Ubuntu version coming to mobile devices
A version of the popular Ubuntu Linux operating system is coming later this year for mobile Internet devices and mini-notebooks.
Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, said on Monday that it plans to demonstrate the new version, called Ubuntu Netbook Remix, at the Computex trade show in Taiwan this week.
Smaller devices based on Intel's Atom processor are all the rage with PC makers lately. Manufacturers such as Acer and others are planning devices.
The Ubuntu release, expected later this year, will be based on the standard Ubuntu Desktop Edition and reworked for Atom-based mobile devices, Canonical said.
The company said it is working with "a number" of original equipment manufacturers, but did not identify those companies.
The Ubuntu announcement was expected. Canonical Chief Executive Mark Shuttleworth mentioned Netbook Remix in an interview with the Guardian newspaper last month.
Mike Ricciuti joined CNET in 1996. He is now CNET News' Boston-based executive editor and east coast bureau chief, serving as department editor for business technology and software covered by CNET News, Reviews, and Download.com. E-mail Mike.
