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Yes.

IBM & Citizen Watch develop Linux-based "WatchPad"
Watch This Wednesday: the Linux Watch
Et Cetera

Why, I'm not exactly sure.

I don't find the link now , is on linux kernel mailing list (Arnd Bergmann wrote/done it) and compilation is done in few seconds
There is place for more cores on my desktop :)
What shocked me is this device with 32 threads and runs linux and shipping today! :

"Raza Microelectronics is shipping six high-throughput, multi-core, multi-threaded MIPS64 The XLR family of chips clocks up to 1.5GHz, and offers 16-32 thread processing engines"

http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS8376430165.html

For a 200MHz Pentium (this is an old review), the testers tried sending one billion interrupts with a latency check. When they required 8 microsecond latency, they missed one interrupt in a billion. When they only needed 10ms latency, they didn't lose any.

Comparable figures are available for various real-time Linux systems. Note that these figures are for a 650MHz CPU. The times are slightly better than for QNX, but the CPU is 3x faster.

Bear in mind that "RTLinux" programs aren't running under Linux. They're running below Linux. They can't make most system calls, for example. QNX programs are ordinary programs, and can make system calls.

The Linux 2.6 kernel isn't bad, though. Running real-time with millisecond response as high-priority Linux threads can actually work in 2.6. In 2.4, no way. You have to be very careful not to load any high-latency drivers, though.

But why would you want to rely on the government to protect you when you can just go to a shop next door and reward them for decency? Just buy a Linux PDA for games and let Sony's closed platform be as "successful" as their non-MP3 music players.

It is rather odd that Nokia is singling out the "Linux" kernel as a benefactor of its largess. I would agree with Stallman's point (albeit poorly made) that the granting of "immunity" to the Linux kernel implies some manner of "threat" to other projects, including FOSS.

What would Nokia's motivation be for making this announcement? I doubt they need the clout for getting patents crammed through the EU -- it's just a matter of time, unfortnately. My guess is that they have some skunkworks project using Linux embedded (like the dead Media Terminal ).

when did we ever hear of Stallman being pleased.

Off the top of my head: "I am very pleased to see that Qt is now available under the GPL," said Stallman. "This is a big win for free software and a great gift from Trolltech to the community."

I think it's important to point out that, historically, the way things tend to go is:

1. Stallman says that something isn't good enough.
2. Lots of people laugh at him or say that he's being a zealot.
3. He turns out to be right.
4. People conveniently forget about his warning and act all surprised.

The funniest thing is this happens over and over, and people still laugh at him and call him a zealot, even when he's been proven right over and over.

Yeah, he takes a hard line. Yeah, he doesn't compromise much. People don't seem to realise that this is a good attitude.

Don't be; MS is losing the embedded market. Check out this picture of the current market:
http://linuxdevices.com/files/article056/vdc_28.jp g

Linux is at 25% and growing. All of the Windows versions together give 24%, and not one of them on their own tops 10%. This is down from a total of a 33% marketshare from 5 years ago.

So Linux already is the Market Leader in the embedded space. And if it keeps growing like it has, MS will just have a fraction of the sales. Sort of like how VxWorks has gone from a 35% to a 12% marketshare over the past 5 years.

Sorry folks ... that newly revealed PalmOne LifeDrive doesn't run Linux, contrary to the original Slashdot posting headline (what -- incorrect info on the mighty dot?). LinuxDevices.com has the scoop on PalmSource's Linux leanings, which give us reason to hope, but currently offers no firm clues on whether or when.

http://linuxdevices.com/articles/AT3888835064.html

The cameras, w/lenses and add-ons will cost more than your Mac Mini, but these are capable of 1280x1024@30fps w/Ogg Theora encoding.

http://www.elphel.com/

-Charles

You should take a look at the Elphel 333 fpga security cameras. They can do real-time encoding in the free Theora video format at HD resolutions, and provide the stream over ethernet.

The cameras don't have sound, so you'd have to use the mac mini to handle the audio, and the image quality isn't as good as one of the "prosumer" HDV cameras. On the other hand, by doing the compression in hardware you don't have any resource problems like you would transcoding an HDV or component HD feed, and can concentrate on just decoding the stream. :)

Best, you'll be supporting free multimedia instead of the MPEG patent holders.

There's an article describing the camera if you want more details.

