Melco Holdings, the parent company of Buffalo Inc. and Buffalo Group, has signed a patent covenant deal with Microsoft to receive patent indemnity coverage for Buffalo's Linux-based networked-attached storage (NAS) and router equipment. Melco will pay a “financial consideration” to Microsoft, say the companies. (more…)

An iSuppli study says PC shipments will decline by four percent, but DisplaySearch projects that netbooks will grow at a 100 percent clip, says eWEEK.. Meanwhile, Intel reported positive second-quarter earnings, including (fines excluded) $1 billion profit on $8 billion in revenue, led by the Intel Atom, says eWEEK. (more…)

Aewin is shipping an ETX 3.0-compliant computer module, along with an associated ATX form-factor development baseboard. Targeting gaming devices, the CM-7100 module supports an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, and offers up to 2GB of DDR2 memory, dual SATA interfaces, and dual CRT/LVDS displays, says Aewin. (more…)

Janz Automation Systems of Germany has added a Linux-compatible, Intel Atom-based device to its family of embedded PCs. The “emPC-MN270” (left) includes a front-accessible CompactFlash slot, two CAN ports, two 10/100 Ethernet ports, plus available hard disks and PCI slots, the company says. (more…)

Enea introduced version 8.2 of its lightweight Polyhedra SQL RDBMS (relational database management system), adding IPv6 support, improved integration with Enea Element, and increased flexibility for Linux developers. The Swedish software company also announced a multi-core design win in a mobile base-station project that combines Linux and the EneaOSE RTOS. (more…)

ZF Micro Solutions is shipping an open source reference design for a low-cost, low-power, embedded control PC. The Linux-compatible ZFx86 Easy Embedded PC System (EEPC) design is built around a “failsafe” ZFx86 SoC, consumes under five Watts, and offers multiple I/O connectors, says the company. (more…)

MontaVista Software announced a professional services offering for developers working with the Google-sponsored Android mobile operating system. MontaVista's “Android Commercialization Services” will launch this week with a series of seminars in Tokyo, Taipei, and Seoul on developing for Android using MontaVista Linux, says the company. (more…)

Kontron announced a new CompactPCI SBC (single-board computer) that has four SATA ports, supporting RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 10. The “CP307-RS” includes a 1.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor or a 1.66Ghz Core Duo, and sports two gigabit Ethernet ports, the company says. (more…)

LaCie is shipping two Linux-based, WiFi-enabled HD media players, providing 500GB or 1TB of storage and UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) access to media content. The LaCinema Black Play offers 1080p HD playback, while the LaCinema Black Record also provides DVR capability, says LaCie. (more…)

Portwell announced a COM (computer on module) that's based on the Qseven form-factor and uses Intel's Z510PT and Z530PT processors. Targeting medical, industrial, and military markets, the PQ7-M102XL features gigabit Ethernet, eight USB ports, dual display support, and operates up to 176 deg. F, says Portwell. (more…)

At the Virtual Freescale Technology Forum this week, MontaVista will demonstrate “ultra-fast” boot times on MontaVista Linux for embedded industrial applications. The demo will feature a dashboard application loading fully operational in one second from cold boot on a PowerPC-based Freescale MPC5121e system-on-chip, claims MontaVista. (more…)

The Swedish company Strategic Test has announced a SODIMM-sized processor module using Freescale's recently announced i.MX25 SoC (system-on-chip). The Linux-compatible “Tx-Star” features a 400MHz i.MX257, 64MB of RAM, 128MB of flash, and an LCD controller, and is available with an evaluation baseboard. (more…)

Advantech announced a fanless PC designed for power-substation automation, touted for its IEC 61850-3 and IEEE 1613 compliance for environmental and networking standards. The Linux-compatible UNO-4672 uses a Pentium M or Celeron M, and offers dual power supplies and six LAN ports, says the company. (more…)

MontaVista Software announced its 10-year anniversary celebration today, and has published a web page in honor of the event. According to the embedded Linux software pioneer, there are over 60 million devices running MontaVista Linux today. (more…)

Phoenix Technologies announced that its fast-boot “HyperSpace” technology is now “aligned” with the Moblin project and that it will work with Intel to promote the technologies to netbook and nettop OEMs and ODMs. HyperSpace will improve the Linux-based Moblin stack's already considerable capabilities for fast-boot and power management, says Phoenix. (more…)