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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)."

7 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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  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)?

  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. 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.