News - Linux for Devices

News

Intel wins court ruling in antitrust case — A special master appointed by a judge ruled that Intel's business practices, including giving OEMs discounts to limit their use of AMD products, did not harm consumers, and in some cases those discounts were passed onto consumers. He denied the request for class-action status for the lawsuit. ...

Intel, Infineon negotiate over wireless business, reports say —

Intel is negotiating to buy Infineon Technologies' wireless chip business for about $1.3 billion, according to published reports. At the same time, Samsung reportedly is making its own mobility play for Infineon's business. ...

CompactPCI board takes on Core i7 —

Adlink Technology announced a 6U CompactPCI processor blade equipped with 32nm, dual-core Intel Core i7 CPU models ranging up to the 2.53GHz i7-610E. The cPCI-6510 Series incorporates two PMC sites and a PCIe site, and is available in a multitude of versions varying by processor model, I/O, storage options, and temperature range. ...

Mobile Linux software pioneer goes all out for Android —

Japanese mobile Linux software firm Access announced a major push toward Android, joining the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), and releasing a free "Graffiti" handwriting recognition app for Android, among other developments. Meanwhile, Access' IP Infusion subsidiary has added MPLS-Transport Profile support to its ZebOS Network Platform software, says the company. ...

Rugged box computer loads up on serial I/O —

Axiomtek announced a fanless box computer notable for its extensive serial connectivity. The eBOX622-831-FL is equipped with an Intel 945GSE Express chipset, supports an Intel Atom N270 processor with up to 2GB DDR2 memory, and offers a front-accessible CompactFlash socket, SATA storage, two gigabit Ethernet ports, four USB 2.0 ports, and six serial ports, says the company. ...

Qseven module has onboard flash drive —

MSC Vertriebs announced a Qseven COM (computer on module) that offers a choice of Intel Atom Z5xx processors plus an optional 4GB of flash storage. The MSC-Q7-US15W-FD offers up to 1GB of RAM, a PCI Express x1 interface, dual (CRT and LVDS) display support, and eight USB 2.0 ports, the company says. ...

SoC has dual ARM Cortex-A9 cores —

STMicroelectronics (ST) announced an SoC (system on chip) claimed to be the industry's first to combine two ARM Cortex-A9 cores with a DDR3 memory interface. The SPEAr1310 offers dual cores clocked at 600MHz, gigabit Ethernet, plus connectivity including USB, SATA, and PCI Express, the company says. ...

IP-STB DVR transcodes video to and from mobile devices —

Monsoon Multimedia announced a Linux-based IP set-top and DVR that supports streaming to and from remote PCs and Macs, plus the iPad as well as Android, BlackBerry, and iOS phones. The HD-ready Vulkano ranges in price from $259 to $379, starting with the Vulkano (8GB or 16GB storage) and advancing to the SATA-equipped Vulkano Pro (500GB or 1TB). ...

New controller chip sets stage for color e-readers —

While Amazon announced a smaller, lighter version of its Kindle e-reader today, the device still has a monochrome-only screen. Color E Ink displays are on the way, however, as today's announcement of a relevant controller chip -- the Epson S1D13524 -- made clear. ...

Amazon downsizes Kindle, offers Wi-Fi-only version —

Amazon announced a third generation of its Linux-based Kindle e-reader, featuring a lighter and smaller body, a screen claimed to have 50 percent better contrast, and a battery life of up to one month. Still available with 3G, the device is also offered in a Wi-Fi-only version that includes a WebKit-based browser, the company says. ...

Hackable home media system features touchscreen controller —

Berlin-based Raumfeld is shipping a Linux-based, UPnP and AV/DLNA-ready multi-room audio system claimed to be "hacker/DIY friendly." The Raumfeld System comprises a handheld controller with a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen, Wi-Fi-enabled speakers, a 160GB music server and access point, and a "Connector" box that integrates existing A/V equipment, says the company. ...

