Check out the video proof, as in "proof of concept", according to user bdogg64:
One (mostly) open source mobile OS was not enough for one enterprising user. He has hacked his Nokia N900 to dual boot, into both the Debian-based Maemo (version 5)and the Linux and Java-based Android (version 1.6, "Donut").
Check out the video proof, as in "proof of concept", according to user bdogg64:
Check out the video proof, as in "proof of concept", according to user bdogg64:
Continue reading Nokia N900 dual booting into Maemo 5 and Android.
An interesting blog post on the prevalent but unacknowledged presence of Linux, in a wide variety of devices, applications and services.
Jay Lyman, of the 451 Group, predicts that 2010 will kick off the era of hidden Linux. That "while we can expect major market gains and new inroads for Linux, the further the open source OS spreads, the less likely we are to really see how far."
He writes:
Jay Lyman, of the 451 Group, predicts that 2010 will kick off the era of hidden Linux. That "while we can expect major market gains and new inroads for Linux, the further the open source OS spreads, the less likely we are to really see how far."
He writes:
Continue reading Hidden Linux - The power beneath the hood.
Continue reading LG chooses Moblin for GW990 smartphone.
"Give the Gift of Linux Foundation Memberships to Needy Students". This is the title of post on Intel's Software Network blog, and we are happy to echo the sentiments.
Dawn Foster highlights an initiative from the Linux Foundation whereby new members can also specify a student to receive membership (or allow the foundation to select a student off their own list). It's a 'Get One, Give One' promotion, as it were.
Dawn Foster highlights an initiative from the Linux Foundation whereby new members can also specify a student to receive membership (or allow the foundation to select a student off their own list). It's a 'Get One, Give One' promotion, as it were.
Continue reading The gift of Linux Foundation membership.
Back in September we covered Who Writes Linux, today we are flagging How Linux is built.
On the How Software Is Built blog, there is an interesting in-depth interview with Greg Kroah-Hartman, a Linux Kernel Dev/Maintainer.
On the How Software Is Built blog, there is an interesting in-depth interview with Greg Kroah-Hartman, a Linux Kernel Dev/Maintainer.
If anyone knows Linux kernel driver development, it's Greg Kroah-Hartman, who's been working deep in Linux for over a decade. In this interview, Greg talks about how the Linux project has accommodated the accelerating rate of change for the kernel, and offers some insight on where Linux is headed, writes the blog.
Continue reading How Linux is built.
Check out a new Linux-related article on the site - Where is the cost in an embedded Linux system?
Written by Andy Lunness, programme manager at STMicroelectronics, he looks at the distribution of cost in an embedded Linux system.
In particular, he addresses the cost of the development effort, which he says any project manager will tell you is the major cost of projects. He also considers other factors, such as open source licensing, the cost in IT infrastructure, bills of materials, and time to market...
Written by Andy Lunness, programme manager at STMicroelectronics, he looks at the distribution of cost in an embedded Linux system.
In particular, he addresses the cost of the development effort, which he says any project manager will tell you is the major cost of projects. He also considers other factors, such as open source licensing, the cost in IT infrastructure, bills of materials, and time to market...
Continue reading A look at the development costs of Linux.
The article continues:
There has been increasing interest in developing for the Android platform. The Motorola Droid is the latest entrance into the smartphone-on-Android market and an explosion of Android phones and applications is expected.
Continue reading ARM launches Android developer resource.
Korenix has announced the JetBox 9430-w, which it describes as an "intelligent Linux ready embedded networking computer with complete Layer 3 routing capabilities for efficiently managing extended network groups in industrial environments".
It has IP-31 rugged anti-vibration/shock design and a -40~80C operating temperatures. It features VPN functionality, and can support establishing long-distance and secured network connections over WAN.
Features highlighted by Korenix are:
It has IP-31 rugged anti-vibration/shock design and a -40~80C operating temperatures. It features VPN functionality, and can support establishing long-distance and secured network connections over WAN.