Actually he doesn't seem to like the idea of a non-fre BIOS. fsf article

Linux BIOS Project (unfortunately can't find a link to the linux bios project itself, the site linuxbios.org had a blank page up)

Intel Open BIOS site doesn't seem to want to resolve either.

I too already have a small SSH device -- a Sharp Zaurus SL-C860. Much as I love OpenBSD, I'll be sticking with Linux on my Zaurus. I use it with a bluetooth mobile phone to remotely ssh into our production servers when I'm on call and away from a fixed net connection. Unlike using PuTTY directly on the phone, the Zaurus has a full qwerty keyboard, which actually makes it usable.

Hm, it actually *is* available. Check this out:
http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS5552772338.html

With a bit more digging an article from 9/18/04 on automotive grade Linux which mentions M$'s aggressive interest in the market.

http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS6531324140.html /

Simply ... http://www.linuxdevices.com/www.linuxdevices.com

I would use linux as it can be as light wieght as you need it to be (Cheack out damn small linuxhttp://www.damnsmalllinux.org/) or more robust to suit your needs. Also here's a fine example of a linux pda http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT2134869242. html I personally think it is the most simple route to go as it's free and people will be more than will to make their own software for it.

Here's the quick summary:

Via has released source code to Linux 2.6 and Xorg/XFree86 drivers for the Unichrome graphics capabilities on northbridge chips in its popular mini-ITX boards. The drivers offer 2D, 3D, and hardware MPEG2/4 acceleration, as well as video overlay, and support both the CLE266 and CN400 northbridges.

The GPL was last revised in 1991. In 1991, people used plenty of Internet software, including not only sendmail and FTP, but also the first web servers and browsers. What has changed is the large number of people who use GPL'd software, and the large amount of GPL software. Which has resulted from the fairness of the license, appropriate to the way in which we devlop software. Most people don't change or even examine the source code of GPL'd software - the majority of it is installed as binaries. What has changed is the power of GPL authors to get a large community to agree with them, regardless of a change in priniciple, because they're popular. This new license will be bad for developers, bad for the community, and bad for the GPL.

For your particular case, I'd look at some of the enhancements which have been offered by Monte Vista. But really, it depends on what you're trying to do. Here's a "Real Time Linux Software Quick Reference Guide"

http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT8073314981. html

Personally speaking, I'd suggest becoming familiar with what your choices are, and using the best one to meet your needs. For example, the requirements for real-time support are really much less than its proponents proclaim; though there are certain situations where it is indeed required. Hardcore RT proponents will never admit this though; it's like they only understand one tool, and use it for everything.

I also consider Monte Vista a solution for those who don't know what they are doing (because if you really DO know, then you don't need them). But it gives lots of people warm fuzzies, and so it does fill that need. So, for your course, I'd recommend checking them out.

There really are lots of issues with VxWorks. As an OS, it really sucks. Witness, for example, the Mars Rover fiasco. Repeated crashing, simply because your filesystem is full, is such a basic, boneheaded mistake, it goes beyond words. That should never have happened. And yet, it is just a common variation on a theme with VxWorks, and is a reflection of the overall software quality (or lack thereof).

never know how long my linux takes to boot, or if it ever survive next boot, but least i can get nice graphs about what it is doing each time with Bootchart and another cool thing is this video camera from samsung powered with ucLinux which can boot to shell in 80msek.

The P620 is available immediately from stock. Single quantity price is $1,800 with a 1.1 GHz CPU."

wow, only 2 grand for a 1.1 ghz!! 2001 here I come!

MPEG-4 Visual is a video codec. MP4 is the container for MPEG-4 Visual data.

I think hardware MPEG-4 decoding is a waste of time, but a VIA chipset supports it.

Redhat alienated much of their loyal userbase with the introduction of Fedora Core. This is a step in the right direction for Redhat to get back to their roots and stop concentrating so hard on their commercial offerings that they leave their grassroots projects underdevloped and insufficient. Short bio. Interview from a few years ago
- Cary
--Fairfax Underground: Where Fairfax County comes out to play

Are you by any chance using a 3D gfx driver from the card vendor? If you are, get rid of it and stick to the x.org display drivers. Apart hardware failure, this is in my experience, by far the the most common cause of instability.

The situation is quite unsatisfactory if you need 3D acceleration. I hoping for OGP card myself, but in the meantime I rather have a stable system.

Here is an already-in-the-market device that uses the Au1100. It's an automotive scantool by Chrysler. Note the article is dated May 5, 2004. They were in production at the time.

Daimler-Chrysler scantool link.

