Moblin V2 vs. Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Ubuntu MID

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Moblin V2 vs. Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Ubuntu MID

Last week Intel had pushed out a second alpha release of Moblin V2 and now it boots even faster, which means they are down to the point of being able to boot in just a few seconds. Beyond a very quick boot process, they have already incorporated kernel mode-setting and other newer Linux/X.Org technologies while also working to build a desktop environment around the Clutter OpenGL tool-kit. Moblin is certainly turning into an interesting Intel creation, but how does its performance compare to other mobile-focused Linux distributions? We have benchmarked Moblin V2 Alpha 2 and compared it against what is likely their biggest competitor in the mobile space, Ubuntu Netbook Remix, and the LPIA-based Ubuntu MID edition. Which of these mobile operating systems is the fastest? We hope to find out today.

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=13649

[Vadi]

Hmm. I was expecting Moblin to be quite far ahead (v2 and they switched to fedora as the base too, no?)

Guess the performance anti-hype isn't all out it is atm

[psyopper]

Battery Life?

All three of these distros are nice, light weight and targeted at mobile devices. Other than the SQLLite Insertions they all seem to be relatively comparable - and I'm not so sure netbook/MID users are going to be after SQL insertions anyhow. The other variances in these benchmarks will generally be lost on the end user considering their slim margins of difference.

What's missing here is battery life / power consumption comparisons between the three. Again, aimed at the portable device market, battery life is more important than SQL insertions.

Any chance we can see power usage/battery life comparisons between the three?

[Vadi]

They will be before firefox 3 (ab)uses them, and browsing is one of the biggest things usual people do on a netbook.

[grigi]

The most important question is the user interface. Ignoring any obvious bugs (like X not starting), I would like a review of how the interfaces have changed, if at all.

I mean, all 3 distro's "optimize" for netbooks. That means that the user interface needs to be altered to suit low-resolution monitors, else usability is so bad that it might as well be pointless :/

Also, does the MID edition have a more touch-screen oriented design? (Sample question)

[Hasenpfote]

More important than speed is the question for hardware support!
Do I have to deal with problems with WLAN, Sound and Keyboard or is everything running out of the box?

I had problems with Ubuntu Remix 9.04 on a Aspire One. WLAN was not working and the "blue alternative keys" didnt work either.

[Vadi]

More important than speed is the question for hardware support!

I'd say you should only really bother with expecting hardware support on an OEM install.

[kxmas]

So what does this prove? Why do server-esque benchmarks matter for MIDS?

[Vadi]

Because they aren't only server-side. Firefox, Liferea are heavy users of sqlite.

[arjan_intel]

Bootcharts

Interesting article.
I've been looking at the two bootcharts, and it looks like the Ubuntu one is truncated, eg bootchart stopped logging before the boot was done.
(probably because it was configured to stop when it saw the "gdm" process, rather than to stop when the boot is done; this is a flaw in some versions of the bootchart collector)