Features highlighted by Korenix are:
Continue reading Korenix JetBox 9430-w for embedded Linux networking.
Intel has bought Wind River, and now Cavium Networks acquisition of MontaVista Software. Chip makers love Linux, writes Richard Wilson in his Distribution blog post - Linux lies at the heart of another Silicon Valley takeover
Cavium Networks has reportedly acquired MontaVista Software for $50m.
Cavium Networks has reportedly acquired MontaVista Software for $50m.
Continue reading Cavium Networks takes over MontaVista Software.
The first LiMo Platform release 2 compliant device was the Vodafone 360 Samsung H1.
According to Morgan Gillis, executive director, LiMo Foundation:
Continue reading Vodafone 360 Samsung handset boosts Mobile Linux.
Missed this one at the end of last week, but just to flag... Google has officially released version 2.0 of its Android device platform, codenamed Éclair.
Highlights of the new version include a revamped graphics architecture (for better hardware acceleration), support for Bluetooth 2.1, and two new profiles (Object Push Profile (OPP) and Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)). There are also new framework APIs.
Continue reading Android 2.0 - the Éclair version.
One to note maybe, for those tracking developments of Nokia's open source Debian-based Maemo environment, for smartphones and tablets.
The mobile phone giant has announced the creation of the official Qt port to Maemo 5 and published an initial Technology Preview release.
It means that developers can now use Qt - the open source cross-platform development framework - to target upcoming Nokia N900 devices, as well as port apps to all Qt's other supported platforms. This includes Maemo 6, it states, as well as Symbian and Windows Mobile.
Continue reading Qt 4.6 for Maemo on a Nokia N900.
One for the record books? Distributor Acal Technology has samples of what is claimed to be the world's smallest, self-contained Linux networking server. It fits in an an extended RJ-45 connector, believe it or not.Lantronix XPort Pro operates Linux or Evolution OS operating systems, and inside is a 32-bit processor, 8Mbyte SDRAM, and 16Mbyte of flash, writes Steve Bush.
Continue reading Acal unveils RJ45-sized Linux networking server.
Just to share what was new to me - Intel has an Open Source Software landing page on its website, bringing together different elements of its coverage: Moblin developments, tools and resources, events, multimedia, developer content, project contributions, etc.You can find Open Source at Intel at http://software.intel.com/sites/oss/
They've also created an Open Source element of the Intel "blogosphere" (dread phrase). You can find their various blog posts that are filed under the category of Open Source at http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/category/open-source/
View the Linux Magazine Roundtable - The Linux Kernel: Straight from the source
It describes its aims to be to support the sharing of knowledge (software evaluations, benchmarks, methodologies) and embedded system software in a way that "assures easy collaboration of the stakeholders":
"SHARE is a project (co-funded by the European Commission FP7) with the aim to facilitate open source software code sharing and utilisation within the embedded system domain, creating a nurturing environment for applications and solutions to be developed on OSS middleware, and paving the way for new business models and services."
Continue reading Sharing embedded learning with Share.
Vodafone 360 is the mobile operator's newly launched social media and messaging service, writes Richard Wilson.
This is a high profile launch for the Linux-based LiMo mobile operating system which is competing with the likes of Google's Android operating system and Nokia's Symbian OS for designs into the next generation of smartphones and multimedia handsets.
"This is the first of a wave of R2 LiMo handsets due in the coming months," said Morgan Gillis, executive director of LiMo Foundation.
Continue reading Vodafone's 360 H1 handset is first with LiMo, release 2.
"Adding parallel processing to legacy code is a desire of every software company that has an existing product which is significant in complexity and which needs to run faster," writes Tom Spyrou on the Intel Software Network blog.
(Tom works for Cadence Design Systems as a Distinguished Engineer.)
He is addressing the issue of how to keep legacy Unix or Linux software up to speed now that processor clock rates are not increasing much and multiple cores are being added to chips instead.
As he sees it, the problem of speeding up software is "moving from a hardware improvement problem to a software parallelisation problem".
