Access Launching Linux Phone

Topic:

Another contender is throwing their hat into the smartphone ring. Access, the same company that bought the rights to the Palm OS, is coming out with a badass new smartphone. Electronista reports that the Else Intuition will be a 3.5" touchscreen smartphone (designed with help from Emblaze) that runs on Access' Linux smartphone OS.

Access has already built a customized UI for the Intuition, and the concept shots we've seen of it look pretty great. The primary purpose of this OS seems to be ease-of-use with a single hand, which is why Access went with a rotary UI design. All of your menus are held on a rotary dial, and your running apps are displayed onscreen to aid in multi-tasking. The Intuition will support push email and OpenGL 2.0 graphics. Unfortunately, it will be limited to Access' proprietary NetFront browser.

Posted on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:03:43 CDT | by Robert Evans

New Linux Moblin Netbooks To Debut at IDF 2009

Topic:

The Linux camp is ramping up their netbook activities before Microsoft will unleash the Windows 7 netbook Tsunami in October.
IDG (on PCWorld) reports that new Linux netbooks running Linux Moblin are unveiled at the Intel Developer conference IDF 2009, which starts tomorrow. Read more

Posted on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:19:13 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Unlocked Nokia N900 Linux Phone Now Only $588.99

Topic:

The Nokia N900 Mameo Linux phone could mark a turning point for Nokia smartphones. Nokia unveiled the N900 at the end of August and it is now available for pre-order.
Highlights of the Nokia N900 include a 3.5 inch touchscreen with 800x480px resolution, Mameo 5 Linux, 32GB internal memory, ARM Cortex-A8 processor, 5MP Camera, HSPA and Wi-fi. A big nice advantage against the iPhone is the Adobe Flash support in the Mameo web browser. Read more

Posted on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 06:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

New Nokia N900 Runs Maemo Linux

Topic:

The rumored Nokia N900 is official and could mark a major milestone for Nokia in the smartphone market. Finally Nokia turned to a Desktop operating system for a smartphone. The new Nokia N900 runs the new Linux based Maemo 5 software.

The Nokia N900 empowers you to have dozens of application windows open and running simultaneously while taking full advantage of the cellular features, touch screen and QWERTY keyboard. Read more

Posted on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:37:20 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Das Keyboard Available with Mac and Linux Keycaps

Topic:

Mac and Linux users that liked the idea of the suitably geeky Das Keyboard, but wanted a unit with keys dedicated to their favorite OS are in luck. The Das Keyboard can now be had with Keycaps specifically for Mac and Linux machines. The keycap set includes the Mac command, alt/option, and Linux keys with images of Tux.

No drivers are required for the keyboard to operate on any of the operating systems. The Das Keyboard is famous for its typing feel with mechanical key switches that offer a distinct click with each press for tactile and audio feedback when typing. Read more

Posted on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

The USB Penguin: For the Linux Nerd in Your Life

Topic:

Do you know someone who hates every commercial operating system with a passion that borders on the manic? Do they own a fleet of laptops, netbooks, and desktop PCs all loaded up with different Linux distros? If so, your holiday shopping just got a heck of a lot easier. Active Media Products just released the perfect gift for Linux nerds young and old.

Of course, the actual product wasn't made with Linux users in mind. Active Media teamed up with the WWF (not the wrestling federation, the World Wildlife Fund) to make a bunch of USB drives themed after endangered animals. A portion of the proceeds from sales will go to the WWF to help stop cute animals like the Penguin from dying out.

Posted on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:05:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

Display Link Releases Linux Driver Code for USB GPU

Topic:

I mentioned last week that DisplayLink has announced that it had sold more than a million USB GPUs. The company has now announced that it is offering its library of software to enable the creation of Linux drivers for USB GPUs.

The company is providing the library under the GNU Lesser General Public License v2 agreement. The software will allow the creation of drivers to make DisplayLink GPUs work on Linux notebooks, desktops, and servers. Read more

Posted on Mon, 18 May 2009 07:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Shuttle Announces X270V Linux Nettop

Topic:

Shuttle has unveiled its latest small form factor system running Linux called the X270V. The small computer is a barebones machine using the Intel Atom platform. The CPU used in the machine is the dual-core Atom 330.

