How do you build a thriving commercial software business out of software that's available under the GNU General Public License? Trolltech's strategy is to offer customers a choice: a GPL version at no charge or a version compatible with proprietary software at a fair price. (more…)

One of the most entertaining aspects of spending an otherwise exhausting decade conjuring a geeked-out, canoe-scale, Linux-based, amphibian pedal/solar/sail trimaran, is that every new twist in the project involves steep learning curves and, in many cases, spin-offs. (more…)

While most open-source projects are applications and utilities intended for single users, we did something different. We created an infrastructure project: a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone system that either can run on a single box attached to a couple of IP phones or can scale up to a network of hosts processing hundreds of calls between thousands of users. (more…)

Recent events haven't been kind to the embedded world. After the bursting of the dot-com and Linux bubbles, many embedded Linux companies, prematurely expanded to nonprofitable levels by the prior year's venture capital investment excesses, were especially hard hit and went through multiple rounds of layoffs. (more…)

In this informative and entertaining technical article, embedded developer Patrick Glennon relates his experiences in creating a small Linux-based system for a client that required robust, easy-to-use, low-cost kiosks for conducting surveys at hotels. Glennon makes use of Intrinsyc's CerfPod as the kiosk's base platform, and equips it with open source software such as the Familiar project's Linux… (more…)

This is the slide presentation given by John Lombardo (author of Embedded Linux, published by New Riders) at the Embedded Linux Expo & Conference (ELEC) held in Reston, VA during November, 2001. Quoting from the introduction . . . (more…)

Lineo has released Linux USB Device software, which was developed to support the Sharp Zaurus Linux PDA, under the GNU GPL open source license. The software can be freely downloaded from Lineo's open source website. (more…)

In this guest editorial, Bruce Perens offers his perspective on the Microsoft antitrust settlement with the Justice Department and nine states. Perens describes how Microsoft initially promised to open up technology that would allow competing products to interoperate with Windows, but backed away by creating new licensing in response. Perens writes . . . (more…)

Reviewing the new Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 for ZDNet, Colin Duwe examines the benefits of Linux in the device. Proclaiming the new PDA a 'budding competitor' Duwe writes . . . (more…)

Back in November of 2000, Jim Thompson, Kem McClelland, Brad Martin, and Jamie Thompson started brainstorming about the idea creating a company to specialize on the emerging market for publicly accessible wireless access points. They reasoned that there would soon be a significant opportunity to supply devices to public access “hot-spot” providers, wireless ISP/infrastructure providers (WISPs), and… (more…)

When Linux NetworX announced a new appliance-like device that is used for managing rack-mounted Linux clusters, called the ICE Box, LinuxDevices.com naturally wanted to crack open the ICE Box's door to find out what's inside. In this article, Linux NetworX Cluster Tools product manager Jason Lowry opens up the ICE Box and takes you on a tour of its internal hardware and software, explaining what it does… (more…)

In January, at Linux World in New York, a group of major global corporations — including semiconductor manufacturers Intel and IBM, and equipment providers Nokia, Alcatel, and Cisco — announced that they were joining forces with the Open Source Development Lab to define a common industry… (more…)

With the possible exception of TiVo, the Sharp Zaurus PDA represents the highest profile Linux-based consumer product from a major electronics manufacturer to hit retail sales channels. Unlike TiVo, however, Sharp is strongly promoting the presence of Linux in the Zaurus as a key selling-point, and is fostering the development of third-party software and hardware products for… (more…)

The Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) held in San Francisco during the week of March 11, 2002 was expected to draw over 15,000 attendees from all facets of the embedded systems market. Despite the much slower than anticipated economic conditions, event organizers report that attendance reached around 12,000. (more…)

In the previous tutorial of this series on installing Linux on PDAs, we discussed installing the uClinux distribution on a Handspring Visor. This time, we will take a look at a Linux distro specifically designed for the VTech… (more…)