Technical books publisher O'Reilly has released a “cookbook” full of bash shell scripting examples. The Bash Cookbook offers numerous complete working scripts aimed at helping users customize their systems and automate routine tasks. (more…)

Shortly before Palm unveiled its “Foleo mobile companion”, market research firm 451 Group released a report questioning the potential for “mobile office” devices such as smartphones. The Group estimates that only 20 million smartphones ship each year today, with volume unlikely to grow much beyond that. (more…)

Trolltech has released new versions of its application frameworks for PC desktops and Linux devices. Respectively, Qt 4.3 mainly gains support for native Windows Vista application development, while Qtopia Core 4.3 gains a new font system and better 3D graphics support, among other enhancements. (more…)

Mimer Information Technology is readying a new version of its SQL database for mobile devices. Mimer SQL Mobile 9.3, due before July, adds a host of features aimed at making the product work better on mobile phones, the company said. (more…)

Asian Linux distributor TurboLinux today announced the “global launch” of its combination PMP (portable media player) and Linux boot device. When plugged into a PC, the “Wizpy” player launches users into their own localized, personalized Linux-based operating system environment. (more…)

[Updated 5:00 PM PDT] — Palm has used Linux to build a “new class” of mobile device. The Foleo aims to expand the email, Internet, and productivity application capabilities of mobile phones such as the Palm Treo, by adding a full-size keyboard and a larger screen. (more…)

Sharp has developed what it claims to be the “world's first” dual-mode tuner module for mobile devices capable of receiving both DVB-H and T-DMB terrestrial digital broadcasts. The VA3B5EZ915 features a compact, thin profile package and the “industry's lowest power consumption,” according to the company. (more…)

MontaVista plans to open a seventh European office, and add executive staff to offices in Germany and the U.K.. The new office will be based in Finland, while the new executive hires include directors of business development and field operations for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Asia), according to the company. (more…)

Symbian will still lead the smartphone market in 2012, with 44 percent market share, while Linux swells to 41 percent and Windows Mobile languishes at just six percent, a new report from Berg Insight predicts. The report runs counter to several other recent analyst reports, however. (more…)

A project maintaining lightweight Linux distributions targeting experienced users says it will support a new passively cooled PowerPC- and FPGA-based mini-ITX motherboard. The CruxPPC project will collaborate with ACube Systems to support ACube's Sam440ep, an Amiga-oriented board that shipped last month. (more…)

A client-server software specialist in Germany is offering a freely downloadable, server-oriented Linux distribution for Sony's Playstation3. Helios's unnamed PS3 distro installs in less than 10 minutes, and showcases the company's cross-platform file-, print-, PDF-, and… (more…)

Embedded Linux OS and tools vendor MontaVista will host a three-day developer conference and partner expo in California this fall. Set for Oct. 8-10, in Santa Clara, MontaVista's “Vision 2007 Embedded Linux Developer's Conference” boasts sponsors that include Freescale, IBM, Intel, and Texas Instruments (TI). (more…)

[Updated Jun. 1] — Yoggie Security Systems has squeezed a hardware firewall for Windows into a USB key sized form-factor. The “Yoggie Pico” runs Linux 2.6 along with 13 security applications on a 520MHz PXA270, a powerful Intel processor popular in smartphones and high-end consumer devices. (more…)

A startup in Alameda, Calif. plans to release a kind of holy software grail the third or fourth week of June. Lina said its dual-licensed Lina virtual Linux machine will run more or less normal Linux applications under Windows, Mac, or Linux, with a look and feel native to each. (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…)