LynuxWorks today launched a new pricing model intended to make LynxOS, the company's real-time operating system (RTOS), compete more effectively for design wins in low-cost consumer device applications. Simultaneously, a new source code availability and toolset bundle was announced.

The new “MSRP-based pricing” reduces LynxOS royalty fees to “a negligible portion” of a low-cost device's list price, according to LynuxWorks CEO Dr. Inder Singh. Based on the new pricing structure, LynxOS royalties will be proportional to the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) of the device, and is independent of quantity of devices manufactured or the amount of LynuxWorks software content used within the device.

The “LynxOS Developer Pack” costs $50,000 and includes five LynxOS developer seats, five VisualLynux IDE packages, priority technical support, and the SpyKer developer tool. In addition, the bundle provides free access to the LynxOS RTOS source code.

“In our support of the open source movement, LynuxWorks has long understood the link between source code access and the success of our customers' embedded projects,” said Dr. Singh. “With free source code access included in the Developer Pack, we're making it as easy and cost-effective as possible for developers to have limitless flexibility and control over their LynxOS implementations.”

That “limitless flexibility and control” mentioned by Dr. Singh apparently does not include the ability to modify LynxOS for use in a product or project. “For this program, the code is read-only, although there are also read-write options available,” explained Greg Rose, Director of Product Marketing at LynuxWorks. “Customers will use the source for general understanding of the kernel and to aid in debugging.” They also won't be allowed to show the source to anyone not covered by a source code license from LynuxWorks.

According to LynuxWorks, the LynxOS v4 RTOS provides application binary interface (ABI) compatibility with Linux, allowing users to run Linux applications unmodified under LynxOS or augment real-time applications on LynxOS with applications from Linux.

LynuxWorks also offers BlueCat Linux, a Linux distribution and toolkit for embedded systems and devices.

 
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