As I was reviewing my keyword searches on the social network Twitter this morning (I use Particls.com) I came across a really interesting question. @phabulosa asks: “Really want to know why Moblin can boot that fast and how instant-on Linux works. Someone can tell me? inch
We haven’t actually brought you the good news that Moblin 2, Alpha 2 has been released yet so before I dive into the above question, let me give you a brief update on changes over the Alpha 1 release.
- Updated UI libraries (Clutter, etc…)
- Updated Graphics subsystem with KMS early integration.
- Updated Moblin system services
- Support for the MSI Wind
- Updated ConnMan with many improvements and bug fixes
- Updated and enhanced boot process, inter-process, and package interactions.
- Many updates to the OS libraries
- Updated XFCE (v4.6)
- Updated to Kernel 2.6.29-rc7.
- Gnome 2.26 RC release.
- Updated Moblin Image Creator (MIC2)
- Development for software and applications for Moblin.
Note that the release still doesn’t support the Menlow platform used in MIDs, UMPCs and some netbooks. Tested Platforms tested are, Acer Aspire One, Asus eeePC 901, Dell Mini 9, MSI Wind. Some sites have already tested the build: Phoronix, Liliputing, ARSTechnica. Youtube: Boot time test on Samsung NC10. Download and build details are at the end of this article.
So back to that question about the fast boot. Firstly, why is it so fast? The Moblin Fast Boot team is aiming for 5 seconds (after the initial BIOS checks) which is impressive considering a Windows hibernation activity usually takes 6 times that much. The technical answer lies here (PDF)
What I find more interesting about that question though, and the reason I’m not going to talk any more about the boot-speed, is the tone of the question. The deep-level work on Moblin to optimise things like boot-time, kernel mode setting, power consumption, application security and metadata management is finally starting to reach the point where potential customers are seeing results and, as with @phabulosa’s comment, starting to be more positive. It’s stark contrast to the feedback I saw when Alpha version 1 released where people simply asked ‘why’. This ground-up, high quality, controlled team approach is exactly the right thing to do in order to keep the distro tight and provide a useful core on which app developers can work efficiently and although the temptation must be there to get some prettiness out of the door, the Moblin team are doing the right thing by focusing on the underpinnings.
Preparation is 9/10ths of the job (Ref: my Dad) so is it any surprise that there are few bells and whistles being shown off at the moment? Lets wait for Beta 1 to see what Moblin is going to look like to the end users and in the meantime, take encouragement from the fact that there appears to be a quality job going on here. The full release of Moblin V2 to OEMs was expected in April and we’ve contacted the Moblin PR people to find out if this is still on track but based on the current progress, I think it’s more likely to be summer before the ‘finishers’ get their hands on it. We probably won’t see the first Moblin-based netbooks going out of the door until very late in 2009.
I’m downloading the image and will test over the next few days. Expect a video and some feedback but if you have a chance to do it yourself, I’d love to hear from you. If there’s enough feedback, I’ll write it up in a report.
Image and Build Instructions:
=============================
* The Alpha release is available at:
http://repo.moblin.org/moblin/releases/test/alpha2
* To use the pre-built images for Alpha, go to:
http://moblin.org/documentation/getting-started-guides/test-drive-moblin
* To create images using the repositories provided with the Alpha release,
look for instructions at:
http://moblin.org/projects/moblin-image-creator-2
* The Moblin Tools are available at:
http://repo.moblin.org/moblin/tools/
Known Issues:
=============
* 3D performance is under heavy development so you may experience slowness in graphics subsystem
* Platforms with GMA-500 Graphics chipset are still not supported.
New article: Moblin V2 Alpha 2. Development Stays Focused. http://cli.gs/m7he8Q
RT @chippy: New article: Moblin V2 Alpha 2. Development Stays Focused. http://cli.gs/m7he8Q
Not a single comment on this post?
Does this mean that people are possibly not interested in an OS like Moblin?
What about an online voting Steve?
I think it would be interesting to see, which OS would be voted as the first choice for MIDs and UMPCs.
Well, it’s the three stages for useful technology:
1. Ridicule: “who wants to have /electricity/ when you have torches, anyway!?”.
2. Disbelief: “well, how does it work, then, without oil and gagging smoke?”.
3. Acceptance: “I’ll reserve judgement until it’s approved by the Church, and they use it for their Mosaic Windows design”.
I have just burnt the Live CD; I’ll give it a try on my EeePC 701 as soon as possible. I’m just so fond of blazing-fast boots! ;-)
Humm, I just read the first comment on the Moblin page:
EEEPC 701 doesn’t work
Not an SSSE3 capable processor (Celeron M)
I’d try my chance anyway, but it looks like I will find myself in a dead end.
Please tell me if it works. I will try it also.
Well, no the provided ISO doesn’t work in a EeePC 701.
I tried to use the MIC (Moblin Image Creator) in order to make an ISO that would fit with the 701 hardware, but I was stuck trying to redo the basic image. Whatever I did, the building process failed. So I forgot the idea.
I guess it’s possible to make it work but I’m at the point where I’ve lost interest — I’ll just wait for another version of Moblin. After all, it’s just “Alpha 2″… Alpha software is not meant to be used, but tried. Let’s wait for some Beta…
Maybe that by the time, I’ll have another netbook which would work directly ;-) or maybe I’ll try again to use MIC, with success this time :-)