The Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) has released a position paper “raising serious questions” about SCO Group's threatened litigation against end users of Linux. The paper, which casts doubt on SCO's position, was authored by one of the world's leading legal experts on copyright law as applied to software, Professor Eben Moglen of Columbia University, according to OSDL. (more…)

In this editorial, LinuxDevices.com founder Rick Lehrbaum offers his “reflections” on the recently published (Microsoft-funded) Embedded Market Forecasters (EMF) report which claims embedded development projects based on Microsoft's “Windows Embedded” operating system platforms (specifically, Windows CE .NET and Windows XP Embedded) are completed 43% faster and at 68% lower cost, on average, compared with… (more…)

Background

Earlier this month, Embedded Market Forecasters issued a Microsoft-funded research report that claimed development projects using Microsoft Windows embedded operating system (OS) platforms, namely Windows CE .NET and Windows XP Embedded, were completed 43 percent faster and at an average 68 percent lower cost when compared to similar projects using an embedded Linux OS. (more…)

[Updated Jul. 31, 2003] — Via Technologies will demonstrate Linux-based robots developed by SRI International at next week's LinuxWorld conference in San Francisco. At 3 pm on Wednesday, August 6, the “Centibots” will conduct a search and rescue mission for a hidden penguin doll during a special event in the LinuxWorld “Taste of… (more…)

IBM announced plans to deliver what it calls “the world's most powerful Linux supercomputer” to Japan's largest national research organization. The system will be used as part of a massive, distributed computing Grid to support various research including life sciences and nanotechnology, IBM said. (more…)

The Embedded Linux Consortium (ELC) announced that Metrowerks chief technology officer (CTO) Berardino Baratta has been elected to the ELC's board of directors. In this leadership position, Baratta, who is also Vice President of Metrowerks' Linux Solutions Group, plans to help the ELC's effort toward “an open and unified standard for embedded Linux distributions,” the ELC said. (more…)

A new industry consortium launched today has the goal of defining and promoting open hardware and software standards for interfaces to mobile application processors. The group, known as the Mobile Industry Processor Interface Alliance, or “MIPI”, was co-announced by founding members ARM, Nokia, STMicroelectronics (ST), and Texas Instruments (TI). (more…)

Using SIM for WLAN authentication may have many advantages, but security threats must also be carefully considered. This article by four members of Intel's “Emerging Platforms Lab” provides a brief overview of the authentication process in a GSM network, and then describes a possible method of WLAN authentication using SIM cards. (more…)

C.N.S. Systems AB (Linkoping, Sweden) announced that it has used MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition as the operating system platform within the ground station portion of a new air traffic control system in Europe. According to C.N.S., the integrated system of ground and mobile units uses the VDL Mode 4 digital radio link, a new standard for air traffic control in Europe, to provide surveillance,… (more…)

We've located a short but interesting “first impression” review of the English-adapted Sharp Zaurus SL-C750 Linux PDA from Dynamism, at BargainPDA.com. (more…)

TimeSys announced today that its revenues and design wins for the second quarter of 2003 increased approximately 130% over the prior quarter, expanding on the momentum the company has experienced since the middle of 2002. (more…)

Overview: Extending SIM Authentication to WLAN

Worldwide, traditional cellular operators are investigating how to integrate wireless local area networks (WLANs) into their service offerings and business models. Currently, GSM (global system for mobile communications) operators provide subscriber identity modules (SIMs) for each subscriber on their network. (more…)

The Khronos Group announced the alpha release of the Software Development Kit (SDK) for OpenML 1.0, a cross-platform programming environment for capturing, processing, synchronizing and playing digital media content. The SDK alpha release, for both the Windows and Linux platforms, delivers the media library (“ML”) component of the specification, providing a low level API for configuring and controlling… (more…)

The Khronos Group announced today that it has ratified the OpenGL ES 1.0 royalty-free open standard for advanced 2D and 3D graphics in embedded systems including mobile and handheld devices, and that the API specification is now available for free download. OpenGL ES defines subset profiles of OpenGL; OpenGL and OpenGL ES are royalty-free, open standard APIs that enable authoring and playback of dynamic… (more…)

The Embedded Systems Conference, being held March 29 through April 2, 2004 in San Francisco, has issued a call for papers. Interested participants are invited to send abstracts or draft papers by Aug. 8, 2003 on one or more topics from the list below. (more…)