Open source robot simulation software simplifies the creation of physical Linux-based robots, according to an overview article at IBM's DeveloperWorks site. Simulators such as ODE, Simbad, TeamBots, KControl, Gazebo, and Carmen can help test ideas before putting them into hardware, writes author M. (more…)

Opera Software will resell Adobe's Flash Player 7 SDK (software development kit) to customers of its Opera for Devices SDK. The agreement should simplify the licensing picture for Linux device designers interested in deploying a “full Internet” browser that supports Flash-based browsing, or Flash-based user interfaces, the… (more…)

Flash chipmaker Samsung Electronics is sampling a chip that combines up to 4 gigabytes of NAND flash with a multimedia card (MMC) controller. MoviNAND presents the system with a high-speed MMC serial interface, resulting in the “fastest mobile data processing possible,” at up to 52 MB/sec, according to Samsung. (more…)

AML is shipping a pair of new handheld data terminals based on embedded Linux. The basic M5900 and ruggedized M5900i for industrial applications target batch data collection applications, including inventory control, factory floor management, price verification, shipping/receiving, and asset tracking. (more…)

[Updated Sep. 8] — Embedded software powerhouse Wind River on Aug. 31 reported strong preliminary Q2 results, highlighted by growing Linux-based platform “dominance.” However, an ongoing, voluntary audit of the company's stock option program, as well as “erratic” historical performance, has investment magazine Motley Fool advising a “hands-off” approach to the stock, for now. (more…)

An annual technical and business conference devoted to smartphones of all stripes, including Linux smartphones, is set for Sept. 11, in Los Angeles. This year's Smartphone Summit is co-located with the CTIA Wireless Show, Sept. (more…)

An open source project maintaining a free DOS-compatible operating system commonly used in embedded devices such as cash registers has achieved its first-ever major release. FreeDOS 1.0 features improved file, memory, and CD-ROM subsystems, and now provides a “stable and viable MS-DOS replacement,” according to a project spokesperson. (more…)

Linux device designers looking for faster boot/reset times should consider alternative BIOSes, suggests Peter Seebach in a technical introduction to open BIOSes published on IBM's DeveloperWorks website. Among other benefits, open BIOSes can save the time wasted by proprietary BIOS legacy support for MS-DOS and other unnecessary functions, Seebach notes. (more…)

Opera Software has updated its brower for Linux-based set-top boxes, portable media players, game consoles, and other devices. Opera 9 for Devices mainly adds support for “Widgets” — small applications based on web standards, and rendered in standalone browser windows without toolbars or… (more…)

CompuLab has introduced a 2.7 x 2.3-inch computer-on-module (COM) based on a 500MHz AMD Geode LX800 processor. In addition to its x86-compatible processor, the CM-iGLX integrates display, disk, USB, and networking controllers, and boasts fanless operation over an extended temperature range. (more…)

IBM has published the following new 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…)

Seven embedded software and hardware companies are co-sponsoring a series of one-day technical seminars aimed at network equipment providers (NEPs). The seminars will showcase open architecture products and technology, and highlight system architecture, hardware, software, integration, and development practices, all “without any marketing fluff and targeted to developers and engineers.”

The series… (more…)

The open-source software “phenomenon” extends far beyond Linux, and is “gaining enormous momentum,” IDC reports. Following a recent survey of over 5,000 developers in 116 countries, IDC has concluded that open-source software represents “the most significant all-encompassing and long-term trend that the software industry has seen since the early 1980s.” (more…)

OSNews has published a detailed review of the Linux-powered Motorola Rokr E2 music phone. The review, by Eugenia Loli-Queru, takes a balanced look at both the hardware and the software, and identifies a number of the device's strengths and weaknesses. (more…)