A commercial supplier of open-source routing and firewall software has transitioned its community-supported firewall/router Linux distribution to a Debian base. Vyatta Community Edition 2 (VC2) is based on Debian, runs on commodity x86 hardware, includes excellent documentation, and supports numerous enterprise features, including serial T1/E1 cards, VLANs, RIP, and OSPF. (more…)

An India-based development services provider is offering Eclipse plugin-based GNU toolchains for Renesas processors, and an Eclipse-based IDE for Linux- and Windows-based development hosts. KPIT Cummins says its “KPIT Coronoa” IDE and KPIT GNU toolchains offer state-of-the-art features, and are suitable for commercial product development. (more…)

Japanese semiconductor vendor Renesas is readying a new 32-bit RISC SoC (system-on-chip) with integrated 2D graphics engine and lots of PC peripherals. The SH7764 clocks to 324MHz, runs Linux, and targets audio systems, digital media players, office automation, and car navigation systems, among other applications. (more…)

Linux distributor TerraSoft is accepting pre-orders for Sony Playstation3 gaming devices pre-installed with Linux, alongside the PS3's native gaming OS. Additionally, TerraSoft, IBM, RapidMind, and Vivendi game publisher High Moon Studios are offering seminars to help game developers… (more…)

HelloSoft has ported its IMS/VCC (IP multimedia subsystem / voice call continuity) framework for dual-mode mobile devices to TI's OMAP850 mobile phone processor. The HelloIMS IMS/VCC client offers users a seamless hand-over between cellular and WiFi networks using a single device and a single user interface, according to the company. (more…)

A&D Electronics is offering a flash storage key that may actually be bombproof. Aimed at the military market, and priced at $700 for a 1GB unit, the IronDrive was designed to offer protection from “moisture, vibration, shock, caustic agents, EMI, and nuclear effects,” the company claims. (more…)

Within five years, thirty-eight percent of mobile phones will incorporate “control surfaces” such as touchscreens and touchpanels, according to ARCchart. The wireless research and consulting firm expects control surfaces to increasingly replace buttons and scrollwheels, in part because they replace mechanical parts and… (more…)

Speech synthesis specialist Cepstral LLC has announced a toolset aimed at helping users synthesize their own voices. The Web 2.0-based VoiceForge tools are said to enable users to capture or “bank” their own voices, after which the company's lightweight, embeddable text-to-speech software can synthesize their voice saying anything at all. (more…)

[Updated Feb. 21] — The market for outsourced standard or customized “embedded integrated computer systems” (EICS) will grow 64 percent from 2005 to 2010, to nearly $6 billion, fueled by standards like AdvancedTCA, VME, and CompactPCI, VDC forecasts. The finding comes from VDC's latest analysis of EICS shipments in six vertical markets. (more…)

A company offering low-cost remote access equipment based on uClinux has embraced a popular open-source network and device monitoring package. OpenGear says its gateways and console servers now enable managed service providers to offer customers an affordable monitoring solution based on Nagios. (more…)

Fabless chip-vendor Redpine Signals has introduced a semiconductor platform for devices requiring Mobile WiMAX functionality. The Lite-MAX low-power mobile platform offers all features of the WiMAX Wave-2 profiles, and comes with reference drivers for Linux, Windows CE, and Windows XP, according to the company. (more…)

Lippert Embedded Computers recently released three new single-board computers (SBCs) with support for embedded Linux. One is an EPIC format SBC based on Pentium/Celeron M processors, while the other two are PC/104-Plus modules supporting a choice of Pentium M or Geode LX800 processors. (more…)

The Mono Project on Feb. 20 announced that it has developed a Visual Basic compiler that will enable software developers who use Microsoft Visual Basic to run their applications on any platform that supports Mono, such as Linux, without any code modifications. (more…)

Wind River, one of the world's top embedded software providers, has acquired a real-time Linux distribution and patented hard-real-time technology from FSMLabs Inc. The acquisition will help Wind River penetrate new and emerging markets requiring extremely tight timing constraints, including the vast, emerging market for low-cost, single-core feature phones, according to the company. (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. (more…)