Part 2: Vendors and their products

Most of the “traditional” (if 12-18 months qualifies as “traditional”) embedded and real-time Linux players were present, plus a few newcomers. These included distribution providers, tools vendors, purveyors of middleware (browsers, GUIs, protocol stacks, etc.), chip makers, and board/system manufacturers . . .

• Altera — Altera announced availability of an enhanced Nios soft processor core which will enable Ethernet/Internet connectivity and which will be well supported by Embedded Linux through a strategic relationship with Microtronix.

• Applied Data Systems — ADS had their usual complement of highly integrated, graphics-oriented, StrongARM-based single-board computers such as the Graphics Master and Bitsy, running Embedded Linux along with Century Software's Microwindows. Additionally, they showcased several interesting new capabilities including a file sharing technique called “network neighborhood,” 802.11 wireless connectivity, JVM support, and battery operation supported by advanced power management.

• Century Software — these folks occupied a prominent position in Red Hat's large booth, where they showed several demonstrations of their well known Microwindows GUI/Windowing environment for embedded devices and handheld computers. While there, I stumbled upon a preliminary data sheet for a new and not-yet-announced product called WebMedia, described as: “a collection of development tools, SDK's, runtime utilities (including embedded browser and specialized plug-ins), and applications that work together to form a very powerful, interactive, user interface framework . . . for set top-boxes and web tablets.” WebMedia was shown running on National Semiconductor's Geode set-top box reference design.

• DevelopOnline — like a mini-consortium in and of themselves, they showcased their ever-expanding selection of third-party chips, development platforms, software, and tools, in the context of their innovative online collaborative development environment that aims to compress time-to-prototype cycles from months to minutes. Their motto? It's all “only a mouse-click away.” Ah, the wonders of the Web!

• Grammer Engine — announced that the next version of the PromICE memory emulator debugging tool is going to be based on NetSilicon's NET+ARM system-on-chip processor running uClinux Embedded Linux. As a result, open source firmware residing in the tool will be available for modification and customization by the developers who use it.

• Green Hills — demonstrated a prototype of their “Multi” debugger running on Embedded Linux on a PowerPC target processor. Green Hills expects to release this support sometime this summer, for x86 and PowerPC targets.

• Insignia — demonstrated their newly announced Jeode platform for Embedded Linux based devices, a PersonalJava compatible implementation that includes Java-AWT compatible graphics. Previously, Insignia's Jeode support for Embedded Linux based systems was headless (i.e., without display support). Currently, the AWT support requires a full X Window System, but small alternatives such as Tiny-X and Micro-X will be investigated soon.

• Lineo — having acquired several companies in the last six months or so, Lineo was spread around in four different booths. Among other things, they demonstrated their newly announced Board Development Kits (BDKs) for third-party single-board computers and microprocessor reference platforms, and showcased their “board farm” which allows Web-based access by developers to shared development platforms in Lineo's labs. A demonstration of the Embedix “Target Wizard” showed how easy it is to configure a highly customized, minimum footprint Embedded Linux system. Lineo's recently acquired Convergence Integrated Media showed off their “Linux TV” open solution for digital TV. Lineo announced the opening of a new “embedded systems center” in Silicon Valley, availability of a new “timing and schedulability” tool for Embedix from Tri-Pacific Software, a Metrowerks CodeWarrior Development System for Embedix on the Motorola PowerQUICC II MPC8260, and an expanded partnership with Trolltech centered around Qt/Embedded support for Embedix. Lineo also had several “science fair” like demonstrations including a laser modem and an RTAI-based software radio (highlighted below, in the demo's section).

• LynuxWorks — announced BlueCat Linux 3.1, which adds support for MIPS R3000 and R4000 processors. With this release, LynuxWorks now claim to offer “the broadest microprocessor support for embedded Linux.” Also announced was Metrowerks' CodeWarrior IDE support for BlueCat Linux system development on Linux and Solaris hosts and the integration of Qt/Embedded into BlueCat Linux.

• Microtronix — showed off their newly announced Linux Development Kit for Altera's Nios core, which will be added to Altera's Nios Development Kit, an FPGA development platform that uses the Nios soft core embedded processor. In support of this effort, Microtronix ported uClinux to the Nios processor.

