| Embedded Linux vendors assess the impact of Midori |
Rick Lehrbaum (Mar. 18, 2001)
Following the recent unveiling of the Midori Linux Project by CPU vendor Transmeta, a number of analysts questioned whether Midori Linux might represent a threat to the commercial offerings of Embedded Linux software providers such as Lineo, MontaVista, Red Hat, LynuxWorks, and others -- particularly in light of the presence of Linus Torvalds as a key employee at Transmeta.
To gauge industry reaction to Transmeta's Midori Linux Project, LinuxDevices.com posed a series of questions to several leaders of the Embedded Linux software market. We received responses from . . . - Bryan Sparks -- founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lineo
- Michael Tiemann -- Chief Technology Officer of Red Hat
- Kevin Morgan -- Vice President of Engineering of MontaVista Software
Here's what we learned from these three Embedded Linux luminaries . . .
Do you feel Midori will compete with your company's embedded Linux efforts? - Sparks: No. Transmeta Midori is not a competitor to Lineo Embedix. Our approaches are distinctively different. Lineo provides an SDK, applications that work with Embedix, etc. Lineo is incorporating support for [Transmeta's] Crusoe chips into our technologies and products. We view Transmeta Midori as a hardware reference platform which we will provide as an option to our OEM customers.
- Tiemann: I don't think so. Is chocolate a competitor to peanut butter? Not if you're making peanut butter cups! Seriously, I couldn't believe it when somebody characterized Red Hat and Transmeta as competitors last week in a financial report. We're competing with far bigger fish than Transmeta!
- Morgan: No. Midori is a technology kit from a semiconductor manufacturer. Midori has been and continues to be a technology source for us, and Transmeta has been a source of customers for us. The Transmeta Linux team is less than ten people, focused on creating technology to help enable chip sales. MontaVista is a worldwide company of more than 160 people, focused on providing cost and time-to-market reductions through provision of complete Embedded Linux run-time and development solutions, training, and support.
Do you expect to gain some useful technology from the Midori Linux project? - Sparks: With Transmeta technology being open source, we believe the Linux community and all companies that utilize embedded Linux technologies will gain advantages from [Transmeta's] research and development efforts, especially in the area of enhanced power management.
- Tiemann: Change "expect" to "hope" in the above. We're just evaluating it now. Like other code drops from Linus, there's a lot to pick through, and probably a lot we need to do to make the code "ready for prime time". The good news is: we're good at that
- Morgan: We already have, including all the technologies mentioned and more. MontaVista has already delivered this technology to customers, including some customers using Transmeta processors.
Would you prefer to see CPU companies like Transmeta stay out of the Linux distribution realm? - Sparks: Lineo does not view Transmeta as a distribution company. They routinely say and have demonstrated that their focus is in the hardware space. They deliver a set of patches to Linux that enable their hardware to be used in embedded deployments. They have not announced or given any sign of intentions to invest the level of financial and human resources required to deliver a complete Embedded Linux distribution. According to our understanding of what Transmeta has said, their patches are meant to support their own chips in embedded deployments.
- Tiemann: Of course we'd like to see every semiconductor company, every OEM, and every ISV be partnered with Red Hat . . . it would certainly simplify the issue of certification and quality assurance. But we are happy to see contributions from smart people in areas we care about, especially Embedded Linux. Actually, as you know, Red Hat has specifically not spent any time creating a divergent fork of "Embedded Linux". Indeed, we've been working on a theory that "there is only one Linux". As a result, we don't need to backtrack at all to incorporate Transmeta's new technologies.
- Morgan: We have a very cooperative working relationship with Transmeta. Their decision to invest in Linux technologies themselves is their own business decision, which we respect. Again, Transmeta is not a competitor.
Is your company already engaged in collaborations with Transmeta? - Tiemann: I do think that Transmeta missed an opportunity to involve some really good people at Red Hat in the design of Midori Linux. Linus knows most of our famous guys, but he doesn't know all the unsung heros who've been doing some quite remarkable stuff in the embedded space. The good news is that now that the code is out there, these guys can prove what they know, and I'm sure that in time, Linus will be happy to work with these guys on a regular basis as well.
- Morgan: We work cooperatively with Transmeta in a variety of business contexts. Most Midori technologies have already been delivered to MontaVista customers within Hard Hat Linux. Standard Hard Hat Linux product over the next several months with incorporate all the important embedded system Midori features. There is no need for MontaVista to support Midori itself.
Do you feel Midori Linux represents unfair competition due to the presence of (Linux creator) Linus Torvalds at Transmeta? - Sparks: Absolutely not! The day Linus announced his employment at Transmeta two specific messages were sent out, which were both well received by the industry: (1) embedded deployment is the next frontier for Linux; and (2) it's absolutely cool for Linux contributors to work with for-profit, OEM-focused companies like Transmeta and Lineo.
- Tiemann: Linus has to work somewhere!
- Morgan: This is a complete non-concern. The presence of Linus doesn't mean Transmeta is a worldwide embedded system software company. Companies looking for a worldwide embedded system software company for their Linux needs won't turn to Transmeta, regardless of Linus' affiliation. Customers are looking for solutions that save costs, generate new revenue streams, get their products to market faster, and provide them competitive differentiation. Any vendor who can assist these customers with those goals in a manner that meets or exceeds their expectations will be preferred by the customers.
The bottom line
So what's the verdict? Do Embedded Linux companies see Midori Linux as competing with their products? Clearly not -- especially in light of the fact that these companies typically will derive the bulk of their revenues from custom engineering, development tools, and technical support.
What we see operating here is the tremendous power of Open Source software. Each company in the market innovates in certain areas -- and all of the others benefit. As the saying goes, "a rising tide lifts all boats."
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