Jolicloud: the OS your netbook has been screaming for

See that? That's what could be on your netbook later this year. Out of nowhere, one Tariq Krim has crafted the Jolicloud operating system, which is an OS designed specifically for those miniaturized laptops that rely on underpowered CPUs and less RAM than any PC should be booted up with. In essence, Jolicloud is a modified flavor of Linux that promises faster boot times than other alternatives, and judging by the shot above, it's pretty heavily reliant on icon-based navigation. Hit the read link to keep tabs on its release date.

[Via Engadget German]

[Jake Lyon @ Jan 25th 2009 3:58AM]

At first glance, it looks like a little more dressed up version of the Eee Netbook.

In other words: I like.

[Skyride @ Jan 25th 2009 6:11AM]

Also, It looks like its using gnome, which i like. Im not quite sure what the hell the original Eee was using (i think it was a modified version of gnome) but i like this.

People complain linux is hard to tinker with (which i would argue is BS but thats besides the point) but thats only on engadget. In all seriousness, the only thing i ever see real noobs do in the way of tinkering is change their wallpaper and very occasionally the colour of the theme in XP.

With Gnome, KDE and XFCE (the 3 most common window managers) both of those things are a point and click case (infact easier than windows even to install new themes specifically gnome). So really the goal is to make a system that people are happy with out of the box. Not just make every single option point and click.

[fh @ Jan 25th 2009 7:53AM]

I hope for its sake it isn't Gnome or KDE, both of which are actually quite resource-hungry (admittedly much better than Vista Aero, but still pretty heavy). XFCE should be capable of producing that screenshot, and would be significantly more lightweight for netbook purposes -- as long as the developers aren't insisting on fancy window effects and the like.

[ImaYam @ Jan 25th 2009 8:52AM]

No thanks.

I'll take a big ol' helping of Win 7, please!

[cuban, the paris hilton of tech @ Jan 25th 2009 9:23AM]

Icons of that size and then navigation lower center of THAT SIZE. LOL
says it all about UI...

[Seanross @ Jan 25th 2009 2:58PM]

I could put this on my old P3 1GHZ, 128MB Ram PC that is struggling with WinXP...

[Flashpoint @ Jan 26th 2009 12:50AM]

It looks like an iPhone widget list with a Android header

[Jake Lyon @ Jan 25th 2009 3:58AM]

That was meant to be the Eee netbook's OS, Ubuntu.

[captobvious87 @ Jan 25th 2009 5:05AM]

The EEE PC comes with a Xandros distro.

[YoYoYo @ Jan 25th 2009 6:48AM]

It will be nice to have a viable Xandros replacement. Ubuntu et al work well enough, but pale in comparison when it comes to the all-important stock Eee boot time. That said, there's no evidence that this will be one. The main problem with Xandros is the generally undersized application repository and the lack of timely and widespread security patches and updates. If I'm reading this right and Jolicloud is a new distribution rather than a derivative of Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/whatever that can still safely share their repositories (simply giving Jolicloud's custom repos a higher priority), it'll likely still fall prey to the same issues for much the same reasons as its other semi-commercial competitor, Xandros.

[luv_carrier_branding_:) @ Jan 25th 2009 4:06AM]

wow...wonder if it will run on a underpowered desktop w/ 444mb of ram?

[G @ Jan 25th 2009 4:35AM]

"...less RAM than any PC should be booted up with"

I hope that's a serious claim because many netbooks today have over 1 GB of RAM. If this thing will be free and won't require the user to be a rocket scientist (like regular linux), i might consider installing it on mum's PC with 256 MB of RAM. The only think she does with it is looking for recipes on some cooking website.

[TREX6662k5 @ Jan 25th 2009 5:29AM]

Yeah...cooking.

[rubbish.ending @ Jan 25th 2009 4:07AM]

Now that looks amazing. Well done Tariq Grim (?!?), i wish you best success with this. You deserve it. Many, many OS manufacturers could learn from this.

As sir John Cleese said on Michael Coogan: "He's a very talented young actor is he? I do wish he has cancer".

[Carpet @ Jan 25th 2009 12:59PM]

@ rubbish.ending

John Cleese said that about Steve Coogan.

[Khalid Al-Amoudi @ Jan 25th 2009 4:16AM]

Holy microsoft... I've seen this interface in a dream once!

[blurry @ Jan 25th 2009 5:40AM]

Yeah, the system you saw in your dreams was Mac Os X.

[zfurie @ Jan 25th 2009 7:08AM]

Oh Blurry, now you are getting blurry.

