Here we go open source fans, the first debut of
MeeGo 1.0 running on Intel silicon -- an Acer Aspire One netbook (the
532h, from the looks of it) with a
Pinetrail processor to be precise -- sporting a simplified UI that looks to have inherited far more
Moblin DNA than Maemo. You've got tasks, appointments, most-used apps, and a quick-launch bar all up front. We're also seeing 3D gaming support; Zones, Applications, People, Internet, Media and Settings tabs; and real-time social networking integration for Twitter, Facebook, and instant messaging with task bar alerts. Can't wait to see how the MeeGo user experience translates to a smaller, say,
4.8-inch Moorestown device or the TI
OMAP-based followup to the Nokia N900 later this year. Until then, check the video after the break.
Update: Second video added showing MeeGo running on a TV, an
unidentified AAVA Moorestown-based smartphone (see after the break), and digital coupon machine. It's worth mentioning that this is Intel's take on the MeeGo UI and Nokia's will likely look much different. [Thanks, Atlantian, pdexter]
posted April 15th 2010 3:44AM
@nieker
So now you're enjoying the iPad with your pet?
@nieker The other thing that Nokia does better is mapping -- being able to download maps and not require a live data connection is a big advantage.
@nieker
I hate to say it, but right now, at this very moment, you would be right. However in 6 months time, totally different environment.
@nieker
You're disappointed because you didn't listen when Nokia told us in 2007 via OPK himself that Nokia was hedging its bets on its large market advantage, standing semi still on hardware and just tweaking the OS while implementing a cross platform ecosystem, global services arm, and making Qt the centerpiece of its strategy. This has finally come full circle, and now the fruits of their labor are beginning to show. They have announced they are returning to focus on its hardware again, and will slowly retake their lead in build quality and hardware. N8 and N9 will be the flaghships for Symbian and MeeGo, and you'll see that Nokia has actually sped up the opportunity to totally dominate as the largest manufacturers of the biggest global ecosystem ever.
@nieker
I'm also a former Nokia fan and i'm really disappointed about how Nokia has fallen behind with their high class phones, the N97 is still their flagship Symbian phone after a year and a half and it will be almost another year before the N8-00 really starts shipping. It's like they have forgotten about their advanced users and are only focusing on the cheap market with copies of copies of phones from 2 years ago (we saw the 5800 and E71 recycled for the 10th time yesterday).
The N8 better be a killer phone with no problems whatsoever if they want to justify working on it for almost 2 years.
@GGG
Not recycled, commoditized. Which is a good thing, for them. And yes they should hurry up with the new N8
@GGG
S^3 and N8 will be here in a matter of a couple months, not a year. In 8 months, S^4 devices will begin shipping, so put that into perspective.
BTW, most mobile devices are released after 2-3 years of development. Its the norm, not an issue.
Gotta admit, I'm a sucker for Moblin's UI animations. It's probably the only other OS with animations and transitions that are as smooth and appealing as OS X's.
@BeeQAL Why are animations so important to people? I think that fancy animations are wasted CPU cycles and make work less effective. Instead of working one spends time watching animations, in my personal opinion it is silly. I would love a "lean and mean" UI that would leave spare CPU cycles for my Matlab simulation. In fact I quite often run Matlab without the GUI. Of course, you do not run heavy stuff on a netbook, but occasionally you can run some simpler stuff for example when you are giving a presentation. Netbooks are perfect for presentations, because they are lightweight and that comes as a bonus when you have to travel a lot.
Of course, a lean and mean UI should be functional, and with functionality, usually less is more. I think that functionality should be in focus. It should also factor in the screen size. I think that for example Win 7 with it's huge taskbar is a waste of screen space on netbook. Other UI elements, like icons and menus should also take into account the screen size.
@stoffer, there are two crucial roles of animations. One is eye candy, sure, and masses love that, but there is one far more important - loading of apps/data in the background while the animation lasts. That way you get illusion that your device is far faster than it really is, and the UI doesn't seem lagging or disjointed.
@incognito Yeah, that's true, animations make products more appealing, but there is a group of people who associate eyecandy with wasted processing power. But then again, this is Linux, so perhaps someone will come up with an idea of making a lean UI for devices with small screens.
@BeeQAL +1
The MeeGo UI is what Linux has needed all these years. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
@stoffer
Animations can be used to elegantly give additional information to the user.
