SUSE edition of Moblin will be preloaded on leading netbooks and nettops; Computex attendees will be able to test out new machines

TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- COMPUTEX TAIPEI -- Novell today announced it will demonstrate the SUSE(R) edition of Moblin version 2 software preloaded on Acer and MSI hardware this week at Computex Taipei, June 2 - 6, 2009. Moblin is an optimized open source Linux software platform for enabling rich Internet experiences on Intel(R) Atom(TM) processor-based netbooks and other mobile systems. Novell is a leading contributor to the Moblin development project and has announced plans to deliver a SUSE edition of Moblin that it will take to market with a wide range of OEMs and ODMs. With Moblin version 2, netbook users will get a fast, secure and easy-to-use computing experience on lightweight, affordable hardware.

"Novell's announcement of a Moblin version 2-based edition of SUSE demonstrates Novell's leadership in the Intel(R) Atom(TM) processor-based netbook market," said Doug Fisher, vice president of Intel's Software and Services Group and general manager of the System Software Division. "The combination of Novell's Moblin-based implementation and Intel(R) Atom(TM) processor based netbooks from leading hardware vendors will offer consumers a great opportunity to appreciate the breadth and depth of the Moblin experience."

Recently, Novell and Intel announced a broad collaboration agreement to develop and advance Moblin on Intel Atom processor-based netbooks and other mobile systems. This collaboration includes the establishment of the Novell(R) Open Labs in Taiwan, where Novell will work closely with the Taiwan Moblin Enabling Center (MEC), a joint-effort of Intel and the Taiwanese Institute for Information Industry, to validate designs for Moblin compliance. Novell expects that devices preloaded with the fully supported SUSE edition of Moblin will be available in Fall 2009. Consumers interested in a preview of Moblin today can visit www.opensuse.org/moblin to download the openSUSE edition of Moblin.

"Moblin is new, different, disruptive and a departure from traditional approaches to mobile computing in general," said Ron Hovsepian, president and chief executive officer at Novell. "As computing power moves into the cloud, both personal and professional consumers will be looking for the affordable, powerful access point to the cloud that Moblin delivers. Netbooks offer the ideal form factor for this visually interesting, highly discoverable and intuitive desktop environment. We believe the combination of SUSE-based Moblin software on leading netbook platforms presents a unique opportunity to potentially redefine a segment of the mobile computing market."

Original Equipment Manufacturers Embrace Moblin

"We are pleased to work with Novell and Intel to demo the SUSE edition of Moblin on Acer devices as we have always been interested in providing new and innovative mobile computing options to our customers," said Jim Wong, senior corporate vice president and president of IT Products Global Operations at Acer. "Moblin gives customers innovative software with applications and tools that deliver a fully optimized netbook experience on Linux."

"Designed to meet Internet access, media and social networking demands of mobile computing users, the SUSE edition of Moblin is a natural fit for the netbook form factor," said Sambora Chem, senior director of Global Marketing at MSI. "MSI already offers SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop preloaded on MSI devices and this new Novell version of Moblin offers another interesting desktop computing opportunity for our customers."

The SUSE edition of Moblin running on these leading netbook and nettop devices can be seen at Novell booths M1314-M1318 and M1413-M1417 in the Nangkang Exhibition Hall at the Computex conference in Taipei, Taiwan June 2 - 6, 2009.

For more information on the SUSE edition of Moblin, visit www.novell.com/moblin.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers the best engineered, most interoperable Linux platform and a portfolio of integrated IT management software that helps customers around the world reduce cost, complexity and risk. With our infrastructure software and ecosystem of partnerships, Novell harmoniously integrates mixed IT environments, allowing people and technology to work as one. For more information, visit www.novell.com.

About Moblin

Hosted by the Linux Foundation, Moblin is an optimized open source Linux software stack and technology framework that delivers visually rich Internet and media experiences on Intel(R) Atom(TM) Processor-based devices including MIDs, netbooks/nettops, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), and embedded systems. More information can be found at www.moblin.org.

Novell, openSUSE and SUSE are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. *All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Novell, Inc.