ARM is shipping its first-ever processor core designed for synthesis onto the programmable elements of FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays). The company hopes its “soft” Cortex-M1 processor will help device designers standardize on a single architecture for ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), ASSPs (application specific standard parts), and FPGAs. (more…)

As Debian moves inexorably (glacially?) toward “Etch,” its next release, ARM support keeps improving. Debian hacker Martin Michlmayr reports that Release Candidate 2 of the Etch installer, available now, adds support for Intel's… (more…)

Italian start-up Mazatech is shipping the first stable release of its hardware-accelerated commercial 2D vector graphics library for small-screen embedded devices. (more…)

Commercial Linux OS and tools vendors are being challenged by increasingly sophisticated competition from purely open-source software alternatives, according to Venture Development Corp. (more…)

Yoggie Security Systems has introduced inexpensive personal and small-business versions to its line of tiny, Linux-based firewalls for laptops and PCs. The Yoggie Gatekeeper “Personal” and “SOHO” models can detect and prevent intrusions, give parents control, and thwart viruses, spyware, SPAM, and phishing,… (more…)

Embedded R&D house eInfochips is offering an IP network camera reference design that runs Linux on a TI DaVinci RISC/DSP processor. The “IPNetCam” targets intelligent IP surveillance cameras, and is claimed to be among the first camera designs to support “dual streaming.”

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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. (more…)

Foreword: This guest column summarizes results from a recent study on Linux in the embedded systems market by Venture Development Corp. (VDC). The results suggest that commercial Linux OS suppliers, such as MontaVista, Wind River, TimeSys Sysgo, and many others, are struggling to compete with purely open source offerings. (more…)

Arasan is shipping a suite of synthesizable IP (intellectual property) cores for peripheral interfaces that comply with Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) standards, for use with ARM or other CPU cores. The cores work with common system buses such as ARM's AMBA AHB bus, and include Linux drivers and stacks, according to the company. (more…)

Vision Objects has released a major update to its SDK (software development kit) for designing handwriting recognition support into mobile and embedded devices. The MyScript Builder Embedded v2.0 SDK now supports 75 languages, features a reduced resource footprint, and offers new capabilities such as gesture… (more…)

Trolltech's Linux-based Greenphone reportedly was featured in a presentation on open source hardware at this week's SXSW (South-by-Southwest) Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. (more…)

This article describes the floating point performance advantages of Linux applications compiled to support ARM's EABI (embedded application binary interface). The authors discuss the results of open source benchmarks run on an ARM9 board with an open source hardware design. (more…)

A Linux-based phone with mapping and voice navigation capabilities has gone on sale in China. The Tranzda PM328 can help users locate nearby businesses, such as restaurants and gas stations, and then guide them to their destination with voice prompts, according to GPS module supplier U-blox. (more…)

PC/104-Plus CPU module shipments will grow steadily through the next three years, approaching those of PC/104 itself, according to Venture Development Corp. (VDC). The research firm also expects shipments of PCI-104 CPU modules to grow, albeit much more slowly than originally anticipated. (more…)

Four new educational webinars on embedded Linux development will be available from TimeSys, a provider of embedded Linux development services. Most of the webinars are vendor-neutral, at least in part, while others focus on the use and benefits of the company's LinuxLink developer service. (more…)