Microsoft's $3 Windows offer is an attempt to “kill open source off at its roots,” according to columnist Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols in an impassioned blog posting at Linux-Watch.com. Microsoft “wants to make sure that young people in developing countries get brainwashed into the Microsoft way of computing,” he writes. (more…)

Chip-maker Via Technologies has revealed details about its “pico-ITX” hardware reference design, and promised to announce its first commercially available mainboard based on the new form-factor “soon.” Slightly smaller than the venerable PC/104 standard, pico-ITX represents “the smallest complete x86 mainboard in the… (more…)

Australian tech news site APC Magazine has published a photo and screenshot gallery of Red Flag Software's “MIDLinux” distro for “mobile Internet devices” (MIDs). (more…)

At its Beijing Developer Forum this week, Intel confirmed it is shipping an “ultra mobile” chipset for UMPCs (ultra-mobile PCs) and MIDs (mobile Internet devices). It also claimed to be sampling a second-generation mobile processor based on 45nm silicon and “High-K” metal gate transistor technology. (more…)

A Latvian company supplying hacker-friendly MIPS-based routers and proprietary Linux implementations to the enterprise and WISP (wireless Internet service provider) markets will hold its annual U.S. user meeting next month. The MikroTik User Meeting (MUM) will focus on network deployment strategies, and is set for May 28-30, in Orlando, Fla. (more…)

MontaVista claims its latest embedded Linux release breaks “all barriers” in real-time performance, making it suitable for traditional RTOS (real-time OS) applications like industrial automation, communications, machine control, medical, and navigation equipment. In benchmarks, Pro 5.0 reportedly delivered sub-30 microsecond response times on a stressed, loaded 2GHz Pentium M-based system. (more…)

Concurrent has started shipping a new version of its “real-time” Linux operating system for asymmetrical multi-processing x86 applications. RedHawk Linux 4.2 is based on a 2.6.18.8 kernel, and adds support for four-way Intel and AMD chips, with scalability to 32-CPU systems expected once AMD's four-way Opteron ships. (more…)

At its developer forum in Beijing today, Intel unveiled its first SoC (system-on-chip) specifically targeting digital set-top boxes (STBs) and media recorders. The Intel CE 2110 is based on a 1GHz XScale core, and is shipping to early customers now, along with Linux-based development and reference design kits. (more…)

An Australian think tank has spun out an embedded and real-time operating systems company headquartered in Chicago. The spin-out — “Open Kernel Labs” (OK Labs) — is shipping a commercially supported, BSD-licensed “OKL4” microkernel that runs Linux and other guest OSes in user space, targeting devices such as mobile phones. (more…)

A Google-backed start-up that began as a doctoral thesis at MIT has started selling ultra-low-cost mesh networking equipment based on Atheros WiFi radios and embedded MIPS 4KEc processors running Linux. (more…)

A web service aimed at letting users stream PC-based multimedia content to mobile devices has added support for Nokia's Linux-based N800 web tablet. Orb Networks says its MyCasting service enables registered users to access their personal media from anywhere their N800 can connect to the Internet. (more…)

Trolltech will give away dozens of hacker-friendly Linux phones to winners of a mobile phone software programming contest launched today. The “Qtopia Greenphone Developer Challenge” will also pay two winners $5,000 each, and fly them to Trolltech's “Developer Days” event. (more…)

Intel unveiled a new post-PC computing form-factor based on embedded Linux this week, at its Developer Conference in Beijing. The chip giant projects a global market of 180 million units annually by 2010 for “Mobile Internet Devices” (MIDs), which are conceptually similar to Nokia's N800 tablet. (more…)

IBM has published the following new technical articles, tutorials, and downloads on its DeveloperWorks and AlphaWorks websites. 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. (more…)

Venture Development Corp. (VDC) recently attended the 2007 Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) in San Jose, Calif. This guest column by VDC analysts Stephen Balacco and Matthew Volckmann presents a summary of the event, including VDC's annual “Embeddie” awards and extensive “Walking the Floor” observations. (more…)