The clock frequency for the CPU is 1.6GHz and the system supports up to 2GB of RAM. The machine will run openSUSE version 11. Other features of the machine includes 6-channel audio, VGA and DVI out. Read more

Posted on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Windows 7 Starter opens Door again for Linux on Netbooks

Topic:

Are you running more than 3 Applications at the same time? Microsoft bets that you aren't. In February Microsoft announced the different versions Windows 7 will be offered in, including Windows 7 Starter. Windows 7 Starter is crippled to only run three concurrent applications. Windows 7 Starter is aimed at Netbooks and will only be available for OEMs.
The WSJ started the discussion in a new article, on whether or not Microsoft will go through with this and whether or not customers aka you will actually upgrade your Windows 7 Starter when you are treated to it after buying a shiny new netbook in Fall. Read more

Posted on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Linux to lose Netbook OS War to Microsoft Windows in 2009

Topic:

The first Asus Eee netbooks only came with Linux. Linux was the first choice for Asus to offer a low-cost mini notebook. Now 2 years later Linux is predicted to only get 10% of the netbook OS market share in 2009. What is going wrong for Linux?
Microsoft got scared early on when the netbook hype was just starting and made Asus a deal to license XP for a much lower licensing fee. This is how Microsoft got into the netbook market - with a stone-old, but good Windows. The more mainstream netbooks got the more customers went for what they know, which in most cases is Windows. Read more

Posted on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:44:33 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Dell Sells Lots of Linux Mini 9 Netbooks

Topic:

Dell says that 1/3 of the Mini 9 netbooks it sells are shipped with Linux as the operating system. The computer maker also reports that return rates for Linux machines are low as well. This is a contrast to what MSI has told Laptop Mag about the return rate for Wind netbooks with Linux being four times that of Windows-based units.

Dell says that it has done a very good job explaining to users what Linux is capable of. Dell says that much of the reason it sells so many Linux netbooks is the competitive pricing of its Ubuntu machines. The low return rate is comparable to the return rate of XP-powered Mini 9's according to Dell. Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Belco Alpha 400 MIPS 7'' Linux Netbook Review

Topic:

Testfreaks published a review of the Alpha 400 MIPS 400MHz 128MB 1GB 7" Linux Ultralite Notebook.
Quote from the review: ""Our friends at Geeks.com have sent us one of their laptop computers for review, though this one might be considered ultralite or even a netbook and by now I'm sure you've heard a bit about it. It's called the Alpha 400 MIPS 400MHz 128MB 1GB 7" Linux Ultralite Notebook and as you can see by the 400Mhz in the name, it's not very powerful, so don't expect to be gaming on it, but I've spent three weeks with it now and it's really not that bad, especially if you consider the price. T Read more

Posted on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Linux runs on Apple iPhone

Topic:

Summer is long over and lots hackers and geeks have spent a lot of time again behind their computers. The results are very interesting at times, like the just released first Linux OS port for the Apple iPhone.
Linux 2.6 kernel has been ported to Apple's iPhone platform, with support for the iPhone and iPhone 3G as well as the first generation iPod touch.
There are still drivers missing, but Linux boots on the iPhone and you get a Linux shell. Read more

Posted on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:05:03 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

IMOVIO iKIT tiny Linux Notebook unveiled

Topic:

IMOVIO unveiled with the iKIT a tiny Linux computer that has the size of a cell phone.
The iKIT feature highlights include 2.8 inch color QVGA screen, Marvell PXA270 312MHz CPU, QWERTY keyboard, Wi-fi, Bluetooth, 128MB ROM, 64MB RAM (User data : 12MB, User media files : 23MB), .3MP camera and microSD slot.

Measurements of the iKIT are 95 mm (L) x 65 mm (W) x 15.5 mm (H) and the weight is 113g. Read more

Posted on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Linux on Netbooks a Failure?

