Linux appears ready to take on Microsoft and Symbian in the smartphone market, with Trolltech's launch this week of a mobile phone app stack delivering PDA-like features on feature-phone-level hardware. Qtopia Phone Edition supports keypad and touchscreen devices, and nearly any processor that can run Linux.

When… (more…)

The ever-disruptive Robert X. Cringely has published a lively editorial at PBS.org describing how embedded Linux and mesh network micro-franchises will forever change the Internet and telephone access markets. (more…)

Solid-state storage specialist Bitmicro Networks is shipping a single-wide PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) version of its E-Disk non-volatile Flash IDE/ATA drive. The E-Disk PMC comes with Linux drivers, and can be used as a boot and/or storage device on CompactPCI, VME, MultiBus, and other carrier boards. (more…)

IBM has published the following technical articles, tutorials, and downloads on its developerWorks Website. They cover a range of interesting (though not necessarily embedded) technical topics. Some require free registration. Enjoy . . . (more…)

Embedded Linux powers the first “emotional lamp,” a WiFi-connected device that can be programmed to respond to real-world events by emanating sequences of gentle color. The lamp is available at prestigious Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, or direct, for 790 Euros (about $937). (more…)

Strategic Test Corp. has launched a tiny, inexpensive single board computer (SBC) based on a 400MHz PXA255, an Intel XScale processor popular in PDAs and smartphones. The Triton-Eco SBC comes with Linux 2.6 pre-installed, and costs $135/$99 in quantities of 10/1000. (more…)

VIA will preview its next-generation mini-ITX board for the consumer electronics market at next week's Computex 2004 in Taipei. The EPIA SP features a new graphics and memory controller hub (GMCH) supporting faster front-side bus (FSB), memory, and southbridge interconnect speeds. (more…)

Embedded Linux powers the first “emotional lamp,” a WiFi-connected device that can be programmed to respond to real-world events by emanating sequences of gentle color. The Violet Dal has been available at prestigious Paris department store Galeries Lafayette since March, and is available direct for 790 Euros (about $937). (more…)

DoubleWide Software has appointed an experienced CEO with 20 years of electronic design automation (EDA) industry experience. DoubleWide is a startup offering development tools that target embedded Linux and other device software developers and QA teams developing on hardware that is not yet available. (more…)

PDABuyersGuide.com has reviewed Sharp's “Enterprise” Zaurus, the SL-6000, praising the display, Linux OS, expandability, power, USB-host capability, rugged design, and data persistence across battery drainages. (more…)

MontaVista and four other companies have joined Royal Philips Electronics's “Nexperia Home Partner Program.” The program comprises 17 independent software vendors (ISVs) and other partners developing connected middleware, applications, and reference designs based on the Nexperia Home family of programmable system-on-chips (PSoCs) and companion chips. (more…)

AMD is shipping a development board for the Alchemy Au1550 network security processor. The DBAu1550 board targets developers of low-powered network access devices with integrated security, such as gateways, network attached storage (NAS) units, wireless access points, and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) devices. (more…)

The “intelligent connected device” will be the next hotbed of innovation and growth in the technology sector — revolutionizing markets as they exist today, according to embedded operating system market leader Wind River. Speaking with customers in San Jose, Calif., Wind River chairman and CEO Ken Klein predicted a major shift in device software, and declared that companies not actively building… (more…)

Agere Systems has announced a tiny, embeddable 802.11e/g/i WLAN module intended for use in handheld consumer devices. Measuring just 20×29 mm and handling data rates up to 54 Mbit/sec, the “mini-module” targets PDAs, media players, smartphones, handheld gaming devices, digital cameras, and camcorders. (more…)

Open source software and embedded Linux helped Cyclades build advanced security capabilities into a keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) server that shipped last September. The KVM AlterPath also features Cat5 wiring to servers and remote access terminals, as well as Web-based IP access. (more…)