Reviewers evaluating Joli OS differed in their appraisals, depending on whether they were writing for a user who is new to Linux or is more experienced with the operating system. Writing on a
Condé Nast Traveler blog, Mike Haney called Joli OS "an easy, free OS that you don't have to be a code-monkey to install and does everything you need your netbook to do, quickly. I put it on a
Lenovo netbook this weekend that was running like molasses under Windows 7, and I'm a convert". While Joli OS is not the first operating system designed from Linux targeted at the beginning netbooks, "it's the first that doesn't feel like you're using Linux: no funky install procedures, no code, no accessing special directories to find more apps." He compared Joli OS in look and function to
iOS, the operating system used by the Apple
iPad (as well as the
iPhone and
iPod Touch), though with the folders and files of a conventional computer". In
Computerworld, Serdar Yegulalp wrote that Joli OS 1.0 "feels like a second beta, not a 1.0 release; it needs more work before it's truly useful instead of one step above a curiosity". Yegulalp reported problems launching some applications, including the
Google Chrome browser and the
VLC media player, an inability to do peer-to-peer
mesh networking, the power button getting blocked by open windows, and no
hibernation mode, even if the computer supports it. He noted comparable performance with
Windows 7 but slightly faster boot times. But ZDNet reporter David Meyer disagreed with that performance assessment after running Jolicloud on a
Nokia Booklet 3G in order to take advantage of that device's unusual 720p
screen resolution. He wrote that the device's "lousy Atom Z530 processor...really struggles under Windows 7 Starter Edition [but] flies on Jolicloud....I'm struggling to think of a rival Linux distro that can be so easily picked up and run by an average user". In
Ars Technica, Ryan Paul wrote that "there are a lot of good ideas on display in Jolicloud [now Joli OS] 1.0, but the nascent product still feels incomplete". He saw no reason for Linux users, particularly
Ubuntu users, to switch. "Ubuntu's own
Unity environment is more sophisticated and has much better integration between native applications and the underlying platform," though Joli OS might be a better choice for users interested in Web applications. Noting that Joli OS 1.0's foundation is Ubuntu 9.04, which is nearing the end of its support cycle by
Canonical, Paul wrote that "the real challenge will be continuing to expand the scope of Joli OS's differentiating features while...ensuring that Jolicloud users will benefit from Ubuntu's steady stream of new features." Tariq Krim defended the decision to stay with Ubuntu 9.04 in Joli OS 1.0, arguing that later Ubuntu versions have been less stable and have required user-initiated software installations to be fully functional. Examples where Jolicloud developers did additional work to ensure out-of-the-box functionality include support for
Poulsbo GMA500 drivers,
touchscreens and
3G. He said the company was "moving away from Ubuntu to a solution that could fit our user needs better. We are looking closely at what
Chrome OS is doing". ==Jolibook==