The folks behind the Fedora Linux distribution are hard at work developing a version optimized for netbooks. Fedora Mini incorporates elements of Moblin Linux, which is designed for computers with small, low resolution screens and Intel Atom processors.

Fedora Mini is still in its infancy, but the developers have begun alpha testing the distro. If you’re already testing Fedora Constantine alpha or rawhide, you can install Fedora by typing ‘yum groupinstall “Moblin Desktop Environment”‘ into a terminal window. When you next login or boot your computer just select Moblin User Experience at login.

Fedora Mini currently supports most Intel Atom processors as well as Intel Celeron M (Dothan), Via C7-M, and AMD Geode LX processors. Unfortunately, while Intel GMA 900 and 950 graphics are supported, GMA 500 graphics are not. You can find a complete list of supported hardware including screen resolutions, wireless controllers, and Bluetooth modules at the wiki.

via Eee PC Italia

Boot time matters, especially when it comes to laptops and netbooks. Today, when you pull a netbook out of your bag and hit the power button, it can take anywhere from 25 seconds to 2 minutes to load a working Windows or Linux desktop. In the not too distant future, that figure could be as low as 5 seconds.

Two Intel engineers recently demonstrated an Eee PC with modified software that could boot a full operating system in a matter of seconds. They first showed that you could boot a version of Fedora Linux and then a version of Moblin, both tweaked for 5 second boot times.

Because the demo used an Eee PC with a solid state disk, the engineers say that boot times will be slower on a system with a hard drive. And while the network manager loads in the first 5 seconds, it might take a bit longer to actually connect to a netowkr. But the demonstration is still pretty impressive, especially at a time when other software developers are working on SplashTop and ExpressGate style systems that let you load a stripped down Linux-based OS in just a few seconds.

The difference between the 5-second boot and SplashTop is that SplashTop is designed to be used in partnership with a full desktop operating system. You can launch SplashTop any time you just want to use a web browser, Skype, or image browser without waiting for the PC to fully load. The Intel demo shows that it’s possible to load a full desktop in the same amount of time, which could potentially make SplashTop obsolete before it’s even been widely adopted.

It’s not like you can get a 5-second boot time without making some compromises. But most of the items the Intel engineers trimmed are things nobody will miss. For example, a typical Fedora bootup spends 2 minutes on setting up a mailserver. Ubuntu normally spends 2.5 seconds adding drivers for restricted-license devices, even if you’re running it on a computer that doesn’t need those drivers.

via SlashGear