Registration is open for the tenth annual edition of OSCON (Open Source Convention), as well as for a co-located Ubuntu Live conference. Scheduled for Jul. 21-25 in Portland, Ore., O'Reilly's OSCON 2008 is expected to draw some 2,500 open source experts, visionaries, and hackers. (more…)

Vyatta has started shipping a major upgrade to its free Linux distribution for x86-based routers, firewalls, and VPN servers. The big new change in Vyatta Community Edition 4 (VC4) is a move to the open source Quagga routing protocol implementation, for better scalability and a more Linux-like command-line user interface. (more…)

CodeSourcery has updated its commercially supported versions of the GNU C/C++ Toolchain and Eclipse IDE (integrated development environment). The “spring release” of Sourcery G++ adds support for Linux ELF binaries on the MIPS architecture, and Windows binaries on x86, along with a QEMU-based simulator for PowerPC. (more…)

Access says work has begun adapting its Linux-based mobile phone stack to work with Japanese mobile phone marketshare leader NTT DoCoMo's 3G network. DoCoMo will begin distributing 3G FOMA phones based on Access Linux Platform (ALP) and an operator-specific pack in the second half of 2009, Access said. (more…)

Handset maker Motorola has taken an equity investment in VirtualLogix, a vendor of virtualization technology for handsets and telecom infrastructure equipment. The move could help Motorola push its Linux-based mobile phone OS into lower-cost handsets, while helping operators consolidate infrastructure and expand dynamic service offerings. (more…)

Fabless audio chipmaker SigmaTel is shipping a highly integrated system-on-chip (SoC) for personal navigation devices (PNDs). Available with a Linux BSP and support from Embedded Alley, the ARM9-based STMP3738 reduces BOM costs 15 percent, and will ship in finished products by July, the companies said. (more…)

A Nokia-sponsored project is porting Ubuntu Linux to the ARM architecture. The “Handheld Mojo” team has completed ARM builds of Feisty Fawn (dubbed “Frisky Firedrake”) and Gutsy Gibbon (“Grumpy Griffin”), with Hardy Heron compilation starting soon. (more…)

The maintainer of Linux 2.6 has called for a full-time, architecture-independent “embedded maintainer.” Speaking at a CELF's fourth annual Embedded Linux Conference, Morton also told embedded developers how to select a kernel, get support from the kernel community, and decide whether to submit code to mainline. (more…)

Like to build software for ARM-based development targets on the go? Tin Can Tools is readying a tiny, “unbrickable” Linux USB Gadget software development kit that can also be used as a sturdy, USB bus-powered development target for general ARM device prototyping, application testing, and experimentation. (more…)

Chipmaker Via's S3 Graphics division has announced a high-performance discrete graphics processor positioned as the first to meet the embedded industry's thermal requirements. The 4300E targets gaming and signage, offers HD video, DVI or HDMI output, and mixes dedicated and shared video memory. (more…)

The Linux community has released a new kernel that could have a major impact on personal computing, writes Henry Kingman on Linux-Watch. Release 2.6.25's support for the ARM-based Marvell Orion architecture could improve ARM's ability to fend off competition from x86, he suggests. (more…)

[Updated at 3:40] — A British Columbia-based startup called InkMedia announced an under-$300 notebook that runs embedded Linux. Based on a Via chip, the Ink Mobile Computer (Ink MC) depends on flash-based storage and offers an 8.6-inch SVGA display, four USB slots, Ethernet, and WiFi. (more…)

A non-profit open source project with high-profile backers has released beta code for an open source Flash media player, with a media server in the wings. Open Media Now's Gnash player runs standalone or as a plugin, and may run better than Flash on constrained devices. (more…)

Xilinx unveiled version 10.1 of its Embedded Development Kit (EDK) in support of its new high-end Virtex-5 FXT field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Meanwhile, software vendors supporting the EDK and the dual-core PowerPC-based FPGA include MontaVista, Wind River, LynuxWorks, Timesys, Avnet, Green Hills Software, and Lauterbach. (more…)

MontaVista Software announced a version of its mobile phone distribution that supports the Texas Instruments (TI) OMAP3430 system-on-chip (SoC). Mobilinux for the OMAP3430 is available immediately, says the company. (more…)