Moblin v2.1 on a Toshiba NB205 Netbook

2 days ago we saw the release of Moblin v2.1 which comes with several new features and user requested improvements, such as enhanced browser functionality and plug-in support, support for 3G data connections, Bluetooth device management, improved performance, stability, and user interface as well as additional help information and documentation.

In this 11 minute video Kevin Tofel walks us through the polished new version of Moblin running off a USB key on a Toshiba NB205 netbook. Kevin is impressed with the good browsing experience and the speed of this lightweight operating system and actually thinks about running it full-time on a netbook.

There are some issues he mentions: his wireless broadband modem and Bluetooth aren't working. The latter maybe fixed through changing the Bluetooth setting in the BIOS, which is turned off by default on this Toshiba netbook. Sound isn't working either on the Toshiba NB205, which is a reported known bug.

To make sure that your hardware is supported in Moblin v2.1 you should definitely run it off a USB stick or a live CD before installing it. Hopefully, there will be an easy to find hardware support page in the Moblin documentation such as is this one for Ubuntu Netbook Remix to encourage netbook owners to give Moblin a try. It's worth it.