Norhtec Gecko with Linpus – it’s like lookin’ in a mirror

This picture made me do a double-take – no, that’s not an Eee, it’s actually a Norhtec “Gecko” laptop. It runs a Linux build called “Linpus Linux Lite” which is custom made for this sort of ultra-portable laptop. Don’t worry though, the Gecko will still support other Linux distros and Windows.

It’s being built by Quanta (the company that built the OLPC XO-1 laptop that started this all) for the developing-country market
A few possible specs:

• 1GHz Via C7M ULV CPU
• an optional PATA hard disk
• a small display that appears to be around 7″
• a price tag that will retail under $300

For you Linux geeks out there: Linpus is based on Xorg, and uses GNOME desktop technologies. Visually, it uses tabbing that appears to look at lot like the Asus Eee desktop. The President of Norhtec actually compared it to the gOS, but I don’t personally see the resemblance (I always thought the gOS looked a lot like the Mac OS).

There’s supposed to be an official announcement about this soon.

Does anybody else think that “Linpus” is an incredibly unattractive name? Maybe it’s just me.