Foreword — This article traces Linux's transformation into one of the most popular mobile phone environments today. It was written by Jim Ready, founder and CTO of MontaVista — and arguably one of the most important pioneers in the market for off-the-shelf commercial embedded operating systems. (more…)

Stealth Computer Corp. has introduced a mini-PC roughly the size of a hard cover novel, measuring 10 x 5.87 x 2.75 inches. Despite its compactness, the LPC-350PCI includes a PCI slot for “specialized I/O, video, data acquisition, and communications cards,” the company said. (more…)

Several device-oriented products familiar to LinuxDevices readers came away from last week's LinuxWorld Expo with product excellence awards. Winners included Trolltech's Qtopia Greenphone SDK (software development kit), Unicon's System-on-Display hardware reference design, and Coverity's online… (more…)

A seven-year-old, dual-licensed project for cross-platform multimedia middleware has achieved its first stable release. Motama's NMM (network-integrated multimedia middleware) 1.0 lets developers build distributed, heterogeneous multimedia applications with advanced features like synchronized whole-house digital media distribution… (more…)

A small processor module based on a Freescale i.MX31IL processor is now supported by embedded Linux support services provider TimeSys. Subscribers to TimeSys's LinuxLink service for the i.MX31 now have access to a reference distribution for Atmark-Techno's Armadillo-500. (more…)

DesktopLinux.com launched its 2007 Desktop Linux Survey on August 13, asking users of Linux desktops to identify what distributions they use, as well as their choice of windowing environment (KDE, GNOME, etc.), web browsers, email clients, and Windows-on-Linux solutions. (more…)

A project aimed at building a Linux distribution for media center PCs has achieved a major new release. LinuxMCE 0704 is based on Kubuntu, and offers lots of flashy features, such as whole-house high-definition video distribution, optional alpha-blended graphics, gyroscopic remote control, and much more. (more…)

Adlink has released a compact CPU board claimed compliant with version 3.02 of Kontron's ETX “computer-on-module” form-factor spec. The ETX-GLX is based on an AMD Geode LX 800 processor, offers optional HDTV output, supports Linux, and targets applications requiring “a long production life,” the company said. (more…)

Now that electromechanical specs and compliance tests are available for PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0, the PCI-SIG (special interest group) has outlined a forthcoming version 3.0 specification designed to support up to 8GT/s (gigatransfers per second). PCIe 2.0 compliant products are expected this year, followed by PCIe 3.0 products in 2010. (more…)

Embedded Linux OS hackers are invited to a free online tools demo next week. The demo features commercial Eclipse-based debugging tools from Ultimate Solutions Inc. (more…)

Motorola's director of Japanese operations has left to join Celunite, a vendor of Linux-based mobile phone software and development services. Tom Okada will serve as VP of sales and business development at Celunite, of Sunnyvale, Calif. (more…)

CellGuide has announced a chip aimed at helping device-makers implement GPS in smartphones and other handhelds at “breakthrough cost.” Called the ACLYS, it's said to minimize dedicated GPS silicon requirements by leveraging existing components in a mobile device. (more…)

The day Linux fans have been waiting for since SCO attacked Linux on May 12, 2003 has finally arrived. U.S. District Court Judge Dale Kimball has ruled that Novell, not SCO, owns Unix's IP (intellectual property) rights. (more…)

Out-of-band networking specialist MRV Communications introduced a Linux-powered scalable IP KVM (keyboard/video/mouse) switch at LinuxWorld in San Francisco this week. The MK-348 is touted as a 48-port IP KVM switch with integrated firewall capabilities, aimed at “high-density data center server farms.”… (more…)

McObject has made available an Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) application programming interface (API) for its real-time in-memory embedded database system. The company claims the new feature “greatly expands eXtremeDB's ability to share data with systems ranging from mainframes to servers to desktop applications.” (more…)