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Trenton Technology announced a full-size PICMG 1.3 single board computer (SBC) that's available with Intel's recently announced, quad-core Xeon E3-12xx processors. The TSB7053 offers up to 32GB of DDR3 memory, PCI and PCI Express expansion, six SATA interfaces, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, both DVI-D and VGA video, and a Mini PCI Express slot.
The final agenda has been posted for the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) Silicon Valley 2011, scheduled for May 2-5. This year's event features four keynotes — including one from Steve Wozniak — plus 240 exhibitors, a teardown and giveaway of the Nook Color, and a Linux/Android track with sessions on Android sensors, Linux flash file systems, and “Android vs. MeeGo.”
Google has been sued for $50 million by two HTC Inspire 4G owners in Michigan in a class-action lawsuit regarding Android's ability to collect information on a user's GPS location. Meanwhile, Oracle gained an early upper hand in its Android-related lawsuit against Google, and Barnes & Noble has countersued Microsoft over its Nook-related Android suit, arguing anti-competitive behavior by Redmond.
Intel has reportedly shown working prototypes of silicon for a photonics link that moves data at 50Gbps. Capable of transmitting the equivalent of an entire HD movie every second, the technology will be ready to be integrated into PCs, embedded devices, and consumer electronics by 2015, according to the chipmaker.
Google announced a version of Google Talk for Android that enables voice and video chat, appearing first on Samsung Nexus S phones that have been updated to Android 2.3.4. Also this week, Google released a Google Docs for Android app that lets users turn pictures with text into editable documents.
Toradex launched a pico-ITX carrier board for its Colibri modules, available with free schematics and compatible with Linux or Windows Embedded Compact 7. The Toradex Iris can support any Toradex Colibri module but is available with the Colibri T20 module pre-installed, making it one of the first Nvidia Tegra 2-based development boards, according to the company.
Aaeon has added to its line of fanless embedded controllers with a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo-based model. The AEC-6924 has two DVI-I video outputs, two Ethernet ports, a CompactFlash slot, four RS232/422/485 serial ports, plus Mini PCI, PCI and PCI Express x1 expansion slots, the company says.
Amrel announced the availability of Linux on a ruggedized, military-focused handheld PC that includes a five-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touchscreen. The Rocky DB6 has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, 32GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of SSD (solid state disk) storage, and a Mini PCI Express expansion slot, the company says.
Lanner announced a modular 1U network appliance that supports Intel's recently announced Xeon E3 CPUs. The FW-8865 includes from five to 21 gigabit Ethernet ports, up to 16GB of RAM, one or two hard disk drives, a CompactFlash slot, and a front-panel character display, the company says.
Ubuntu 11.04 is available for free download, featuring a new touch-enabled Unity desktop environment, expected by Canonical to steer the popular Linux distro toward a tablet future while keeping the Ubuntu faithful happy. Other new features include LibreOffice 3.3.2, Firefox 4.0, and improvements to the Software Center.
Advantech announced an “infotainment terminal” for hospital patients that includes a 15.6-inch touchscreen and a single- or dual-core Intel Atom processor. The PIT-1502W offers a resistive touchscreen with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, a two megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, RFID, and a smart card reader, according to the company.
The worldwide market for operating system software grew nearly eight percent to $30.4 billion in 2010, led by Microsoft Windows with 78.6 percent market share, says Gartner. Yet Linux was the fastest growing server OS, and Apple's Mac OS had the fastest growth on the desktop, says the research firm.
MIPS Technologies says it's working on a port of Android 3.0 (“Honeycomb”) to the MIPS architecture, and also announced a 15 percent year-to-year increase in revenues for its fiscal third quarter. Meanwhile, MIPS and new licensee Ali Corp. of Taiwan announced Ali's Linux-compatible, MIPS32-based “M3701G” chipset, designed for triple-play set-top boxes.
Buoyed by sales of smartphones and tablets, ARM Holdings reported a 35 percent increase in year-over-year profits. The company added that shipments of processors based on its designs were up 33 percent, while 39 different licensees signed up during the first quarter of its financial year.
Verizon says it is happy with Motorola Xoom tablet sales, despite a Global Equities estimate that only 25,000 to 120,000 units — a small fraction of the 500,000 to 800,000 units said to have been manufactured — have actually sold. Meanwhile, increasing frustration with Android fragmentation, as well as a rough-edged Android 3.0 (“Honeycomb”) release, has tipped mobile developer interest back toward the Apple iPad, claims an Appcelerator/IDC survey.