ARM Ltd. announced a security extension to the ARM RISC microprocessor architecture. The hardware-based security mechanism, called “TrustZone”, is implemented directly within the processor core and is intended to provide a secure foundation for systems running embedded operating systems such as Linux, PalmOS, Symbian, and Windows CE, and also to complement secure application environments such as Java, the… (more…)

The embedded software build-or-buy tradeoff

For embedded systems, the build-or-buy decision is getting pushed down the software component food chain. Embedded systems hardware developers have long embraced commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components to shorten development time and reduce development costs. (more…)

LinuxTag, the organization behind Europe's largest annual convention for Free Software focusing on GNU/Linux, has served notice on SCO Group that their threats against Linux are not without liability to SCO. Among other things, LinuxTag's lawyers point out that by distributing Linux a distribution which SCO Group claims contains SCO proprietary software, it has thereby released its code under the GNU… (more…)

Khronos Group announced today that OpenGL ES 1.0 is expected to be released at Siggraph 2003. OpenGL ES is described as a light-weight, royalty-free API for bringing advanced graphics capabilities to mobile and handheld devices, appliances, and embedded displays. (more…)

The following report on the first Linux in Control Workshop, held earlier this month in Belgium, was kindly submitted by Koen Vervloesem and Herman Bruyninckx. The workshop was launched with the following mission:

The goal of this workshop is to bring together developers and users of all sorts of free and open source software projects related to control in the broad sense. (more…)

A message to the Linux community from Maximiliano Cristia . . .

GIDIS Trusted Linux is a security-enhanced version of Linux which descends from Lisex. Lisex is a multilevel security (MLS) prototype of Linux developed by GIDIS from National University of Rosario (Argentina). (more…)

It seems everyone is getting into the action of reviewing Sharp's SL-5600 Zaurus PDA these days. But rather than complaining of insufficient application software for what is, at the moment, primarily a one-company handheld category — the Linux/Java PDA — this highly complimentary review by PC Magazine takes an entirely… (more…)

An article published today at LinuxWorld.com provides an update on the status of the open source Mono project, which is busy developing a runtime environment compatible with Microsoft's .NET Framework for Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and Unix. The project aims to release Mono version 1.0 toward the end of this year, according to the article. (more…)

O'Reilly press has announced publication of a new language and library reference book for C++ programmers titled C++ in a Nutshell, by Ray Lischner. (more…)

Metro Link announced that it demonstrated an extensive set of integrated software components and technologies for Linux-based set-top box (STB) and digital TV (DTV) applications in ATI's booth at the Mediacast 2003 conference in London, UK this week. Metro Link said the demonstration, which was based on a combination of software components from Metro Link and several partner companies, demonstrated the… (more…)

Newnes Press has announced publication of a new book on the subject of using Linux in embedded and real-time applications. The 250-page book, titled Linux for Embedded and Real-Time Applications (ISBN 0-7506-7546-2) and written by Doug Abbott, covers topics such as device drivers, kernel implementation, and POSIX threads,… (more…)

IBM recently launched Performance Inspector as an open source project on its developerWorks website. According to IBM, Performance Inspector provides a suite of tools that help identify performance bottlenecks in C/C++ and Java code, and problems with Linux kernel interaction, including sample-based profiling, monitoring at the thread level, and more. (more…)

LinuxDevices.com is pleased to announce a major update to our highly popular online Embedded Linux “Cool Devices” Quick Reference Guide. The guide provides a comprehensive survey of Linux-based gadgets and devices in seven categories — including both released products and those in various stages of development. (more…)

National Semiconductor issued a progress report today regarding a series of “strategic profit-improvement actions” launched earlier this year. A key aspect of the plan, representing around half of a project cost savings of $120 million annually, is to eliminate two business units: the Information Appliance (IA) chip unit, which consists primarily of the (more…)

CNET has reviewed the SL-5600 and upgraded their verdict from a rather negative earlier one (“While true geeks will love the Zaurus, most users will find Pocket PC and Palm devices easier to live with.”) to a relatively positive current… (more…)