[Major4Play @ Jan 25th 2009 9:19AM]

@blurry

You face looks like OS X you patent offender

[Mark Anderson @ Jan 25th 2009 4:21AM]

So the point of this given that 80% of netbooks now ship with XP which, of course, will change to Windows 7 is...?

[CJ @ Jan 25th 2009 4:29AM]

That you're rapidly becoming the polar opposite of Paul Chapel?

The point is, this is more like a Smartphone OS than a full computer system, which is exactly what Netbooks are becoming, what with Built-in 3G modems and rediculous battery life.

And let's face it; the whole point of the Netbook revolution was a cheap, small, and excessively intuitive mini-computer for children and old people to get online. Then some geeks found out that they were easy and cheap, decided that they wanted, all the big brands decided to release their own versions, Microsoft got in on the act, and Netbooks just became another branch of the ever-increasingly confusing laptop tree.

Let's get back to the roots, I say. Instant-on OS and big, easy to see menus. Something that old people can tout without feeling like idiots for not being able to use it.

[A.C.E.R. @ Jan 25th 2009 4:30AM]

So the point of you being a dimwit is...?

[j.d.ripper @ Jan 25th 2009 5:51AM]

@CJ

Agree with you 100% ! I really hope Netbooks get back to their roots.
If this Jolicloud, or any other variant were to become a Netbook standard that would be great too.
What's killing the Netbooks with Linux is that each one has its own largely incompatable variant OS. Standardization would be great for the end user. More apps available and it would unite all of the various user support forums making troubleshooting/configuration information much easier to find.

[Romesh @ Jan 25th 2009 6:12AM]

@j.d.ripper

I love how the answer to too many incompatible OS's is another OS :P

[EvilPixieMan @ Jan 25th 2009 6:30AM]

Point is that 80% of netbooks are turning into p!ssweak underpowered laptops by having XP loaded on them - as soon as you load XP on a netbook it ceases to become a netbook.

Why? Because people then view it like a regular PC, start shovelling pigware onto it, and then wonder why it won't render a 3D animation for them before suppertime. You're missing the point!

I have an EEE701 with Linux, and I use it everywhere that I WOULDN'T use a regular laptop.
#1, it has to have an SSD - so I can throw it my bag in the back of the car with my surfboards, or toss it in to go camping or backpacking.
#2, it has to have a small screen and be lightweight. see #1
#3, it has to be low power to keep it light and efficient on the juice. I don't want a hot, power-hungry, high performance CPU because I want to charge it in my car, and be able to wake up in the bush miles from power and spend 3-4 hours tapping away over a cuppa 'round the campfire.
#4, it has to be cheap, so I can do all of #1-3 without worrying about how much it'll cost me if I break it.

So to all the idiots loading it up with XP, pushing specs and prices up - buy a bl00dy laptop and stop ruining it for the rest of us!

[Jimmy Jones @ Jan 25th 2009 9:57AM]

Good prediction! I can't wait to get a full version of W7. It is 2009 already......

[Mark Anderson @ Jan 25th 2009 11:10AM]

EvilPixie gets it, the rest of you don't get a cookie this time round.

When Netbook's were first introduced Linux was a great idea because they ran low cycle CPUs with relatively small amounts of RAM. Unfortunately, the market's moved on and OEMs are shoehorning 1.6GHz (and higher) Atoms and 1 to 2 GB or RAM into them and when you do that what you really have is a small notebook which people expect to run the applications they're familiar with.

And that's what people are buying so that's the direction OEMs will continue to moves in so I it's not Windows love or anything I just don't see the point in these operating systems given the limited target demographic.

But hey, if they can make money out of this then more power to them. I just can't see how.

And no, I am not becoming another Paul Chapel. Jesus, that's a horrible thing to say.

[adam.plante @ Jan 25th 2009 4:32PM]

its not a completly new OS. Its a Linux varient. That means porting apps is a breeze. If all else fails just build it yourself. Repositories are handy but are not the only way of installing apps.

[KarlW @ Jan 25th 2009 4:26AM]

For an interface that is filled with large icons for easy targeting, they sure don't make switching between pages very easy.

And I swear I've seen that Youtube icon before somewhere. Can't quite put my finger on it...

[dale1v @ Jan 25th 2009 4:42AM]

"Put my finger on it"
I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!

[Major4Play @ Jan 25th 2009 9:23AM]

Yes Carl YouTube used that icon for itself long before the iPhone, but no doubt Apple will have tryed to patent it by now.

