Intel is working hard on Moblin 2.0, its own Linux distribution and it wants to push it to netbook manufacturers.

With Pine Trial-D, the new Atom platform, Intel plans to offer an option of a Linux-based system that should bring lower cost and improved performance. Intel has already developed the kernel and drivers support and it is not only Moblin 2.0 that is supported, they support other compatible distributions as well.

We are sure that Ballmer and Co. won’t really like it, as Intel, a chip manufacturer, tries to push an alternative operating system, something that will go against XP, Vista and upcoming Windows 7.

In its defense, Intel can always argue the customers wanted it and that they just made drivers for something that customers demanded.