Linux device designers looking for faster boot/reset times should consider alternative BIOSes, suggests Peter Seebach in a technical introduction to open BIOSes published on IBM's DeveloperWorks website. Among other benefits, open BIOSes can save the time wasted by proprietary BIOS legacy support for MS-DOS and other unnecessary functions, Seebach notes. (more…)

Opera Software has updated its brower for Linux-based set-top boxes, portable media players, game consoles, and other devices. Opera 9 for Devices mainly adds support for “Widgets” — small applications based on web standards, and rendered in standalone browser windows without toolbars or… (more…)

CompuLab has introduced a 2.7 x 2.3-inch computer-on-module (COM) based on a 500MHz AMD Geode LX800 processor. In addition to its x86-compatible processor, the CM-iGLX integrates display, disk, USB, and networking controllers, and boasts fanless operation over an extended temperature range. (more…)

IBM has published the following new technical articles, tutorials, and downloads on its DeveloperWorks website. 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. Enjoy . . . ! (more…)

Seven embedded software and hardware companies are co-sponsoring a series of one-day technical seminars aimed at network equipment providers (NEPs). The seminars will showcase open architecture products and technology, and highlight system architecture, hardware, software, integration, and development practices, all “without any marketing fluff and targeted to developers and engineers.”

The series… (more…)

The open-source software “phenomenon” extends far beyond Linux, and is “gaining enormous momentum,” IDC reports. Following a recent survey of over 5,000 developers in 116 countries, IDC has concluded that open-source software represents “the most significant all-encompassing and long-term trend that the software industry has seen since the early 1980s.” (more…)

OSNews has published a detailed review of the Linux-powered Motorola Rokr E2 music phone. The review, by Eugenia Loli-Queru, takes a balanced look at both the hardware and the software, and identifies a number of the device's strengths and weaknesses. (more…)

[Updated Sep. 1] — Mistral Software has released a Linux 2.6-based board support package (BSP) for TI's OMAP5912 starter kit (OSK). Dubbed the Accelerator Program 1.1, the BSP aims to support developers who are creating or upgrading embedded Linux applications that target TI's OMAP5912 dual-core processor. (more…)

Hanbit Electronics and Pepper Computer will ship a third generation Linux-powered webpad “on or before September 30th,” Pepper confirmed Aug. 31. Compared to its predecessors, the Pepper Pad 3 boasts speedier web browsing, faster and more comprehensive multimedia support, smaller size, reduced weight, and numerous hardware… (more…)

Skype on Aug. 31 introduced a pair of cordless VoIP phones that work without being connected to a computer, via a DECT basestation that attaches directly to broadband and POTS lines. One of the two — the Philips VOIP841 — uses Linux as its embedded OS. (more…)

This year's Fall Microprocessor Forum will focus on advances in power-efficiency. The event, which will take place in San Jose, Calif. on Oct. 10 and 11, will feature over 22 presentations and keynotes, including many introductions of new processors and processor cores, according to conference organizer In-Stat. (more…)

McObject has port its in-memory embedded database to the open-source eCos RTOS (real-time operating system) as part of a collaborative relationship with eCosCentric, the commercial supplier of eCos. The eXtremeDB database will be supplied by eCosCentric as part of its real-time embedded systems middleware suite for eCos, the companies announced. (more…)

Taiwanese embedded specialist Embedian has launched a line of compact, low-power, “embedded box computers” built around the company's ARM-based single-board computers (SBCs). The EBC-7000 incorporates the company's APC-7110 SBC, hard drive, and… (more…)

[Updated Aug. 31] — Embedded designs often contain both NAND and NOR flash memory, to benefit from the advantages of each technology. A new whitepaper from flash filesystem specialist Datalight discusses the convergence of these two technologies in architectures that combine the benefits of both, and suggests criteria for optimizing new embedded system designs. (more…)

Ronetix has upgraded the firmware inside its JTAG-interfaced emulator and flash programmer. The new firmware allows the PEEDI JTAG tool to be used for direct programming of NAND flash connected to ARM7, ARM9, and XScale processors, enabling “easy” use of NAND as a system boot device, according to the company. (more…)