William Wong, writing for Electronic Design, examines some of the reasons for the growing popularity of Linux among embedded system developers, and compares the costs and benefits of using embedded Linux to those of traditional embedded OS/RTOS solutions. Wong isn't convinced (yet) that embedded Linux is the most cost effective (or best) solution — but his brief article is long on “FUD” and short on… FACTS. To his credit, however, Wong ends his article with a call for email from developers with experience using embedded Linux. Anyone want to take him up on that request? (Hint: click here) Wong writes . . .

“That cute Linux penguin is looking to hide out in your next embedded-systems project. What will it cost to let Linux in? Maybe more than you think, so don't jump ship if you're already using reliable alternatives, like VxWorks or QNX. Those might actually be cheaper in the long run.”

“Linux's lure is threefold. It isn't burdened by licensing fees, source code is readily available, and there's a large choice of free applications. All of this is true in general. But, the details of Linux can bring about several concerns.”

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