Google shores up Android Market with security, payment options —

Google has upgraded Android Market with a security tool to prevent the illegal use of paid Android applications, says eWEEK. The move follows an announcement earlier this week that Google will add a new carrier billing option to Android Market, according to another eWEEK. report. ...

SBC offers both PCI-104 and Mini PCI Express expansion —

Acrosser announced a single board computer (SBC) built around the Intel Atom N450 processor. The AR-B6050 offers up to 2GB of DDR2 memory, CompactFlash and SATA storage, dual gigabit Ethernet ports, six USB 2.0 ports, two serial ports, plus PCI-104 and Mini PCI Express, says the company. ...

Mini-ITX board uses Pineview Atoms —

Ibase announced an embedded Mini-ITX motherboard built around Intel's single-core Atom N450 or dual-core Atom D510. The MI889 offers a PCI Express x 4 expansion slot, two gigabit Ethernet ports, CRT and LVDS video outputs, plus both SATA and IDE support, the company says. ...

Open source installer offered for Plug Computer —

Marvell announced the availability of an open source installer, simplifying software deployment on its Linux-based Plug Computer reference design. The Easy Plug Computer Installer (EPI) is the first wizard-based installation tool for Marvell's Plug Computer, which is being supported by more than 20,000 developers worldwide, says Marvell. ...

Capacitive touchscreens grow in size, market share —

Synaptics announced a range of capacitive touchscreens that will range up to 10.1 inches in size and support 10 simultaneous finger touches. Meanwhile, Digitimes predicted that demand for glass-based capacitive panels will grow steadily, at the expense of resistive touchscreens. ...

Secure phone builds on HTC Desire, while G1 bites the dust —

Infrax Systems announced a version of the HTC Desire Android smartphone designed for encrypted voice and data communications. In other HTC-related news, HTC will sell Android phones under its own name in China, HTC's "Sense" skin will move to Android 3.0, T-Mobile posted a teaser page for what may be the HTC G1 Blaze, and the carrier has discontinued HTC's original G1. ...

Compact POS devices run SUSE Linux —

NCR announced two compact POS (point of sale) devices that run SUSE Linux for Point of Service, as well as a number of Windows operating systems. The RealPOS 40 and RealPOS 60 use Intel Atom and Celeron processors, respectively, offer enhanced energy efficiency, and provide both four powered serial ports and up to eight powered USB ports, the company says. ...

32-core processor module claimed to rival 128-core SoC — NetLogic Microsystems announced a multi-core "solution" using its MIPS-based XLP processor architecture, and says it will soon introduce nine new XLP SoCs. Aimed at high-end networking applications, the Linux-ready XLP8128S integrates four eight-core XLP832 SoCs clocked at up to 2GHz and offers over 160 programmable processing engines, for up to 160Gbps throughput and 240 million packets-per-second (Mpps) processing, says NetLogic. ...

Intel silicon to slash the price of optical links —

Intel says it has developed a prototype silicon photonics link that moves data at 50Gbps, the equivalent of an entire HD movie being transmitted every second. Unlike present-day versions, silicon-based optical technologies will be affordable enough to be integrated into PCs, embedded devices, and consumer electronics, the chipmaker says. ...

Seven-inch Android 2.1 tablet targets Indian market —

Indian retailer Infibeam.com is readying two seven-inch tablet computers to be sold in India, one running Android 2.1, and one running Windows CE 6.0. Both known as the "Phi," the devices have different CPUs and dimensions, but both offer 800 x 480 pixel resistive touchscreens and up to five hours of battery life, the company says. ...

Linux-based hybrid video server supports 40 channels —

Exacq Technologies is shipping a line of Linux-based hybrid video surveillance appliances with Intel Atom processors. The ExacqVision EL-S systems offer eight or 16 analog inputs and up to 24 IP inputs, allowing creation of systems with up to 40 channels overall, says the company. ...

Kmart touts $150 Android tablet —

Kmart has begun touting a seven-inch "Gentouch78" Android 2.1 tablet for $150, as well as a Linux-based seven-inch color e-reader called "TheBook eReader," both from Augen. Meanwhile, TheStreet quotes analyst Ashok Kumar as saying Motorola will release a 10-inch tablet this November running Android 3.0. ...

