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Gadgets With Linux Inside

Posted by michael on from the veni-vidi-vici dept.

An anonymous submitter sends in a link to a quick reference guide of various devices and gadgets that are in some way running Linux. Cell phones, set-top boxes, web pads, internet radios, and some miscellaneous gizmos (definitely take a look at the "other" page).

3 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Is there any "real" use by joe_bruin · · Score: 4, Informative

    these devices ship with linux, it's their embedded os. linux is making enormous gains in the embedded world due to the fact that it is both royalty free to ship, the source is completely available, the development tools are both free and familiar, and there is a fair amount of developers out there who are familiar with the kernel/drivers (but you already know this, of course).

    consider a device like the oh-so-popular tivo or something more obscure like the phatbox or other portable devices. the makers of these devices have the options of:

    • paying a dollar to people like windriver (who effectively monopolized bsd, along with vxworks, psos, and others) or psion for every unit shipped
    • a couple of large bills to for a development license (qnx, ...)
    • a mighty sum for development tools (green hills, nucleus, ...)
    • all of the above (microsoft windows ce)
    • or, get it all for free by using linux.

    under many of these options, i doubt these (probably very small) companies would have ever been able to afford to bring a product to market. and every dollar that doesn't go to a 3rd party at retail is a dollar that goes towards r&d for the super-tivo or whatever (or stays in your pocket).

    yes, i'm preaching to the choir. let them sing.

    joe

  2. Re:Limited applicability? by jerdenn · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, I work on a team that is using Open Source (modified GPL) software for our RTOS that does run in a Hospital Point of Care device. The company that manufactures this device is a very big player in this market.

    I think there were several concerns about going with Linux as our embedded OS - We were looking for something more along the lines of an RTOS, with guaranteed task handling. There were also concerns about having to GPL our software. While we don't mind giving back to the community any OS changes we make, our application code is what gives us a competitive advantage, and publishing it just doesn't make good business sense.

    You've also mentioned that businesses wouldn't want to purchase Open Source software because there is no accountability. Actually, for the our project, we get the best of both worlds. OAR Corp provides support for the RTOS, and we get to look directly at their work, instead of getting a "black box" binary solution. Works very nicely. And we can make any changes we need directly. Very cool.

    So, yes, companies are starting to use Open Source in places that you may never hear of, or realize.

    -jerdenn

  3. Yet Another Linux Device... by spike666 · · Score: 2, Informative

    and one that you call can go buy today at your local beast buy...

    the Iomega HipZip MP3 player. - its a USB connectable mp3 player that uses the Iomega PocketZip (formerly known as the Clik!) disks which are 40 MB removable media (averaging about $10 for each disk)

    it runs lineo and is pretty neat as removable media MP3 players go. rechargable battery which is nice (unless you're going on a 10+ hour flight)

    the other really nice thing about this player is that if you are using pocketzips, the player plugs in and just becomes an external drive. so you can just copy the files onto the disk. no special programs needed!