Fujitsu has developed a new electronic paper technology that can hold vibrant color images without electricity. The thin, flexible paper is more vivid than an LCD, requires only small amounts of electricity to update, and could be commercialized as soon as 2007, Fujitsu says. (more…)

The year 2006 will bring great strides for Linux, but no great revelations, predicts Oliver Kaven, who ponders Linux's potential in a PC Magazine feature article. While nodding to Linux's well-accepted success in the server space, Kaven concludes that embedded Linux will quietly achieve corporate acceptance, (more…)

A Sun Linux thin client could reinvigorate network computing, reports Sean Gallagher in a hands-on review at Channel Insider. Gallagher says the Sun Ray 170 competes with Windows desktops in browser, email, word processing, and spreadsheets, outshining it in applications with mobile workers, such as retail. (more…)

Axiomtek claims that its new Panel PC is the first such device to combine a high-resolution 17-inch LCD screen with an embedded RAID subsystem. The PANEL1170-800 is based on an Intel Pentium 4 and 852GM chipset, and it supports Linux, among other OSes. (more…)

Kontron is shipping improved versions of two of its ETX form-factor single-board computers (SBCs). The company has boosted the performance of both its Celeron-based ETX-P3T and its Celeron ULV-based ETX-P3Tx, while maintaining “reasonable” power consumption levels of under 10W, it says. (more…)

Aeronix used Linux to build a $99 instant messenger appliance aimed at kids. Naturally, hackers soon took an interest in expanding the device's functionality. The Zipit includes an 802.11b/g WiFi radio, 16-color greyscale LCD with QVGA (320×240) resolution, and a thumb keyboard with rubber buttons. (more…)

Aeronix used Linux to build a $99 instant messenger appliance aimed at keeping kids from tying up the family PC while chatting with friends. Naturally, hackers soon appropriated the device for other duties, such as remotely controlling/monitoring Sony's Aibo robot. (more…)

Free software is a billion dollar industry with proven business models, writes eWEEK columnist Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols. Dual-licensing, support, and other models can all work, if the right model is chosen and implemented wisely. (more…)

Qualcomm is sampling a high-integration mobile phone chipset targeting convergent consumer devices such as multimedia players, gaming devices, and cameras. The MSM7500 integrates an ARM11 application processor with an ARM9 modem processor, and supports embedded Linux, BREW, and other third-party OSes. It works with CDMA Rev. A networks. (more…)

“Hot, Cool, Retooled” is the theme of the SpeechTEK Conference and Exhibition running August 1 through 4 in New York City. It will feature an interactive hands-on demo lounge where attendees can explore the speech technologies that are reshaping consumer electronics in PDAs, games, mobile phones, and other handheld devices. (more…)

Neoware says it has developed software that can eliminate CompactFlash chips from thin-client designs. Neoware Image Manager streams applications and operating systems on-demand from Linux or Windows servers to PCs or thin clients, allowing users to run applications without any need for local storage. (more…)

Addonics is shipping a CompactFlash-to-SATA adapter that can be used to boot a computer from a Linux operating system embedded in a CompactFlash card. The prosaically named “SATA to CF Adapter” is claimed to be among the fastest CF readers/writers available. (more…)

The latest SDIO device-controller IP (intellectual property, for buildling semiconductor devices) from Arasan Chip Systems supports Version 1.20 of the SDIO specificiation for postage-stamp-sized SD memory expansion cards, which are being built into a wide range of new digital products such as mobile phones, PDAs, multimedia players, and digital cameras. (more…)

A satellite communications company has called satellite-delivered WiMAX “the future for handheld devices.” At a WiMAX Forum Plenary today and tomorrow in Vancouver, PanAmSat will use WiMAX to deliver what it claims to be the first-ever live video sent by satellite to a handheld device. (more…)

Parvus is shipping a trio of powerful fanless PC/104-Plus CPU modules aimed at high-vibration, extreme temperature sealed embedded-PC applications, such as mobile computing. The SpacePC CPU-146x boards feature an 800MHz ULV Pentium III processor, along with heat-spreader plates for attachment to heat-sinks or cases. (more…)