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A Sony Camera Running Linux
jonr writes "At the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show, Sony presented the new camera from its Cyber-shot product line. The DSC-G3 comes with a Zeiss lens with 4x zoom, a large 3.5" touch display, and 4GB of internal memory. Most interesting is the camera's software that includes, among other things, face and scene recognition, based on Busybox and Kernel 2.6.11 for the Access Linux Platform. The camera also has built-in Wi-Fi."
...Does it run...oh yeah...never mind.
One ring to bind them - should probably have more fiber and less rings in their diet.
First post thet mentions a rootkit.
It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
Will it run *BSD?
For busybox.
So this isn't a new thing for Sony.
There's even a URL at Sony's site for the code (of course). I forget what it was.
http://lkml.org/lkml/2005/8/20/95
better than nothing..
For those interested but too lazy to click a link:
The DSC-G3 costs about $500 in the U.S.
Unlike competitor products from Nikon or Kodak that have their own Wi-Fi functions, the Sony camera works with AT&T hotspots so that external access point software isn't necessary.
Useless outside of U.S. And in the U.S. limited (e.g. connecting to home wifi).
In the 90's a friend told me Linux would NEVER be used for embedded devices. Its fun to send him links like this. Fun in a very mischievous way.
Think Deeply.
I recently had some pictures taken at a local photographer's studio. All of the cameras in the studio had Wi-Fi. Once the pictures were taken, we were able to view them in another room immediately.
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
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Remember the story about Amtrak security forcing someone to delete the photos they had taken? With the preponderance of hot spots and more and more cameras supporting Wi-Fi, this would mean that the concept of deleting photos may soon be an anachronism (and none too soon).
The last decade heralded the smart cellphone revolution. Cellphones with more and more features including camera, bluetooth, wireless, PDA yada yada.
I think what we are witnessing here is the beginning of the camera revolution. Smart cameras with wireless capabilities. Soon we shall see direct integration with social networks, ability to communicate over Skype etc. Innovation from the other end of the spectrum.
Help a man when he is in trouble and he will remember you when he is in trouble again.
I have been watching this happen over and over and over again. Companies developing their products to use Linux but turn around and not support Linux client access. I had stupidly picked up a wireless networked video camera that was known to run Linux on the inside and made a very stupid assumption that Linux client access would therefore be a no-brainer. WRONG! It was Windows only for client access... not even Mac could access it. That was the beginning of the eye-openers for me. It is sad and annoying... they take from the community and then don't give back.
Personally, I just don't buy anything that has the Sony label on it any longer. Not Sony-BMG music, not Sony movies, not Sony games, not Sony cameras, not Sony TVs, not Sony anything else. Sony has burned this customer too many times for me to have any faith in them and so far, I see little changes in their behavior. Their computers are complete crap too, by the way. Sony once had astounding popularity as a name brand, but they have burned more bridges than my own to be sure. I know at least 50% of Japan is anti-Sony. It is amazing that they are still humming along as well as they are.
I hope developments like these can help SONY. In my opinion, SAMSUNG has of late, been chipping away at SONY's lunch [and market share] for a while now with interesting products on the home entertainment front.
BusinessWeek even ran a story for SONY at SAMSUNG.
Where did SONY go wrong?
Nope. It runs AWAY from Vista...
imagine a beowulf cluster of these things..
oh sorry, should I be saying first post?
So confusing
---- aut viam inveniam aut faciam
It only has 4GB of internal memory.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Whoever tagged this hardhack...
Why? A hardhack involves a hardware modification. This is not the case.
Typical uninformed slashdot person.
Imagine a beowulf cluster of those!
There are several Canon cameras that allow 3rd-party open-source firmware.
If this can be flashed then it's worth a look-see.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Why not GPS for geotagging? I'd much rater have this than Wi-Fi at a presumably similar cost to manufacturer.
yes but the drivers for connecting the camera to itself probably wouldn't work
It might be able to use jffs2 or something similar, that way you have wear leveling for your SD media. I am not a Dev, but that would be a interesting feature. As far as I know exfat, fat 16 and fat32 have no wear leveling capabilities. Since its a fairly expensive purchase I'd assume you wouldn't want your files going poof one day because of SD card dying too quickly from too many rewrites. Just a idea, the other idea would be depending on just how much leeway your allowed, batteries, space constraints not being a issue, and if your have a constant wifi signal, you could have a script constantly upload your new files to a server. Maybe like a really tiny ftp server to upload the files. A great example would be if your out on a job with a wifi signal, have a server at home listen for a specific port and when the camera logs in automaticly check for new files.
Restore the madness of youth's lechery
Interesting that there was an article here just the other day about how Sony has no interest in making or selling Linux laptops or netbooks.
I wonder why not. It's easy to forget that they use Linux in other products and even offer it on the PS3. So why not netbooks? Is it a matter of just avoiding the low-end, low margin segments of the market? It couldn't be any love for Microsoft, could it?
Posted from my Android phone. Oh, I can change this? There, that's better...
even came with the full GPL license along with the manuals.
wow, linux on a crappy P&S digital camera!!
The low numbered slashdot kooks just blew their loads!
... Beowulf cluster of Sony point&shoot cameras! ... Beowulf cluster compiling Gentoo!!! I need to go to the bathroom...
Tech turns me on too. But not like this!
As an experienced engineer, I am going to have to agree (hint).
2009! Year of Vista on Desktop!
Luckily, he understands cmd.exe and the SAM hash database perfectly, so he is all set...
