Open Source Linux Makes Another Strong Push

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November 13, 2000 (1:29 PM EST)

Encouraged by rapid growth of the open-source code market, software and hardware makers are trotting out an array of Linux-based products.

Seventy-four companies are exhibiting at Comdex, twice the number at last year's show. The expo has also doubled its floor space, from 17,700 square feet last year to more than 40,000 square feet this year. It also follows up an impressive showing in Toronto, where the most recent Linux Business Expo attracted more than 60,000 attendees.

"More people are looking for ways to put Linux in their solutions," said Sonny Saslaw, general manager of the expo. "At the OEM level, they're looking for embedded solutions. And at the enterprise level, they're looking for clustering and Internet solutions."

Exhibitors plan to capitalize on that momentum by displaying the best of today's Linux applications.

The iRobot-LE, which runs on the Linux operating system, is the first multipurpose robot that can be controlled by a Web browser from anywhere in the world. The robot, which has been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and at the Louvre in France, will serve as a tour guide, roaming the show floor and showing attendees what's happening at other show locations.

For its part, Red Hat Inc. (stock: RHAT) will display several high-profile electronic devices that use its operating systems. The handheld, MP3-playing Hip Zip from Iomega Corp. (stock: IOM), introduced in late September, will demonstrate Red Hat's eCos operating system. Other devices include the Screen Pad telephone from Ericsson AB (stock: ERICY) that employs a Red Hat Linux operating system, as well as a PlayStation2 video game that was designed using a simulator and development tools from Red Hat.

Engineers said higher levels of Linux maturity, combined with declining memory costs and memory power requirements, have pushed Linux into such mainstream applications.

"There's a new economics model," said Kim Knutilla, vice president of engineering services at Red Hat. "Customers are always concerned about quality. But once the quality is there, they start to talk about cost."

Iomega chose eCos for its smaller kernel size and because licensing fees were eliminated, Knutilla said. Ericsson employed Red Hat Linux for reasons of reliability and cost, he said.

Several companies will also display major new products at the event. Among them are Lineo Inc. and Linux Networx.

Lineo, a provider of embedded Linux-based systems, will show its Availix Clustering 1.1, a solution that provides users with nonstop access to mission-critical services. The system, based on a Linux OS and CompactPCI hardware, provides high availability and scalability for network servers. The product is designed specifically for ISPs, ASPs, and telecom companies requiring solutions that enable customers to connect to services at any time, without interruption or delays.

Lineo is also expected to announce a Japanese version of its flagship product, Embedix SDK 1.2, a development kit for embedded developers and device manufacturers. The Japanese version, Embedix SDK 1.2J, comes on the heels of Lineo's Nov. 7 announcement that it will begin shipping Embedix SDK 1.2. The new product brings real-time response features to Embedix SDK, providing embedded-device developers with both soft and hard real-time capabilities. As a result, developers can measure response times for their embedded products in microseconds.

Linux Networx will display its new Evolocity TM, a Linux-based fully integrated cluster system with a vertically rack-mounted chassis. The Evolocity system is composed of 25 computer modules in a standard 19-inch rack that enables it to grow to several hundred modules. The company said the unique vertical construction facilitates better airflow and temperature control.

Clustering is the theme at the ICP Vortex booth. ICP Vortex will roll out a new cluster-control tool to be used in third-party cluster management software to control shared mass storage.

Also, DataMyte, a Rockwell Automation business, and PocketPenguins will announce that they have formed an agreement to provide industrial customers with a hardened, Linux-based mobile computing system. Built on DataMyte's Industrial Digital Assistant, the product can be used in industrial applications requiring data collection, analysis, inventory control, and reporting.