The Hindu : Front Page : Mobile ARM reaches out to popular Ubuntu

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Sunday, Nov 16, 2008
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Mobile ARM reaches out to popular Ubuntu

Anand Parthasarathy

Popular Linux version enabled for ultra-portable devices

— Photo: Anand Parthasarathy

VAST ACCESS: The tie-up will have interesting implications for millions of lay users of mobile devices.

BANGALORE: A partnership was announced last week between Canonical — sponsors of Ubuntu, one of the more popular distributions of the free and open PC operating software Linux — and ARM, creators of the ‘core’ technology that drives a host of low-power and ultra-portable consumer devices.

This has interesting implications for millions of lay users of mobile phones, ‘smart’ handheld devices or mobile internet devices. They can look forward to the day — as early as next year — when they can enjoy the full functionality of the Ubuntu desktop on their handheld tools.

If you are already a fan of the Ubuntu flavour of Linux, then it will be nice to have the same computing environment on all platforms – be it desktop or laptop PC, or mobile phone. And for makers of cell phone handsets, the use of the Ubuntu platform will allow them to access over 15,000 applications that the Open Source community has contributed to the Ubuntu ecosystem.

Meanwhile, the latest desktop version of Ubuntu – 8.10 – also became available for free download last week, with some new goodies: the ability to stream high-quality video from sources such as the BBC, to latch on to the nearest 3G phone network for connectivity and to carry it on your portable thumb drive.

The place to look for downloads is: www.ubuntu.com/download.

Dell is the first PC maker in India to offer the 8.10 Ubuntu, preloaded on its Vostro laptop family.

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