| LinuxDevices year-end review: Top technology stories of 2007 |
(Dec. 31, 2007)
JANUARY
DEBIAN ARM ACCELERATES WITH EABI PORT
Embedded system specialist Applied Data Systems (ADS) has contributed an experimental new root filesystem for the ARM architecture to the Debian project. Comprised of 9,877 packages and growing, the ADS-contributed filesystem offers greatly improved floating point performance, thanks to support for ARM's EABI (embedded application binary interface). Details
FEBRUARY
LINUX HACKERS TACKLE WIFI HASSLES
When it comes to troublesome Linux peripherals, WiFi takes the cake. Sparked by the Portland Project's efforts to bring standardization to the Linux desktop, the Linux wireless developer community tackled this problem at its second Linux Wireless Summit last month in London. Details
APRIL
GNOME INITIATIVE TARGETS MOBILE AND EMBEDDED APPS
The Gnome Foundation has launched a Mobile & Embedded Initiative (GMAE), it announced today. The Initiative aims to "advance the use, development and commercialization of GNOME components as a mobile and embedded user experience platform," according to its mission statement. Details
MAY
LINUX PATCHES ADD INSIGHT INTO MEMORY USAGE
Matt Mackall, principal developer for the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum (CELF), is working on a set of kernel patches that let users access detailed, page-level run-time information on process memory usage. Mackall's work stands to make the kernel's virtual memory system much less of a "black box." Details
COMING SOON: "UBUNTU MOBILE AND EMBEDDED"
This week saw news that Canonical, the commercial parent of the increasingly popular Ubuntu Linux distribution, is readying a version of its distribution specifically for mobile and embedded devices. Contrary to rumors, however, the new version of Ubuntu will target "mobile Internet devices" (MIDs), not mobile phones (at least initially). Read our two news items on this topic:
* UBUNTU EYES MOBILE LINUX DEVICES
Details
* UBUNTU MOBILE TO TARGET MIDs, NOT PHONES
Details
MOZILLA'S FIREFOX STRATEGY INCLUDES MOBILE PHONES
The Mozilla Foundation is working to adapt the Firefox browser to mobile devices, such as Linux-based phones, according to an APCMag interview with Mozilla CEO Winifred "Mitchell" Baker. Baker said the company is also investigating mobile content services with a server component, similar to Opera Mini. Details
A LINUX COMPUTER IN EVERY GARAGE?
A U.S. government- and industry-led coalition aiming to equip every car and roadside in America with wirelessly connected computers has tapped Linux for a prototype design. The Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Consortium (VII-C) hopes to lower driver death rates, reduce traffic jams, and media-enable cars before 2017. Details
LINUX HOT AT TOP JAPANESE EMBEDDED CONFERENCE
Japan's largest embedded conference of the year reportedly featured a growing number of Linux-related demonstrations, compared to previous years. Linux appears to be making inroads among Japanese consumer electronics vendors, and to be gradually taking marketshare away from iTron, long the top Japanese embedded operating system. Details
JUNE
UBUNTU'S MOBILE AND EMBEDDED PROJECT ADVANCES
Following two months of planning, Canonical Ltd. has updated the Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded (UME) project's architecture roadmap. UME aims to create a version of the popular Ubuntu desktop Linux OS tailored to the requirements of Intel-based "mobile Internet devices" (MIDs), expected in 2008. Details
JULY
LINUX TO GAIN "COMPLETELY FAIR SCHEDULER"
The next release of the Linux kernel will apparently gain an all-new scheduler said to deliver better desktop scheduling. Ingo Molnar's CFS ("completely fair scheduler") implements a fair scheduling approach long advocated by Con "Conman" Kolivas, a practicing Australian medical doctor specializing in anaesthesia. Details
STANDARD LINUX NOW RUNS ON DSPS
A new Linux kernel released over the weekend adds native support for Analog Devices Inc.'s Blackfin DSP (digital signal processor) architecture. The Linux 2.6.22 release supports six shipping Blackfin DSPs, along with several development boards. Details
OPEN SOURCE HA MIDDLEWARE PROJECT TAKES OFF
Motorola says the open source high availability (HA) software project it launched four months ago has made considerable progress. The OpenSAF project has achieved an initial 1.0 code release, and Motorola has started the process of forming an "industry-wide consortium" to steward the project. Details
INTEL LAUNCHES MOBILE LINUX INITIATIVE
Intel has unveiled an ambitious project aimed at developing open source software for mobile devices. The Moblin project comprises a Linux kernel, UI framework, browser, multimedia framework, and embedded Linux image creation tools, along with developer resources such as documentation, mailing lists, and an IRC channel. Details
LINUX TO GAIN "MULTI-TOUCH" CAPABILITIES
Linux may soon gain "multi-touch" support similar to that found in Apple's iPhone. The MPX (multi-pointer X) project is currently developing software aimed at enabling multiple cursors and input devices on standard OSes that use the X Window System, such as Linux and BSD. Details
OPEN-SOURCE BROWSER TARGETS LINUX GADGETS
A software development firm in Montpellier, France recently released a new open-source browser intended for use in consumer device applications. Pleyo's "Origyn Web Browser" (OWB) is based on the open-source WebKit Web browser engine, and targets mobile phones, PMPs, PVRs, GPS gadgets, and more. Details
AUGUST
NOKIA DIRECTOR SPEAKS ON LINUX, OPEN SOURCE
"Linux is the launching pad you need to stand on to be productive," said Nokia's open source director, Ari Jaaksi, at LinuxWorld Wednesday. "We have never managed to bring out a product in such a short time, with so few resources," he added, referring to Nokia's Linux-based Internet tablets. Details
HOW LINUX BECAME A MOBILE PHONE OS
Linux started out on desktops and servers, but has now shipped on about 20 million mobile phones. Ever wonder how it made the jump? In a new whitepaper, embedded industry pioneer Jim Ready offers a concise technical retrospective on Linux's transition into a mobile phone OS. Details
ROBOT SOFTWARE PLATFORM SHOOTOUT!
