A smaller, lighter, faster, less expensive version of the Linux-based Pepper Pad web tablet will ship in August. The third-generation Pepper Pad 3 has moved to an x86-compatible AMD Geode processor, and is said to offer better performance, battery life, and other improvements. (more…)

This brief article highlights key findings from a recent survey of 467 embedded developers by Venture Development Corp. (VDC). Also discussed are findings from recent VDC research on vertical markets, including mobile phones, automotive telematics, and Internet services. (more…)

Foreword — The embedded market is a service industry, because off-the-shelf products are fundamentally ill-suited to the unique requirements of specialized embedded devices, argues Curt Schacker in this brief guest column. Schacker is CEO of embedded services company Embedded Solution Partners, and a veteran of Wind River and Ready Systems. (more…)

The results of LinuxDevices.com's sixth 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…)

Foreword: This brief article presents tips and tricks for reducing the consumption of power, paper, RAM, storage, and processor cycles in Linux systems. It was written by Michael Opdenacker, of Free Electrons, a training and consulting company that publishes free presentations and training materials about embedded Linux. Enjoy . . . ! (more…)

DVEO used Linux to build a high-definition MPEG-2 4:2:2 transport stream encoder that compresses HD-SDI video from HD cameras in near real time, and encodes it for transmission over satellite uplinks or cable networks. (more…)

The Grundig G500i Dreamphone is the first Linux-based iMode phone available in Europe, and the first of several planned Linux-based models. Two years in development, it is the result of a hardware design and Linux implementation from Purple Labs, and is available now in France. (more…)

Foreword — This article summarizes the appearance, evolution, and current state of Mini-ITX as a form-factor for embedded applications. It was written by Roland Groeneveld, who founded Logic Supply, a PC board and parts distributor specializing in Mini-ITX. (more…)

[Updated May 12] — GPLv3 will likely be adopted for Linux kernel, according to Bruce Perens (pictured at left). “It's a negotiation… I'm expecting the embedded manufacturers and the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and Linus to get the license to a point they can all live with,” Perens says. (more…)

EnFlex used embedded Linux in an industrial control and monitoring system targeting facilities management. The Site Control Server (SCS) G100 is based on a 586-class processor and runs Debian Linux. (more…)

Foreword: In this guest column, David Wood, co-founder and executive vice president of research at Symbian, explains why increasingly powerful and useful smartphones are beginning to proliferate. Noting the different categories of devices that smartphones are likely to supersede — such as music players, games consoles, messaging terminals, and digital cameras — Wood suggests that “all this… (more…)

Glyph Technologies used Linux and key open source audio software packages to build a personal monitoring system aimed at letting musicians create their own monitor mixes from local and networked audio sources. (more…)

Foreword: Sun co-founder Scott McNealy's tenure as CEO came to an end this week, amidst a chorus of reaction. In this opinion piece, veteran Unix journalist Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols acknowledges McNealy's formative contributions to the… (more…)

Foreword: In this guest editorial, FSMLabs CEO Victor Yodaiken relates his company's experiences in the real-time Linux market to Wind River's efforts to reposition embedded software development as “device software optimization,” or DSO. (more…)

You don't think of NASCAR fans as Linux users, so much, but a new wireless handheld device available for rent at select races makes them just that. The NASCAR FanView devices rented out by Sprint at Nextel Cup races are based on Kangaroo TV's IVT-200, an interactive multimedia transceiver based on Linux and Qtopia. (more…)