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Wed Feb 25 15:27:10 PST 2009


Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal
Thinking smaller is Linux's next big thing
Smart gadgets represent new opportunity for operating system
Ken Spencer Brown 
Cute little penguin-emblazoned T-shirts notwithstanding, it takes a tough
person to be a Linux fan these days.
The renegade operating system -- symbolized by a cartoon arctic bird that
appears better-fed than many of those programming Linux for a living -- is
nowhere close to supplanting Microsoft Windows in the desktop PC market.
Despite attention lavished by giants such as IBM Corp., which has pledged
to spend $1 billion over the next few years promoting and developing
Linux, the tech industry so far has relegated the would-be Microsoft
alternative to specialized uses such as servers.
But some see promise for Linux in the still untamed market for devices
that employ embedded software, a growing segment of increasingly
intelligent gadgets such as cell phones, handheld computers and television
set-top boxes.
It's already showing up in a few popular devices: digital television
recorder TiVo, Sony's PlayStation 2 video game system and Iomega's Hip Zip
MP3 music player are among the mainstream gizmos that use an embedded form
of Linux.
And there's more to come. Linux fans believe their beloved operating
system, long touted by supporters as more nimble and reliable than
Windows, is a perfect fit for such resource-stingy devices.
The operating system, along with its underlying source code, is available
as a free download with no licensing requirements, even for commercial
use. Linux-centered businesses make money by selling the system with
prepackaged tools and services.
They argue that unlike private commercial operating systems such as
Windows, Linux is license-free, open for inspection and compact -- factors
that should appeal to hardware manufacturers looking for an operating
system that's cheap, easy to customize and able to run on less powerful
hardware.
"The key thing in the embedded space is that every device is different,"
says David Mandala, a well-known Linux advocate who now works for
DevelopOnline, an Intel Corp. spinoff based in Tempe, Ariz. "Being able to
customize the [operating system] with the least amount of cost is the name
of the game."
And because a highly-devoted core of computer programmers already use the
Linux system for desktop and server applications, it will prove ideal for
undergirding devices that connect to desktop PCs and the Internet, fans
say.
So far, only a few electronics manufacturers have publicly embraced Linux
as an operating system for devices, but some investors are confident the
platform is already building a following in the embedded market.
Sunnyvale's MontaVista Software Inc. recently announced a $28 million
third-round funding deal that included contributions from IBM Corp.,
Intel's investment arm and Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp.
"We've mashed the myth that Linux adoption is limited to the lunatic
fringe," says MontaVista CEO Jim Ready. "You can tell by our customer list
that we're not screwing around."
MontaVista customers include phone makers Ericsson and Nokia, among
others, and the Sony investment suggests the home electronics maker has
plans for Linux in its broad line of computer-connected devices.
Linux is a variant of the decades-old UNIX operating system still used in
many corporate mainframe computers. Introduced by Finnish computer science
student Linus Torvalds in 1990, Linux has grown as a volunteer effort by
programmers around the globe.
It's easy to see why Linux companies would have an eye on the embedded
market. Sales for embedded devices are estimated to exceed $1 billion per
year now, growing at about 25 percent per year. Embedded devices appear in
everything from automobiles to children's toys.
Linux's share of the embedded market, still a fraction of the total, is
growing even faster, at about 50 percent per year.
When used in the technology industry, "embedded system" refers to
programming instructions hardwired into the circuitry of a device itself,
as opposed to the easily changeable software code that resides in the hard
drive of a standard PC.
MontaVista, Red Hat Inc. and others hope to sell Linux add-ons and
development tools that make it easier to squeeze the operating system into
the constraints of a typical embedded system. The companies can make money
selling these tools and add-ons or submit them to the Linux community
which decides what features to add to new versions.
Devices that use embedded software are usually less complex than
full-fledged PCs -- they don't have a hard drive or mouse, for example,
and in many cases are designed for one or two specific functions. Often
the software programs used to control such devices are created by, or at
least tailored to, each individual manufacturer.
But as such devices grow increasingly complex, it often makes more sense
to use a broader, off-the-shelf operating system that offers a library of
common functions that manufacturers can use as software building blocks.
That frees the manufacturers from having to start from scratch when
developing software for each new device they create.
A few companies, such as Alameda-based Wind River Systems Inc., sell such
operating systems in hopes of becoming a Microsoft of sorts for the
embedded market. But unlike the PC industry -- which despite its relative
youth has all but standardized the Windows platform -- the embedded
systems segment remains highly fragmented.
For true believers, the embedded device market represents one of the few
growth areas Microsoft doesn't yet dominate, despite concerted efforts by
the software giant to push Windows CE, its operating system for
PC-connected devices.
"Many of the people in the embedded markets are leery of letting Microsoft
come in and take control," says Inder Singh, CEO of San Jose-based
LynuxWorks and chairman of the Embedded Linux Consortium. "You hear a lot
of people in these markets say `anything but Microsoft.' That's doesn't
mean Microsoft won't get a big chunk of this market -- they have a lot of
resources and are very determined. But there's that emotional angle."
Microsoft, which views embedded devices as part of its overarching .NET
framework, is pushing CE and the embedded version of operating system
Windows XP as a more complete foundation for developing connected devices.
.NET is Microsoft's idea for an ecosystem of devices and software that
connect to one another through the Internet.
Scott Horn, director of Microsoft's embedded XP appliance and platform
group, says he's confident that device manufacturers would rather get new
products to market than tinker with Linux, even if the latter is free.
He says Linux lacks the support and development tools manufacturers expect
from a commercial-grade platform, which significantly lengthens the
development process and winds up costing more than a Windows license would
have.
And besides, he adds, most consumers couldn't care less what operating
system the device is using, as long as it works.
Microsoft isn't the only critic of Linux as an embedded operating system.
Officials at Mentor Graphics' Silicon Valley-based embedded systems
division are deciding whether to add Linux debugging tools to the
company's product line, which for now focuses on other embedded platforms,
including its own.
Mark Saunders, the division's product marketing manager, says despite
Linux's reputation for being small and nimble on the desktop, on embedded
devices the operating system's like Gulliver in Liliput.
And Linux doesn't fit the classical definition of so-called "real-time"
operating systems, the super-fast platforms that handle tasks reliably,
even under peak use. Such niggling may not matter much with things such as
handheld computers, where millisecond delays are barely noticeable. But
for embedded applications such as missile guidance systems or antilock
brakes, processing hiccups could carry severe consequences.
Even so, Mr. Saundersadds, it appears Linux is making a place for itself
in the embedded segment, ready or not.
"No one operating system is always going to be right for everybody," he
says. "But from the looks of things, Linux is right for a whole lot of
people."
KEN SPENCER BROWN is a member of the Business Journal's technology team.



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