Today's nascent robotics market has engendered about 10 general-purpose software development frameworks for service robots. This article surveys seven of them, and sketches the other three, before concluding with an analysis of market trends likely to shape tomorrow's robotics software landscape. Details
SEPTEMBER
KDE PORTED TO NOKIA'S LINUX-POWERED WEB TABLETS
A community developer has ported Linux's KDE desktop environment to Nokia's Internet tablets. The port appears to run on both the N800 and -- with the addition of an RS-MMC card upgrade -- the older 770 tablet. Details
USB 3.0 AROUND THE CORNER?
Super-fast USB 3.0 technology may begin to supersede USB 2.0 in 2008. Drawing on technology developed by HP, Microsoft, NEC, NXP, Texas Instruments, and Intel, a USB 3.0 Promoter Group hopes to deliver by mid-2008 a proposed spec for backwards-compatible USB ten times faster than today's 480Mbps technology. Details
OCTOBER
ARM AIMS LINUX INITIATIVE AT MOBILE INTERNET DEVICES
ARM Ltd. has unveiled a sweeping project designed to ensure that its processors support a modern Web browsing experience on mobile devices running Linux. Spearheaded by embedded Linux service provider Movial, ARM and unnamed partners will port GNOME, Firefox, and associated browser plugins to specific hardware based on ARMv5/6/7 architectures. Details
INTEL AIMS TO REDUCE LINUX POWER CONSUMPTION
Intel has launched an open source project focused on lowering power consumption in Linux-based systems and devices. The project, dubbed "LessWatts.org," aims to "meet the growing demands for increased energy efficiency across the computing spectrum spanning servers in data centers to personal mobile devices." Details
LINUX KERNEL 2.6.23 BRINGS NEW SCHEDULER, MORE
The newest Linux kernel, released earlier this month, adds a desktop-oriented scheduler, better memory management, more ALSA and other device drivers, and enough new virtualization features to make Linux the most virtualization-friendly of all the operating systems. Details
NOVEMBER
MADDOG TALKS LINUX DEVICES
Jon "maddog" Hall has made a featured guest appearance on a podcast series devoted to embedded Linux development. The veteran Linux promoter discusses binary kernel drivers, mixing proprietary and GPL software, and his "secret" retirement plan in the latest episode of TimeSys's Linux Radio podcast. Details
DECEMBER
DIRECT FROM LINZ: 28 PAPERS ON REAL-TIME LINUX
LinuxDevices has published the full text of 28 papers from the Ninth Real-Time Linux Workshop, Nov. 2-3 in Linz, Austria. We are also proud to publish an article describing the event, written by organizers Peter Wurmsdobler and Nicholas McGuire, and complete with photos by Mike Rumpler. Details
MXM EMERGES AS NEW CPU MODULE FORM FACTOR
Taiwanese board vendor Embedian announced two creditcard sized computer modules that use the MXM (Mobile PCI Express Module) format, Nvidia's laptop graphics card standard. The company says its MXM-based modules are similar in size to SODIMM modules, while offering 242 pins to SODIMM's 200. Details
Most Significant Stories for 2007
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FUEL Database on MontaVista Linux
Whether building a mobile handset, a car navigation system, a package tracking device, or a home entertainment console, developers need capable software systems, including an operating system, development tools, and supporting libraries, to gain maximum benefit from their hardware platform and to meet aggressive time-to-market goals.
Breaking New Ground: The Evolution of Linux Clustering
With a platform comprising a complete Linux distribution, enhanced for clustering, and tailored for HPC, Penguin Computing¿s Scyld Software provides the building blocks for organizations from enterprises to workgroups to deploy, manage, and maintain Linux clusters, regardless of their size.
Data Monitoring with NightStar LX
Unlike ordinary debuggers, NightStar LX doesn¿t leave you stranded in the dark. It¿s more than just a debugger, it¿s a whole suite of integrated diagnostic tools designed for time-critical Linux applications to reduce test time, increase productivity and lower costs. You can debug, monitor, analyze and tune with minimal intrusion, so you see real execution behavior. And that¿s positively illuminating.
Virtualizing Service Provider Networks with Vyatta
This paper highlights Vyatta's unique ability to virtualize networking functions using Vyatta's secure routing software in service provider environments.
High Availability Messaging Solution Using AXIGEN, Heartbeat and DRBD
This white paper discusses a high-availability messaging solution relying on the AXIGEN Mail Server, Heartbeat and DRBD. Solution architecture and implementation, as well as benefits of using AXIGEN for this setup are all presented in detail.
Understanding the Financial Benefits of Open Source
Will open source pay off? Open source is becoming standard within enterprises, often because of cost savings. Find out how much of a financial impact it can have on your organization. Get this methodology and calculator now, compliments of JBoss.
Embedded Hardware and OS Technology Empower PC-Based Platforms
The modern embedded computer is the jack of all trades appearing in many forms.
Data Management for Real-Time Distributed Systems
This paper provides an overview of the network-centric computing model, data distribution services, and distributed data management. It then describes how the SkyBoard integration and synchronization service, coupled with an implementation of the OMG¿s Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard, can be used to create an efficient data distribution, storage, and retrieval system.
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
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