| Cloud-oriented netbook distro arrives in beta |
Dec. 15, 2009
 Jolicloud released a public beta version of its Ubuntu-based, cloud-oriented Jolicloud Linux distribution for netbooks. The free, open source distro offers fast boot-ups, a netbook-optimized interface, social networking features, and Intel GMA500 graphics chipset support, while running both web-based and native Linux apps, says the company.
The Jolicloud public beta is built around a recent Linux 2.6.32-rc6 kernel, available for i386 or the Intel Atom, and is also based on Debian and Ubuntu. The distro furnishes X.org 1.6.0, Gnome 2.24.0, and both Firefox 3.5.3 and Prism 1.0b2 browsers, says the company. Jolicloud is also said to support a wide variety of wireless protocols, as well as audio and video formats.
Basic services include an icon-based launcher and an app directory, which offers a wide variety of web-based apps like Gmail, Google Reader, Google Chrome, Facebook, and Twitter. Other applications include Pidgin IM, Skype, Zoho Writer, the Wine Windows Emulator, and Boxee.
Jolicloud beta launcher screen
(Click to enlarge)
Social networking is supported with a "friend stream" notification feature, as well as an action history page. An update manager page notifies users when updates are available for various applications, enabling "one click" installs, says the company.
Jolicloud is working on an improved UI theme which will be rolled out as an update in early 2010, says the company. It is unclear whether that will also be the "final" release of Jolicloud version 1.0.
Growing buzz for Jolicloud
The January release of a single screenshot of the netbook-centric distribution's crisply designed, icon-based App Directory was enough to set off considerable buzz about Jolicloud. It also helped that the company was founded by well-known entrepreneur Tariq Kim, founder of successful European web firm Netvibes.
Interest grew this summer when the company released an alpha version to select testers and announced the completion of a $4.2 million Series A funding round led by Atomico Ventures, in conjunction with Mangrove Capital Partners. The funding announcement came on July 8, the same day Google announced its netbook-oriented, cloud-based Chrome OS operating system, major portions of which were released as early-stage open source code last month.
Jolicloud application directory
(Click to enlarge)
In short, Google had "validated the market" in the favorite phrase of marcom folks, and yet Jolicloud also has a distro that appears to be much closer to completion than Chrome OS while also being more flexible. For example, while Chrome OS will only run on pre-qualified reference platforms, Jolicloud is touted as being able to run on 98 percent of netbooks on the market, and while Chrome OS does not run native, locally stored applications, Jolicloud runs both native- and web-based apps. Users can also store data both locally and on Jolicloud's servers, and Jolicloud offers cloud-oriented services like automatic application updates.
After reviewing the Jolicloud pre-beta, which was released in November around the same time as the Chrome OS code, observers ranging from GigaOM to ComputerWorld had nice things to say about the interface and the overall strategy. Particularly impressive was the full support provided for Intel's GMA500 graphics chipset, used on leading Atom-based netbooks. At the time, Krim told ComputerWorld that Jolicloud was the first Linux distribution to support the GMA500, and that the support would allow netbooks to display 720P HD video. This would appear to overcome one of the last significant advantages of Windows on netbooks.
 
"Friend stream" social networking page (left) and update manager (right)
(Click on either to enlarge)
Not only does Jolicloud run on almost all x86-based netbooks, it also claims to install alongside Windows using its new Jolicloud Express installer. The application can cohabit with Windows, apparently using a Windows run-time to launch the distribution.
Stated Jolicloud founder and CEO Tariq Krim, "Traditional operating systems find their roots in the late seventies and are built around software. But today, 90 percent of our computing life is on the Web. Jolicloud was built with Web users in mind."
Availability
More information on Jolicloud, including links to downloads, may be found here.
The ComputerWorld story on the pre-beta release should be here, and the GigaOM analysis should be here.
-- Eric Brown
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