Moblin Netbook Intro

Submitted by Paul Cooper, updated on 25 Nov 2009 - 30 comments

Moblin is different. It's a friendly way to get the most out of your netbook. It doesn't work like most other computers because it's optimized for enjoying media, interacting with your social networks and the internet.

View or link to the Moblin Netbook Introduction on YouTube!

What do you want to know?

1How to get around the Moblin Netbook UI.
Find out what the Moblin User Interface (UI) is all about. An overview of where things are located and how to use them.
2Show me how to connect to stuff
Want to connect to the web, download photos, music, or videos? This section shows you how to connect devices to your netbook and how to transfer data between them.
3Get me working or playing
Ready to browse the internet, watch a film, or listen to some music? This section introduces you to some of Moblin’s key applications and shows you how to use them.
4I need some help

Comments (30 total)

Wireless and Bluetooth Not Working

Submitted by Karan Marjara on 8 March 2010 - 1:17am.

Hi all,

I am new to moblin and linux. I have installed Moblin 2.1 on my Dell Mini but I am having problem with the wireless and Bluetooth on my Dell Mini....

I have also tried following the steps given earlier for dell min9 but not able to succeed ......... Can you please help.

Thanks in advance
Karan

Fixed WIFI on Acer Aspire One D250

Submitted by sharpshark28 on 20 February 2010 - 6:24pm.

Just wanted to let everyone know my solution for fixing the Wifi on an Acer Aspire One D250 using the Broadcom 802.11g hardware. Follow the instructions on this page, yes it says Dell mini 9 but it worked perfectly for me.
http://slaine.org/_slaine/Dell_Mini_9.html

I'm so happy, I've always wanted a wonderful net based OS for my netbook like this. Thanks moblin!

I have an asus eeebox eb1501

Submitted by Alberto on 13 February 2010 - 8:04am.

I have an asus eeebox eb1501 but livecd stops after grub.Maybe for the nvidia ION?

Installing over Ubuntu 9.10 or UNR 9.10

Submitted by Hector Santos on 30 November 2009 - 10:34am.

One can install UNR in Ubuntu 9.10 or 9.04 by using "sudo apt-get install ubuntu-netbook-remix". I wonder if such an equivalent package for Ubuntu Moblin Remix can be placed in the Ubuntu repositories to make it easy for people who have standard Ubuntu or UNR already running on their machines. That way one doesn't have to fiddle again with all the drivers and codecs that took a lot time to install to get Ubuntu working properly. It would also be easy to remove Ubuntu Moblin Remix by using "sudo apt-get remove moblin-netbook-remix" if one changes his mind.

Any angel out there to grant this wish?

Removing Moblin Remix

Submitted by synergy00 on 19 January 2010 - 4:12am.

I hope you can help me. I recently installed Moblin Remix and did not like it, so I removed it using the proper command. Terminal said it was removed yet it clearly it isn't as my desktop is not back to normal. Any ideas? Thanks.

Some issues

Submitted by Dreamer on 15 November 2009 - 8:06pm.

I noticed some issues with the installation of apps on MOblin...
can it be made compatible with rpms for other linuxes in geenral?

Additionally it would be great if there was a way of minimizing windows.
This poses a problem as I have a few addons to the browser (i.e. the out of the box avatar of Firefox) such as downthemall which are best used minimized rather than resizing them and moving them to a corner of the screen.

In netbooks that'll be even more of an irritant.

Moblin Status

Submitted by lapster on 22 October 2009 - 3:58pm.

I am curious as well. I'm a sucker for GUI candy, and Moblin is cute.

But all cuteness aside, the 'nearly open source' project hasn't had a track record of listening to or responding to it's fan base. Is there a projected release date?

I have an S10e running Mob2.1 and with every developer upgrade I have to reinstate the broadcom drivers. Why? How about building a nice little script that could be posted for broadcom users on the moblin site?

this very usable for netbook,

Submitted by dindin on 18 October 2009 - 9:34pm.

this very usable for netbook, great

Moblin Status

Submitted by Dan on 22 October 2009 - 2:10pm.

