A message from LinuxDevices.com founder, Rick Lehrbaum, on the occasion of the third birthday of LinuxDevices.com . . .

Today marks the third anniversary of the launch of LinuxDevices.com (“the Embedded Linux Portal”). I launched the site on Halloween, 1999, in symbolic celebration of the infamous “Halloween Documents”, which exposed Microsoft's growing fears of Linux.

At the time when LinuxDevices.com was launched, the use of Linux as an embedded operating system was virtually unheard of. Lineo, MontaVista, and Zentropix (who all participated in the announcement of the site's launch) had barely announced themselves as sources of embeddable versions of Linux, and Embedded Linux hadn't yet arrived on the radar screens of embedded market analysts like VDC, IDC, and EDC.

In short, three years ago the “Embedded Linux Market” simply didn't exist.

Much has changed since then. Numerous companies have jumped on — and off — the fast-moving Embedded Linux bandwagon, which has seemed more like a rocketship much of the time. The technology and Linux stock “market bubbles” offered plentiful investment capital which fueled unnaturally rapid growth of Linux companies (including a handful of Embedded Linux companies) beyond their ability to sustain themselves from actual revenues. For some, the bursting of the bubble left them either out of business or in search of different businesses. For others, it meant tightening the belt and settling down to a more traditional business model.

Throughout all of this, though, the benefits of using Linux in smart devices and embedded systems have not only persisted, but grown exponentially. The newly established Embedded Linux vendors have provided new tools, OS extensions, middleware, and support to enhance the value of using Linux in embedded applications. In parallel, “ordinary” Linux itself has evolved at a rapid pace.

And the result has not been missed by those who make the design decisions. The following recent market studies and overviews testify to the growing prominence of Embedded Linux as the embedded OS of choice . . .

• Linux, Windows neck-and-neck in embedded
  
• Embedded Linux tops developers' 2002 wishlist
  
• Study finds 300% growth in Embedded Linux
  
• Interest in Embedded Linux skyrockets
  
• Whitepaper: Linux's Future in the Embedded Market
  
• Embedded Linux flexes its muscles at ESC 2001
  
• The State of Embedded Linux

As another indication of the vitality of this new market, consider the number of Embedded Linux related pages of content currently available at LinuxDevices.com . . .

• 3385 news items
  
• 625 articles
  
• 400 product listings
  
• 410 link listings
  
• 1200 directory listings

. . . and a Google search for “LinuxDevices.com” currently turns up over 20,000 references!

Reflecting on the past three years, I can say once again that it's been a really exciting ride — and I am convinced that the best is yet to come! After all, keep in mind that Embedded Linux is not itself a consumer product. It is a component used in the design of products and devices, a process which typically takes 12-24 months to come to fruition. Given that Embedded Linux — like LinuxDevices.com — was born just over three years ago, the vast majority of what must surely be thousands of different kinds of devices and systems that have had an Embedded Linux operating system designed into them are probably just getting ready to be supplied to their customers.

In just three years, Embedded Linux has risen from relative obscurity to recognition as one of top two OS choices for new designs of smart devices and embedded systems. Imagine where it'll be in another year!

Best regards,
Rick Lehrbaum
Founder and Executive Editor, LinuxDevices.com

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.