Guest editorial: How Linux will Revolutionize the Embedded Market -- For several years, Red Hat CTO Michael Tiemann has described Linux and open source software as "disruptive technologies" that were destined to "revolutionize the embedded software market, destroying the old status quo and replacing it with a newer, better status quo". But what wasn't clear, was what form the "revolution" would take. Now, Tiemann believes he has figured out just what is going to happen -- and "it's not pretty," says Tiemann. "The embedded systems market needs to adapt to those terms, not the other way around. I believe that the companies that can adapt in time will not only be spared the ravages of the revolution, but will emerge as the new leaders . . ." Story
Interview with the Chair of the ELC's Core Platform Working Group -- In March 2002 at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Francisco, the Embedded Linux Consortium (ELC) rolled out the requisite organizational infrastructure to allow it to begin developing embedded Linux standards. The ELC's primary effort will be to create what is being called the "ELC Platform Specification", which will formally define a standardized core embedded Linux platform. Additional efforts are expected to focus on specific areas of system functionality, such as graphical interface, real-time functions, system boot processes, etc. In this interview, Mark Brown, Chair of the ELC's Core Platform Working Group, answers questions posed by LinuxDevices.com founder Rick Lehrbaum about the ELC's standardization process, and comments on the significance of the ELC's Core Platform spec. Story
Embedded Linux Journal ceases publication -- SSC Publications (the publisher of Linux Journal) announced that the May/June 2002 issue will be the final stand-alone print edition of Embedded Linux Journal (ELJ). ELJ's content will now truly be "embedded" -- embedded directly into Linux Journal, as a monthly feature section. The magazine's website, ELJonline (produced and hosted by LinuxDevices.com), will continue to regularly feature new Embedded Linux articles, reviews, news, and contests from Linux Journal. Story
VDC study finds Red Hat to be #1 Embedded Linux provider -- In a recently completed report entitled Linux's Future in the Embedded Systems Market, Venture Development Corp. (VDC) studied the size and future growth trends of the worldwide market for Embedded Linux software solutions. In the vendor rankings that resulted from responses to VDC's questions about which Linux distributions are being used in current embedded projects, and which are being evaluated for future use, Red Hat received the top score on both counts. Story
Embedded Linux crying out for standards -- ZDNet editor Matthew Broersma interviews Dr. Inder Singh, chairman of the Embedded Linux Consortium (and CEO of LynuxWorks) on the need for standards in the Embedded Linux market. Broersma concludes that "Linux is set to reign in the embedded operating system market, but rigid standards are needed if developers are not to be driven to Windows CE." Story
Shifting opinion shakes footing of embedded Linux -- EE Times editor Charles J. Murray discusses mixed analyst opinions about the future of embedded Linux. Murray observes that critics cite the financial instability of some Embedded Linux vendors as evidence that Linux is not viable in the embedded market, while industry watchers such as Venture Development Corp. (VDC) see a 'groundswell movement' toward embedded and real-time Linux. Story
A TimeSys response on Real-Time Linux -- In the latest installment of the continuing real-time Linux debate, Doug Locke, TimeSys VP of Technology, contrasts his company's preemptible Linux implementation with that of MontaVista, and comments on several aspects of the preceding discussion. Story
Update on Linux compatible Single-Board Computers -- Choices in the Linux-friendly Single-Board Computer (SBC) market aren't just growing -- they're exploding, as boards add features and power. Rick Lehrbaum, founder of LinuxDevices.com (and cofounder and former CTO of Ampro Computers Inc.), lays out your options in this article at Embedded Linux Journal Online (ELJonline). Lehrbaum reviews the factors driving fragmentation in the SBC market, takes a look at the shootout brewing in the between-PC/104-and-EBX size domain, and provides a brief "Survey of Itsy Bitsy Embeddable SBCs that Run Linux". Story
Here are some additional news items and announcements of interest from the past week . . .
Read them here: May 16, 2002, May 9, 2002, May 2, 2002, Apr. 25, 2002, Apr. 18, 2002, Apr. 11, 2002, Apr. 4, 2002, Mar. 28, 2002, Mar. 21, 2002, Mar. 14, 2002, Mar. 7, 2002, Feb. 28, 2002, Feb. 21, 2002, Feb. 14, 2002, Feb. 7, 2002, Jan. 31, 2002, Jan. 24, 2002, Jan. 17, 2002, Jan. 10, 2002, Jan. 3, 2002
Be sure to stop by LinuxDevices.com -- "the Embedded Linux Portal" -- for the latest news, articles, forums, products, companies, jobs, and buzz in the fast-moving "post-PC" world of Linux-based intelligent devices, Internet appliances, and embedded systems. You can contact us here.