Newark, CA — (press release excerpt)– Diamond Systems announced its new embedded Linux distribution, 'Tiny Linux', for its Prometheus PC/104 CPU board. Tiny Linux offers developers a pre-built and ready-to-use full-featured Linux distribution with a file size of only 10MB and a super-small RAM requirement of only… 5.5MB.

Tiny Linux is designed specifically to run on a solid-state flashdisk on Diamond Systems' Prometheus PC/104 CPU board. It enables developers to build a completely solid-state Linux-powered embedded computer that boots in just 15 seconds. Tiny Linux supports the on-board Ethernet, USB, serial, parallel, IDE, and data acquisition circuitry on Prometheus. It incorporates the popular Minix file system and Lilo bootloader, and in conformance with the GPL all source code is available to purchasers of the distribution.

Tiny Linux is based on the version 2.4 Linux kernel. It incorporates several improvements and features that make it ideal for use with Diamond Systems' Prometheus CPU:

• Console Redirection enables all keyboard and display data to be transmitted over a serial port, saving the cost of a video board and providing maximum flexibility in communicating with the CPU. For example a user can connect a notebook computer to the Prometheus with a null-modem cable to transfer files or perform diagnostics during a field upgrade.
• Ethernet Autodetect lets Tiny Linux detect and configure the Ethernet circuit on Prometheus automatically, so developers don?t have to spend time to install or configure an Ethernet driver.
• Improved USB Support allows the flexibility to connect more USB devices, such as cameras and printers, in addition to mice and keyboards. Universal Driver Software is pre-installed, enabling control of the analog and digital I/O circuitry on Prometheus. Universal Driver is Diamond Systems' comprehensive software toolkit for controlling the company's complete line of data acquisition boards, including the data acquisition circuitry integrated onto the Prometheus CPU.

Diamond Systems' Linux Development kit comes various versions, ranging from $400, for a CDROM with Tiny Linux files and instructions for installation and duplication, to versions that include a preformatted flashdisk module or hard disk drive loaded with the software.

 
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