Moblin 2.0 is a netbook-optimized linux distribution/environment originally created by Intel and largely based on the work by OpenedHand, a startup bought by Intel in 2007. This is the introduction video to Moblin. And, as far as linux goes this is by far the most advanced, well-thought, usable environment I’ve ever seen.

Sure, it may be tailored for netbooks, which means the task of creating it was much simpler than creating a beautiful, usable and functional full-fledged desktop environment; and of course, from a developer perspective Hildon and GTK are not exactly ‘modern’ or well documented, in contrast to — say — modern Cocoa. Still, it’s a fantastic first step in the right direction and shows the promise of what focused work can do to bring FLOSS closer to the state of the art in those areas where it sorely needs improvement.