All Linux, All the Time

My main assignment at LinuxWorld was to speak with the multitude of vendor representatives, gathering information on new products specific to Linux. I did just that. It was exhausting, but I learned a great deal and enjoyed meeting with everyone. Read on to see what new products are available for Linux.

My week began with a breakfast with the folks from Lynx. They were in town to debut BlueCat Linux 1.0, the Lynx version of Linux for embedded applications. I met with Dr. Inder Singh (Chairman), Lorie Bowlby (Marketing Director), Lou Covey (VitalCom PR) and William Hogan (President and CEO) who were the first to inform me of the "Linux fridge"--a smart refrigerator, complete with web browser. While Lynx is not connected with this device, it does offer a glimpse into the enormous potential of embedded systems. BlueCat Linux, based on Red Hat 6.1, is open source and is "part of the LynuxWorks suite that allows embedded systems development of both BlueCat Linux and the LynxOS real-time operating system with a common compatible tool set." Mr. Hogan explained that the LynxOS is quite similar to Linux, and I see from their press kit that it includes the GNU C/C++ compiler tool chain, as well as X-Windows, TCP/IP networking software and a large number of BSDI utilities.

That is all well and good, but what I found most interesting was the enthusiasm of the team. This was their first trip to LinuxWorld, and they seemed quite ready for the onslaught of interested attendees and the seemingly unlimited potential of the embedded market. With a dedication to the open-source model and support from such companies as Motorola, Hewlett-Packard and Metro Link, I expect good things from Lynx. More information on Lynx can be obtained here.

For those of you who find yourself saying, "I've been looking for a free program for CAD parametric modeling for a long time...", there is Matra DataVision. I learned (and promptly forgot) a bunch of cool stuff involving the manipulation of three-dimensional geometric ... things. Open Cascade 3.0 is the most current version, and is the product I was shown. Open Cascade runs on Linux, is open source and includes C++.

Matra DataVision fully supports its product. This includes, as stated in their press kit, "consulting, deployment and implementation, education and engineering services". Matra DataVision is a worldwide company. Some of their 6,000 customers include IBM, Mack Truck and Renault.

This is a highly specialized and technical program. It is beyond my grasp, but the people from Matra DataVision seem friendly and willing to advise. Check out their web site at http://matra-datavision.com. Or, go right to to the Open Cascade page at http://www.opencascade.org.

I think it's safe to assume that most of us have heard of a little company called Hewlett-Packard, or HP. While big companies jumping on the Linux/open-source bandwagon scare me, this was certainly one of the more impressive booths at LinuxWorld. There were clusters that will one day run on the IA64 architecture. HP has joined the Trillian project-- along with Cygnus (now merged with Red Hat), Intel, SGI and VA Linux--to get this technology ported to Linux. Trillian announced at LinuxWorld that they have opened the source code to IA-64. That announcement was fairly exciting news at LinuxWorld, possibly second only to the latest acquisition by VA Linux.

Besides clusters, the folks from HP showed off their new, state-of-the-art, 3-D graphics capabilities for Linux, which were demonstrated in a gaming environment. The hardware is OpenGL on HP VISUALIZE fx+ graphics, and there are plans to release HP's large model-rendering toolkit to the Open Source community. This will enable Linux to be used with high-end technical applications in Digital Content Creation (DCC) and Mechanical Design Automation (MDA). Seems important to me.

Probably the most useful thing Hewlett-Packard is now offering is a support web site offering extensive information and software relating to HP products and Linux. Say you need to know if a certain driver will be compatible with your system, or maybe you're wondering if a scanner or sound card is right for you. All this information can be had by visiting the site, which is a collaborative effort with Aalborg University, located in Denmark. If you are into HP products, this site is for you.