Bonum Certa Men Certa

Linux Devices and Embedded Linux a Most Powerful Force

Electric circuit



Summary: An overview of recent articles about Linux (and sometimes GNU) in the more miniature realm of computing

This month, October of 2013, the issue of Linux Journal is titled "Embedded" [1] and now that embedded devices or ARM chips get powerful enough to run "full linux" (desktop) [2] we should note that the so-called "year of Linux desktop" matters a lot less. Linux Gizmos, a site dedicated to Linux devices and embedded Linux, shows many new devices that run Linux [3-11], including cars [12,13]. Raspberry Pi is big in the headlines [14-18] and Linux Journal has a special article about it [19]. Without a doubt, Linux is the most dominant platform when it comes to devices and it often comes with GNU too (not always but often).



Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. October 2013 Issue of Linux Journal: Embedded


  2. “Most powerful” Arduino ever has ARM Cortex-A8 chip, runs “full Linux”
    3D printers, sensor networks, and advanced automation enabled by Arduino TRE.


  3. Rugged fanless box-PC suits wireless mobile apps
    MEN Mikro announced a rugged, Linux-ready box-PC for use on trains, buses, airplanes, and construction and agricultural vehicles. The BL50W comes with single- or dual-core AMD G-Series APUs, provides dual full-HD DisplayPort outputs, expands via SD, mSATA, and Mini PCIe slots, offers gig-E, WiFi, GPS, and cellular connectivity, and supports wide temperature fanless operation.


  4. Compact OTT set-top-box runs Linux
    Antik Technology announced a smaller, lower-powered sibling to its Juice Extreme 2 multicast/OTT IP set-top-box. The Juice Nano runs Linux on a 550MHz ST STiH207 processor, delivers video at up to 1080p at 60fps, provides HDMI, TOSLINK digital audio, and USB ports, and offers both Ethernet and WiFi connectivity.


  5. Set-top box SoCs move up to Cortex-A9, UltraHD, HEVC
    STMicroelectronics (ST), ViXS, and Sigma Designs have each announced new Linux-friendly system-on-chips for IPTV set-top boxes (STBs) incorporating dual Cortex-A9 cores. Some of ST’s STLinux-based “Cannes” and “Monaco” SoCs, as well as ViXS’s XCode 6400 SoC, support UltraHD video and streaming HEVC HD content, while Sigma’s SMP8734 supports Linux or Android on hybrid STBs and media players.


  6. SODIMM-style COM runs Linux on Freescale Vybrid SoC


  7. Linux-capable Arduino TRE debuts at Maker Faire Rome


  8. Embedded firms increase Linux kernel contributions
    A Linux Foundation report found that among the growing list of companies participating in Linux kernel development, embedded-oriented firms like Linaro, Samsung, and Texas Instruments, have increased their contributions at the fastest rate. Other findings include increases in the number of kernel developers, code changes, and changes per hour since the LF’s previous report in April 2012.


  9. Linux device offers web, video, audio conferencing
    RHUB Communications is shipping a videoconferencing and web collaboration appliance that runs embedded Linux on an AMD G-Series processor. The TurboMeeting 210 (TM210) appliance is equipped with multiparty web, video, and audio conferencing functionality, as well as remote support, remote access, and webinar applications.


  10. RCA Internet Music System runs Android
    RCA is previewing a $200 Android-based music system on its RCA Tablets website. The RCS13101E Internet Music System features built-in WiFi and a removable tablet-style display, and is billed as a modern alternative to the traditional modular stereo system, for use in bedrooms, dorm rooms, and family rooms.


  11. Home automation device runs Linux on BeagleBone
    Starting in early October, Ninja Blocks will ship another 1,000 units of its redesigned open source Linux based home automation device kit. The $199 Ninja Block Kit incorporates a BeagleBone SBC and an Arduino-compatible microcontroller, and offers remote access via smartphone apps and a cloud service for access to sensor inputs including motion detectors, contact closures, temperature and humidity sensors, and pushbuttons.


  12. Linux-based IVI platform adds multimedia tech
    Mentor Graphics is integrating Jungo Connectivity’s multimedia player middleware into its Linux-based in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) software platform. Mentor’s Automotive Technology Platform IVI stack meets Yocto Project 1.3 and GENIVI 3.0 IVI requirements, and Jungo’s MediaCore middleware provides UX and other support for multimedia management and playback, smartphone connectivity, and cloud-based applications.


  13. Android-based IVI system ships in 15 Renault cars


  14. Father Builds First Raspberry Pi-Powered Tooth Fairy Tooth Transport
    Developers have proved that the Raspberry Pi can be used for a lot of interesting projects, but very few had the kind of appeal of the Tooth Fairy project.

