Intel’s short run as an operating system maker has come to an end.
On Thursday, the nonprofit Linux Foundation plans to announce that it will take over the “stewardship” of the Moblin project from Intel. In this case, stewardship means access to the code of Moblin, which is an open-source operating system based on Linux. It was designed to run computers in products as diverse as netbooks and cars. Essentially, Intel has loosened its grip on the project a bit and put the central control of Moblin in neutral hands.
“This is a departure for Intel,” said Jim Zemlin, the executive director of the Linux Foundation. “This is a company that has the resources and internal staff to create innovative technology on their own. They obviously see Moblin as a strategic platform.”
Mr. Zemlin is thinking that broad interest in Moblin could help spur the sales of Intel’s Atom processors, which the company has aimed at netbooks for now and all types of small devices including phones, cars, refrigerators and elevators in the future.
“It’s so hard to figure out when the next big thing will happen,” Mr. Zemlin said. “By opening it up to many people as possible, you increase your odds of participating in whatever turns out to be big.”
Intel has historically stayed out of operating systems, preferring not to step on the toes of partners, like Microsoft. With Moblin, however, Intel created a slick, flexible operating system as a base that others can modify for various uses. By doing so, Intel can push along the software at its own pace rather than relying on Microsoft’s timetable and also ensure that it has something available for its own chips at a time when companies are tweaking Linux on mobile devices for rival ARM-based products.
The Moblin project has received top priority at Intel, and the company has poached some of the elite Linux talent. Alan Cox, for example, is one of the main Linux developers and used to work at Red Hat before moving to Intel.
While Google’s Android and Canonical’s Ubuntu receive far more attention, Moblin should have a strong showing at the Computex trade show this June in Taipei.
The Genivi Alliance, which includes car makers BMW and GM, is expected to show off a new Moblin-based software dashboard at the show, and a variety of netbook makers should have Moblin-based devices as well.
Intel will maintain strong control over the software since it employs the top Moblin developers. But that could change over time as outside developers show interest in the software.
“As people earn their stripes, it will open up,” Mr. Zemlin said.
The Linux Foundation is supported by companies like Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Google, Dell, Adobe and I.B.M.
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