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Alliance for Linux Set Top Boxes
An anonymous reader noted this article running over at Linux Devices talking about an alliance of companies working together to standardize Linux Set Top Boxes. Bigger names include ATI and Tivo. There are also a bunch of more or less irrelevant companies on the list too so the hype about 24 companies isn't really worth noting. But in the end, I'll believe it when I see products actually taken to market.
The page loaded, and what did I see?
OpenTV is the biggest platform in use in Europe, Liberate are real big in Europe (where, I think, digital-TV usage is biggest - UK, France and Germany have come a long way).
Pace builds loads of boxen, and who said Motorola and Sun (who also owns OpenTV) are insignificant!?
I've worked with developing digital-TV applications, and the current platforms suck so bad it aint even fun. MHP (http://www.mhp.org/) seems more interesting though, than OpenTV and Canal+'s platforms.
What's more, OpenTV development is based off of GNU stuff (libc, gcc et al) and they won't give away the source. After getting my story about this rejected on Slashdot a couple of times last fall, I went to RMS and had a conversation with one of their lawyers about it. Haven't heard anything since.
:wq!
BTW, QNX is not a linux clone. Unix clone, kinda-sorta-maybe, but not linux.
Best Slashdot Co
I like the part where it says they will 'license' the api. It's neato that they want to use Linux, but it is just a kernel to them, they are unlikely to open any of their software up. Probably will have to join their organization to get access to the code, and, at minimum, buy a license to get access to the full api to develop your apps for it.
-Adam
You've got to admit,
the RIAA has balls.
Specifically, yours...
This sig 80% recycled bits, 20% post user.
The real issue is what the development enviroment will be. Linux would make a great basic box, but the key is what software enviroment is running and what standards it adopts. The biggest people in this area are Europe's DVB (adopted even by OpenCable in the US) and their platform http://www.mhp.org is based around Java. The box underneath is interesting, but at the end of the day the application enviroment is key.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Just thinking back to the wars between distributions, Red Hat, who invented Linux
We didn't invent Linux, or even the concept of a Linux distribution. Red Hat Linux was the first distribution with a decent package system, and overtook the previous leader, Slackware. And Slackware wasn't the first one either... it replaced SLS as the leader earlier.
and brought it to the marketplace, has their own proprietary code contained within the source
That's not correct - our kernels don't contain proprietary code. The only proprietary code in Red Hat Linux is netscape 4.x, which we intend to replace with mozilla (already included, the question is when we can drop netscape 4.x without users complaining too much). Our kernels come with full source code - and if you look in the SRPM, you'll find all the patches nicely separated and categorized.Why do you think that they give pre-compiled kernels?
So we can be sure that the kernels are working and tested, and compiled with a known good toolchain, to name two reasons.
That nothing will ever come of it, because there are too many companies with too many of their own agendas. Do we need a standardized API of the sort their discussing? Not need, as such, but it would be a great thing to have. Will it get done by all these companies? I seriously doubt it. That's what happens when you get this many companies together... corportate politics comes into play, and everyone's trying to get "their standard" adopted so that they can sell more of their video chipsets, sound or modem chipsets, or cheese graters. Sad but true.
There are two major products that come out of Berkel
Linux that is a vessel for JVM? Java? Linux in
itself is very capable crossplatform OS. Sticking
something that a corporation owns, into Linux
standart is herecy. java is great tool, however
making it part of specification begs for trouble.
Having Notice how the only definitive software
component of the whole thing is JVM. The rest
exists already, like Nvidia drivers...
Specification is statement of the obvious...
Companies like Lokigames donating SDL and alike
packages thus making their own standarts, being
proactive, rather than formalizing stuff that already exists there.
Such constrains will ultimately tie linux down,
in the future, just like it did Windows.
Windows could not been rewritten, because of the
large set of applications was depending on API
bugs went unfixed for years. Same is to come for
Linux as corporatoids demand higher profits with
less investment, that would be part of these
nonsense political groups swaying enduser crowd.
What made the linux are hackers, donations of
software under GPL, or BSD licences, and clear
documentation if code is not, same goes for *BSD.
In the end these groups will lay things out how
things are ought to be done, and thats bull, cuz
if I do code for my enjoyment, I will not listen
to *no* corporate head, part of the group of
people who like sitting around and telling
everyone what is the right thing to do. I will
just write code.
There's been no less than 5 Slashdot articles on this new box:
Nokia and Intel to make Linux-based Set-Top Box
Nokia and Loki Together on Linux Terminal
Nokia Media Terminal
Nokia's $400 Linux Terminal For The Masses
Nokia's Linux Based Xbox Competitor
It does lots of cool stuff: PVR (Personal Video Recorder, a la TiVo), MP3, web browsing, even games, and it'll probably be easily hackable too. It should be out sometime in the fall, and I'm really looking forward to it.
- Motorola - Major semiconductor corporation. Large range of CPU's
- Pace Micro Technology - Major STB manufacturer.
- STMicroelectronics - Huge semiconductor giant who make internals for many types of STB
- Sun Microsystems - A corporation that has server operating systems as a primary focus.
I wouldn't really say these companies were that irrelevant. They are certainly more important than TiVo and ATI.It's not surprising that companies see the advantage of not having to pay license fees to Microsoft. But so what? If this initiative is successful, it will mean more profit for the companies involved. It won't mean that you'll pay any less for your cable box or cable services. I'm sure the companies will appreciate all the free work that Linux developers do for them. It sure beats hiring programmers.
I can definitely see the danger with influential companies taking an "interest" in Linux, however people like myself that use Linux for our own purposes outweigh companies.
Suppose for a minute that one notable contributor decides that Linux should only run on a cerain platform. They shmooze kernel developers to drop other platforms and Linux 2.4.5 is the last Linux as we know it. Are we doomed? Nope. We have the kernel source so we can do with it as we please.
Another thing to consider is that here we are talking about an effort to produce an API, something which could benefit users and developers. X Windows has many of them, and nobody is forced into anything. I would much rather companies add APIs than fork Linux into things like: LinuxTV or LinuxIBM.
Whenever I see a bunch of large-ish companies getting together to discuss "standards", I get worried. A big conglomerate like this could have the marketing power to impose any standard it likes, even if it is not a good one. For example, what if they decide the "industry-standard" set-top box should use a closed-source encoder as standard? Or a GPL-free Linux clone like QNX? Too much power in this few hands is worrisome.
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