, while Ubuntu is just starting out.

[RogueSpear]

First off I would say that this is one of the more exciting stories (to me) in the last year concerning handheld computing. I would love to see some genuine competition to WM. Who knows it could wind up being quite a bit better and result in a lot of great open source mobile software. Even if it isn't better, it might provide a little bit of much needed inspiration over at Microsoft.

Now for a completely different topic. Didn't Intel sell off their mobile CPU business to Marvell last year? From what I've seen Marvell has sat on that purchase with virtually nothing to show for it. And now Intel has a new mobile CPU? This whole aspect of the story is really strange to me.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Now for a completely different topic. Didn't Intel sell off their mobile CPU business to Marvell last year? From what I've seen Marvell has sat on that purchase with virtually nothing to show for it. And now Intel has a new mobile CPU? This whole aspect of the story is really strange to me.

The CPU line sold to Marvell are ARM-based (RISC architecture) - the new UMP2007 chips (aka McCaslin) are x86-compatible. The essential difference is that the new chips will run any software designed for Windows XP/Vista, which ARM processors can't (at least, not without a big boost in power). The chip line that Intel is talking about (and which this Linux project seems to be aimed at) is called Menlow, also x86-compatible, and has a smaller footprint and a much reduced power profile.

[RogueSpear]

The CPU line sold to Marvell are ARM-based (RISC architecture) - the new UMP2007 chips (aka McCaslin) are x86-compatible.
I didn't explicitly say this, but that's sort of what I find strange about this. Knowing the lead time that goes into CPUs, chipsets, etc. and then seeing this bit of news... it looks like Intel majorly tooled Marvell. So you have to wonder if Marvell was aware of these plans when they spent a couple bucks buying the ARM line.