SD Times Issue 131 by BZ Media

Author:BZ Media
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: SD Times;
Published: 2005-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Wind River's Linux must be consistent with distributions of other organizations, says Fanelli.

failed BSD strategy in favor of Linux about three years ago. The company now develops its own Linux distribution based on OSDL's Carrier Grade Specification 2.0, which it targets at telecommunications and networking gear. "I'm really pleased that we're seeing companies in ancillary industries and segments follow our lead," said Wind Riv-

er president and CEO Ken Klein of the increased use of Linux in handheld devices. "It's not just validation of our strategy; it gives us hope," added chief marketing officer John Bruggeman.

"It's important that we deliver a system that is consistent with what is coming out of kernel.org as well as affiliated bodies such as [OSDL] and CELF," said John Fanelli, vice president of product management and planning at Wind River, speaking of the importance of deployment specs.

HAND OVER LINUX

While Wind River continues to sell its flagship VxWorks RTOS in addition to its new Linux-based offerings, a perhaps more risky strategy is that of Palm-Source, which has halted development of the Palm OS kernel that has served it for more than a decade in favor of Linux. The company in May demonstrated an alpha version of the Palm interface running atop the mLin-

ux kernel it acquired with China MobileSoft; an internal beta is expected by year's end. General release is set for mid-2006.

According to Michael Mace, chief competitive officer at PalmSource, Linux-based consortia such as CELF are helpful for more than the specifications they generate. "The forum reflects the fact that there's interest in Linux, and joining gets you into conversations with people. Once we started talking about Linux, a lot of doors opened that were not open previously."

ODSL CEO Stuart Cohen meanwhile, confirmed that his organization is considering the development of handheld device specs. "The mobile phone market is certainly interesting; it's an area where there is great opportunity for Linux. We are looking at [forming] a working group, [but] we have not come to any conclusions." OSDL will make its decision, he said, by the end of the year. I

FROM BACK SEAT TO DRIVER'S SEAT

Ken Klein, Wind River Systems

In June Wind River Systems announced that it would develop its own distribution of Linux, completing a three-year transition during which the company transformed its position from fierce opponent of open source to total immersion and commitment to driving its direction.

Ken Klein, Wind River's chairman, president and CEO, and chief architect of the turn-around strategy, spoke with SD Times about his company's transition to Linux and how he plans to drive Linux development through participation in organizations such as the Eclipse Foundation, OSDL and the CE Linux Forum (CELF).

SD Times: Wind River has had a long tradition of offering strictly proprietary solutions. Was there resistance to the change to Linux internally?

Ken Klein: We were beaten and bloody when I joined the board. And as a result I found this organization to be very receptive to change. They tried a lot of different things that didn't work. So they were looking for someone to tell them what to do.

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