Linus Torvalds, Michael Widenius, and Rasmus Lehrdorf have issued a joint statement, in 11 languages, urging the European Union (EU) Council not to adopt draft legislation on software patents that will be presented to it next week. The open source triumvirate calls the pending legislation “deceptive, dangerous, and democratically illegitimate.” (more…)

A German company has used embedded Linux to build an in-car navigation system with route-planning, traffic avoidance, and spoken direction features. NaviFlash's NaviFlash device comes pre-installed with detailed maps of Germany, and the main roads of Europe, with maps of 17 other European countries also available. (more…)

Win Enterprises has introduced a series of application-oriented kits intended to help companies bring embedded products to market quickly and cost-effectively. Each kit targets specific markets, is based on an x86 processor, and is offered with support for Linux, the company says. (more…)

Opera Software is beta testing a version of its desktop browser featuring a new rendering technology said to eliminate horizontal scrolling, regardless of screen size. Extensible Rendering Architecture (ERA) technology, expected to appear in Opera 7.60, incorporates small-, medium-, and TV-screen rendering technologies into a single dynamic framework. (more…)

The Siemens Speedstream 8xxx set-top box for home entertainment, V2.0, is an all-in-one Linux-based device providing a wide range of home gateway and entertainment functions. It targets “triple play” (voice, data, video) television network operators, who can choose from several processors and DSP types, depending on their application. (more…)

The Siemens Speedstream 8xxx set-top box for home entertainment, V2.0, is an all-in-one Linux-based device providing a range of home gateway and entertainment functions. It targets “triple play” (voice, data, video) network operators, who can choose from several processors and DSP types, depending on their application. (more…)

D-Link has released source code, under the GNU GPL license, for a MIPS-based ADSL router with a built-in four-port switch and wireless 802.11g/b radio. The DSL-G604T supports “all major ISPs,” D-Link says, and has been marketed primarily in Australia, Great Britain, and Russia. (more…)

ADI Engineering is shipping a versatile hardware reference design targeting small-office wireless residential gateways with network attached storage and print server capabilities, security gateways with VPN termination, and VoIP (voice-over-IP) terminals. The IXDPG425, or “Monte Jade,” design is based on an Intel IXP425 network processor, (more…)

D-Link has released source code, under the GNU GPL license, for a MIPS-based ADSL router with a built-in four-port switch and wireless 802.11g/b radio. The DSL-G604T supports “all major ISPs,” D-Link says, and has been marketed primarily in Australia, Great Britain, and Russia. (more…)

NEC and its semiconductor subsidiary, NEC Electronics, will jointly develop a dual-mode baseband chip that will enable NEC's Linux-based 3G mobile phones — and other types of mobile terminals — to work both inside and outside of Japan. The dual-mode baseband chip could appear in products by 2007. (more…)

MontaVista Linux supports two relatively new MIPS32 core families from MIPS Technologies, the companies have announced. MontaVista's Professional Edition 3.1 now supports both the MIPS 24K, said to be the highest-performance 32-bit synthesizable processor core available, and the MIPS 4KE core, described as being popular in broadband and networking devices. (more…)

A California-based ODM (original design manufacturer) has licensed an embedded Linux operating system from Canadian software specialist and device reseller Empower. ODM Technologies will deploy Empower's LinuxDA Embedded operating system (LEOs) in OMAP5910-based consumer audio/visual products for the ODM/whitelabel market, expected to ship in 2005. (more…)

A brand new French software company has become a preferred solutions provider in Southern Europe for Sysgo's embedded Linux operating system and tools. AP Embedded Solutions S.A.S. (APES) will provide support, services, and training around Sysgo's ELinOS distribution, and will also sell and support a full range of LynuxWorks products. (more…)

[Updated Dec. 22, 2004] — Foreword: This study compares the real-time capabilities of various Linux kernels. It was part of a project to upgrade the control software in water-wave generators at research institutions around the world. The results of the study were used by Akamina for the selection of a new RTOS for the control system upgrade of Canada's largest hydraulics and coastal… (more…)

Cambridge Consultants has released a portable, hardware-independent Bluetooth software package aimed at embedded devices. The profiles and protocol stack — Interface Express and BlueStack — have been ported to multiple processor architectures including ARM and MIPS, and run on a range of embedded operating systems including Linux. (more…)