Today one can not find BSDi among WindRiver's products (it used to be there just recently, according to Google, though), and customers in need of support for their earlier bought licenses are requested to contact BSDMall instead.

They could have easily dug their heels in and raged against the Linux tide.

this is in fact what they did do. they used to be one of the most vocal anti-linux vendors around, next to microsoft.

what his system really lacks is this: it's not radio

fm radio is the perfect and obvious solution here. go get one of these pci fm transmitter cards, plug it into any old x86 box with a massive hard drive and a copy of the dejaneiro browser-controlled mp3 player, hook up your local lan for control and voila! instant broadcast of your music when you want it.

iTunes & Airport express are good. Another vote for that.

There are other stuffs in the market though.. Sonos for example.

The SoC (System on a Chip) that Samsung uses has an MMU, but they just don't use it for this device.

From the LinuxDevices article:

The Miniket is based on a Samsung S5C7376 SoC (system-on-chip) clocked at 216MHz. The SoC includes an ARM9 core with MMU; however, the Miniket's uClinux 2.6 kernel does not use the chip's MMU.

"The componentization of the PC world does not lend itself to a build-it-yourself Mac mini equivalent."

The PC104+/EBX form factor is the closest in the PC world

in order to get something of the same size, you're going to have to go mini itx. the majority of the mobos in that form factor will be hovering at or below 1ghz.

if you want something that will perform similarly, you'd have to go for something like this. that's $175 for the motherboard alone, and you're stuck with intel "extreme" gfx and the p4m processor that you'll have to buy separately.

your best shot might be the pentium-m (not p4m) mini-itx combos. those are quite a bit more expensive though (i can't find it on froogle, but the company's site says 674 euros if you buy 100 of them).

with the via mini-itx solutions, you'll get good price/size. with the p-m you'll get good performance/size. as far as i can tell, the mini is the only one where you'll get price/performance/size, which is why i pounced on it right as jobs announced it.

it's called the mesh box

linuxdevices has a fairly comprehensive list of what is available. Unfortunately, you'll be disapointed. Your best bet might be to get an older Compaq iPaq and put Familiar on it. But the Compaq's don't have a built in keyboard, and the SD slot might not be supported under Linux.
To get a device you'll be happy with, it will cost from 300 - 800 dollars -- i.e., one of the Sharp Zaurus lines. They have built in keyboard, good display, sd & cf slots, etc. But support from Sharp is lacking -- they keep on discontinuing models, they totally screwed their community (by pulling the plug on the community development site). Of course support from zaurususergroup.com is good. But again, they are out of your price range.

Or, you could hold out till Palm comes out with their linux-based distribution. You might even be able to upgrade to it on existing arm/xscale based palm devices (which again might be out of your price range by a couple hundred).

Look at the handheld "Controller" !

http://www.linuxdevices.com/files/misc/sonos_contr oller.jpg

There IS an iPod click-wheel on it. Doesn't Apple have a patent on that piece of design ?...

Mame runs on linux yes?
http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS9903965189.html
he SoC used in the device supports linux and Windows CE. So pick any embedded linux distro, and compile and test MAME with it... Also, it supports 1024x768 resolution displays... which is to answer the question of what games such a device might be limited to.

Evernote http://evernote.com/ has a nice note taking app in beta (free download) that they say will be ported to Linux.

It does handwriting recognition and they also say they're aiming for audio notes along the lines of OneNote. The handwriting recognition is working very well for me.

My main interest in Tablet PC's is note taking. Appropriate hardware (pen input) running Linux plus Evernote with good audio notes would do the trick for me. Something like the Pepper Pad 2 http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT7558010259. html

The Evernote beta is Windows only for now and free. There's a good forum going on their site about the beta, too.

Honestly, though, I'd _really_ like appropriate hardware running OS X plus Evernote....

Is it really so hard to use tags?

Software radio or SDR - an intresting subject where mathematical formulas become radio.

See for a high level overview.

Good reading is Understanding digital Signal processing by Richard G. Lyons. Prentice Hall, 1st ed: ISBN 0201634678 (amazon.com, search). 2nd ed: ISBN 0-13-108989-7 (amazon.com, search)

VanuBose 's company Vanu Technology demonstrated a software radio based on an iPAQ with a digital radio "backpack", in May 2003. Here are some links:

Slashdot article

Linuxdevices.com

Vanu.com

Vanu.com

Here's a note on the future of software defined radio

Several relevant pointers available here

According the the IDC overview, this survey only includes servers, PC's, and "packaged software". What is the size of the embedded market, considering Linux is now the number one embedded OS in Asia?

