ELJonline: New Products (Nov. 2001)
Nov 1, 2001 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — viewsPIXIL, REDSonic, D3 CompactPCI SBC, Red Hat Embedded Developer Suite
PIXIL
New line of graphical environments and applications for PDAs, webpads, set-top boxes, cellular phones, handheld devices and thin clients.
The Microwindows graphical windowing system is the core of the PIXIL PDA solution. A keyboard screentop, scheduler, e-mail client, browser and clock are some of the available PIMs.
PIXIL is a suite of commercial-ready, embedded software solutions for advanced internet appliances, available from Century Embedded Technologies. Developed for multiple form factor, flat-panel devices with requirements for wireless communications, networking, web browsing, power management and GUIs, PIXIL's modular framework of preconfigured elements is designed for ease of use, compatibility and maintenance.
The center of the suite is the PIXIL OE, designed specifically for embedded devices. PIXIL features minimal disk and RAM requirements, is designed for portability and can run on a wide variety of hardware platforms, including StrongARM, MIPS, PPC, SH and x86. PIXIL OE features a screentop application launcher and file manager, handwriting recognition, graphical configuration utilities and a pop-up keyboard.
Other elements of the embedded suite are a PIM for PDA and flat-panel devices, a Desktop Manager that interacts with PIM counterparts, internet connectivity software featuring the ViewML browser, engineering services, the PIXIL SDK, PIXIL Thin Client with 32MB Flash RAM and applications such as an MP3 player, voice recorder and terminal emulator.
Manufacturer: Century Embedded Technologies
Model: PIXIL
Suggested Retail Price: Contact manufacturer
URL: http://www.centurysoftware.com/
REDSonic
During LinuxWorld in August 2001, REDSonic announced five new products for the embedded market as well as new features for RED-Builder.
REDSonic/Clarity Visual's SignSite is a digital signage solution powered by REDSonic technology that can be used for large-scale displays.
As part of their strategy to expand the company focus, REDSonic has announced five new embedded products. Secure SOHO is gateway and firewall software for individual systems and small businesses connecting to the Internet with a single connection. Windows-Based Terminal (WBT) provides thin client, Linux-based access to Windows applications and services aimed at ASPs, telecommuting and remote login/administration. LinuxBIOS is a ROM-based kernel that replaces legacy BIOS code for secure and fast booting of thin clients and terminal workstations.
The REDSonic PowerPC (MPC823) Starter Kit demonstrates CPU resource allocation with rate monotonic scheduling in the REDICE-Linux SDK. Finally, REDSonic/Clarity Visual is a digital signage solution that can be displayed in airports, retail centers, and other command and control facilities. In addition, new features have been added to RED-Builder, a graphical building tool, including a platform editor that allows developers to build applications on any board.
Manufacturer: REDSonic, Inc.
Model: Various
Suggested Retail Price: Contact manufacturer
The D3 CompactPCI SBC
MEN Micro's CompactPCI single-board computer (SBC), the D3, offers I/O flexibility for three different mezzanine standards.
The D3 comes in three versions depending on the the mezzanine standard implemented; each version includes a 300MHz PowerPC XPC8245.
The D3 is a one-slot 6U CompactPCI board with three M-Modules or three PC MIP or two PMC mezzanine sites. The multiple I/O standards allow the SBC to be customized inexpensively for a range of embedded and intelligent I/O applications. In CompactPCI systems, the D3 operates as a master system-slot board, but it also can function as a standalone processing unit in embedded applications, without a bus connection.
Use the M-Module slots for industrial control applications, the onboard PC MIP cards for a platform with graphics, storage and serial interfaces, or the PMC cards for data communications.
Up to 256K of DRAM in a SODIMM slot, 2MB of Flash memory and an ATA-compatible CompactFlash site are included in the D3. Two 100Mbps Ethernet interfaces can be used for standard networking purposes, busless multiprocessing or fieldbus connections. The front panel has a serial interface with an RJ45 connector that can be configured as either RS-232 or RS-485.
The D3 also includes a USB port, IDE interface, mouse and keyboard ports and several TTL lines. A real-time clock, watchdog timer, onboard temperature monitor, hex switch and LEDs on the front panel provide status information.
Manufacturer: MEN Micro, Inc.
Model: D3
Suggested Retail Price: Contact manufacturer
Red Hat Embedded Developer Suite
Suite contains GNUPro tools, libraries and Linux packages to make a runtime OS for anywhere from 4-20MB.
Some of the products that Red Hat's embedded technology is a part of include the Iomega Digital Audio Player, Ericsson ScreenPhone and Delphi Communiport.
The Red Hat Embedded Linux Developer Suite combines new versions of their embedded platform, development tools, runtime technologies and support services in one packaged offering. Targeted at telecommunications, data communications and internet appliance manufacturers, the suite provides for increased rates of development, testing and deployment. Developers can use the suite to build for the MIPS, SuperH, x86, PowerPC and ARM/StrongARM/XScale architectures.
Features of the Developer Suite include a new version of Red Hat Embedded Linux based on the industry-standard 2.4 kernel and GCC3-based versions of the GNUPro cross-development tools for all architectures. Also included are new configuration tools for detailed GUI configuration of the target environment, as well as an integrated system build environment for faster and more flexible target image creation. The RedBoot embedded boot loader/BIOS allows standardized debugging.
Manufacturer: Red Hat, Inc.
Model: Embedded Linux Developer Suite
Suggested Retail Price: Contact manufacturer
Copyright © 2001 Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. All rights reserved. Embedded Linux Journal Online is a cooperative project of Embedded Linux Journal and LinuxDevices.com.
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