But he said Joilcloud will deliver a more compelling netbook OS than today's crop. "We think we can shake up the OS market," Krim said.

Krim is backing up his bold claims with announcements of several technical advances with Jolicloud:

* Jolicloud is the first Linux distribution that fully supports Intel's GMA500 graphics chipset, used on such as the , the Asus Eee 1101HA, and the . That support will allow netbooks to display 720P HD video, he said, enabling Linux to match Windows on those netbooks for the first time, Krim said.

* Jolicloud will offer better built-in support for connected devices than other Linux distros, even Ubuntu, Krim said. desktop Linux, something Google hopes to avoid with Chrome OS by banning certain components, .

* Jolicloud plans to make it very easy for owners of an Windows XP- or Windows 7 Starter-based netbook to install , Krim said. That and the GMA support are key: Jolicloud plans to release the OS on the Web for free download, rather than trying to craft OEM deals with netbook manufacturers, as Google plans. "We're a small company of 12 employees, so we can't pay people to have meetings with everyone," he said.