1. if by "embedded systems" you mean "ARM systems with 128MB of RAM and 2GB CF cards," then yes, you're right. otherwise, you're way off.

Linksys makes some systems that are quite a bit lighter -- 4MB Flash, 16MB RAM -- while others can use quite a bit less space.

More on embedded Linux.

1. if by "embedded systems" you mean "ARM systems with 128MB of RAM and 2GB CF cards," then yes, you're right. otherwise, you're way off.

Linksys makes some systems that are quite a bit lighter -- 4MB Flash, 16MB RAM -- while others can use quite a bit less space.

More on embedded Linux.

This article on LinuxDevices discusses the possibility of installing Linux on the PIC.

I thought that he was trying too strongly to make the case that those that want to use Linux for real-time applications will not buy tools and those that want better performance for hard-real-time will not choose Linux.

It is also obvious that a general-purpose operating system is not going to work as well in a real-time environment as one specially designed for that purpose. It's the reason why, for example, if you are an organization that wants a system to break encryption keys fast, you build a special-purpose machine that includes hardware designed to do quick computations of prime numbers, not commodity hardware with lots of extra features you don't need and won't use, that slow down the primary purpose of breaking codes.

He seemed to be arguing the point far too strongly, as if he had a hidden agenda. Okay, presuming his argument is valid, so what if Linux as a general-purpose O/S is not as good at handling hard-real-time as a specially designed one? He could have argued that in about 1/5th of the space his article uses. What is also interesting is, despite all his talk about how bad Linux is, he seemed to ignore examples where Linux is considered good enough for real-time use in many cases, and was unable to mention any alternative which might be better, such as some open-source alternatives that have been mentioned here on Slashdot.

I had a suspicion but I wasn't sure. And now it's clear: his company sells real-time operating systems in competition with Linux. So he claims Linux is not good enough. Where have we heard this before? :)

According to this article, Ballmer's source is not clear at all yet. However, it might be based on this report, that states that: "283 software patents not yet reviewed by the courts could potentially be used to support claims of infringement against Linux." Not at all, as Ballmer claimed, certainly patent violations, but only patents not yet reviewed.

LinuxDevices reports that Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) CEO Stuart Cohen has just issued a statement in response to the Ballmer remarks earlier today. The news item also notes that before launching its Linux insurance product, OSRM (Open Source Risk Management) said it determined Linux's exposure to patent infringement to be 'quantifiable and manageable,' while noting that '283 software patents not yet reviewed by the courts could potentially be used to support claims of infringement against Linux.' However, Linux is neither more nor less at risk from software patent lawsuits than proprietary software, the OSRM stated, according to LinuxDevices.

The are lots of articles on the web about recording with open source software. Also check out Dave Phillips's site and his articles in Linux Journal.

it's here but you're right - it wouldn't really do what you want because it won't do wireless (not easily anyway)

There is a good list of small embedded linux devices at (strangely enough) linux devices which should help you out.

One that isn't on that list but which looks pretty much perfect is the meshcube

but there's also the Wireless Router Application Platform which looks pretty interesting and is actually affordable without any expensive developer kit required

HTH

Yes and no.

The Linux-based host nodes manage user interaction functions, while the Linux-based service nodes provide control and monitoring capabilities.

Linux is also used in I/O nodes, which provide a gigabit Ethernet connection to the outside world for each group of 64 compute nodes, or every 128 processors. Thus, the full BlueGene/L system will have 1024 I/O nodes, which essentially form a Linux cluster.

The actual compute nodes -- the 128,000 processors -- do not run Linux, but instead run a very simple operating system written from scratch by the Project's scientists.

I assume that since the new one is MCE and sports a 3GHz P4 (how are they gonna cool that and keep it quiet enough for an A/V rack???), that it stores/plays video.

The older device was a much slower CPU also. With a 566MHz Coppermine/Celery, it was very much less capable of doing video.

See also this yahoo group.

I'm not an HP exec, but here oges
Here's the new machine specs.
And this is the Linux equivalent, circa 2001.
Now which one would you take?
It's just a nice x86 machine in a dvd-player form-factor, with manufacturer-supplied drivers for all the components.
I've been using Linux for years, but what value is linux going to add for a machine like this? the MTBF,cust satisfaction is all a load of bull.