In This Issue:
- Community Notes
- The Week That Was
- Freelancers Sought
- Coming Up
We’re very interested in the http://handhelds.org project for a
couple of reasons. First, it’s attracted some noteworthy hackers;
second, it offers a path to handheld Linux that doesn’t require
waiting around for a manufacturer. The project has yielded results
already: a dramatically reduced X (under 800k), numerous ports, and
some other interesting developments, not the least of which is the
port of the Python programming language to the environment:
Handhelds.org: Programming in Python on the iPAQ mini-HOWTO
Edward Muller has prepared a mini-HOWTO on programming in Python on
the Compaq iPAQ. The iPAQ is one of several handheld platforms upon
which Linux developers are currently working to develop handheld
Linux. Handhelds.org is sponsored by Compaq, who opened the
specifications of the iPAQ up to open source developers.-
We were also pleased to note that the Bayonne Telephony project
has a new web page with a lot more information. David Sugar’s
announcement appeared on the site Monday:
Bayonne Project Has a New Site
Three items offered a look at Linux from the embedded angle,
with a piece appearing in Business 2.0 proving especially
provocative. We’re still fond of imagining a place for Linux on the
desktops of moms and pops everywhere, so the notion that Linux will
be a mere ‘also ran’ in that area wasn’t the most palatable. We’re
in full agreement, though, with the idea that the Linux kernel is
nothing if not malleable. Argue the merits of the applications all
you want, Linux is turning up everywhere.
Linux.com: Why Embedded?
“The new generation of Linux-based embedded devices have a
different market. …the largest advantage to an embedded system is
what it doesn’t have … it doesn’t have the look of a computer. As
far as personal computing has come in two decades, a majority of
the public still associates moderate discomfort with configuring a
computer system.”
Business 2.0: Darwin, Linux, and Radiation [embedded applications
are the future of Linux]
“If you want to understand why Linux is the most important
operating system in the world, ignore the posturing about Linux on
the desktop, and pay attention to the fact that IBM has just ported
Linux to a wristwatch, because that is the kind of news that
illustrates Linux’s real strengths.”
ZDNet: Linux Gets Smaller
“Odds are, you’ve heard about the advent of embedded Linux, given
the many recent news announcements. Several high-profile companies
(including IBM and Intel ) are developing prototypes. Embedded
Linux will lead to a wide range of diminutive products running the
open-source operating system. In fact, many believe embedded-Linux
devices will outnumber Palm devices in two years.” “
Transmeta continues to be in the headlines, as well. First, we
caught ZDNet with a set of benchmarks they claim indicate Crusoe
just isn’t a real performer:
ZDNet UK: Crusoe fails to deliver on promise
“…IT Week Labs tests of the Sony Vaio PictureBook PCG-C1VE
laptop, launched today, indicate that performance is around half
that of a 500MHz Intel Celeron-based system.”And just this morning, the Register chimed in, noting that the
characteristics of the Crusoe make it a tough one to benchmark by
traditional means:
The Register: Transmeta speed debate – damned lies and
benchmarks?
“The problem is that Transmeta’s new chip confounds the traditional
one-pass benchmarks that their propeller head authors have spent
years perfecting. Since the Transmeta architecture allows for
dynamic and smart execution of code in software, the first pass of
any test sample is guaranteed to be if not crap, then not quite
optimal.”]
From elsewhere in the embedded world, we also had a pair of
stories about other embedded operating systems from the *nix side
of the fence:
ZDNet UK: Neutrino OS is Unix flavour of the month
“And unlike Linux, which requires licensers to provide source-code
changes back to the community, QNX owns the rights to all of its
POSIX APIs, so vendors can make changes to differentiate their
products without having to go public with them.”
BSD Today: BSDCon 2000: Choosing an OS for Network
Appliances
“Lastly, Evans covered BSD: impressive platform support (such as
NetBSD), very stable, very secure, fastest TCP/IP stack good driver
support for standard devices, amendments to kernel code doesn’t
have to be made open source and another pro is that BSDs have early
access to “experimental” technologies. Some cons for the BSDs,
according to Evans, are: limited commercial technical support,
limited driver support for niche devices and BSD requires a “leap
of faith.”
AllLinuxDevices welcomes freelance writers. If you have an idea
for an article, please contact the editor with your proposal.
- We talk server appliances with IBM.
- This is the month for the initial release of the
Agenda Linux handheld computer… we’re in line for ours, and
we’ll bring you a look at one as soon as we can!
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