Software application development
This blog is intended to provoke discussion and exchange between like minded software application developers, engineers, architects, project managers - and keen hobbyists too.
Friday 6 November 2009, 7:28 AM
Moblin v2.1 – new polish or just box ticking the building blocks?
Already reported on ZDNetUK, the new “customer requested improvements” also include enhanced browser functionality and plug-in support, UI enhancements, input method support for localised languages and an integrated application installer for the Moblin Garage online application store.
Not without its critics, Moblin’s sheer size does appear to suggest that the number of recent bug fixes goes into the hundreds. User feedback from the developer community appears, unsurprisingly perhaps, to have had the most cosmetic impact (if you will) on the operation of the browser. Spending pragmatic time on practical elements of the total offering and focusing on the application store (to make lists more logically categorised) would also appear to be prudent.
But Bluetooth support, 3G data provisioning, a properly functioning browser, localisation for French, Spanish, German and Chinese – all good, but surely these are not major enhancements, this is just essential box ticking. Intel is referring to these developments and “polish”, shouldn't they be calling them fundamental building blocks?
Is it too harsh to suggest that, as admirable as these improvements are, that they should be more clearly positioned as cornerstone elements of a total programme rather than the sizzle on the sausage? If MIDs continue to proliferate as they are doing, then users will demand these functionalities from the get-go surely?
PreviousComments on this post
Adrian - Your timing on this was perfect for me, I just finished installing Moblin 2.1 about 5 minutes before I saw your article. One thing I have to say about Moblin, installing it is incredibly fast!
After just a quick glance at the release information, and the newly installed system, I would agree with your evaluation 100%. Of course from where I sit, having German/French/Italian localization is simply a requirement, and any operating system for "mobile devices" that doesn't support Bluetooth is seriously lacking.
It is perhaps a bit unfortunate that Moblin has presented the new release in this way, because it looks to me as if it really has been significantly improved. This is just my "gut feeling", but I would summarize it this way: with Moblin 2.0, it seemed like I was constantly fighting to get it installed, and once I got that done it was so raw and ugly that I didn't find it inviting to learn. That's a very bad combination when the user interface is based on new concepts and new approaches, which are thus going to require a good bit of learning and adjustment. My brief experience with 2.1 so far has been that it installs much more easily, and even faster, and the cosmetics are much nicer, so I find myself more interested in exploring and learning about it. Maybe Moblin should take a page from Microsoft's book, and start saying "Moblin 2.1 - this is what 2.0 should have been"?
There is, however, still no Logout/Shutdown/Reboot button.
jw 6/11/2009
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