Super-fast USB 3.0 technology may begin to supersede USB 2.0 in 2008. Drawing on technology developed by HP, Microsoft, NEC, NXP, Texas Instruments, and Intel, a USB 3.0 Promoter Group hopes to deliver by mid-2008 a proposed spec for backwards-compatible USB ten times faster than today's 480Mbps technology. (more…)

Aonix says its embedded Java stack was selected for a Linux-based in-flight entertainment system for corporate jets. Expected to ship in “tens of thousands” of planes starting in 2009, the system is based on a port of the PERC Ultra JVM to ARM's new EABI (embedded application binary interface). (more…)

Two industry groups working to standardize mobile device software have announced an alliance. The Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum and the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) say their partnership will increase interoperability among Linux-based phones, and between Linux- and non-Linux based phones and devices. (more…)

TimeSys is giving away a free (with registration) Linux BSP (board support package) said to support all of Atmel's AT91SAM9-series microcontrollers. The BSP could help users more easily evaluate the $6-$10 ARM9-based parts under Linux, without having to pony up for TimeSys's full annual support service subscription for the parts. (more…)

At the Open Source in Mobile (OSiM) tradeshow this week in Madrid, Wind River announced plans to partner with phone software and services provider Celunite. The companies will work through the LiMo Foundation to integrate Celunite's “mobile Linux platform, applications suite, and development tools” with Wind River's kernel and tools, they said. (more…)

Via Technologies is sampling the latest in its Epia series of mini-ITX motherboards, this time targeting developers of digital signage, network attached storage (NAS), and point-of-sale (POS) systems. (more…)

[Updated Sept. 18] — Trolltech will release its entire application development framework for Linux-based mobile phones under the GPL license, it announced on Sept. 18. Additionally, the development tools and software stack vendor plans to support FIC's iPhone-like GTA01 (“Neo1973”) as an… (more…)

Performance Technologies is sampling a Core 2 Duo-based processor module in the AdvancedMC (advanced mezzanine card, aka “AMC”) form-factor. The AMC121 supports PT's own NexusWare Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) implementation, and targets packet processing and general computing applications, including… (more…)

Cavium Networks has launched two families of Linux-friendly network accelerator cards. The lower-end Nitrox PX XL PCI-Express cards target security appliances, storage equipment, and service-provider infrastructure, while the higher-end Octeon XL NICPro2 PCI-X cards target L4-L7 switches, session border… (more…)

Freescale is sampling a new family of 32-bit microcontroller units (MCUs) “for Linux applications,” the company said. The ColdFire MCF5445x family includes a dozen different parts, along with a development board provided with a complimentary Linux BSP (board support package) and toolchain. (more…)

Analysis — It finally happened. Hounded by its enemies, SCO has had to declare chapter 11 bankruptcy. And, somewhere in Novell's offices there are some lawyers popping open a bottle or two of champagne. (more…)

Years after it was first predicted, The SCO Group, a Unix and mobile software distributor better known for its Linux litigation, has filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. (more…)

A Hong Kong-based WiFi equipment and service provider is offering a free Linux mini-distribution that might hold special appeal to builders of routers and other sparsely-resourced systems running x86-class processors. Voyage Solutions's “Voyage Linux” is based on Debian Etch, and retains Debian's handy apt-get package manager. (more…)

TimeSys has published another episode in its series of free, half-hour podcasts about embedded Linux development. In the new edition, hosts Gene Sally and Maciej Halasz discuss half a dozen free code analysis tools, including both dynamic and static tools. (more…)

Embedian has started shipping a tiny embedded processor module available with Linux and a development board with LCD. Roughly half the size of a credit card, the COM-7211 is based on an ARM9 processor, and targets industrial automation, portable devices, POS, transportation, medical, and defense applications. (more…)