Pika Technologies says its SDK (software development kit) for media processing applications will gain Linux support in June. The “MonteCarlo” SDK includes an API and drivers for Pika's line cards and peripherals, and targets IVR (interactive voice response), call center, custom PC/IP PBX (public branch exchange), fax, and logging applications. (more…)

[Updated Apr. 27, 2005] — Development times for mobile devices are longer and less predictable with Linux than with Symbian, PalmOS, or Microsoft Windows Mobile, recent VDC research suggests. The VDC finding lists a number of factors that it believes drive development times up “for non-Microsoft OSes.” (more…)

Opera Software is shipping a new version of its web browser for desktops and devices. Opera 8 supports Linux and other OSes, and features a kiosk mode for public PC applications, support for SVG (scalable vector graphics), tabbed browsing, a “security bar,” and a host of other new features. (more…)

Telecom equipment provider RadiSys will resell and support MontaVista Linux Carrier Grade Edition (CGE) on its family of AdvancedTCA (ATCA) products, the companies have announced. The RadiSys “Promentum” ATCA products target TEMs (telecom equipment manufacturers), and support several other OSes, including several brands of Linux. (more…)

VA Linux Systems of Japan says its just-launched Linux kernel failure analysis service for x86 and x86-64 has already attracted top-name customers. Early clients of the “VA Quest” service include Techno-Science Corporation (CTC), UFJIS Co., NTT Comware Corporation, and NTT Data Intellilink Corporation, it says. (more…)

Lineo Solutions of Japan is readying a Linux 2.6 BSP (board support package) for a reference and prototyping board from Renesas Technology aimed at graphical consumer devices. The BSP supports the RTS7751R2D Basic Edition board, and works as a plugin for Lineo's uLinux Elite development environment. (more…)

The OpenZaurus Project has achieved a new release of its free Linux software environment for the Sharp Zaurus. OpenZaurus 3.5.3 supports most Zaurus models, and features an improved boot process, along with many new and updated packages and a wide variety of bug fixes. (more…)

Intel is shipping its highly integrated WiMAX chip, formerly codenamed “Rosedale.” The Pro/Wireless 5116 chip has two ARM9 cores and an OFDM (orthogonal frequency division modulation) modem, and targets low cost, low chip-count access points and gateways supporting WiMAX, an IEEE standard for long distance wireless broadband. (more…)

Embedded Linux and “Open Perspectives” will comprise two of the six tracks at Wind River's 2005 User Conference, May 22-25 in Orlando, Fla. The Linux track will include “business and technological perspective,” the company says, offering presentations from OSDL, Jaluna, GoAhead Software, Intel, Datalight, Solid, PTR Group, and Coverity. (more…)

A number of wireless industry leaders announced support today for the DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) standard, at the National Association of Broadcasters conference. DVB-H is an open standard for delivering broadcast digital TV (DTV) to mobile devices such as smartphones and PDAs. (more…)

The Khronos Group will distribute under an open source license its implementation of OpenML, a cross-platform, portable graphics API for video software and hardware vendors. The implementation is based largely on SGI's OpenML SDK (software development kit). Additionally, Skymicro has joined the Khronos Group, and will help develop OpenML. (more…)

Virtio is now shipping a version of its chip and circuit board simulation technology that supports Linux. The Virtio Virtual Platform is intended to allow embedded software teams to begin exercising code prior to availability of custom microprocessors, SoCs (system-on-chips), and/or single-board computers, the company says. (more…)

Trolltech has opened an office in Beijing, and says six design houses in China are using its software in high-end mobile devices. The company says worldwide users of Qtopia and its other device-oriented software number 50, including “more than 20” designing and making mobile phones. (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, primarily related to Linux and open source system development. Some require free registration. Enjoy . . . ! (more…)

Key issues for the future of Digital Rights Management (DRM) are the question of proprietary versus “open” technologies, and whether governments should get involved, according to a new report from ABI Research. “We're at a very interesting crossroads right now,” says Vamsi Sistla, ABI's director of residential entertainment technologies. (more…)