(Tom works for Cadence Design Systems as a Distinguished Engineer.)
He is addressing the issue of how to keep legacy Unix or Linux software up to speed now that processor clock rates are not increasing much and multiple cores are being added to chips instead.
As he sees it, the problem of speeding up software is "moving from a hardware improvement problem to a software parallelisation problem".
Continue reading Keeping legacy Linux code up to speed through parallelisation.
An interesting Moblin interview with Imad Sousou, director of Intel's Open Source Technology centre, on ZDNet. The Moblin initiative (short for Mobile Linux) is aiming to provide optimised Linux technology for netbooks and MIDs (mobile Internet devices).
Questions posed include:
Read the full interview with Imad Sousou. It took place at the Open Source In Mobile 09 event in Amsterdam.
Questions posed include:
- There seems to be some confusion over what Moblin entails - it appears to be a full Linux distribution, but we have seen Suse and Linpus flavours, and Canonical are about to release an Ubuntu flavour. What is Moblin?
- Will we see Moblin devices in the UK market soon?
- What changes have been made since the first version?
- Moblin is also tailored for MIDs, which is a segment that hasn't taken off yet. Will MIDs become more popular?
Read the full interview with Imad Sousou. It took place at the Open Source In Mobile 09 event in Amsterdam.
On the Intel Software Network, Dawn M. Foster writes:
I was excited to see that the Linux Foundation just released an update to their Linux kernel study. This study has some interesting insights into the work that goes into each revision of the kernel along with some information about the people and companies supporting this work.You can read the full document (PDF) - Linux Kernel Development (How Fast it is Going, Who is Doing It, What They are Doing, and Who is Sponsoring It: An August 2009 Update)
For example, there are 4-5 kernel releases per year and recent releases have contained over 9000 changes (patches) per release, which breaks down to 4-6 changes to the kernel per hour. The most recent kernel in the study had over 11 million lines of code. This is a huge effort, especially for something that started off as a little hobby.
Continue reading Who writes Linux?.
NEC and Wind River are to develop Linux for portable devices, writes our Technology Editor Steve Bush, as NEC introduces a Linux development kit for audio-visual data on its EMMA Mobile 1 processor.
The kit will be used in conjunction with a hardware development kit for testing and evaluating system performance, as well as to develop middleware and software.
"Additional SDKs for EMMA series products based on Wind River Linux technology targeting digital multimedia consumer devices are expected to follow in late 2009 and in 2010," said NEC.
Read the full story - NEC introduces Linux devkit for its EMMA Mobile 1 processor
The kit will be used in conjunction with a hardware development kit for testing and evaluating system performance, as well as to develop middleware and software.
"Additional SDKs for EMMA series products based on Wind River Linux technology targeting digital multimedia consumer devices are expected to follow in late 2009 and in 2010," said NEC.
Read the full story - NEC introduces Linux devkit for its EMMA Mobile 1 processor
View the video >>
Some important bullet points:
* Free means Free to use - not commercially without cost
* The Linux cost model removes up-front costs, but increases development costs
* Development costs are generally higher
Continue reading Video: ST - How Linux is changing the cost model for embedded design.
RMI has seen its MIPS-compatible Au1250 processor selected by Samsung Electronics for a range of portable LED TVs, writes Richard Wilson.
RMI's Au1250 Processor is the first MIPS-compatible SoC processor supported for Android aimed at media and communications applications.
RMI's Au1250 Processor is the first MIPS-compatible SoC processor supported for Android aimed at media and communications applications.
Continue reading RMI's 'Android' processor gets Samsung LED TV design-in.
We've just updated the site with an interesting comment piece from LiMo. From Morgan Gillis, executive director of the LiMO foundation, to be precise. See Comment: Breaking the cycle of OS fragmentation
He begins:
He begins:
The mobile software world is evolving at a rapid rate buoyed by the infusion of open source principles, methodologies, philosophies and licensing. While this is exciting and invigorating, it is also giving rise to a number of issues - some new, while others give us a sense of "déjà-vu".