SODIMM module sports TI Sitara 37xx SoCs —

Variscite announced a SODIMM-sized COM (computer on module) based on TI's DM37xx CPUs, with ARM Cortex-A8 cores clocked at up to 1GHz. The VAR-SOM-OM37 includes up to 256MB of RAM and 256MB of flash storage, offers a touchscreen interface supporting resolution up to 2048 x 2048 pixels, and is available with a Linux 2.6.32 or Windows CE 6.0 BSP (board support package), the company says. ...

High-end Android sliders ready to roll from Motorola, HTC —

A photo of a T-Mobile-destined, Android-based HTC "G1 Blaze" phone has popped up on Engadget, and Droid Life has unveiled Motorola's Droid 2, due for a Verizon launch next month. Meanwhile, Verizon's Droid X delay has been extended, some minor screen and security problems have emerged, and the phone has been rooted but not fully conquered, according to reports. ...

Multitouch screens target embedded devices —

Fujitsu announced resistive multitouch screens that may be operated either via fingers or a stylus. To be offered in sizes ranging from 5.6 to 12.1 inches, the devices will target POS (point of sale), kiosk, and banking systems. ...

GNOME renews embedded push with LiMo deal —

LiMo Foundation and GNOME Foundation announced a partnership to collaborate on further extending GNOME's open source tools to LiMo (Linux Mobile) compliant devices. In addition, LiMo Foundation has joined GNOME Foundation's Advisory Board, and GNOME will become an Industry Liaison Partner for LiMo, says the partners. ...

Via spins three PCs from modular motherboard —

Via announced three "device development kits" incorporating a previously announced Em-ITX motherboard and related expansion modules. The AMOS-5110, AMOS-5210, and AMOS-5430 are complete PCs that respectively focus on digital signage, factory automation, and GPS functionality, according to the company. ...

Core 2 Duo SBC offers Mini-PCI and Mini-PCIe expansion —

Aaeon announced a 3.5-inch single board computer (SBC) with a Socket-P slot that can accept an Intel Core 2 Duo or Celeron M processor. The 5.75 x 4.0-inch GENE-9655 is further equipped with up to 2GB of DDR2 memory, Mini-PCI and Mini-PCIe expansion, as well as interfaces for gigabit Ethernet, serial, and USB 2.0, says the company. ...

HP confirms tablets for both Windows 7 and WebOS —

HP has confirmed it plans to release multiple tablets, including some running Microsoft's Windows 7 and others running the Linux-based WebOS it acquired along with Palm. The announcement follows sightings on the web earlier this week of HP's "Slate 500," a Windows tablet with an 8.9-inch touchscreen, dual cameras, and a 1.6GHz Atom processor. ...

India shows off $35 Linux tablet —

The Indian government has unveiled a prototype of a Linux-based touchscreen tablet it hopes to sell next year for $35, with hopes to eventually lower the price to $10, according to several reports. Aimed at university students in India, the tablet is equipped with 2GB of memory, a memory card slot, Wi-Fi, camera, USB ports, and a web browser, say reports. ...

Genivi Alliance selects MeeGo for automotive infotainment —

The Genivi Alliance has chosen the Linux Foundation's Intel- and Nokia-backed MeeGo operating system as the basis of its next "Apollo" reference release for open source Linux-based In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) systems. Meanwhile, the Genivi Alliance announced Hyundai as a new core member, and said it was planning an ARM reference platform for IVI. ...

Google to open Android NDK? —

In two reports filed from this week's OSCON conference, The Register says that Google will open Android's internal development kit to contributors, and that Linux maintainers are holding tough in negotiating with the search giant regarding Android's readmission to the kernel. Meanwhile, Linux 2.6.35 RC6 was released, featuring enhancements to network scalability, memory management, and sleep-wait detection. ...