For example, the minimization animation (in both Mac OS and Windows) indicates where the window went, so you know it wasn't just closed. Or the transition common in many handhelf devices where the screens slide to the left/right as you go forward/back; this helps with building a mental model of the menu structure.
They can also be applied inappropriately and just be annoying, like the animation in Windows Vista/7 every time a window appears or disappears; the only information this conveys is "I'm about to display a window!", which would be unnecessary if it just displayed the window immediately instead. Or the fade-in on menus and tooltips, which just adds a delay and no information.
Ah, they finally managed to get both Twitter AND Facebook on there - good to see. Wonder if they finally got around to integrating MSN and Google Calendar into it as well. If so, I think I know what OS I'll be looking to (providing they have some basic network browsing... well, windows network browsing)
Guess i'm the only one that thinks Meego is looking totally freakin awesome???
He was playing the same video on the phone, laptop, and tv. What other OS does this so easily AND out of the box..
I really expected more "wow" or "holy sh*t" comments. This is way more exciting then anything Apple, MS has released this year...
@osiris2600
I'm right there with you, and I was already in love with Moblin. The only hiccup I can see here is that you'd need to have an Intel or Nokia Meego phone in order to interact with the netbook or television.
The video I really want to see, is Meego running on a tablet.
@Dinochicken
Intel and Nokia are not the only manufacturers that will be creating Meego devices. Of course they will be the first companies showing Meego on their hardware simply because they are the ones who combined Moblin and Maemo to create Meego.
Theoretically and device running Intel or Arm architecture will be Meego compatible. There are plenty of youtube video's of people running Moblin 2.2 (which is basically Meego 1.0) on previously released Netbook's.
@osiris2600 Any MPEG4 video will happily play back on your iPhone, your MacBook and your new HD TV, so where's the revolution?
@Garion
Show me a Operating system that Syncs that video across each device..
Go ahead, I'll wait..
@Dinochicken
A MeeGo powered TV would likely be a connected TV, which would probably also have a dedicated controller with the necessary keys to interact with it. Much like the N900, a MeeGo TV would be able to connect to other devices via WiFi, bluetooth, or any other built in connectivity choices.
It wouldn't need a specific brand of device to interact with it, just a device that supports the networking standard you'll need, like UPnP, SSH, VPN, network sharing, IR, etc. This is why techies love Nokia. They support open, common standards instead of creating new ones.
@Garion
not being married to a specific codec. Maemo users stream any codec
@osiris2600 I am on Moblin 2.1 beta right now and I have grown really fond of it. Wondering if I should get a touch screen in the future to see how it reacts to that. If there is one thing I despise about Moblin it would be the zones and how cumbersome they are to use. We could use a cleaner zone switching interface. Like, maybe a flip of the screen, or a swipe on the mouse pad's bottom scroll.
I want this OS. I've been holding out for the perfect netbook and I think i am ready for this one
For anyone bothered by the phone's UI. This is Linux not Iphone OS. It is completely skinnable to the very last detail so you can download themes that make it look like something totally different without having to do lots of hacking.
It seems nice, the 2nd video was really interesting
*Pretends to be excited*
@kenny goo
Let me fix it for you:
*Pretends understanding what's going on*
@WickedEast
Let me fix that for you:
*Pretends to be grammatically correct and not to sound like the Linux Defense Force*
*Fails*
I hope MeeGo devices are brought to the US, they look very promising. I like the idea that you can run videos across different platforms. Good going Intel and Nokia.
this is the shit .... finally one OS that can be used on everything. makes life so much easier.
wowowow. iphone looks lamer and lamer when i see stuff like this. i hope meego seriously takes off because functionality like that shown in the second vid is very kickass
Way too many new operating systems out there these days.
I love to tinker with a new OS, but what are these companies thinking?
This just can't make good business sense when there are already entrenched and dominant OS's in place on just about every device imaginable.
So how many here believe this MeeGo hodge podge is going to make any significant impact in the mobile OS market, once it's ready to ship?
What I see here is two wrongs trying to make a right.
@Garion
I think you fail to see much at all.
@Garion
Luckily, alot of multimillion to multibillion dollar corporations are behind it, so at least someone's brighter than you...
My favorite part of going to the mall is Young Zone too.
-jp
Fruity!