I am currently on a Lenovo S10e, a few mmonths ago when I first got it, I tried installing Moblin (can't remember which version I'm afraid). I loved it, at least the idea of it, because to my dismay the browser didnt work, there was no WIFI support, there was alot yet to be completed on the OS.

What I saw I thought was amazing, and I accept that these things take some time to get right (having been involved in my fair share of large development projects), my question is: IS MOBLIN READY FOR EVERY DAY USE AS OF RIGHT NOW?

If not, is there any sort of provisional date set for an official full and stable production release?

resolved

Submitted by Dreamer on 15 November 2009 - 7:58pm.

Well I had a look at this release.
The wifi problem seems to be resolved although I did run it on a Core 2 Duo Thinkpad r61 (FYI in case its a driver problem)

Try it out...

it shows more promise than a lot of the other linux distros.

I have dell mini 12 (pata drive instead of sata)

Submitted by Tik on 9 October 2009 - 5:34pm.

It is base on ATOM but Dell discontinued for economic reason. Will it work with Moblin? Ethernet and Wi-Fi?. Very MUCH dissapointed with Vista! "Unusable" with antivirus loaded

Thanks
Tik

non intel graphics installation!

Submitted by o7o on 2 October 2009 - 3:27pm.

Can I install it on a non-intel graphics notebook ??
Is there a patch or a version or something that makes it works on nVidia ?

Nvidia graphic card Moblin install (solved for 2.0 and 2.1 beta)

Submitted by dominig on 11 November 2009 - 5:22am.

Moblin 2.0 and 2.1 beta1 could quite easily being adapted to run on Atom + Nvidia (Ion) hardware. the procedure is logged in Brendan Blog at : http://www.madeo.co.uk/?p=40

Unfortunately as I still fail to rebuild the x11-server from the source RPM, I could not get it working with Moblin 2.1 final yet.
Any idea on how to overcome that blocker woudl be welcomed.

Dominig

tabletpc?

Submitted by themsn on 25 September 2009 - 2:35pm.

anyone know if this will install on a fujitsu st4120?

I'd love to run a simpler OS if the pen drivers are supported by moblin.

thanks!

encryption?

Submitted by rot on 12 August 2009 - 5:27am.

as this is a system targeting on very simple use on mobile devices security might be ann issue. mobile devices get lost all the time an thus the personal data o them is not safe unless you encrypt it. so i believe that integrating a very easy to use method to secure the whole system so one has no worries when the device gets stolen etc. would be something really useful.

images removed from kernel.org?

Submitted by odin odinsson on 3 August 2009 - 4:23am.

I've been trying to download the latest image but all links are dead.
checking the server at http://mirrors.kernel.org/moblin/releases/test/ shows that there are no images atm

back online

Submitted by odin odinsson on 4 August 2009 - 4:35am.

nvm, the images are now back online

network

Submitted by Suwat Saisema on 17 July 2009 - 3:01am.

I install Moblin v2 on my hp mini 1001tu wire network is work but static ip don't work
- wireless don't work
- wire work on dhcp only

hey i am new to linux and moblin

Submitted by caveman on 7 July 2009 - 11:30pm.

are there no instructions on how to use the command line/ or which gui to use

positiv comment

Submitted by douwethelinuxguy on 5 July 2009 - 10:36am.

hello everybody!

I have an Acer Aspire One A110 with Easy Peasy. i run Moblin over a memory stick.
I really enjoy Moblin! it works very fine and it is fast. the desktop is really awesome, and the quick launchers are very nice. i love it and will download it at once when it comes out. I will recommend it to everybody who got a Net PC! keep on with working with Moblin!

good luck guys.

Anyone else having internet connectivity issues?

Submitted by omegahalo on 2 July 2009 - 9:09am.

My MSI wind seems to be dropping the internet connection left and right while running Moblin. My other OSes on the same machine have no problem.

I'm booting Moblin off from a flash drive. I've tried to run the system update hoping some bug would be fixed, but even then the update seems to stall about halfway through.