• MontaVista — unveiled Hard Hat Linux Version 2.0, which now includes a menu-based system builder tool (called a Target Configuration Tool), a utility to shrink shared libraries by eliminating unnecessary code and symbols, and introduces Embedded Linux support for Hitachi SH-3 and SH-4 microprocessors. MontaVista also announced that they are releasing their CompactPCI hot swap technology source code to the open source community, and declared their intention to integrate Trolltech's Qt/Embedded with Hard Hat Linux. Their many interesting demonstrations of Hard Hat Linux (HHL) included ones showing: HHL high availability; HHL cross development using multiple targets (PowerPC, x86, StrongARM, XScale, MIPS, and SH) and graphical IDEs, debuggers, and performance analysis tools; using HHL along with IBM's VAME Java VM as the basis of an automobile console; an iPAQ PDA running HHL with a a Qt/Embedded based GUI; and HHL running on reference boards for Intel's XScale processor, Alchemy's Au1000 system-on-chip, and Hitachi's SH-4.

• OnCore — demonstrated their Linux for Real-Time and the OnCore OS, which provides the capability to run multiple OSes (including one or more copies of Linux) simultaneously on a single computer system. OnCore showed off their recently announced ability to emulate Wind River's VxWorks (and run VxWorks applications without modification) as one of the hosted OSes, and demonstrated operation of their OS on the IBM PowerPC 405GP.

• PalmPalm — showed off their Tynux Embedded Linux in a number of gadgets, including an iPAQ, a cellphone/PDA, and a PDA/cellphone. The latter two are covered briefly below in the section on demo's (including photos).

• Rappore — was present in both the LynuxWorks and Lineo partner pavilions, demonstrating their recently announced Bluetooth stack for Embedded Linux based devices. They are currently developing a sockets-based wireless API that supports the intermixing of both 802.11 and BlueTooth connectivity, so that multiple devices can communicate freely in a mixed-technology environment, without regard to which standard is needed.

• Red Hat — as usual, Red Hat hosted a large booth filled with Embedded Linux development tools, third-party products, and customer application demo's. Two interesting customer applications, an Intel Residential Router appliance and a special-purpose wireless PDA made by Symbol Technologies for Sun Microsystems field personnel, are covered briefly below in the section on demo's (including photos).

• RedSonic — did demonstrations of their RED-Builder software package, an easy-to-use system image creation and deployment tool for embedded developers, and showcased their real-time monitoring, diagnostic, and QoS system administration technology. Demonstrations of RedSonic's REDIce-Linux OS were performed on single-board computers from Aaeon, Advantech, Ampro, Axiom, Formosa Industrial Computing, M-Systems, and Tri-M Systems.

• RidgeRun — showed off their latest version of DSPLinux, which now includes a nifty “Appliance Simulator” that helps developers emulate the finished product (“all the way down to the Linux framebuffer”) so they can begin developing and debugging their software long before first hardware prototypes become available. My opinion: this simulator would be a powerfully useful tool for any embedded Linux development, whether or not RidgeRun's support for TI's dual-core (ARM7 + DSP) system-on-chip processors is required. How about opening it up to the broader Embedded Linux community?

• TimeSys — announced that they will deliver a complete Reference Implementation of the Real-Time Specification for Java (JSR-00001) to the Expert Group of the Java Community Process (JCP) on April 30th, 2001 for its evaluation. The company also showed off its Linux/RT real-time Linux and suite of real-time and QoS tools.

• Trolltech — showed off their Qt/Embedded based Qt Palmtop Environment
  (QPE) running on the Compaq iPAQ PDA, and announced strong partnerships with three leading suppliers of Embedded Linux Distributions (Lineo, LynuxWorks, MontaVista).

• Tuxia — held a press conference to announce the US launch of their TASTE Embedded Linux operating system which specializes in Internet appliance and thin client applications. TASTE is based on Linux kernel 2.4 and a Mozilla browser, plus middleware and a full complement of plug-ins and other enhancements including “crash-proof” features. Demonstrations at their booth included several Internet appliances including National's Geode reference designs, as well as Tuxia's TASTE Embedded Linux distribution and associated development tools.

• Part 1: Embedded Linux flexes its muscles at ESC 2001
  
• Part 2: Vendors and their products
  
• Part 3: My favorite demo's
  
• Part 4: ESC press release roundup

 
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