Continue reading Copyleft and breaking the cycle of OS fragmentation.
Check out an interesting an article new to the site - Making the most of open-source hardware
This blog is about Open Source Engineering, and I'm happy to include hardware as well as software within that remit.
Written by Gerald Coley of Texas Instruments, the main points are:
This blog is about Open Source Engineering, and I'm happy to include hardware as well as software within that remit.
Written by Gerald Coley of Texas Instruments, the main points are:
- Open-source hardware offers an advanced start on your design.
- Open-source software complements open-source hardware.
- Open-source hardware prepares your PCB (printed-circuit-board)-fabrication and -assembly houses for high-volume production.
- You may want to share your improvements by making them open-source additions, as well.
Continue reading Making the most of open-source hardware.
MIPS Technologies says it has been swamped with requests for source code it made available following its port of the Google's Android platform to the MIPS architecture, writes Richard Wilson.
"Since we announced public availability of the Android on MIPS source code earlier this month, over 600 people have registered to access the code, and we actually had to add server and network capacity in order to meet demand," said Art Swift, vice president of marketing at MIPS Technologies.
"Since we announced public availability of the Android on MIPS source code earlier this month, over 600 people have registered to access the code, and we actually had to add server and network capacity in order to meet demand," said Art Swift, vice president of marketing at MIPS Technologies.
Continue reading Requests for Android set-top code swamps MIPS.
The LiMo Foundation has announced the newest round of LiMo-compliant handsets that have been released to market. Plus, Immersion and KDDI have signed up as members.
They are built for Japan's largest mobile operator NTT DOCOMO, by LiMo members NEC and Panasonic Mobile Communications.
Next-generation features including high megapixel cameras, rich media capabilities, and upgraded connectivity support resonate deeply with today's demanding mobile audience, delivering a richer, more immersive mobile experience.
They are built for Japan's largest mobile operator NTT DOCOMO, by LiMo members NEC and Panasonic Mobile Communications.
Next-generation features including high megapixel cameras, rich media capabilities, and upgraded connectivity support resonate deeply with today's demanding mobile audience, delivering a richer, more immersive mobile experience.
Continue reading LiMo signs up new members and new handsets.
Microsoft has announced the release of 20,000 lines of device driver code to the Linux community. It apparently includes three Linux device drivers, which have been submitted to the Linux kernel community for inclusion in the Linux tree.
The drivers are intended to enhance the performance of the Linux operating system when virtualised on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V or Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V.
Continue reading Microsoft sees the Linux light.
Check out these two items involving MIPS and T-Mobile:
MIPS moves closer to running Android on set-tops
MIPS Technologies has stepped up its plan to widen the market applications for Android platform beyond mobiles. Following its port of the Android platform to the MIPS architecture, the microprocessor firm is making the source code publicly available...
Read the full article >>
T-Mobile launches next-gen Android mobile phone in the US
The mobile phone market will be watching as T-Mobile launches its next generation Android mobile phone, myTouch 3G, in the US today. Designed by HTC of Taiwan, T-Mobile myTouch 3G is being presented as the "Google phone"...
Read the full article >>
Just flagging a quick one, from DAC at the end of last week - Mentor unveils Android, Linux strategy at DAC
Written by Rick Nelson, Editor-in-Chief of our sister title EDN, he begins:
Written by Rick Nelson, Editor-in-Chief of our sister title EDN, he begins:
Mentor Graphics announced its acquisition of Embedded Alley Solutions as a key component of its Android and embedded Linux strategy Wednesday afternoon at the Design Automation Conference.
Mentor also announced the integration of its Nucleus Graphical User Interface tool with the ARM Mali graphics processing unit; it announced the availability of a Linux and Nucleus operating-system combination for the Marvell Sheeva MV78200 dual-core embedded processor; and it said that it is extending Embedded Alley's Android mobile-applications platform to support Freescale Semiconductor's QorIQ and PowerQUICC III processors.Read the full article >>

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