Topic:

A comment made by MSI’s Director of U.S. Sales Andy Tung in an interview with LaptopMag has raised the question if Linux is a failure on netbooks. He said that MSI Wind customers are 4x more likely to return a Wind netbook with Linux than with Windows XP installed.
Asus pioneered the netbook and the first ones were actually running Linux. Microsoft got there foot in with Windows XP at the last moment. If you look at the top selling netbooks on Amazon than you see the first 5 spots taken by Windows XP netbooks. Read more

Posted on Sun, 5 Oct 2008 10:56:36 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

HP thinks about own OS based on Linux?

Topic:

The BusinessWeek runs a story about HP exploring ways to come up with their own OS to offer something simpler than the still ill-reputed Windows Vista.
The netbook vendors led by Asus have shown how that works offering Netbooks with Linux variants that surprisingly work well. Microsoft could last minute squeeze in XP to still be part of that computer segment. Read more

Posted on Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:46:46 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

gOS 3 Linux gets Gadgets like Apple Mac OS X

Topic:

gOS, the Linux OS known for its debut in the $199 Wal-Mart gPC and NetBooks, today announced the details of the newest version of its Linux operating system for consumers, called gOS 3 Gadgets.
gOS 3 Gadgets instantly launches Google Gadgets for Linux on startup, giving users access to more than 100,000 iGoogle and Google Gadgets that are small, graphically rich applications that can be added to the desktop in seconds over the Internet. gOS 3 Gadgets will also preload WINE, LXDE, and other Google software for Linux to improve the user experience. Read more

Posted on Wed, 6 Aug 2008 17:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Report: Linux will take Bulk of MID Market

Topic:

ABI Research says that the Linux operating system will take the bulk of the mobile Internet device market by 2013. ABI specifies three Linux varieties that it believes will take most of the market including Moblin, LiMo, and Maemo.

Volumes of 50 million units per year using these operating systems are expected. ABI says that one of the most significant features of the Linux OS is that it can span multiple product categories with a single OS working for MIDs, smartphones, and other devices. Read more

Posted on Tue, 5 Aug 2008 09:52:30 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) joins Forces with LiMo Foundation

Topic:

Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) joins Forces with LiMo Foundation to support and to unify the growing momentum of Linux platforms in the global mobile market, the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum announced that its activities and membership will be folded into LiMo Foundation as of July, 2008.

The move will encompass LiPS Forum members from across the mobile ecosystem, including chipset suppliers, Linux OS and mobile stack vendors, handset designers and OEMs, and regional and global wireless operators. It follows announcements by other LiPS members who have joined the LiMo Foundation: ACCESS, ARM Limited, Azingo, France Telecom / Orange, Huawei Technology, MontaVista Software, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Open-Plug, Purple Labs and Texas Instruments. Read more

Posted on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:26:51 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Netflix Player from Roku Uses Linux Tech

Topic:

Trolltech announced today that the new Netflix player from Roku utilizes its Qt for Embedded Linux. Qt for Embedded Linux was formerly known as Qtopia Core. The application is designed to allow manufacturers to build devices for one specific purpose.

"As we developed the Netflix Player by Roku we were keenly focused on creating the best possible user experience for Netflix's eight million-plus customers," said Tim Twerdahl, vice president of consumer products, Roku, Inc. "Qt provided us with the tools to implement our elegant and powerful user interface quickly, providing an important time-to-market advantage." Read more

Posted on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:44:53 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Dell E and Dell E Slim new low-cost Linux and XP Netbooks

Topic:

New information about the Dell mini Notebook that appeared under Micheal Dell's arm at the end of May have leaked.

Engadget received several slides detailing a Dell E and a Dell E Slim notebook.
The Dell E would have an 8.9 inch screen, 1.6Ghz Diamondville CPU, 4,8 or 16GB Flash memory, 512 or 1GB RAM, and Wifi. The Dell E would be available with Linux or Windows XP. Read more

Posted on Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:55:58 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr