Japan's #1 cellular carrier adopts Linux for 3G phones -- According to numerous reports in the last several days, NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest cellular carrier, has adopted embedded Linux for its 3G phones. NTT DoCoMo apparently hopes the Linux-based handsets will accelerate adoption of its 3G, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) services. DoCoMo has provided information to partners like NEC about Linux-based handsets that will work with its network.
Hackable media player for HDTV runs embedded Linux -- Embedded Linux and an open, hacker-friendly architecture power the world's first high definition media player, the $499 Roku HD1000. The brainchild of ReplayTV inventor Anthony Wood, the device could touch off a cottage industry of third-party applications and media packs that work with its Linux-based OS and user-friendly media APIs. Get more technical details in our "Device Profile."
Wind River edges closer to Linux -- Wind River moved two steps closer to Linux this week, with a pair of announcements that it has joined two key organizations. Wind River says it has joined the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and plans to contribute to the OSDL's Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) working group. Wind River also announced that it has joined the Eclipse Consortium, an industry group devoted to an open cross-vendor platform for development tools integration, and said it is committed to the Eclipse platform "to enable global enterprises to standardize embedded development on a single, open standards-based integrated development environment."
Inside IBM's BlueGene/L supercomputer -- A team of computer scientists at IBM and the University of California/Lawrence Livermore Labs has used Linux and embedded system-on-chip (SoC) technology to achieve a breakthrough in supercomputer technology expected to radically reduce the size and cost of highly scalable systems, while dramatically increasing performance. A prototype the size of a 30-inch television has already weighed in at number 73 on the Top500 Supercomputer project list, producing two teraFLOPS (trillions of floating point operations per second). Our look inside IBM's BlueGene/L supercomputer includes a foreword with further background information, plus a downloadable 22-page whitepaper written by BlueGene/L team scientists.
Linux lab raises awareness of kernel development process -- The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) announced a new initiative aimed at raising awareness about how the Linux kernel is developed. With the highly-anticipated release of the final Linux 2.6 production kernel due shortly, OSDL is taking a series of steps to increase customer confidence in using Linux.
Open Source software means "professionalism" -- The Consulting Times has published an article by veteran computer lab manager Tom Adelstein that addresses some common fallacies and myths about open software and makes a strong business case for the sound scientific principles behind open source development. The article is entitled "How to Misunderstand Open Source Software Development."
Whitepaper: Intel's vision for location-aware computing -- Current and future applications for location-aware technologies, as envisioned by Intel, are discussed in this whitepaper by two developers in Intel's Corporate Technology Group. According to the whitepaper, location-aware computing will make mobile devices more effective and convenient, both at work and in the home. "With this technology, we're moving away from proprietary, closed location systems to the Internet, where location is just another piece of data. By using this data, applications can provide richer, more productive, and more rewarding user experiences," conclude the whitepaper's authors.
Missed last week's newsletter? -- In case you missed our previous newsletter on account of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, here's a list of the top stories from last week:
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Other noteworthy news items and announcements from the past week . . .
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You can access 2003's newsletters here: Nov. 27, Nov. 20, Nov. 13, Nov. 6, Oct. 30, Oct. 23, Oct. 16, Oct. 9, Oct. 2, Sep. 25, Sep. 18, Sep. 11, Sep. 4, Aug. 21, Aug. 14, Aug. 7, Jul. 31, Jul. 24, Jul. 17, Jul. 10, Jul. 3, Jun. 26, Jun. 19, Jun. 12, Jun. 5, May 29, May 22, May 15, May 8, May 1, Apr. 24, Apr. 17, Apr. 10, Apr. 3, Mar. 27, Mar. 20, Mar. 13, Mar. 6, Feb. 27, Feb. 20, Feb. 13, Feb. 6, Jan. 30, Jan. 23, Jan. 16, Jan. 9, Jan. 2
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