Mandriva launches netbook distro

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 22 Sep 2008 at 12:58

Mandriva has released a version of its Linux operating system for netbooks.

Mini is being targeted at manufacturers and will differ from Mandriva Linux in a number of interesting areas. Principally, boot times. According to the Linux vendor, Mini will be able to boot in around ten to 40 seconds, depending on the netbook's hardware.

The operating system will also attempt to address some of the poor battery life complaints currently afflicting netbooks with more intricate power management options and optimisation for flash-memory management. Given that the majority of netbooks currently sell with solid-state drives, this could become a significant selling point.

The company is also promising Wi-Fi and 3G support, and a full complement of multimedia codecs allowing users to get their media collections running right out of the box.

Mandriva is also touting a "very graphical user" interface, specially adapted for small screens.

Mandriva already has a customised version of its operating system doing the rounds in the Linux-based Asus Eee PC, but the introduction of a version offered direct to manufacturers puts it in competition with rival Ubuntu, which recently launched Ubuntu netbook remix.