Computex Taipei, the second largest computer exhibition in the world, starts today and Canonical is enjoying a lot of attention for the third year in a row. On this occasion, the company made several exciting announcements regarding its popular Ubuntu Linux distribution.

First of all, it appears that the Ubuntu family will receive, in the very-near future, yet another member. Ubuntu Moblin Remix, currently in Beta, is based on the Moblin v2 for Intel Atom processor platform and seems to be a very promising project. The only screenshot made available by Canonical shows a professional theme and an efficiently designed layout for the small netbook screens.

“We are very excited about bringing a Moblin v2-based product to market in the near future. Intel’s Atom processor along with the Linux Foundation bring fantastic energy and excitement to OEMs looking to deliver Linux-based experiences for users through Moblin. Adding it as an option alongside Ubuntu, and eventually sharing elements between the two, means even more rapid innovation on open platforms which will benefit developers, manufacturers and, most importantly, users.” said Mark Shuttleworth, head of Canonical and founder of the Ubuntu project.

Screen grab of Ubuntu Moblin Remix  - Copyright Canonical

Canonical and Intel also announced their collaboration for shipping the new Classmate PCs with a customized version of Ubuntu Netbook Remix, supporting the device's advanced features, such as touch screen or its ability to convert from a regular clamshell to a Tablet PC. "The Intel-powered classmate PC and Intel Learning Series, together with the Ubuntu OS, will be a strong offering and deliver a great Open Source option for our customers," said Jeff Galinovsky, regional manager for the Intel-powered Classmate PC Ecosystem, Channel Platforms Group, Intel.

SanDisk is another company that worked closely with Canonical in order to greatly improve the performance of Ubuntu on SSD-equipped netbooks and laptops. The results of this collaboration will lead to a longer battery life, lower heat levels and, overall, a more responsive system.

Lastly, a rather unexpected announcement came from Real Networks, saying that its team developed a version of their Real Player for Ubuntu on Mobile Devices. The media player, also coming with a codec pack, will only be available for OEMs that want to ship their machines with the Ubuntu OS. "A marquee name media player shows the progress Ubuntu has made towards becoming a mainstream choice." said Gerry Carr, head of platform marketing.