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Lineo 1.0 Eor Embedded x86 Released
Snarfvs Maximvs wrote to us with the news Lineo's Embedix Linux 1.0 for embedded x86 devices is out, with a distribution ready for download. One of the areas of interest is the WinCE compatibility layer that's currently in development - anyone know anything more about that? And what's going to happen now that Transmeta's "Mobile Linux" is out and about as well as Lineo?
Don't forget these as well:
ET-Linux - Runs on embedded x86 systems, and really IS meant for small, embedded systems (eg. little to no security). glibc2.1/kernel 2.0.38. Used with an ADC card to acquire data in the astrophysics lab where I work. It'll fit nicely in a 6MB flash chip.
TINY Linux - Really meant for recycling old 386s, works in an embedded environment without too much work. A full install with X takes around 80MB, but you can pare it down to 10-20. Based on libc5, though, so watch out when compiling new packages.
MicroLinux - I haven't used this one, nor do I read Russian (which the page is in), but I've heard that it works and has a very small installed footprint.
MuLinux - An Italian distro, still in development, major feature of which is the ability to live in a ramdisk on a computer with only 4MB of ram, if I understand correctly what I've read about it. (Haven't actually used this one either.)
Quantum mechanics: the dreams that stuff is made of.
For the actual press release and not the company's home page click Here.
That which does not kill me only makes me whinier
One gets the feeling, or at least I do, that Caldera probably wishes that they hadn't been working on this. It's only been, what a week Since the Transmeta announcement?
I can't really see this getting that much market acceptance over the Embedded Linux that comes strait from linus for the Crusoe. I suppose there's a large market for 386's and stuff though.
A smart thing for Caldera to do would be to port there "CE compatibility layer" to Embedded Linux on the Crusoe, that would enable them to cash in on there hard work and still be useable in a Transmeta world (depending on whether or not Transmeta succeeds).
Oh well, its nice to see Linux getting a hold on the embedded market.
[ c h a d o k e r e ]
ReadThe ReflectionEngine, a cyberpunk style n
On the download page, they say something about it being a "special, not for distribution" version, and some other licensing stuff. Anyone who considers themselves a GPL expert, take a look. My take on it is they aren't ready to distribute it to the masses.
However, if they gave you the binaries, and there's GPLed code in there, they owe you the source. So we'll see how this goes. (Please, not another lawsuit! I'd love to test the GPL, but...)
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Embedix Linux -- by Lineo
Targets 32-bit x86 and PowerPC systems, requires 8mb RAM and 3mb ROM. Based on Linux 2.2 kernel, includes own GUI.
Mobile Linux -- by Transmeta
Not much detail available as to requirements, but seems to be targeted for fairly beefy hardware relative to a PDA.
ELKS (Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset) -- by independent hackers
Targets 8088/8086 x86 processors. Requires up to 640k of RAM. Linux-like, but not Linux proper. Doesn't include a GUI (see NanoGUI below).
NanoGUI -- by independent hackers
Based on the old "mini-x" released for Minix. Mini-x ran under 8086es, but whether NanoGUI retains that capability is hard to find out (please enlighten me!). If it does, it's the natural choice to add to ELKS for a ultralightweight 16-bit "Linux".
Steven E. Ehrbar