Bonum Certa Men Certa

Linux World Domination: The Covert Expansion of Linux to Broadcast, Games, and Even Watches

Watch



Summary: A look at some news about Linux-powered devices and the areas they now occupy

Linux is everywhere. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. But with brands like Android, TomTom or TiVo it might take some effort to see it and especially to show this to others.



In the past few days we saw Android's role (or the role of Linux) in various mundane areas of the industry [1-3]. Other uses include drones (not just the lethal ones), rugged computers, telepresence, and hackable devices like the Raspberry Pi.

The desktop is not everything, it was the emerging market when mainframes declined and now we have devices that do to the desktop the same thing it did to mainframes (vendors use 'cloud' hype in an attempt to drive data back to their datacentres, despite storage being cheap).

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. Google breaks ChromeCast's ability to play local content
    Bad news for all ChromeCast users who were thinking of being able to stream local content to their HD TVs. Google has pushed an update for ChromeCast which has broken support for 3rd party apps like AirCast (AllCast) which allow users to 'stream' local files from their devices to ChromeCast connected TV sets.


  2. It's a Go for Omate's Android-Powered Smartwatch
    Omate's $199 TruSmart watch has already garnered more than twice its funding goal on Kickstarter, and there's almost a month still to go for the device, which comes with a 5 MP camera and cellular modem. "A lot of these crowdfunded smartwatches are being seen as the drizzle before the thunderstorm of the major players coming in," noted Reticle Research principal analyst Ross Rubin.


  3. Android games now out-selling games for Sony and Nintendo handhelds
    IDC and App Annie's study suggests that iOS and Android combined now generate four times the revenues of dedicated gaming handhelds


  4. With Android Poised for Embedded Boom, Developer Training is Needed
    The use of Android in embedded devices is heating up and along with that comes demand for developers skilled in embedded Android, say analysts and service providers within the embedded industry.


  5. Rugged fleet computer runs Android on TI ARM SoC
    Micronet announced the availability of a ruggedized, Android 4.x-based touchscreen fleet computer. The A-307 runs on the ARM Cortex-A8-based TI Sitara AM3715 SoC, and offers a 7-inch resistive WVGA touchscreen, USB and serial connections, and numerous wireless options including WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G radios.


  6. Linux-powered telepresence bot gets a boost
    Suitable Technologies has absorbed a majority of the employees of Willow Garage, the research lab that created Texai technology central to Suitable Tech’s “Beam” mobile telepresence robot. The remotely-piloted Beam bot, which can be controlled via a WiFi or 4G LTE cellular connection, runs Robot Operating System plus low-latency Skype-like video conferencing software on top of an Ubuntu-based embedded OS.


  7. Hey Raspberry PI, where is my cat?
    Last week my family went on a summer holiday to Menorca leaving me at home with just the cats for company.

    Half way through the week I realised that 5 cats had become 4 and that I hadn't seen one for a good couple of days.


  8. Raspberry Strudel: My Raspberry Pi in Austria
    I remember my first colocated server rather fondly. It was a 1U Supermicro that had been decommissioned from my employer after a few years' service. Although it was too old and slow for my company, the 800MHz CPU, 1GB RAM and 36GB SCSI storage was perfect for my needs back in 2005. A friend was kind enough to allow me to colocate the server at his facility for free. So, after a lot of planning, I installed and configured Debian, generated SSH keys and set IPs so I could manage this machine remotely. Once it was colocated, it became my primary server for Web, DNS, SMTP and my perpetual Irssi-in-a-screen session. The machine served me for more than five years until I ultimately replaced it with newer hardware.


  9. Compact SBC features 2GHz quad-core AMD SoC


  10. Linux-powered quadrocoptor has three cameras
    A startup called Pleiades is over a third the way to its Kickstarter goal for funding a hackable Linux quadrocopter that starts at $520. Spiri, which runs Ubuntu Linux with Robot Operating System (ROS) extensions on a dual-core Freescale ARM SoC, is an airborne craft that uses three cameras and a variety of sensors to navigate autonomously.


