Open Source in Consumer Electronics: What, Why and How

“While embedded devices are almost starting to look and act like
mini PC’s, they also leave behind much of the fundamental OSes
associated with traditional desktops. With PCs, users expect
decades of legacy, proprietary software to work—keeping them
locked into the same basic OSes and UIs to access information. In
the rapidly-evolving consumer electronics market, however,
consumers do not have much, if any, legacy software, and they’re
continually introduced to new, innovative UIs and ways to
personalize their applications, which increases their popularity in
the market.

“To meet the rising demand for open source software and
hardware, vendors often support consumer electronics manufacturers
by offering the driver support for open source applications. For
instance, several silicon vendors, including TI, offer Linux board
support packages (BSP) for embedded devices targeting consumer
electronics. These BSPs provide manufacturers the fundamental tools
to utilize open source software without being constrained by
excessive legacy software, enabling them to pick and choose the
building blocks for their solution.”

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