Linux consortium brings new weight to embedded debate

2000-01-25

Fears about the fragmentation of Linux may well prove unfounded, if the goals of the newly formed Embedded Linux Consortium are realised. The alliance, which includes such big names as IBM, Motorola and Red Hat, has set its sights on the rapidly growing market for embedded devices such as Internet appliances, set top boxes and PDAs. The advantage of Linux – price – may well prove to be the clinching factor to ensure the success of the platform.

Why price? The fact is that devices are a box-shifting market. Device vendors are used to the extremely tight margins associated with such products, largely caused by the fact that they are aimed at the mass market where competition is vicious. Anything that can be done to shave a few cents off the price of a device which costs £100 or less, is seen as a good thing, so what could be better than a platform which is entirely free of licensing costs?

Also, Linux is already proving that it is capable in this area. It can offer pseudo-real-time capabilities in a small footprint. There may be fears about its memory management capabilities, but if these are true then they are likely to be addressed. Such is the nature of open source.

We are already seeing products which are running Linux under the bonnet (hood, to you transtlantic cousins). In our \link{http://www.it-director.com/ts/linux/index.html,Linux technology spotlight} we mentioned digital video recorders TiVo, which are to be licensed by some of the major players in the satellite TV space. More recently, at CeBit Samsung announced a Palm-a-like PDA which runs Linux.

Fears about the future of Linux have centred around its fragmentation – its open nature means that developers are able to develop it in a variety of directions, which may or may not be compatible. This is a real fear, particularly as the variety of platforms for Linux continues to diversify. However announcements such as this one go some way towards dispelling the fears as the evolution of the operating system can be dealt with by the organisations as a group, acting in co-opetition.

Gartner group recently announced that Windows CE would overtake PalmOS as the PDA operating system of choice, by 2002. In the light of this announcement, they may wish to change their minds.

(First published 25 January 2000)