Billing World has published a 3,700-word article about how open source software and Linux are changing the telecommunications industry. Entitled Open Source: Balancing Innovation and Risk, the lengthy article provides an interesting look at embedded Linux and other open source technologies from a telecom industry perspective. (more…)

A ten-year-old Russian electronics engineering firm based in Moscow Zelenograde is using embedded Linux in a family of device servers targeting building and factory automation and industrial and camera control. (more…)

NetSilicon will sample in November a low-cost one-chip network device SoC (system-on-chip) that will hit production in March, 2005, priced between $11 and $16 in 10K quantities. The NS9360 is based on a 200MHz ARM9 core, with an LCD controller and networking. It is supported under Linux by third-party partners, and targets cost-sensitive, space-limited applications such as industrial, building, and medical… (more…)

Red Hat has launched a program to support embedded deployments of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). The “Red Hat Runtime” program targets developers looking for a well-supported Linux foundation on which to build commercial embedded systems and devices that are not particularly resource-constrained and which are based on mainstream architectures. (more…)

Cirrus Logic is shipping a highly integrated SoC (system-on-chip) for cost-sensitive networked applications such as gaming machines, POS (point-of-sale/service) terminals, home automation systems, and automotive navigation systems. The $13 EP9307 is based on a 200MHz ARM9 core, with integrated graphics, audio, network, and a host of other interface controllers. (more…)

A popular application used by nearly every embedded Linux developer and included in nearly every Linux-based device has achieved its first major release number. BusyBox 1.00 offers a new kernel-style configuration process with “make config” and “make menuconfig” options, support for 2.6 kernels, many new applets, and extensive testing, according to maintainer Erik Andersen. (more…)

The iRiver PMP-120 is a Linux-based portable media player aimed in part at the in-car entertainment device market. iRiver plans to pursue the in-car entertainment device market aggressively, and is building a large factory in China, according to the DigiTimes. (more…)

Avnet Electronics Marketing has launched a Linux development kit for a Freescale PowerQUICC I Integrated Communications Processor. The ADS-FRS-885-EVL kit includes a development board based on a 133MHz MPC885 PowerQUICC I Processor, networking peripherals, a Linux BSP (board support package), schematics, and… (more…)

Micro/sys has announced a new PC/104 single board computer (SBC) based on a 533MHz Intel IXP425 XScale processor, and is supporting it in Linux-based embedded applications such as industrial controllers, protocol converters, and gateways. (more…)

The first international ARM Developers Conference takes place next week in Santa Clara, California. According to conference organizers, the three-day event will demonstrate a growing interest in a wide variety of applications for ARM processors, “going well beyond ARM's traditional wireless market dominance.” (more…)

eCosCentric Ltd. has added C++ support to its developer kits for the open source eCos embedded operating system. The support, which conforms to the ISO 14882 C++ library specification, is for the GNU libstdc++ v3 run-time library. It enables eCos to support more sophisticated and complex embedded applications, eCosCentric says. (more…)

Chipmaker SigmaTel has released Linux drivers for its family of USB-to-IrDA bridge controller chips. The chips support USB 2.0 Version 1.4 on the USB side, and up to 16 megabits/sec “Very Fast Infrared” (VFIR) on the infrared side. (more…)

[Updated Oct. 13, 2004] — MontaVista Software has launched an open source project to bring “hard real-time” performance to standard, native Linux, and has seeded a fledgling “Open Source Real-Time Linux Project” with a reference implementation claimed to improve real-time responsiveness of the 2.6.9rc3 Linux kernel by “orders of magnitude.” (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…)

Proprietary and open source OS vendors will discuss the value of real-time operating systems (RTOSes) at the Embedded Systems Show, October 14th in Birmingham, UK. The panel discussion is entitled “How much is an RTOS worth?”, and will include Accelerated Technology, eCosCentric, Green Hills, Microsoft, and MontaVista. (more…)