Web browsing works for a very short period of time, and access to Gmail seems to be impossible. The browser never fully renders the page and I can't click the username or password box to enter my credentials.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Live Image

Submitted by Croques on 11 June 2009 - 2:53am.

I just ran the live image on my Acer Aspire One. My response is, I'm afraid negative. Yes, it 'appeared' to load quickly, but that was negated by a less than intuitive interface. Hasn't a 'X' symbol come to mean 'close'; here it means open the network! I couldn't find how to get under the hood and the one time I was asked for a root password I didn't have it nor had I been told what it was on loading.

So very much work in progress, I feel. And with so much missing, it really isn't beta is it?

Oh! And how do yu close the damn thing down?

Live Image

Submitted by omegahalo on 2 July 2009 - 9:05am.

I sort of agree with some of your points.

Yes, the system booted quickly. I find the interface very intuitive, but lacking in a variety of areas.

The networking interface is very poor. No indication is shown of your current status or if you are transmitting or receiving. This wouldn't be a big deal if my MSI Wind didn't seem to stop responding to internet requests.

Also, there does not appear to be any way to suspend, reset or power down the device through the UI? Sort of odd.

Finding the root password required a quick googling or running through the documentation.

I think this project is ready for a beta release. Moblin is a very promising idea for netbook users. I've been playing with it for a few days now.

Knowledge liberates

Submitted by Mr Deming on 29 June 2009 - 4:15am.

I find it surprising that you feel the interface "less than intuitive" and I'm curious to know how you would improve it? The OS is built for simple tasks, like staying connected eg browsing the Internet, updating twitter accounts, email, IM and listening to music ect. It has specific and very simple goals and therefore requires a simple uncomplicated interface - it is very effective at achieving these goals. Maybe you've not given yourself enough time to adjust to the interface?

I'm personally not understanding what you mean by "X" referring to "opening the network" maybe it's an indication that it's not active or "X" meaning none active? In what way do you need to "get under he hood"? If you elaborate then maybe we can help. Also "root" is a level of access, known as root level access, which is often required if you're making any changes to system settings. The password is the same password you use to login with, "root" is in reference simply to the level of access you're being granted. Accessing and changing settings often will require this level of access, it's a way to protect the computer from people making mistakes or purposefully attempting to harm the OS via viruses or malware.

I believe everything is a work in progress, so this goes without saying about Moblin. However it is stable and runs well, IF a person understands it and knows how to use it. Oh and "closing the damn thing down" is simple as pushing your laptop's power button, of course.

Being fair, on this Acer

Submitted by James Cridland on 12 August 2009 - 2:32pm.

Being fair, on this Acer Aspire A110, "closing the damn thing down" is not as simple as pushing your laptop's power button; it doesn't actually close down...

Knowledge Liberates

Submitted by omegahalo on 2 July 2009 - 9:11am.

Pressing the power button is OK, but there really should be a way to do so through the software. Also, no suspend, hibernate or stand by? Not really acceptable.

power botton suspend etc

Submitted by dalitec on 31 August 2009 - 6:32am.

First, you need to realize that moblin is not designed to be a typical Operating system like windows. It is designed to be intuitive, simple and easy to use with ready access to things you do. So when you are done you exit. And it is designed to be quick so when you start, all the things you do is there for you for ready access. Hence the concept of suspend, hibernate or stand by does not rally portray the moblin concept. Those who are still used to the typical windows world need to realign their thinking to this new way of mobil world.

how to build UX?

Submitted by YeongWeon, Hwang on 10 June 2009 - 6:29pm.

Hi. I'm really enjoying moblin beta2 UX.
How to build UX using MIC?
I'm very qurious man!!
bye.

Static IP

Submitted by mattewre on 6 June 2009 - 8:27am.

Hi!
I tried Moblin v2 live on my Acer Aspire 1! really nice and fast!
but i would like to know to set a Static IP on a wi-fi connection!
thanks!

moblin2

Submitted by feiying on 26 May 2009 - 5:17am.

If you enjoying media, let's go into moblin2 !