Jolly good for Jolicloud

A recent tweet from OS maker, Jolicloud, declared on Friday that it was “finalizing Via C7M (1st gen netbooks) and [Intel] Atom Pinetrail (Latest netbooks) support,” and was therefore “moving from 98 to 99.9% compatibility!”
It’s true that by moving to support the VIA C7-M processor – which only about five people throughout the world probably have bunged into their netbooks – the firm does seem to be living up to its promise of wanting to support every little lappie on the planet.

Indeed, just a glance through the already beefy list of compatible devices, one would be hard-pressed to find machines that were not yet supported, and if you do, then Jolicloud wants to hear from you so it can fix the problem.

Jolicloud, a Linux-based operating system – which allows users to run certain web apps like Gmail, Google Docs, Twitter and Facebook as if they were actual desktop applications – is an OS doing its best to blur the lines between cloud and desk top, and looks very promising indeed.

The OS does allow users to run certain Windows applications too, if the evil mood should strike them, but doing so requires using applications like WINE.

“At Jolicloud, we believe people should be able to switch operating system on their netbooks. Like the adoption of Firefox made the web 2.0 possible, enabling users to switch OS will accelerate the growth and benefits of open cloud computing,” says the firm’s website.
Jolicloud also says it works “hard with OEMs and netbook enthusiasts around the world to provide the best compatibility and the most updated drivers,” and indeed, it would appear that support for Intel’s Atom Pine Trail chips is just around the corner too.
What could be interesting with the new VIA C7-M support, however, is that since VIA is a firm which tends to focus on developing markets in poorer parts of the world, and that since Jolicloud and its apps are free, many may choose it over illegal versions of Windows.
“Yeah, sh*t, if I had a netbook I’d use it!” a prospective punter told Netbook News, adding, “If I wasn’t shackled by this overly-expensive Mac Book Pro, that is.”