Mer/About

Mer

Background

Mer is a new Linux operating system, built upon a thin base of Ubuntu Jaunty combined with the best open-source elements of Nokia's Maemo platform.

The goals of Mer include:

  • Improving and developing parts of Maemo that are of interest to the Maemo community.
  • Making it easier to port existing desktop applications by hildonizing and adjusting them to the tablet form factor.
  • Encouraging third party experimentation and development.
  • Supporting tablet hardware no longer receiving updated OS software by Nokia.
  • Making Maemo a generic platform for all tablet devices, including non-Nokia ones.
  • Focusing Maemo community efforts in platform-related areas

Mission

Mer platform development will be done in the open, with public SCM repository, bugtrackers, and Wiki-based blueprint discussion.

We should stop seeing the tablets as strictly under-powered embedded systems, and see them for what they really are: powerful, power-efficient, economical handheld computers.

Status

Mer is new and constantly developing so the status of support for hardware and applications is steadily improving.

History

Mer has evolved from discussion around reconstructing Maemo and a desire to make a proof of concept system of these thoughts. The M-R PoC developed into Mer after it was realised that it was - indeed - a viable environment for both developers and end-users.

Screenshots

You can see the current release screenshots here