    Giving money for teeth has become quite a tradition, but a parent took it a little bit further and with the help of a Raspberry Pi, he managed to connect the Tooth Fairy to his house.


  15. New openSUSE images for Raspberry Pi
    Good news for Raspberry Pi users, there are brand new images of openSUSE for this revolutionary device.


  16. Turn your Raspberry Pi into a web server
    Raspberry Pi is one of the most popular devices around. Educators, enthusiats, students and even Googlers love it. Google has been involved with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to promote the device in the UK. Google gave a grant to the foundation via Google Giving to provide 15,000 Raspberry Pi Model Bs for schoolkids around the UK.


  17. Raspberry Pi's Eben Upton Demos Wayland Support on the Pi


  18. Raspberry Pi Doorlock Uses USB Keys


  19. Temper Pi
    It was inevitable. Back when the Raspberry Pi was announced, I knew I eventually would use one to power a beer fridge. If you have been following my column through the years, you know that three years ago (see my Hack and / column titled "Temper Temper" in the August 2010 issue), I set up a temperature controller for my beer fermenting fridge with an X10 serial controller to control the power to the fridge and a heating pad, an inexpensive TEMPer USB thermometer to take the fridge temperature, and a simple Perl script.


Recent Techrights' Posts

Making More Work Space
I learned the hard way that less is more in circumstances where more means distraction
MAHA is a Lie, Public Officials Never Valued Citizens' Health (They Still Value Private Businesses, Their Sponsors)
Reject demagogues
New Techrights Turns 2
Today starts the third year of the SSG-based Techrights
What Scares Them the Most is Independent News Sites That They Cannot Control and Censor
Wikileaks was a good example of this
If You Don't Control Your Online Platform, Then Someone Else is Controlling You
be (or become) independent
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Has a Policy on Racism and Sexism
In then future we'll show the misogyny and racial slurs
Links 22/09/2025: Murdochs Might Join Fentanylware (TikTok) 'Investors' (Masters), United Kingdom Recognises Palestinian Statehood
Links for the day
 
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has Un-cancelled the Best People, Just in Time for the Big 4-0
Mr. Oliva should have been there all along (since 2019)
Most "Modern" Technology Makes You Slower and Dumber
Because proprietary software makes you worse off
"What Comes After Free Software?" Wrongly Insinuates We've Reached the Goal (Prison is Not the Goal)
The oil tycoons use similar tactics against environmentalists, giving them fake "wins"
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has a New Press Kit for the Weekend After Next Weekend (40th Anniversary)
miles better than social [sic] media [sic] quips, moderated by narcissists and oil tycoons.
Microsoft Had Two Waves of Mass Layoffs This Month (That We Know of) and It'll Get Worse for Microsoft Soon
Will the axe fall again by month's end?
Gemini Links 23/09/2025: Happy Equinox, Photronic Arts, and Perception Cognition
Links for the day
Lessons We've Learned After 17 Years of American Hosting
GAFAM is "all-in" with the "Trump agenda"
Back to Normal Now, We Plan to Do More In-Depth Series (or Multi-part Stories)
Articles (or series thereof) that contain philosophy are important to us
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 22, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, September 22, 2025
Microsoft Media is Panicking Amid Mass Layoffs Every Month, H-1B Fees, and "Seattle’s Tech Scene in Trouble"
In "late stage Microsoft", copyleft becomes proprietary
The Next Wave of IBM/Red Hat Layoffs Being Discussed Already
Red Hat is sort of disappearing the way Tivoli did
Oracle Started This Year With Slop. Then It Stopped.
Passing fads are like this
Distros That Run on PCs Made 20 Years Ago and Don't Use Systemd
Betas for now
The Complaint About Brett Wilson LLP - Part I - Abusing British Women on Behalf of American Men Who Abuse American Women
Transparency is important to us, so we've decided to make this series
Slopwatch: Google News and the Evident Slopfarm Infestation
This is what people get about Linux when they query Google for Linux
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Esperanto Music History and Apps For Android
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: More American 'Censorship' (Retaliation for Journalism), Cheeto "Might Be Losing His Race Against Time"
Links for the day
The Blob Slop
Give me more words, give me some text
The 50-Pound Note Experiment and the "War on Cash"
Britain is actually seeing a rebound in cash payments, and it's not a temporary phenomenon
Slopwatch: Blaming the Victims for Microsoft's Failures and Plagiarising Phoronix
That's what Google has been reduced to: slop and slopfarms
Links 22/09/2025: Breaches, Windows TCO, and Arrests
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Rabbit Hole and DeGoogling Fairphone
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: Russian War Planes Invade NATO Airspace While Dihydroxyacetone Man Escalates Attack on Free Speech Because of Critics
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 21, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 21, 2025
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025