DesktopLinux
Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Forum  |  Polls  |  Blogs  |  Videos  |  Resource Library

Keywords: Match:
'Classmate PC' showcased running Mandriva Linux
Jul. 24, 2007

The Classmate PC, a low-cost notebook targeting emerging markets, was jointly demonstrated by Mandriva and Intel earlier this month at the KDE-sponsored aKademy 2007 conference in Glasgow, Scotland. Featuring an educational interface, Mandriva's Discovery 2007 Linux is based on an Intel Mobile Processor ULV900.

The "fully functional" Classmate PC is meant to offer "affordable, collaborative learning environments for students K-12 and their teachers," Mandriva said in a statement. The device is part of Intel's "World Ahead" program, aimed at tapping the combined power of technology, curriculum, and teachers to improve education in developing countries.


Intel says its "Classmate PC" shipped in volume in March
(Source: Intel)

The device weighs in at 2.9 lbs and includes a 7-inch LCD display. It comes equipped with 256MB of RAM, up to 2GB of flash memory-based local storage, both 802.11b/g WiFi interface and a 10/100Mbps Ethernet networking, and two USB ports for connection of external peripherals.

The device is offered with a choice among three embedded operating systems -- Mandriva Discovery 2007, Metasys Classmate 2.0, or Windows XP Professional -- "determined by local or regional needs," according to Intel. The system's OS "footprint" is listed as 500MB for the Mandriva and Metasys OSes, compared to 1GB for Windows XP. Storage for all versions is flash memory.

Key applications included in the Mandriva-supplied OS are a KDE 3.5 desktop environment, the OpenOffice productivity suite, and Pegasus, a note-taking application from Intel. David Barth, vice president of Mandriva's Consumer Products Group, stated, "Our Mandriva Linux image for OEMs benefits from our flash mobile technology, which is the same technology you can find in Mandriva flash, the popular Linux key. Mandriva Flash is enhanced to benefit from faster application load times using compressed modular software stacks and prevents NAND support from wearing out with a Flash-optimized filesystem." Further details on the Mandriva Discovery 2007 Linux distribution, touted as "the ideal product for beginners looking to switch to Linux," are available here.

Intel Staff Architect Justin Lipman stated, "Intel recognizes the importance of Linux in education and is therefore working with multiple Linux vendors, like Mandriva, to provide the choice of Linux on Intel-powered classmate PC,"

Sebastian Kuegler, KDE e.V. Board Member, added, "The Intel-powered classmate PC underscores one of KDE's core strengths: Educational Software." Kuegler emphasized "KDE's commitment to continue creating the world's most comprehensive suite of educational software."

Mandriva's KDE developer, Helio de Castro, said, "We have tuned Mandriva Linux to run on the classmate PC following Intel's requirements for the education market. In particular, we have provided a simplified menu interface that is particularly appealing to young and new computer users."

Earlier this year, Intel boasted that the Classmate PC was "First to Ship in Volume to Emerging Markets," a reference to the competing and controversial One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project headed by Nicholas Negroponte. Intel subsequently became a member of the OLPC's Board.

Lots more information about Intel's Classmate PC is available on the initiative's website, here.



Related Stories:


(Click here for further information)


Approaching the Linux Desktop
The purpose of this paper is to help organizations evaluate the Linux desktop against their own enterprise needs and discover what benefits the Linux desktop might bring to their organizations.

Migrating To Linux: Application Challenges and Solutions
Several solutions exist to help organizations migrate in an orderly fashion from Windows to Linux desktops. This paper establishes the characteristics of an ideal cross-platform solution and reviews these alternatives in light of this ideal standard. The paper takes a closer look at the pros and cons of various solutions and outlines the business benefits that can be achieved.

Linux Advantages: Publicly Available Information on Linux Software
This paper offers a brief summary of readily-available Linux information to help businesses sort out this widely misunderstood operating system.

Top 5 Strategies for Managing Linux
Despite continuous evolution in the manageability of Linux, a 2006 survey cited manageability concerns as a top reason why organizations are hesitating to adopt Linux. Levanta believes Linux can be as manageable, if not more so, than other operating systems by following key strategies. These strategic recommendations were developed from experiences in numerous customer environments, both large and small.

Why Choose Novell for Linux?
This paper outlines the benefits of switching to the Linux platform and choosing Novell as a high-performance, enterprise solution.

Enterprise Linux Selection Guide
Considering moving your enterprise to the Linux operating system? Since there are so many similar versions, choosing the right one can be tough. This paper offers a clear process to help you make an informed decision and get the features, support, and cost that are right for your business and technical needs.

Overcoming Challenges in Managing Linux
Levanta has created a new administration model with innovative technology that breaks down the barriers to making the most of Linux systems. This paper will provide an in-depth look at the workings of Levanta’s product, the first Linux appliance of its kind.

SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 for Retail Businesses
Discover why major retailers have switched to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in the back office. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is a low-cost desktop that offers a complete set of productivity applications and interoperates seamlessly with the other Windows, Macintosh and UNIX desktops in your store.

Moving to a Linux Desktop
Migrating from Windows to Linux on the desktop can be a substantial undertaking because it has the potential for touching -- and perhaps disrupting -- every user in your organization. Unlike a data center (server and infrastructure) migration that is largely transparent to users, the cultural and administrative transitions and environment readiness required to support a Linux desktop migration are extensive.

Seven Good Reasons to Exchange Exchange
This paper describes seven compelling reasons why you should switch from Exchange to Scalix.

 



Got a HOT tip?   please tell us!

ADVERTISEMENT
(Advertise here)

Resource Library

• Unix, Linux Uptime and Reliability Increase: Patch Management Woes Plague Windows Yankee Group survey finds IBM AIX Unix is highest in ...
• Scalable, Fault-Tolerant NAS for Oracle - The Next Generation For several years NAS has been evolving as a storage ...
• Managing Software Intellectual Property in an Open Source World This whitepaper draws on the experiences of the Black Duck ...
• Open Source Security Myths Dispelled Is it risky to trust mission-critical infrastructure to open source ...
• Bringing IT Operations Management to Open Source & Beyond Download this IDC analyst report to learn how open source ...


Popular recent stories:
• Linux an equal Flash player
• Linux, netbooks threaten Microsoft's fat profits
• gOS 3.0 goes gold
• Browser swallows OS
• Lenovo denies ditching Linux
• Lightweight, Linux-compatible browser evolves
• GNOME 2.24 gains "Empathy" IM
• Review: Pardus Linux
• Ubuntu to fund Linux development
• Ubuntu "Intrepid Ibex" available

All-time Classics:
• Choosing a desktop Linux distro
• Banshee -- the next best thing to Linux iTunes
• Running World of Warcraft on Ubuntu
• A simple Linux backup method
• The Best Free Desktop Linux . . . and how to make it better
• Linux-powered Asus Eee PC mini-laptop arrives
• The well-tempered Debian desktop
• Lenovo launches a netbook
• What's the best Linux for beginners?
• Getting to know Puppy Linux
• Xandros 4: The best desktop Linux for Windows users
• VirtualBox: The best virtualization program you've never heard of

Linux-Watch headlines:
• Debian plans draw sharp warning from GNU guru
• OpenSource World announces keynote speakers
• Linux 2.6.30 gets new filesystems
• Intel to buy Wind River for $884 million
• Apple sued for squelching wiki chat
• Microsoft's TomTom patents posted for patent review
• Europe tops global open source survey
• Oracle buys Sun -- may jettison MySQL
• Sun virtualization technology adds VM exports
• Is Linux ready to go to FAT camp?


Join our Desktop Linux discussion forums:
•  Moving to Linux
•  Linux/Windows debate!
•  Linux Q&A
. . . and more
Visit the...


BREAKING NEWS

• Can FAT patch avoid Microsoft lawsuits?
• Debian plans draw sharp warning from GNU guru
• LiveUSB version of OLPC software targets netbooks
• Virtualization software goes multi-processor
• Open source show gears up with 200 sessions
• Office suite released in netbook version
• Scalix gains mobile device synchronization
• OpenSource World announces keynote speakers
• Ubuntu added to online preview site
• Linux 2.6.30 gets new filesystems
• Fedora 11 ships with new community portal
• More Linux distros tap Moblin for netbooks
• Media playback technology targets Linux netbooks
• Virtual Linux desktops tapped by UN
• Linux on tap in netbook, nettop



Linux Netbooks


Linux smartphones!


news feed

Or, follow us on Twitter...


Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Forum  |  Polls  |  About  |  Contact
 

Ziff Davis Enterprise Home | Contact Us | Advertise | Link to Us | Reprints | Magazine Subscriptions | Newsletters
Tech RSS Feeds | White Papers | ROI Calculators | Tech Podcasts | Tech Video | VARs | Channel News

Baseline | Careers | Channel Insider | CIO Insight | DesktopLinux | DeviceForge | DevSource | eSeminars |
eWEEK | Enterprise Network Security | LinuxDevices | Linux Watch | Microsoft Watch | Mid-market | Networking | PDF Zone |
Publish | Security IT Hub | Strategic Partner | Web Buyer's Guide | Windows for Devices

Developer Shed | Dev Shed | ASP Free | Dev Articles | Dev Hardware | SEO Chat | Tutorialized | Scripts |
Code Walkers | Web Hosters | Dev Mechanic | Dev Archives | igrep

Use of this site is governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Except where otherwise specified, the contents of this site are copyright © 1999-2009 Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis Enterprise is prohibited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.