  11. HDMI-stick mini-PC runs Android on quad-core ARM SoC


  12. Home automation device offers HD fisheye pan/tilt
    A $209 Linux-powered home automation and security system aimed at apartment dwellers is off to a strong crowdfunding start on Indiegogo. BlackSumac’s Piper features motion, sound, and temperature detectors, and offers a 180-degree fisheye HD camera with pan and zoom viewable and controllable via smartphone apps.




Recent Techrights' Posts

[Meme] The Heart of Staff Rep
Rowan heartily grateful
 
Sven Luther, Lucy Wayland & Debian's toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Coroner's Report: Lucy Wayland & Debian Abuse Culture
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Links 18/04/2024: Misuse of COVID Stimulus Money, Governments Buying Your Data
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/04/2024: GemText Pain and Web 1.0
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/04/2024: Google Layoffs Again, ByteDance Scandals Return
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/04/2024: Trying OpenBSD and War on Links Continues
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 17, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
North America, Home of Microsoft and of Windows, is Moving to GNU/Linux
Can it top 5% by year's end?
Management-Friendly Staff Representatives at the EPO Voted Out (or Simply Did Not Run Anymore)
The good news is that they're no longer in a position of authority
Microsofters in 'Linux Foundation' Clothing Continue to Shift Security Scrutiny to 'Linux'
Pay closer attention to the latest Microsoft breach and security catastrophes
Links 17/04/2024: Free-Market Policies Wane, China Marks Economic Recovery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/04/2024: "Failure Is An Option", Profectus Alpha 0.5 From a Microsofter Trying to Dethrone Gemini
Links for the day
How does unpaid Debian work impact our families?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Microsoft's Windows Falls to All-Time Low and Layoffs Reported by Managers in the Windows Division
One manager probably broke an NDA or two when he spoke about it in social control media
When you give money to Debian, where does it go?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
How do teams work in Debian?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Joint Authors & Debian Family Legitimate Interests
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Bad faith: Debian logo and theme use authorized
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 17/04/2024: TikTok Killing Youth, More Layoff Rounds
Links for the day
Jack Wallen Has Been Assigned by ZDNet to Write Fake (Sponsored) 'Reviews'
Wallen is selling out. Shilling for the corporations, not the community.
Links 17/04/2024: SAP, Kwalee, and Take-Two Layoffs
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Inclusion of Dissent and Diversity of Views (Opinions, Interpretations, Scenarios)
Stand for freedom of expression as much as you insist on software freedom
Examining Code of Conduct violations
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
Ruben Schade's Story Shows the Toxicity of Social Control Media, Not GNU/Linux
The issue here is Social Control Media [sic], which unlike the media rewards people for brigading otherwise OK or reasonable people
Upgrading IRCd
We use the latest Debian BTW
The Free Software Community is Under Attack (Waged Mostly by Lawyers, Not Developers)
Licensing and legalese may seem "boring" or "complicated" (depending on where one stands w.r.t. development), but it matters a great deal
Jonathan Cohen, Charles Fussell & Debian embezzlement
Reprinted with permission from disguised.work
Grasping at Straws in IBM (Red Hat Layoff Rumours in 2024)
researching rumours around Red Hat layoffs
GNU/Linux Continues to Get More Prevalent Worldwide (Also on the Desktop)
Desktops (or laptops) aren't everything, but...
Who is a real Debian Developer?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 16/04/2024: Many More Layoffs, Broadcom/VMware Probed (Antitrust)
Links for the day
Links 16/04/2024: Second Sunday After Easter and "Re-inventing the Wheel"
Links for the day
Upcoming Themes and Articles in Techrights
we expect to have already caught up with most of the administrivia and hopefully we'll be back to the prior pace some time later this week
Links 16/04/2024: Levente "anthraxx" Polyák as Arch Linux 2024 Leader, openSUSE Leap Micro 6 Now Alpha, Facebook Blocking News
Links for the day
Where is the copyright notice and license for Debian GNU/Linux itself?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Halász Dávid & IBM Red Hat, OSCAL, Albania dating
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
Apology & Correction: Daniele Scasciafratte & Mozilla, OSCAL, Albania dating
Reprinted with permission from the Free Software Fellowship
Next Week Marks a Year Since Red Hat Mass Layoffs, Another Round Would be "Consistent With Other Layoffs at IBM."
"From anon: Global D&I team has been cut in half."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 15, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, April 15, 2024