Fw: ZDNet: - Is that a Linux device in your pocket?

[Raymond Leonard]

This message was forwarded to you from ZDNet (http://www.zdnet.com)
by leonardr002 at hawaii.rr.com.


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   This story was printed from    ZDNN   ,
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     Is that a Linux device in your pocket?
     By Matthew Broersma , ZDNet (UK)
     June 29, 2001 12:15 PM PT
     URL:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2781416,00.html

     Some Linux device makers may be thinking big, but Intrinsyc
     Software is going in the opposite direction: it has come up with
a
     Linux-based computer that is only 3 inches on a side.

     The CerfCube sells for $533 (£379), and comes with a Linux
kernel
     and the Apache Web server. It can also come with Windows CE
     pre-installed. The device is so small that it comes with a wrist
     strap for carrying it around.

     Intrinsyc's device is a reference platform for developers
looking
     to bring Linux into so-called "embedded" devices, basically
     anything but a PC: peripherals, television set-top boxes,
     telephones, refrigerators and the like. It can, however, be set
up
     as a complete networked Linux system.

     The cube contains Intrinsyc's CerfBoard, a single-board computer
     (SBC) based on a 192MHz StrongARM 1110 embedded processor from
     Intel. This fits into the bottom of the cube, leaving most of
the
     housing hollow. It includes 32MB of RAM and 16MB of non-volatile
     flash memory.

     The device also includes a 10MB Ethernet controller, a
     CompactFlash (type II) interface, three serial ports, 16 general
     purpose I/O lines and a USB port.

     The CompactFlash interface allows capabilities to be added to
the
     unit, including a Bluetooth card, though this only works with
the
     Windows CE version.

     Linux is gaining popularity in the embedded market because of
its
     flexibility and low cost. It competes with a number of other
     embedded operating systems including Microsoft's Windows CE.