TamsPalm has published an overview of the new developers preview of included applications and a look at the included web browser.

Ubuntu Mobile Internet Device (MID) Edition v8.04 has achieved its first public release today. Canonical is calling this version a “developers release.” There are two installable images, and one runnable KVM image.

From Canonical’s blog post:

We are delighted to be able to welcome Ubuntu Mobile Internet Device (MID) Edition 8.04 to the world as a full developers’ release. It is based on the Ubuntu Desktop Edition, and it is now available for download. The Ubuntu MID Edition 8.04 has been built by the Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded community that is sponsored by Canonical and in co-operation with Intel Moblin.org community to take advantage of the Intel(R) Atom Processor, the chipset that is underpinning the Mobile Internet Device (MID) category. Ubuntu MID Edition will always be an Open Source distribution and is freely available.

The open source Maemo platform, which is used on Nokia’s Internet Tablet devices, will soon support Trolltech’s Qt development toolkit. Nokia says that the GTK-based Hildon framework will continue to be used as the primary toolkit for Maemo’s user interface and core applications, but the Qt libraries will be distributed with Maemo so that third-party Qt developers can bring their applications to the platform.

Nokia is currently in the process of acquiring Trolltech and has some ambitious plans to bring Qt support to a multitude of mobile platforms. Nokia is particularly eager to enable development of applications that can target both Maemo and S60, a proprietary operating system used on Nokia phones.

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LinuxDevices.com is reporting that a Nokia-sponsored project is working to port Ubuntu Linux to the ARM architecture. The “Handheld Mojo” team has completed ARM builds of Feisty Fawn (dubbed “Frisky Firedrake”) and Gutsy Gibbon (”Grumpy Griffin”), with Hardy Heron compilation starting soon.

Mojo’s Ubuntu port for ARM can be tested in QEMU, an open source emulator that supports various ARM architectures. Or, it can be run in a chrooted environment from an SD flash memory card installed on Nokia’s Linux-based N8xx series Internet tablets. Since the ports are built for ARM Ltd.’s ARMv5EL and ARMv6EL-VFP architectures, they should also run on lots of other devices with ARM9 and ARM11 cores.

With a few exceptions, most Ubuntu software compiles fine for ARM, according to Andrew Christian, the engineering fellow at Nokia who leads the effort.

The public perception of open source software is changing fast, said Mark Shuttleworth, who leads distribution of the Ubuntu operating system (OS). A new version of Ubuntu, a version of the Linux OS, is released on Thursday.

Mr Shuttleworth said the success of the Asus Eee PC and the work of the One Laptop Per Child programme had driven awareness of open source.

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Ubuntu Mobile is an Ubuntu edition that targets an exciting new class of computers called Mobile Internet Devices. Tthe software is tailored for the Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) expected to launch in spring based on Intel’s Silverthorne technology and is designed to recognize basic iPhone-like gestures such as swiping to scroll through menus and websites.

A scrolling visual front end based on Flash or Clutter replaces the traditional Ubuntu desktop and is designed to be used solely with fingers, including with an on-screen keyboard.

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eeeXubuntu is a custom version of the Xubuntu 7.10 Live CD with fully-integrated hardware support, including native wireless drivers, functioning Ethernet support, tweaks for low-resolution desktop environments, and other miscellaneous fixes designed to run on the Asus Eee PC. Wherever possible, these changes are incorporated using custom .deb packages rather than spewing assorted files all over post-install. The goal of the project is to maintain a easy-to-install Xubuntu Live CD image for the eeePC, allowing for a reliable base Xubuntu install.

Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, announced more details on Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition at Computex 2007 in Taipei. Following discussions at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Seville Spain and a great response from the developer community generally, the target specifications and technical milestones for the project have been agreed.

The first full release of the software will be available in October 2007 corresponding with the normal release cycle of the Ubuntu operating system. Working collaboratively with Intel, Canonical is working to deliver software on actual devices from system manufacturers in 2008.

Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition will provide a rich Internet experience for users of Intel’s 2008 Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform. To achieve this, Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded will run video, sound and offer fast and rich browsing experiences to the MID target user. Optimized for MIDs based on Intel’s low power processors and chipsets, Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded edition is expected to deliver fast boot and resume times, and reside in a small memory and disk footprint.

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Dell will start taking orders on PCs pre-loaded with Ubuntu’s distribution of the Linux operating system around 2 p.m. PST today.

The three models to carry the Linux option will be the E520n desktop and the E1505n notebook, both $600, and the XPS 410n, which starts at $900.

Dell has laid out what we can expect from the Ubuntu distro they are going to install on their new Linux machines.

• The default software from the Ubuntu media will be installed on the system, including kernel and applications.
• The peripheral options offered with Ubuntu will be a subset of what is offered with other operating systems. We’re offering the hardware options on each system that have the most mature and stable Linux driver support. These hardware options have been thoroughly tested by the Linux team here at Dell.
• [...]
• At this time, we are not including any support for proprietary audio or video codecs that are not already distributed with Ubuntu 7.04. These include MPEG 1/2/3/4, WMA, WMV, DVD, Quicktime, etc. We are evaluating options for providing this support in the future.