Linux Foundation To Host Intel's Moblin Project

gustavopuy writes with news that Intel will be transferring control of Moblin, its Linux-based OS for mobile devices, to the Linux Foundation. Quoting Ars Technica: "We spoke with Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin, who told us that the Linux Foundation offers a vendor-neutral setting for advancing the Moblin project. He believes that such an environment will help stimulate third-party involvement in the process of building the platform and could also encourage broader adoption. ... Zemlin explained that the Linux Foundation's stewardship of the project will empower third-party contributors to expand the platform beyond its Intel-specific roots. He assures me that Intel sees value in making Moblin open to everyone — including companies that are leveraging Linux on competing processors, such as those based on the ARM architecture."

Comments

Moblin always puzzled me....

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

I was pleased, back when intel announced the project; but very much puzzled. I thought that intel was, on the whole, an enormous beneficiary of Windows' dominance. Since Windows is pretty much stuck on x86(with some minor activity on IA-64), as long as "computer" = "runs windows" for most of the population, then "computer" = "x86". And, in x86, intel is pretty comfortable indeed. VIA is of minimal consequence and AMD, while fighting gamely, doesn't seem to be much of a threat these days.

So, that being the case, why would intel push a Linux project? Did MS piss them off in some extremely serious way? Is intel simply so confident in the strength of their architecture and manufacturing process that they don't think competition from ARM et al. will reduce their profits? Does intel think that the entire "wintel" segment, of more or less traditional desktops and laptops, will eventually be replaced by MIDs or smartphones, or something and they don't want to be left behind?

This announcement furthers my puzzlement. Unless it is just a polite way of killing the project, which it might be I suppose, it substantially increases the likelihood that Moblin will be running on competitors widgets in the near future. Anybody have insight on why intel would be so sanguine about it?

Re:Moblin always puzzled me....

[poetmatt]

Why? Maybe people don't want to be tied to the windows market in general?

Lots of people are seeing the alternates begin to stretch beyond simple embedded devices and servers, so its understandable. We have HP, google, intel, everyone setting up their own non-windows stuff as they have been for years. I mean it's not like Moblin came out today.

Intel is at its core, a processor maker. I'd suspect they are agnostic to windows from that perspective.

Re:Moblin always puzzled me....

[hitmark]

intel intended it for use on MID's, basically a intel atom variant on the nokia internet tablet (or a very scaled down umpc/scaled up PDA, if you will).

thing is that the MID's took longer then expected to come to market, and at the same time asus dropped the netbook bombshell, triggering a huge interest in atom for other uses, both mobile and stationary.

and the few MID's thats gotten to market have been turned into UMPC's by enthusiasts hell bent on running windows (specifically XP) on anything X86 compatible (something i would claim is undermining the netbook as well, turning it into just another small wintel laptop).

in the end moblin as a project have become pointless as a marketing tools for intel.

Re:Moblin always puzzled me....

[spectrokid]

This is for MOBILE devices. We are not talking Vista here, we are talking Windows Mobile. Microsoft has a notorious history of pouring billions of Windows Tax dollars into other platforms and having very little to show for it. And when they do, they don't mind running around Intel either. The Windows Mobile on my HTC sure like shit isn't running x86. Intel needs a winner on the mobile phone market, and they can't count on automatic MS dominance there. And if you are talking ever cheaper netbooks, then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the MS tax takes an ever bigger bite out of that ever shrinking budget, mostly for features the hardware can't handle anyway.

Re:Moblin always puzzled me....

[Comatose51]

"Is intel simply so confident in the strength of their architecture and manufacturing process that they don't think competition from ARM et al. will reduce their profits?"

Yes. I've been at a lunch "meeting" with a VP of Intel when I was in college and he basically told us that Intel is not really a chip designer or anything like that. Their strength is their ability to manufacture silicon products better and cheaper than anyone else. Whatever they can do to promote more use of silicon based products is a win for them. In other words, they're not tied to x86 or any one architecture. Given the current state of chip manufacturing I would have to agree that Intel is far ahead of everyone else.

Re:Moblin always puzzled me....

[drinkypoo]

This announcement furthers my puzzlement. Unless it is just a polite way of killing the project, which it might be I suppose, it substantially increases the likelihood that Moblin will be running on competitors widgets in the near future. Anybody have insight on why intel would be so sanguine about it?

Intel is banking on being able to provide the preferred hardware solution. So far they have been correct. Only rarely has anyone outdone them in the price-performance-power(consumption) triangle. Core 2 Duo and Atom are both smoking hot, although as always only late-generation intel chipsets ever have much performance.

I keep waiting for AMD to bring out something with competitive horsepower that's as amazing as the Geode LX was. CPU+Chipset's TDP is about 5 watts at the 500MHz mark. Until then, there's intel...