SBC gears up for tough travel duty —

Men Micro is taking orders for a rugged, display-oriented single board computer (SBC) for vehicles equipped with Intel's heat-resistant Intel Atom XL Z520PT processor. The SC21 offers 1GB of soldered SDRAM, two Ethernet ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and supports a wide temperature range, plus display features including backlight control and touch interfaces. ...

Signage PC sports four HD video outputs —

Lanner announced a compact embedded PC designed for high-definition video applications, sporting an HDMI port, two VGA ports, and a DVI-D port. The LEC-7900D offers two gigabit Ethernet ports, a Type I/II CompactFlash slot, and room for a 2.5-inch hard disk, the company says. ...

Barnes and Noble spins Nook for Android app —

Barnes & Noble released a Nook for Android application, competing with a similar Android app released for the Kindle, and Amazon announced that its Kindle e-books are outselling its hardcover books by almost two to one. Meanwhile, Entourage Systems, which makes the Entourage Edge dual-screen Android e-reader, announced several e-book content partnerships. ...

MontaVista revs IDE for new Linux build engine — MontaVista Software announced a new version of its Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDE) for embedded Linux. DevRocket 6.1 has been upgraded to better support the MontaVista Linux 6 commercial embedded Linux development platform, adding tight integration and a graphical interface to the new MontaVista Integration Platform build platform, plus enhanced analysis and debugging tools, says MontaVista. ...

Cloud-oriented distro gets site-specific —

The team behind the cloud-based Peppermint variant of Ubuntu Linux released a scaled-down, site-specific browser (SSB) version that is said to boot in under 10 seconds. The "Peppermint Ice" distro uses Google's Chromium as the default browser, and while still offering support for native apps, is even more focused on web-based apps than is Peppermint. ...

ARM partnerships to shrink Cortex processors — ARM and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced a long-term agreement that, the companies say, will provide the silicon foundry with access to ARM IP, and ultimately result in tiny Cortex processors created via a 20-nanometer process. Separately, ARM linked up with electronic design firm Cadence to develop "an optimized System Realization solution for ARM processors." ...

PCI-104 SBC tackles embedded video apps —

Advanced Micro Peripherals announced a rugged, Linux-compatible single board computer (SBC) using the 4.0 x 3.7-inch PCI-104 form factor. Powered by a 500MHz AMD Geode LX800 CPU, the video-ready Tiny-LX board offers a 32 bit PCI expansion bus, interfaces including Ethernet, USB, and E-IDE, plus fanless operation even in extended temperatures. ...

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FUEL Database on MontaVista Linux
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Breaking New Ground: The Evolution of Linux Clustering
With a platform comprising a complete Linux distribution, enhanced for clustering, and tailored for HPC, Penguin Computing¿s Scyld Software provides the building blocks for organizations from enterprises to workgroups to deploy, manage, and maintain Linux clusters, regardless of their size.

Data Monitoring with NightStar LX
Unlike ordinary debuggers, NightStar LX doesn¿t leave you stranded in the dark. It¿s more than just a debugger, it¿s a whole suite of integrated diagnostic tools designed for time-critical Linux applications to reduce test time, increase productivity and lower costs. You can debug, monitor, analyze and tune with minimal intrusion, so you see real execution behavior. And that¿s positively illuminating.

Virtualizing Service Provider Networks with Vyatta
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High Availability Messaging Solution Using AXIGEN, Heartbeat and DRBD
This white paper discusses a high-availability messaging solution relying on the AXIGEN Mail Server, Heartbeat and DRBD. Solution architecture and implementation, as well as benefits of using AXIGEN for this setup are all presented in detail.

Understanding the Financial Benefits of Open Source
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Embedded Hardware and OS Technology Empower PC-Based Platforms
The modern embedded computer is the jack of all trades appearing in many forms.

Data Management for Real-Time Distributed Systems
This paper provides an overview of the network-centric computing model, data distribution services, and distributed data management. It then describes how the SkyBoard integration and synchronization service, coupled with an implementation of the OMG¿s Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, can be used to create an efficient data distribution, storage, and retrieval system.

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For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.