All About Linux-powered Devices

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UMPC reboots Psion PDA form factor —

PsiXpda announced a UMPC (ultra-mobile PC) with a five-inch touchscreen display, an Intel Atom Z510, and a 16GB SSD (solid state disk). The "PsiXpda" includes WiFi, Bluetooth, and optional 3G, and weighs under a pound, and although it pre-installs Windows XP, the company says it will help customers load Android. ...

Mot invests in acoustic touch technology —

Motorola venture capital arm Motorola Ventures has made an investment in multi-touch technology firm Sensitive Object. The French touchscreen technology company has developed patent-protected technology that uses acoustics to analyze sound waves caused by touching any surface of a device. ...

Pineview netbooks won't be ready for the holidays — Taiwanese vendors wanted to launch their netbooks featuring Intel's next-generation Atom N450 ("Pineview") this month, but have put them on hold following pressure from the chipmaker, Digitimes reports. The device will instead go on sale Jan. 11, following a formal launch of the new CPU and chipset, the publication adds. ...

Google image search coming (eventually) to Android —

Google is working on a mobile application that enables Android smartphone users to take a photo and run an image search to bring up additional information, says eWEEK. The Google Visual Search technology could also be used to drive mobile advertising based on taking photographs of billboards, says the story. ...

Recycled steel touch-panel PC runs on PoE —

Techsol is shipping a low carbon-footprint touch-panel PC, targeting building automation and factory HMI. The Linux-ready Medallion TPC-43C "Green Tech" Touch Panel Computer is equipped with Techsol's ARM-based Medallion module, plus a 4.3-inch, WQVGA touchscreen, and an enclosure made of recycled steel, which is "greener" than plastics, says the company. ...

Cortex-A8 module ships with baseboard, Linux BSP —

Direct Insight is readying a SODIMM-sized computer-on-module (COM) based on Freescale's ARM Cortex-A8 i.MX51 system-on-chip. The 800MHz, 2.7 x 1.0-inch Triton-TX51 module offers extensive I/O, including Ethernet and USB 2.0 On-The-Go and host, plus an available "StarterKit-5" baseboard with a Linux BSP, says the company. ...

Sensor mote platform offers Linux IDE —

Libelium announced a ZigBee-enabled wireless mote-sensor platform with open source code and a Linux-compatible IDE. The Waspmote runs on an Atmel microcontroller, boasts low 0.7uA power consumption, provides 2.4GHz, 900MHz, and 868MHz radios, and offers add-ons for GPS, GPRS, and SD, as well as gas, events, and prototyping sensors. ...

New Linux kernel boosts graphics support, enhances KVM —

Linus Torvalds announced the release of a stable Linux 2.6.32 kernel. Major new features include the implementation of kernel-based mode setting (KMS) plus 3D graphics support for new Radeon cards, plus new kernel shared memory (KSM) technology for KVM virtualization, power-saving and performance improvements, and a faster "Devtmpfs" boot technology. ...

Asterisk-based IP-PBX box gains GUI front-end —

Pika Technologies announced a new FreePBX image for its Linux-based Pika Warp IP-PBX appliance, which offers both VoIP and PSTN functionality. The Warp Enterprise distribution combines the previous open source Asterisk PBX software stack with an image based on the FreePBX GUI for Asterisk, the company says. ...

Atom dev program posts beta SDK for Moblin —

Intel has launched a beta version of its Intel Atom Developer Program Software Development Kit (SDK) for both Windows and the Linux-based Moblin, says an eWEEK story. The SDK is said to help developers create and submit applications for Intel-based netbooks that can be sold in application stores next year. ...

In-vehicle PC offers PCIe and PCI/104 expansion —

Kontron announced its first in-vehicle PC with longtime availability, developed by recently acquired Digital-Logic AG and already sold by Advanced Digital Logic. The Microspace MPCX28 Box PC is based on an Intel Atom Z530 and Intel US15W controller hub, and provides CompactFlash, SATA, PCI/104, and PCIe expansion, says the company. ...

Development kit targets Android STBs —

Viosoft Corp. is shipping an Android development kit for MIPS-based digital multimedia designs, with a special focus on IP set-top boxes (STBs). The Android Adoption Kit combines Sigma Designs' SMP8654-based Vantage 8654 Development Platform with a version of Viosoft's Arriba IDE/Debugger optimized for Android on MIPS, says the company. ...

