MeeGo for Netbooks Pros & Cons

• ProsEasy to use. Visually attractive and whimsical. Lots of preinstalled software.
• ConsMany apps lack advanced features. Some basic functionality (Web search, MP3 playing) doesn’t work “out of the box.” Very little appeal for experienced users or enthusiasts. Potentially confusing installation procedure.
• Bottom LineAs a platform for the upcoming generation of mobile communications devices, MeeGo shows considerable promise. As the next great netbook app it shows less; it’s dependent on developers to fill in the missing pieces, which leaves the vanilla download a bit shaky. But it could be the start of something big for seriously casual users who find Windows or Mac OS intimidating. Let’s face it: If you’re an ExtremeTech reader, chances are netbooks aren’t generally on your radar. The tiny notebooks are usually best for those who just want to do the most basic of basics—Web browsing, e-mail, maybe IM—and not much else. In fact, were it not for the fact that Linux is a popular operating system of choice for them due to its nonexistent cost, they’d have almost no appeal to the DIYer whatsoever
  But MeeGo may give even them reasons to raise an eyebrow. The open-source, Linux-based OS was announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year. The project unites Intel’s Moblin and Nokia’s Maemo into one OS using Nokia’s Qt development platform. The result is aimed squarely at making netbooks (and other similar platforms, like nettops, “in-vehicle infotainment devices,” connected TVs, and media phones) faster, easier, and more fun to use as mobile communications devices.
  Version 1.0 of the core MeeGo software platform was released . It’s got a kernel based on 2.6.33, and uses DeviceKit and udev for interacting with hardware; its default file system is btrs. The goal of the platform is to provide “developers with a stable core foundation for application development.” and the netbook version (optimized for Intel Atom–based systems) is the first to officially appear. Subsequent releases will follow roughly every six months; v1.1, due in October, will have an emphasis on touch, making it just right for handsets and tablets

We tested MeeGo on a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook and were extremely impressed; we think it's seriously worth giving it a try on your mini-notebook, and maybe ditching Windows or a "normal" Linux distribution.

Most linux distributions these days offer standard Gnome or KDE desktop environments (though some, such as Mythbuntu, employ the lightweight Xfce system, and of course there are numerous distributions that use a completely different graphical user interface, or are command line–based). MeeGo, however, has taken a completely different tack, and done so with considerable success.

MeeGo is a product of Intel's Moblin project and Nokia's Maemo operating system, and it has inherited the former's interface — at least in its netbook incarnation. An interface is also available for smartphone-type devices.

The main MeeGo interface lacks a classic desktop. Instead, there is a row of 10 icons across the top of the screen that works like a series of tabbed windows in a web browser. The Applications tab lets you run whatever programs you like; open applications then show up in the Zones tab, letting you easily switch between them. The applications installed by default include most of the fare you'd expect from a Linux distribution, though Chrome is the default web browser and no office suite is installed. An internet tab lets you manage browser windows easily, as well as quickly look through bookmarks. The Media tab lets you access music and videos. The Status tab allows you to monitor web services (only Twitter and Last.FM in the default install), while the People tab is home to instant messenger conversations. The Devices tab provides access to hardware information and settings, as well as the key folders like Documents and Downloads.

Instant messaging in MeeGo.

The MyZone home tab offers quick links to applications, updates from web services (such as Twitter), links to recently used files, and access to a calendar and task lists.

We were in love with the interface from the very beginning: for a netbook with minimal screen real estate (1024x600) and limited RAM (1GB) and processing power (Intel Atom N450), it makes so much sense to ditch the classic desktop metaphor. We would much rather deal with the large, colourful icons of MeeGo than the Windows 7 interface for most tasks. The interface was generally snappy, although we would periodically be left waiting when switching to a new tab, for example. It never got to be too frustrating, however, though you should exercise the same restraint in terms of multitasking, media encoding and other taxing tasks that you would in any other operating system running on a netbook.

MeeGo's Zones tab shows applications that are currently running.

The application repositories the distribution uses by default don't include OpenOffice. However, we installed AbiWord (word processing) and Gnumeric (spreadsheet) easily enough; we've always generally preferred these apps to OpenOffice.org anyway.

Package management is RPM-based. In general, we're fonder of the APT system used by Debian and its derivatives  but unless you intend to mess around at the command line, the GUI-based package management tool will make it transparent. (Our reservations about RPM probably relate to the earlier, pre-YUM days of dependency hell. Oh the pain.)

If you're interested in getting geeky, there is a single virtual terminal running (accessed via Ctrl + Alt + F1), or you can just run a terminal in the GUI. Running uname -r from the command line gives the kernel version as 2.6.33.3-11.1-netbook.

Installation

Basic installation of MeeGo is extremely simple and quick — except, as is sometimes the case with Linux, for getting all your devices working. Using a Sony Microvault USB drive, we were able to install the OS in under five minutes using the default partitioning scheme. Basic post-install setup (creating a user account, selecting a time zone etc.) took about a minute.

One of MeeGo's quirky installation screens. Feel free to admire the author's spongy Tux penguin toy.

Our only problem came afterwards, when we needed to get Wi-Fi working (wired networking was fine). We got the Lenovo S10's Broadcom Wi-Fi adaptor working thanks to instructions from MeeGo 1.0 Wi-Fi; the instructions are easy to follow, but obviously it's still a hassle to set up.

Overall we were very impressed with MeeGo 1. There are a few interface niggles — some applications didn't fit correctly on screen, and after closing a program or a dialogue we'd end up on a tab we didn't expect to be on — but we didn't encounter any showstoppers. Each time we rebooted we had to switch Wi-Fi off and on again in the Networks tab, despite the details of our network being remembered. MP3 support is another annoyance: like most Linux distributions, MP3 decoding is not supported "out of the box", and it's more difficult than normal to install (see this thread on the MeeGo discussion forums).

Getting MP3s playing in MeeGo is currently a little difficult.

According to Ars Technica, Novell, Mandriva and others are planning to create their own MeeGo-based operating systems. We think that this development has great potential and are looking to see what vendors can do with MeeGo.

In conclusion, if you have a netbook that's supported by MeeGo, whether you're currently running Linux or Windows, give some serious thought to running this operating system. We tried it, and we love it.