UMPCs and Penguins

Tux has been gazing over my UMPC since I unboxed it last August in the above picture. I've hinted twice at Linux since, too.

Intel's MID (Mobile Internet Device) news over the last couple days is widely discussed. Beating them to the Linux punch, of course, was TabletKiosk in offering Linux on the TufTabs.

Well - I would've announced my own intentions to write Linux HOWTOs and a post-install shell script to get Linux working on UMPCs, but after some conversations (private conversations - can't talk until things are done) I'm no longer working on my own package and will instead offer to lend my Linux expertise to another project currently in the works. For me to give up many sleepless nights with my nose buried in xorg.conf and other files means I must really trust whoever is behind this.

We will see Linux UMPCs and they will work. Go Tux!
The challenge, of course, is the further blending between the lines of PC and Consumer Electronics. If Intel goes all the way with their MID plans, they'll have a suite of applications specifically geared toward finger-driven tablets on Linux. Microsoft will have to show more dedication to UMPCs to give people reason to spend more on that Vista (Home Premium or better, to run Tablet tools) license and the hardware required to run it.

On a final note, I'd like to call some attention to LDUG. It's on the ground floor right now and I haven't spoken to the owner yet, but I hope it will be one to watch.