Most LinuxDevices.com readers are well aware of how difficult it is to judge the utility of competing software development methods in objective and quantifiable ways. The proliferation of languages, software engineering methodologies, and tools suggests that it is not easy to determine which way is best — clearly, if one way were verifiably best, in a results-oriented field the inferior methods would… (more…)

Updated Sep. 16 — Trolltech announced the release of version 1.7 of Qtopia, the Linux-based application environment for mobile embedded devices that is used in Sharp's Zaurus PDAs. The latest Qtopia release is said to offer new levels of speed, performance, and customizability. (more…)

[Updated 8:00pm PDT] — Interact-TV unveiled a developer version of the Linux-based Telly MC1000 Digital Entertainment Center, at LinuxWorld today. According to Interact-TV, the Telly MC1000d developer version is a complete system with full capabilities for playing, recording, and archiving TV shows; ripping and burning CDs; playing DVDs, music, and digital photos; and sharing media over a home… (more…)

Not able to attend LinuxWorld, but want to know what's happening there? CNET has a comprehensive “special report” covering many of the keynotes, product and technology announcements, and show-floor buzz of this year's Linux extravaganza in San Francisco. (more…)

Advanced Micro Devices announced an agreement with National Semiconductor to acquire National's 'x86' architecture Geode system-on-chip processor family (used in a large number of consumer devices, especially set-top boxes and tablet PCs). (more…)

RealNetworks launched the open source, collaborative Helix Player project at LinuxWorld today, and announced that membership in the Helix community has now exceeded 20,000, including both open source and commercial developers. The goal of the Helix Player project is to develop a comprehensive open source media player for Linux, Unix, and Solaris, with broad industry support among companies and… (more…)

SnapGear announced new embedded Linux support for Intel's XScale processors. Intel will ship SnapGear's embedded Linux distribution with development boards for the Intel IXP4XX network processor product line, and SnapGear will provide free downloads of the IXP4XX from its website, the company said. (more…)

[Updated Aug. 6, 2003] — In the continuing saga of SCO's claim that Linux contains unlicensed SCO proprietary technology, here is SCO's latest announcement, which, we note, includes a reference to the use of Linux in embedded applications . . . (more…)

Opera Software announced that over 10 million copies its Opera web browser have been downloaded from its website so far this year, a new record. This is in addition to the many millions more copies of Opera that were obtained from other download sites around the world, including in Europe, the U.S., and Japan, the company said. (more…)

MontaVista Software announced today that its embedded Linux Consumer Electronics Edition (CEE) operating system now supports IBM's PowerPC 405LP, an embedded processor that targets “pervasive devices” such as advanced PDAs and cell phones. (more…)

Motorola's Metrowerks software tools unit launched a “professional” integrated development environment (IDE) and tool suite for developing Linux-based application software targeting the latest Sharp Zaurus PDAs, including the SL-5600. (more…)

AMD will demonstrate a Linux-based PDA solution at LinuxWorld this week. The technology demonstration consists of the Metrowerks OpenPDA software platform running on the latest version of AMD's Alchemy Solutions Mobile Handheld Reference Design Kit (RDK). (more…)

An announcement to the LinuxDevices.com community from the Opie project . . .

The Open Palmtop Integrated Environment (Opie) project is pleased to announce its first 1.0 release. Having been forked from TrollTech's Qtopia environment, Opie has evolved into the most sophisticated free and open graphical user interface for Linux based embedded devices and PDAs. (more…)

A report released by In-Stat/MDR takes a look at Intel's competitors who make x86 compatible processors. Despite industry pundits' expectation that they would not survive, AMD and other Intel x86 competitors (such as VIA and Transmeta) have subsisted and even, at times, thrived, the report finds — this, in spite of the economic roller coaster of the past several years. (more…)

Red Hat launched two efforts “to protect Red Hat Linux customers and the worldwide Linux industry” today. The first is a lawsuit filed against The SCO Group, and the second is the establishment of a legal defense fund “to further protect the integrity of Open Source software and the Open Source community.” Additionally, Red Hat noted that it has pledged one million dollars to the legal defense fund. (more…)