X86 is no longer the top architecture for embedded Linux devices, according to LinuxDevices.com's 2005 reader survey. ARM has passed x86 in new projects, our research suggests, while PowerPC is gaining quickly. (more…)

Linux versus Windows isn't just servers and desktops anymore. Smart devices are showing up all over the place, and the embedded arena features fighting just as intense. The Great Gadget Smack-Down aims to sort it out once and for all, and find out which embedded OS is best. (more…)

One of China's largest telecommunications equipment companies has used Linux and Qtopia Phone Edition to build a dual-band GSM mobile phone with a 1.3MP camera and unique pivoting color touchscreen. ZTE's e3 has strong multimedia and video capabilities, along with a full web browser and Chinese-English translation software. (more…)

AKCP has converted its data center security monitor from a proprietary RTOS to embedded Linux. The SensorProbe8Linux uses a variety of open source software to monitor server status, and a variety of attached sensors to monitor server room physical security. (more…)

Connect Tech used uClinux as the embedded software platform within a line of compact, intelligent Ethernet-to-serial interface adapters introduced last year. The Blue Heat/Net devices enable remote monitoring of a wide range of serial-interfaced equipment over the Web or on a local network, without requiring a dedicated PC. (more…)

Foreword — Paul McKenney recently summarized seven approaches to real-time Linux, in an epic 6,000-word post to the Linux Kernel Mailing List (lkml). McKenney's original post is reproduced below; curious readers are invited to consult the lkml archives, and follow up in the TalkBack at the end of this story. (more…)

[Updated 4PM] — Digital Techniques used embedded Linux, off-the-shelf mini-ITX parts, and high-end PCI soundcards to build a line of audiophile home network music servers. The Blackbird servers have 80-300GB hard drives, lots of networking options, and a web interface supporting small browsers such as those found on wireless PDAs. (more…)

Taiwanese network equipment manufacturer Planet used embedded Linux to build a small VoIP proxy server that supports 50 concurrent users. The SIP-50 is a standalone SIP-compliant proxy server with NAT traversal capabilities that can connect public and private VoIP networks, Planet says. (more…)

Foreword — This article describes how researchers at the University of Vermont used a real-time Linux operating system from FSMLabs to build a “laser trap” that manipulates individual molecules with a computer-controlled laser beam. The project illustrates how RTLinux separates time-critical and non-time-critical tasks, according to FSMLabs CEO Victor Yodaiken. (more…)

Foreword: Intel is conducting research initiatives to enable “a future in which computing will be ubiquitous, woven seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life.” This Intel-authored whitepaper outlines four of the initiatives: a Personal Server; Precision Location Technology; Low-Cost Location Technology; and a System for Human Activity Recognition and Prediction. (more…)

Foreword: This guest editorial by Richard M. Stallman (rms) takes a critical view of Nokia's announcement last week that it would exempt existing Linux kernels from patent litigation. Stallman founded the GNU Free Software project in 1984, and remains among its most idealistic and fervent supporters. (more…)

This installment in LinuxDevices.com's “Executive Interview” series explores PalmSource's plans with respect to morphing Palm OS into a middleware and application stack that runs on top of Linux, with an aim of targeting mobile phones and… (more…)

In this entertaining yet edifying essay, Viosoft Founder/CEO Hieu Tran sets out on a quest to debug a bug-report filed against his company's source-level debugger. The case leads Tran and his trusty Pomeranian toward a surprising, Sherlock Holmes-like epiphany illuminating the semantic assumptions made by compilers, debuggers, and, especially, users. (more…)

Foreword: In this technical whitepaper, Viosoft CEO Hieu Tran uses his company's debugging tools to explore QuickLogic's FPGA-based PCI bridge for Intel's PXA-27x, and an Atheros Wi-Fi card. He turns up an interesting attempt by Atheros to balance GPL compliance while protecting confidential third-party information. (more…)

The results of LinuxDevices.com's fifth annual Embedded Linux Market Survey are in! This brief summary outlines our interpretation of a few key data points. Overall, we find the results encouraging for embedded Linux, and for companies in the embedded Linux OS and tools market. (more…)