Last week, LinuxDevices.com profiled the Aeronix Zipit, a $99 instant messaging device marketed to teenagers, but appropriated by Linux hackers for a variety of embedded projects. Today, we're pleased to offer a followup conversation with Ralph Heredia, who conceived and led the creation of the Zipit.

As background, our earlier story included a few paragraphs contributed by Tim Riker, one of the Linux hackers involved in repurposing the device. Riker praised the device itself, but criticized Aeronix for not taking the broader Linux community into consideration in its product design and marketing efforts. Additionally, Riker alleged that Aeronix has failed to comply with an obligation, under the LGPL, to release compiled object files that would allow copies of its Zipit application — which contains statically linked GNU C libraries — to be relinked with newer versions of those libraries as they become available.

Heredia refutes that allegation, and says Aeronix is doing its best to comply with all licensing obligations. Additionally, he provides an insightful overview of his company's experience using Linux in a device design. Find out more by reading the full story:

 
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