Oh look at my post i used a western font on a computer screen how dare i copy Apple so carelessly, I'm sure they'll sue me to death in the next ten minutes......

[blacksamlou @ Jan 25th 2009 4:37AM]

Out of nowhere ????

Tarik Krim is the guy behind www.Netvibes.com, wake up guys, not only the US is thinking or innovating.

[David @ Jan 25th 2009 4:42AM]

Well.
This looks a lot like the IPHONE OS.
I think we all know where they took theri inspiration....
Just look at the YouTube icon! If that`s not enough.... hold your iPhone, or an iPhone image against it....

-.-

First Palm, now Jolicloud (next Microsoft)?

[eternity0022 @ Jan 25th 2009 4:52AM]

why does everything have be about IPhone and everybody has to copy from them?cmon ppl, stop being a douchbag, its a f....ng icon. so what? do u actually think the interface is copied from iphone?..i don't think so...its pretty original in a way and looks much better than anything i've seen...


apple fanboys...ewww

[A.C.E.R. @ Jan 25th 2009 5:21AM]

omg it has icons they must've copied the iPhone

[Félix @ Jan 25th 2009 6:54AM]

I'm sorry this "looks like" the iPhone OS ?
really ?
Have you ever seen an iPhone in your life or is it some kind of a mythical creature for you ?

What does this GUI has in common with the iPhone's one ? iCons ?
Cut the crap and go troll somewhere else.

Btw Engadget the unknown Tariq Krim is the creator of Netvibes and Generationmp3.com (a french techblog)

[Major4Play @ Jan 25th 2009 9:26AM]

That icon is YOUTUBE property not Apple's you iDiot

Apple is the only company that has general public drones buzzing around defending it's patent portfolio, if only any of them were educated enough to know what it actually contains.

[atomicthumbs @ Jan 25th 2009 4:40AM]

The UI looks like a perfect fit for the Pandora.

[Kirr @ Jan 25th 2009 4:47AM]

What guys are you talking about? WHERE is the OS? I see only an application starter frontend that can be created in one day with any normal system programming instrument for any OS.
An what are "1 2 3 4 5 6" cyphers on the bottom of the screen? They look like page selectors for current tab. Wow! We have 1" icons on tab and 1/12" page selector. :(
I beleave these stuff CAN BE interesting OS. But it's only an assumption.

[rorenn @ Jan 25th 2009 4:55AM]

This looks like a modified version of the Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

[loopyoyo @ Jan 25th 2009 4:55AM]

GO PLAY WITH YOUR POS WINDOWS 95 MACHINE YOU REPUBLICAN HERMIT

[A.C.E.R. @ Jan 25th 2009 5:27AM]

wtf do you want from a screenshot? If they had a SS of the source code would that be more representative of an OS for you? There could be any kind of code underneath that UI.

the pic for Windows 7 was a shot of the dekstop, did you complain in that post about how it wasn't an OS it was just an interface?

[Kirr @ Jan 25th 2009 5:31AM]

I'm russian. Citizen of Ukraine.
So, I am the first of kind russian-ukrainian republician. :-D

[EvilPixieMan @ Jan 25th 2009 6:47AM]

@rorenn - I think it _*IS*_ a derivative of *buntu NBR

See this article at TechCrunch where they interviewed Tariq some time ago when he was getting started -
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/09/netvibes-founder-building-iphone-like-operating-system-for-netbooks/

check the screenshot!

[x20mar @ Jan 25th 2009 4:57AM]

drool

[superhobo @ Jan 25th 2009 5:36AM]

It's obviously an XMB ripoff (since everything absolutely HAS to be a ripoff of something).

Anyway, it looks pretty good, and easy to navigate.

[Kirr @ Jan 25th 2009 5:38AM]

A.C.E.R., you are right. Indeed. But people here discuss the OS. And whole discussion is based on one trivial screenshot.

[Lundmark @ Jan 25th 2009 5:40AM]

It looks like a website

[Gilberto @ Jan 25th 2009 5:43AM]

Sorry, but I see nothing special here ...I need to run essentially the same applications that run in my desktop. I have an Asus 900, 1 MB, 20 GB, that runs Visual Studio 2005, slower, of course but still I can make demonstrations and changes outside office (outside office here includes taking a beer at mall, for example).

[OziD @ Jan 25th 2009 6:02AM]

probably shouldn't be drinking at a bar and working at the same time.

and if you need to run visual studio why are you even remotely concerned about a netbook running anything but windows? its not like it would could VM very easily AND run VS2005...

you're asking a lot from a ~500 dollar computer.