Panel PCs target medical applications —

Best known for its monitors, ViewSonic has announced two 17-inch touchscreen PCs designed for medical applications. The MPC1700 and MPC1701 include anti-bacterial coating, Intel Core 2 Duo processors, bootable CompactFlash slots and 2.5-inch drive bays, plus PCI, PCMCIA, and Mini-PCI expansion slots, according to the company. ...

Winning Android apps announced —

Google has announced the winners of the Android Developer Challenge (ADC) 2, including an application to help smartphone users sleep better, an online multiplayer game, and a mobile security solution, says eWEEK. Meanwhile, two other eWEEK stories examine the "Google Phone" rumors and portend problems for Google if the phone is real. ...

Via unveils Mobile-ITX COM form factor —

Via announced a COM (computer on module) specification touted as the industry's most compact, with potential power consumption ranging from 12 Watts to below one Watt, depending on conditions. Measuring just 2.36 x 2.36 inches, "Mobile-ITX" modules and related baseboards will be available during the first quarter of 2010, says the company. ...

A step forward for white space networking —

"White space" networking, which will use unused TV spectrum to deliver broadband services, has moved a step closer. Last week, the Federal Communications Commission said it would begin establishing databases that will warn white space devices when existing TV signals are present, according to a story on our sister site eWEEK. ...

HD-ready smartphone supports Linux and Android —

ZiiLabs announced a mid-range smartphone development platform supporting its Android and Linux-based "Plaszma" stacks. The Zii Trinity is based on ZiiLabs' dual ARM9-core "ZMS-05" SoC, and provides 1080p video output, OpenGL graphics, HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and a 3.1-inch, 800 x 480 OLED touchscreen, says the Creative Technology subsidiary. ...

Qt adds multi-touch, supports Maemo and Symbian —

Nokia's QT Software has upgraded its "Qt" cross-platform application and UI framework, now featuring multi-touch and gesture support. Qt 4.6 adds support for Nokia's Symbian and Maemo platforms, and provides enhancements including new animation and state-machine frameworks, an updated Qt Creator IDE, and new OpenGL and WebKit engines. ...

Chrome OS image released for Dell netbook —

Dell employee Doug Anson released source code for a version of Google's Linux-based Chrome OS that runs on a Dell Mini 10v netbook. The Mini 10v implementation of the pre-release code for the cloud-oriented OS is "unstable," but offers WiFi support and fast browsing, and boots in 12 seconds, says Anson. ...

HMI PCs move to the Atom —

Kontron has enhanced its family of thin-client HMI (human-machine interface) devices. The fanless "Micro Client IIA" devices feature touchscreen displays from seven to 15 inches, CompactFlash storage, and 1.6GHz Intel Atom processors, the company says. ...

Real-time Linux distro boosts multiprocessor support — Concurrent has revised its Red Hat-based real-time Linux distribution, adding support for Intel Nehalem and AMD Opteron processors with up to 48 cores, among other enhancements. RedHawk Linux 5.4 also improves NUMA performance and provides enhanced Nvidia drivers that support Nvidia's "Cuda" parallel computing technology, says the company. ...

Tablet maker spins Angstrom-based dev firmware —

Archos announced it is releasing developer firmware for its Linux-based Archos 5 and Archos 7 Internet Tablets. The "proof of concept" developer edition release for the touch-based portable media players (PMPs) is based on the Angstrom Linux distribution and the OpenEmbedded automated build environment, says the company. ...

COM Express module supports 45nm CPUs —

Congatec says it is now sampling a COM Express module featuring Intel's GS45 SFF (small form factor) chipset, said to enable "significant performance increases despite a smaller footprint and lower power consumption." The Conga-CS45 uses DDR3 memory, has three SATA connectors with RAID support, and supports SDVO, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort graphics interfaces, the company says. ...

Kindle gains longer battery life, PDF support —

Amazon.com announced two enhancements to its Linux-based Kindle e-book reader, offering 85 percent more battery life, as well as a native PDF reader. The Kindle can now last seven days even with wireless turned on, claims Amazon, which is offering the enhancements to current users via firmware upgrades. ...

Korean vendor readies Android MID, clamshell, STB —

Korea-based Inbrics is readying several Android-powered devices for a CES unveiling in January. The devices include an M1 MID, a dual-screen clamshell, MID-like device called the Dual, and the SoIP Homestation, which combines the functions of an IP set-top box, DLNA-ready media server, and videophone, says the company. ...

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Virtualizing Service Provider Networks with Vyatta
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High Availability Messaging Solution Using AXIGEN, Heartbeat and DRBD
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Data Management for Real-Time Distributed Systems
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