Texas Instruments (TI) has developed a low-level application programming interface (API) and a coding standard for its DaVinci DSPs and RISC/DSPs. The freely downloadable additions to its eXpressDSP toolset aim to simplify development of devices supporting multiple codecs, and make third-party codecs more interoperable, among other touted benefits. (more…)

A minimalistic Linux distribution that can run OpenGL-based applications without X is now available from New Zealand based hacker Zeljko “Zelko” Aksentijevic. Zelko said his “MyOS Miniature OpenGL development system” shows that Linux development systems can be simple. (more…)

LinuxDevices.com's survey results consistently show Debian to be the most popular distribution among device developers. For example, our 2007 survey indicated that Debian was used in device-related projects by 13 percent of the survey's 932 participants — roughly double the score of MontaVista, the most popular strictly-embedded distribution. (more…)

LinuxDevices.com's survey results consistently show Debian to be the most popular distribution among device developers. For example, our 2007 survey indicated that Debian was used in device-related projects by 13 percent of the survey's 932 participants, roughly double the score of MontaVista, the most… (more…)

[Updated Apr. 30] — Data Evolution Corp (DEC), the company that recently aquired AMD's PIC (personal Internet computer) design, on April 26 announced its first ultra-mobile PC (UMPC). (more…)

Codec specialist Hantro has added support for “Silverlight” — a new Adobe Flash-like multimedia technology from Microsoft — to its ultra low-powered hardware VC-1 codec for mobile devices running Linux and other embedded OSes. The “7190 Multiformat decoder” can decode VC-1-encoded 720p video at 30fps, the company said. (more…)

IBM has published the following new technical articles, tutorials, and downloads on its DeveloperWorks and AlphaWorks websites. They cover a range of interesting (though not necessarily embedded) technical topics, primarily related to Linux and open source system development. Some require free registration. (more…)

[Updated 3:20 PM] — A fairly new GPL-licensed 16-bit, real-time, networkable, DOS-workalike operating system appears to be under intensive development. “NXDOS” boots from a floppy, and has recently gained a new device driver design with some hardware autodetection capabilities. (more…)

A growing list of presentations from the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum (CELF) conference earlier this month is being collected at the CELF WiKi. The event featured 52 deeply technical presentations, many describing original kernel development projects aimed at improving Linux for use in devices. (more…)

Days after unveiling its first Pico-ITX design, Via says “ultra mobility” will be the theme of its eighth annual technology forum. (more…)

[Updated May 3] — FlipStart, founded in 2002 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, earlier this month began shipping its first product. The FlipStart 1.0 squeezes a full PC — including a 1.1GHz processor, hard drive, display, keyboard, and wireless communications — into an ultra-compact,… (more…)

Analysis — It took longer than Linux creator Linus Torvalds would have liked, but the latest Linux kernel, version 2.6.21, has arrived. It brings many minor and major changes in how Linux handles process scheduling and time. (more…)

Taiwanese board vendor Avalue has introduced a mini-ITX board with an ultra-low-power AMD Geode processor, and supported by guaranteed three- to five-year lifecycle availability. The EMB-9655 features analog, digital, and LVDS display interfaces, runs Linux, and targets POS (point-of-sales) and thin client… (more…)

Matt Mackall, principal developer for the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum (CELF), is working on a set of kernel patches that let users access detailed, page-level run-time information on process memory usage. (more…)

The results of LinuxDevices.com's seventh annual Embedded Linux Market Survey are in! This brief summary outlines our interpretation of a few key data points. (more…)