“On Thursday, Intel said it will release as open source a
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) development kit for the Linux
operating system. UPnP, originally developed by Microsoft Corp., is
a technology that allows a number of different kinds of devices to
communicate via a network using standard protocols, such as
TCP/IP.“
“UPnP is similar in concept to Microsoft’s existing Plug and
Play protocol: Plug in a device, and it automatically is recognized
by the operating system. At least in theory, it just works.”
“The new Intel UpnP development kit will allow Linux device
makers to develop a control interface for UPnP. Using the
interface, a device would be able to locate, recognize and interact
with other UPnP-enabled devices. For example, an Internet appliance
using Linux would be able to access a UPnP-enabled printer.”