LinuxDevices.com Embedded Linux Newsletter -- December 14, 2000


Welcome to the LinuxDevices.com
Embedded Linux Newsletter
December 14, 2000

by Rick Lehrbaum -- Executive Editor
ZDNet's LinuxDevices.com


*** SPECIAL FEATURES ***

Exploring Linux PDA software alternatives -- this article begins an exciting new LinuxDevices.com series that will explore the history, status, alternative architectures, and future developments of Linux on PDAs and handheld devices. It begins with an overview of the main features and architectures of three currently available distributions: Century Software's Microwindows PDA Operating Environment; Trolltech's Qt Palmtop Environment; and Transvirtual's PocketLinux. story

Coffee? Tea? . . . Embedded Linux? -- next time you're on a transoceanic flight, be sure to pay close attention when the flight attendants come around selling duty free merchandise. That handheld point-of-sale terminal which is used to enter your order and print your receipt may well contain Embedded Linux. This LinuxDevices.com Device Profile takes a look at the DAT500, a Linux-based rugged handheld computer. story

28 talks on real-time Linux -- this article contains the abstracts of 28 talks on real-time Linux that were given at the second annual Real-time Linux Workshop, held in Orlando Florida on November 27-28, 2000. Links to the associated papers (PDF files), if available, are also provided. There are some really interesting papers here! story

*** OTHER NEWS ***

Embedded Linux targets military apps -- Embedded Linux is starting to penetrate embedded computer applications within the U.S. Military -- a phenomenon attributed to the operating system's stability, real-time capabilities, and open source license. Cool pictures included! story

Startup makes Bluetooth on Embedded Linux its top priority -- Silicon Valley startup Rappore Technologies (San Jose, CA) this week disclosed its initial product roadmap -- a suite of wireless networking software that will support Bluetooth and other wireless and wired technologies. story

IBM to spend $1 billion on Linux -- had you heard? IBM is planning to invest $1 billion in Linux in 2001. Read this article by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley to find out more about IBM's growing obsession with Linux. story

Lineo launches HTML-based embedded Linux UI -- Embedix UI is a simple, small-footprint HTML user interface and micro Web browser. story

Lucent releases device boot software as open source -- in an effort to avoid continually reinventing the wheel, one of Lucent's software developers has written code to boot dozens of hardware platforms. Now, Lucent, has granted him permission to post it on the web for free public download. story

Bluetooth module plugs into embedded Linux apps -- Socket Communications has announced a miniature device that will make it easy to add Bluetooth wireless connectivity to intelligent mobile devices and embedded systems. story

Red Hat rocks the cradle, with Linux/eCos combo -- Red Hat is developing the operating system support for Cradle Technologies' unique new single-chip multiprocessors optimized for high data-rate streams processing. Each chip can contain up to 50 processors on a single piece of silicon, including a combination of both RISC and DSP cores. story

Heard about The Peoples' PDA? -- ever hear of MyLinux PDA? It's a "grass roots" project to create a Linux-based PDA. Underlying the project is a utopian vision statement. Prototypes will be available for project collaborators in a couple of months. Want to join them? story

MIPS processors gain real-time Linux support -- Rubis Technologies has announced a new embeddable real-time Linux for MIPS processors. SRLinux ("Super Real-time Linux") consists of two packages, real-time Linux executables and cross-development tools. The executables include a ported Linux kernel, Linux modules, a BIOS, and a real-time event handler. story

Call for Papers, Real-time & Embedded Systems Forum -- you're invited to participate in the Real-time and Embedded Systems Forum in Berlin, Germany on April 25-27, 2001. This meeting is designed to bring together leading vendors of Real-time and Embedded Systems with corporate and government customers. story

Report on the 21st IEEE Real-Time Systems Symposium -- one of the attendees of the second Real-time Linux Workshop held in Orlando, Florida on November 27-28, has written an informative report about what took place at the conference. story

New browser dev kit supports Embedded Linux apps -- ACCESS Co., Ltd. has announced a new Software Development Kit for use in integrating the NetFront embedded browser into Linux-based Internet appliances and other non-PC applications. The browser kernel consists of less than 270 KB of code. story

Konqueror Goes Embedded? -- here's an announcement from the KDE website about a port of Konquerer, the KDE browser, onto Qt/Embedded, the embedded version of the Trolltech's Qt GUI toolkit on which KDE is based. story

MontaVista aims tool at the heart of market leader, Wind River -- MontaVista delivered on a promise made last July, to offer a quick and easy way to convert embedded applications designed for Wind River's VxWorks operating system into embedded Linux applications. story

*** LINKS OF THE WEEK ***

MicroMonitor -- open source embedded system boot platform -- a free package of source code, descriptive html pages and tools that provide an embedded system developer with a firmware platform that can be used on a wide variety of different architectures. story

Live Embedded Linux webcam demo! -- Axis Communications has an online live demo of the Model 2120 intelligent web camera with Linux inside. The camera contains an Axis ETRAX 100 system-on-chip RISC processor with embedded uClinux. The webcam is located on the fifth floor of a building in Manhattan, NY, on the corner of 45th Street. Check it out! story

MyLinux PDA Insider's Home Page -- a project to develop a "grass roots" PDA, designed from the ground-up around Linux. Or, more accurately, it's a "PLW" -- which stands for Pocket Linux Workstation. story

FLTK -- The Fast Light Tool Kit -- FLTK is a LGPL'd C++ graphical user interface toolkit for X (UNIX), OpenGL, and WIN32 (Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, 95, or 98). FLTK was designed to be small and modular enough to be statically linked. The "core" (the "hello" program compiled & linked with a static FLTK library using gcc on a 486 and then stripped) is 110K. The FLUID program (which includes every widget) is 372K. story

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