Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu and NEC and other major Japanese consumer
electronics companies have announced that they have formed a consortium to
develop new versions of the free Linux operating system to power future
computing devices and also link audio and visual equipment, cellular phones and
car navigation equipment. The group is working closely with TurboLinux, one of
the top Linux distributors based in Silicon Valley and the largest distributor
of Linux in the Far East.
The 24-member group, Embedded Linux Consortium also includes Mitsubishi
Electric and Canon. Sony is considering joining the consortium. "In
addition to electronic appliances, we will target anything that can be linked to
the Internet, and that includes personal digital assistant equipment,'' said
Tatsuo Nakajima, chairman of the consortium.
If adopted, the Linux based software could pose a serious threat to
Microsoft's Windows CE and other software aimed at smaller devices such as PDAs,
set top boxes and cellular phones. Nakajima said that in order to have a chance
to compete with Microsoft, a joint effort and commitment by a large number of
major companies was required. "It is impossible anymore for one company to
develop operating software that can become a widely shared asset, like Microsoft
did."
The Linux announcement came on the same day Microsoft said it will introduce
a Japanese version of its Windows CE-based Pocket PC, a handheld data storage
and information device, which was introduced in the US in April. The consortium,
however, represents major setback for Sun Microsystems and its Java technology.
Previously, it was anticipated that these Japanese consumer electronics
manufacturers would use Java as an alternative to Windows.