A new reference design for developing consumer “media center” applications was announced today by Toshiba America Electronic Components. The system, based on Toshiba's TX7901 64-bit MIPS architecture system-on-chip processor, is expected to form the basis of high performance media-centric consumer devices such as digital set-top boxes, personal video recorders, media gateways, and various other networked… (more…)

The Server Blade Summit 2003 tradeshow and conference has issued an announcement summarizing the results of its recently concluded event and about the overall state of the associated market. (more…)

[Updated Mar. 18, 2003] Microsoft and Wind River are currently in a “dead heat” for the top position in sales of embedded operating system software and toolkits, according to Stephen Balacco, embedded software analyst at Venture Development Corp. (VDC). (more…)

Progeny Linux Systems Inc. announced a web-based tool and associated services that are meant to ease the task of creating, testing, and maintaining custom Linux distributions for specialized applications — including embedded systems and devices. The new tool, called Linux Platform Manager, is used along with a subscription service called Progeny Platform Services. (more…)

The Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 Linux-based PDA can be purchased for just under $200 from the Home Shopping Network, according to a short article at Dealnews.com. (more…)

Sharp Electronics announced today that it has begun shipping the Zaurus SL-5600 Linux PDA. Relative to the earlier Zaurus SL-5500, the new model offers a faster CPU (400MHz XScale vs. 206 MHz StrongARM), twice the protected Flash storage memory (32MB vs 16MB), and extended battery life (1700 mAh). (more…)

Sleepycat Software says the latest version of its popular Berkeley DB database software represents the first database support for Linux operating systems compliant with the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) 1.1 feature set. Linux implementations which support OSDL CGL include those of MontaVista Software, Red Hat, and UnitedLinux (distributed by SuSE and TurboLinux). (more…)

eCosCentric Ltd. announced the release of eCos 2.0 Beta, the latest version of the eCos real-time operating system. According to the announcement, the 2.0 beta is a “substantial release, which reinforces eCos as the premier royalty-free open source RTOS.” (more…)

(PR excerpt) — TimeSys Corp. announced today that the latest version of its JTime real-time Java Virtual Machine (JVM) software development kit (SDK) is the first embedded Java development environment to fully comply with the Real-Time Specification for Java (“RTSJ” — see further discussion, below). (more…)

MontaVista Software Inc. announced today that it has joined the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), a global organization which has been formed to foster worldwide growth in the mobile services market. (more…)

Wireless CAN communication via GSM, GPRS, IRDA, and Bluetooth will be demonstrated in a one-day technical seminar for developers of automotive and related systems at the University of Warwick (UK) on March 20. (more…)

A recently completed research report on the global wearable computer market predicts growth over the coming three years from $100 million in 2002 to over $563 million in 2006. The study, by Venture Development Corp. (VDC), is titled The Global Market for Wearable Computers: The Quest for Killer Applications and is based on inputs from more than 500 respondents. (more…)

This online article at eWEEK takes a look at the latest release version of the Linux GNOME desktop windowing environment. According to the article, GNOME 2.2 adds “details such as application launch notification and improved font handling,” and GNOME 2.2 has “grown thicker with features and [has become] more polished, while maintaining the simplicity for which many value it . (more…)

“The triumphal march of Linux continues” at the giant CeBIT technology show in Hannover, Germany, observes EE Times editor Christoph Hammerschmidt. He notes that at this year's event, expected to draw over half a million visitors, there is a strong focus on all things mobile. (more…)

Donald Szeto explains how to stream MPEG-4 video on Linux, in this online how-to article on Linux Journal magazine's website. (more…)