San Francisco, CA — ZDNet, which operates the leading Web destination for people who want to buy, use and learn about technology, today announced that it has acquired LinuxDevices.com, “the Embedded Linux Portal.” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Rick Lehrbaum has created a killer site that will be a key addition to our new ZDNet Business & Technology channel,” said Dan Rosensweig, president and CEO of ZDNet. “The authority of his content as the last word on embedded Linux applications and devices is underscored by LinuxDevices.com's sponsor list, which reads like a 'who's who' of the embedded Linux market. We're excited about the dual benefits of this acquisition: providing our millions of workplace visitors with access to this top-notch resource, and taking advantage of the opportunity to build deeper relationships with LinuxDevices.com's sponsors.”

LinuxDevices.com, based in Palo Alto, Calif., gets to the heart of what makes Linux today's killer app. The embedded computer market is considered the next frontier for Linux. According to Forbes.com, over 90 percent of the invisible computers we encounter every day — at gas pumps, in cars, in plane navigation systems — use embedded operating systems. Linux is inexpensive, extremely reliable and scalable, and requires a minimum of system resources to reliably run these systems
and devices. The market for embedded Linux is significant: according to International Data Corp., there will be more information appliances than PCs by 2001.

ZDNet will incorporate LinuxDevices.com — as is — in its Linux Resource Center, one of the many IT-focused resource centers that can be found in the newly launched ZDNet Business & Technology channel (see related announcement). Its content will also be contextually integrated into all relevant areas of ZDNet. Founder Rick Lehrbaum, the renowned evangelizer of embedded Linux, will continue to manage and develop the site. Lehrbaum has worked in hardware design, assembly language programming, and project management and was a co- founder of Ampro Computers Inc. and the founder of the PC/104 Consortium.

“Embedded Linux has recently come into its own, making LinuxDevices.com a focal point for Linux developers and appliance manufacturers,” said Lehrbaum. “The site has supplied the embedded Linux community a central resource for information and exchange. As the definitive site for the technology interested, including the information-hungry Linux community, ZDNet is the right home for LinuxDevices.com. I look forward to continuing to build LinuxDevices.com's content and services, reaching out to an expanded audience through ZDNet.”

LinuxDevices.com provides a high concentration of quality information regarding the use of Linux in embedded applications. The site encourages the embedded Linux developer community to share information in an open manner, featuring topic-specific news, articles, polls, a forum, events and job listings.

LinuxDevices.com sponsor list includes more than 25 of the biggest names in embedded Linux, such as: Lineo, Motorola, Linuxcare, MontaVista Software, and Lynx. “ZDNet is an online magnet for the tech interested, and LinuxDevices.com is a solid source of highly targeted embedded Linux news and information,” said Bryan Sparks, CEO of Lineo, Inc. “The merger of these two will enable Lehrbaum, who has quickly become a respected analyst for the embedded Linux space, to address a much larger audience seeking to understand the rapid developments in the embedded Linux market.”

ZDNet's Business & Technology channel (www.zdnet.com/business) is the definitive technology resource for business and information technology (IT) professionals. The site provides an intuitive, “contextual” integration of the company's wealth of authoritative business content and services in key verticals, such as E-Commerce, Security, Linux, Windows 2000, and Java. It's “Linux Resource Center” site — which will soon integrate LinuxDevices.com — includes a full-service combination of Linux-focused news and reviews, downloads, company and product background, books and whitepapers, and jobs.

About ZDNet

Based in San Francisco, ZDNet operates the leading Web destination (www.zdnet.com) for people who want to buy, use and learn about technology. ZDNet offers an enormous depth and breadth of original, fresh content that it serves to a growing audience ranging from IT professionals, to families, to gamers. Winner of the Computer Press Awards' Best Overall Online Site, ZDNet Sites consistently ranks among the Top 20 Web properties according to Media Metrix's Digital Media Audience Ratings report. ZDNet's content is available worldwide in 22 countries, with information published in 14 languages.

Related story:
LinuxDevices.com Launches Embedded Linux Portal

 
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.