Dirk Hohndel of Intel's Open Source Technology Center discusses the essential characteristics of a new class of computer - the netbook - and Intel's Open Source project Moblin.org.  Noting that netbooks represent the first computer conceived from the outset with Linux in mind, Hohndel explains how Intel approached developing Moblin - an OS specifically designed for netbooks.

A fanatical bias for speed, he asserts, is crucial. He cites Moblin’s boot process as an example of a delicate balance - the need to boot quickly, to provide computing resources as soon as possible, while preserving an understandable user experience.

Noting the lack of innovation in the Linux graphics-processing domain, Hohndel explains how Intel undertook re-inventing the Linux user experience. This meant dealing with inherent conflicts between the 2D and 3D graphics subsystems, and the legacy practice of running the XWindows subsystem as a root-privileged process – all to deliver a graphical UI of an elegance unseen on netbooks to date.

The notion of connectivity, the very heart of mobile devices, has morphed into a witch's brew of technical management concerns including handling ubiquitous, transient connections, a never ending array of proxy models, and the conflict between session state and privacy. Moblin sets the bar high in this regard, including a first-ever telephony stack that is fully Open Source.