PicUntu powers this PC-on-a-stick

There are a number of PCs-on-a-stick that run Google’s wildly popular and versatile Android operating system.

But what if someone wanted to boot Linux instead, say specifically on a device powered by Rockchip’s RK3066 dual-core processor?

Fortunately, the first Ubuntu Linux-based OS recently went live for RK3066 mini computers, including the MK808 and UG802. Appropriately dubbed PicUntu, the OS is currently available for download from Google Code.

As Liliputing’s Brad Linder notes, Rockchip-powered devices are typically equipped with 1GB of RAM, up to 8GB of storage, microSD card slots, USB ports and HDMI output.

Since PucUntu is coded specifically for such devices, it’s understandably a rather light-weight operating system available as a 110MB download, which also includes WiFi drivers for the UG802 and MK808, with support for additional devices expected in future versions of the software.

Unfortunately, at least at this stage, hardware graphics acceleration is absent from PucUntu, meaning support for 3D video games and HD video is somewhat minimal, although the OS does support screen resolutions up to 1920 x 1080 pixels, along with the usual lineup of WiFi, Ethernet audio, and other core functions.

Available software packages including Apache, Samba, Joomla, Flash, Java, and desktop environments like Xfce and GNOME.

Interested? PicUntu can be downloaded here at Google Code, along with detailed instructions.