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Panasonic Forms Embedded Linux Incubator

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the more-corporations-on-the-bandwagon dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Panasonic has opened an embedded Linux incubator in Silicon Valley, where it hopes to host and collaborate with several Linux startups, in exchange for 'first right-of-refusal on up to 10 percent of the startup's next institutional funding round'. From the article: 'Panasonic uses other open sources OSes in addition to Linux, but Linux has become a top choice due to its cost-effectiveness and robust nature,' according to the Center's director. Panasonic is in the same corporate family as Matsushita, which is one of the founding members of the Consumer Electronics Linux Foundation (CELF)."

15 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. In other news by benja · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft has opened a Linux-on-the-desktop incubator, which hopes to host, fund and collaborate with several of the most inventive desktop Linux startups, in exchange for first right-of-refusal of the products going to market.

  2. but Linux has become a top choice by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "but Linux has become a top choice due to its cost-effectiveness and robust nature". It couldn't be that next to Windows and Macintosh, Linux has the most recognizable name for an OS? Linux in the the most robust OS out there. I have seen BSDs, Solaris, and systems run much more robustly then Linux. And the BSD's and some versions of Solaris are free as well, and pretty damn close to use.

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    1. Re:but Linux has become a top choice by Kjella · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, compared to all the "more robust" systems you mention, I imagine better embedded device support is the deciding factor. Robustsness is not an absolute, most embedded devices don't run with the redundancy, quality and whatnot to be a 99,99999% uptime system anyway. Besides, if you take a known, fixed hardware configuration and load test the hell out of it, how many problems do you really have left on linux?

      Kjella

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  3. If Panasonic like Linux... by zenmojodaddy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ... is there any chance of them selling a Toughbook preloaded with it? Please?

    I have a second hand 233Mhz CF-27 running Slackware and it beats the crap out of the £1000 + Acer with WinXP my boss bought himself...

    1. Re:If Panasonic like Linux... by stripyd · · Score: 5, Interesting
      ... is there any chance of them selling a Toughbook preloaded with it? Please?

      Chance would be a fine thing. Being windows-ignorant I first slung GNU/linux onto a cf-25 in 1996 and racked up nearly half a million miles with it before replacing it with a T1 which I am now bumming round marinas in the balkans with. Great kit (survived falls from moving westfalia van, soakings in the tropics and all kinds of abuse) but forget support: UK support won't even answer your emails on OS neutral hardware questions 85% of the time.

      Before straying too far off topic, I doubt the development of drivers for panasonic embedded linux products is going to leak over into helping out the toughbook user who wants a copy of lindvd or needs to get that SD slot working. On the upside though, most everything on my T1 already works out of the box with SuSE 9.3 (except the SD card slot, but including the winmodem and acpi). Things aint the labour of love they used to be 10 years ago. Check out the reviews of toughbooks on Werner Heuser's invaluable tuxmobil.org.

      Linux on toughbooks always struck me as being an ideal combination (all the tools you need for any bizzare geek situation in any corner of the globe). Anyone know of any large organisations using toughbooks with customised linux (with or without Panasonics complicity)?

    2. Re:If Panasonic like Linux... by stripyd · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Did you get sound working on that CF-25?

      Yep, definitely. I don't remember which sound chip it used but I vaguely remember it worked fine with the SB driver with a 2.2.something kernel. Sadly it's currently in storage a bit too far away to easily check...

      maybe I should try and keep this on topic with the observation that the average device panasonic are looking at embedded linux for probably has more resources than my old 133MHz/40MB RAM cf-25 :-)

  4. Japanese have always used open standards by core · · Score: 5, Informative

    Japanese CE engineers have eaten TRON for breakfast since they were little. CE devices have outgrown TRON now that everything requires handling digital file formats and releasing code on tight schedules while not crashing the whole device if possible. The transition to Linux in Japan is massive (teams I worked with or talked to at Hitachi, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, NEC, all make Linux-based devices). Montavista Japan / ELT is a growing force.

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  5. Smart move ? by BlueTrin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I was wondering myself if this would have an effect on Panasonic's products. Because if you want to use Linux, you just need to hire some talented programmers with some experience at developping hardware using Linux. What is the real effect (if there is any) of such an announcement compared to creating a new department within the company or changing their strategy, asidde from the marketing effect ?

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  6. I believe...... by amodm · · Score: 3, Interesting

    apart from the robust nature of Linux that they are talking about, one of the biggest reasons why Linux might be helpful in the embedded scenario is the almost infinite level of customization and tuning that can be done with it.

    In the embedded scenario, its the customization that counts more IMHO.

    PS: Not that robustness doesn't count. But (as someone pointed out) there ARE systems which come pretty close, if not better, to linux.

  7. Embedded Linux Incubator? by eglass1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Probably a good choice; embedded Linux can keep eggs twice as warm as WinCE, from what I hear.

  8. Linux on an incubator! by strider44 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wow! They run Linux on anything nowadays!

    1. Re:Linux on an incubator! by BlueTrin · · Score: 2, Funny

      Here are the first pictures from Panasonic

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      Don't you know it is now both immoral and criminal to think beyond the next quarterly report?
  9. Linux Incubator by EnsilZah · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes, but does it hatch pinguins?

  10. Not to nitpick, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Panasonic is in the same corporate family as Matsushita,
    Um, Panasonic IS Matsushita, or is a marketing brand-name for Matsushita. Matsushita is the Global Company with child-companies or "divisions", if you will, under it which carry the Panasonic Name. For instance, Panasonic Mobile Communications Co., Ltd. (PMC) is a division or child-company of Matsushita Electronics Incorperated (MEI), the parent "company" which presides over all of Panasonic. I know, because I work for them.

  11. Set Top Boxes by bjbyrne · · Score: 2, Informative

    Panasonic has been using Linux for a while with their set top boxes. I found this old cnet story here. http://news.com.com/2102-1016_3-996984.html?tag=st .util.print