The open-source Moblin is based on the Linux operating system, as is the Google-backed Android, which was originally launched for mobile devices and is now moving to netbooks and possibly other devices. On handhelds and desktops, Intel will also be competing with Microsoft 's Windows.

Coinciding with Moorestown

Intel showed a beta version of Moblin 2.1 at the IDF. It includes native capabilities for touchscreen input, including gestures, as well as other interface changes. The kind of desktop computer that Intel is targeting for Moblin is called a "nettop" -- an inexpensive computer unit to which a user adds peripherals.

The different versions of Moblin are designed to work with different-sized screens, but with comparable user experiences.

The netbooks -- and possibly other devices -- on which Moblin runs use the Atom microprocessor from Intel, which has been designed specifically for mobile units. The release of the final version of Moblin 2.1 is intended to coincide with the launch next year of Intel's Moorestown platform, which includes an Atom-core-based processor.

As with Android and other operating systems, the availability of third-party applications is important to the competitive positioning of Moblin. Intel said it will be providing software-development kits, and that applications could be sold through various app stores.

Silverlight, Dell

Even as Moblin is beginning to move into territory occupied by Microsoft operating systems, it will be supporting Microsoft technology. On Wednesday, Intel announced that support for Microsoft Silverlight technology will be included in Moblin beginning early in 2010. Among other things, Silverlight allows developers to write an application once and have it run on both Windows and Moblin devices. Moblin will also support Adobe's AIR platform, which similarly offers multiple-platform use from a single application.

Dell has also announced that its Inspiron Mini 10v netbook will come preinstalled with the Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition. Asus and Acer have already launched Moblin-based netbooks, and Samsung is expected to release one as well.

Al Hilwa, program director at industry research firm IDC, said that Microsoft's interest in providing support for Moblin may derive from its interest in keeping a variety of OS players vying for the netbook and mobile space, while it develops Windows Mobile -- beyond its upcoming version 6.5 -- into a more compelling mobile OS. Windows Mobile 6.5, he noted, "doesn't really change the interface." Hilwa added that Microsoft also has an interest in "being perceived as a good corporate citizen."

Key among those other OS players is Microsoft's archrival Google. While Google's Android is also Linux-based, Hilwa noted that differences in interfaces, development frameworks, and other areas could mean that OS-based applications may still have to be written separately for Moblin and for Android.