It runs on Linux? So what else? This doesn't mean it will be a good camera. If my previous experiences with Linux are any indication, it sounds to me like it will be slow as molasses, taking eight full seconds from "power on" to "ready to snap". Arstechnica has a better article with far less fanboy hype.
"When you see a unixer brainwashed beyond saving, kick him out of the door." - Xah Lee
Just wait till a certain company hears about this! They'll come out with something that runs inside digital cameras.
Oh, wait, the product already exists.
The specs on the camera from the Sony website say that this camera only captures JPEG. Does anyone think that it would it be possible to change the source code so that it supported RAW capture?
Nothing can run Vista properly, not even PCs :)
Can it run crysis?
Where is the "Ignorant" mod tag?
I wonder what image manipulation software (if any) exists on the camera. If it was easily hackable, I could have a lot of fun doing things like a "randomly add elvis/JFK/ghosts in the background" easter-eggs :-)
or more importantly, can it run Crysis?
Sony has no interest in making or selling Linux laptops or netbooks. I wonder why not.
Both cameras and laptops require an operating system. For cameras, nobody cares what it is, as long as the thing takes pictures. As such, Sony has a free hand as to which OS to install. Laptops, are different. Customers care which OS is on their laptop. Customers (like it or not) want Windows on their laptops. If Sony doesn't provide Windows on their laptops, the customers will find another laptop vendor who will.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
But not drag and drop. Forsooth, what is the magic box?
Your ad here.
This is awesome. I can see it now, I buy a flash for the camera but it won't work. No problem, just post about it online, and ask someone to write a driver for it. Weeks later, someone named Hjonybjorg Drururbjong will have written one with a help file in fractured English.
Oh, and what a great interface! Instead of point and shoot, you point and type "take -photo -focus=3.4 -fstop=2.2 -iso=800 | c:\usr\bob\Documents\photos\img000.jpg" and there you go!
Linux is so AWESOME!!!!!!
Check these:
NV-U2
NV-U3 / NV-U3V
NV-U94T / NV-U84 / NV-U74T
http://assets.gearlive.com/blogimages/nuvos.JPG
a Beowulf cluster of these. Actually I don't need to; I live in surveillance UK :o)
Open Source Drum Kit, LPLC deve board - mjhdesigns.com
It would be newsworthy only if a camera runs Vista!
Patents Drive Free Software as Hurricanes Drive Construction Industry
I can run Vista on 512 MB of RAM, but not nicely.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Does this have anything to do with Sony's recent announcement of a $1.1 billion loss?
Homonyms are fun!
You're driving your car, but they're riding their bikes there.
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does it blend?
Will owners be able to modify firmware/software to suit their own purposes as the developers of the included GPL software intended? Or is it Tivoized? TFA doesn't say.
I wonder why a kernel from over three years ago (and not seven?) Just curious about their decision making process for their choice.
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"Besides, I think ________________ sounds better than 'Microsoft, don't you?"
This is one step closer to a concept product I have: the instant-submit camera.
We've all heard stories of overzealous law enforcement officers, and security guards confiscating cameras because they think public photography is illegal because of 9/11, the USA PATRIOT act, or because they said so. Or maybe they just don't want the next Rodney King video on YouTube.
My idea has been a camera with integral wi-fi that, upon a picture being taken, would instantly submit the picture over wi-fi to a sftp location on the Internet. If no public wi-fi is available, a nearby accomplice could be carrying a portable wi-fi/NAS device (laptop) that ad-hocs to the camera and serves as its storage device. Video would, of course, stream.
Yes, I know camera phones could theoretically do it too, but some of us don't want all of our pictures to look like they were taken with a Connectix QuickCam. And [at least here in the USA] with cell phone carriers telling YOU what phones you get to use, don't expect to see it. Heck, I'm surprised American cell phone carriers offering phones with color displays.
Yes, I also know that LEOs and security guards need to improve their behavior and not confiscate cameras or demand that photos be deleted, but that's not about to change. Plus, they're the ones with guns, tasers, batons, and no way to complain about them. And if they grab your camera from you when you're making the next Rodney King video, they win. Unless the camera wi-fi'd the evidence out of the pig's reach.
It would be newsworthy only if a camera runs Vista!
Does the version of Windows Mobile released along with Windows Vista count? I know of plenty of cameras that run Windows Mobile; most also have a GSM chip to act as mobile phones.
Can it run crysis?
No, but it can probably time it.
Snap a photo. Add some sparkles. 'nuff said. ;)
To stop hating Sony yet?
Oh come on, not even the Eagle Eye project can run Vista
No, he is right. Just join any Symbian OS / UIQ 3 related forum and you will see that the Sony BMG incident is not unrelated. Sony Ericsson too treated the customer like shit.
And the best part came when the discontinued there UIQ product because there where no demand for the kind of mobile phones.
Read here: http://my-symbian.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38625
Four forum pages of praise for the products and discontent for Sony Ericsson's customer service.
As said in the heading: Sony must still learn there lesson.
Read here: http://my-symbian.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38625
Four forum pages of praise for the products and discontent for Sony Ericsson's customer service. Ahh, Sony Ericsson as the mayor shareholder let UIQ go bankrupt instead of rolling up the company properly. What is that for an attitude?
So no, I only started to hate Sony.
I'm thinking the same thing. A camera.... you push the button, it takes a picture. Operating system? Seriously, who cares? I mean... WHO CARES?
Right... I'm off to see if there's any way I can install a mail server on my washing machine, or my toaster.
Actually - all SONY products with an embedded OS run Linux. Even the TV's, and most of the cameras. How do I know? Because I know! :-)
Year of Linux on the Camera
GENERATION 25: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.