On Tuesday 23 January 2007 17:20, Phil Thayer wrote:
Linux (in some form or another) as an embedded OS is in
hundreds if not
thousands of devices from you car to your MP3.
MP3 doesn't have a means to run or even contain code! ;)
Wrong. Any computer that performs a task contains some kind of code.
But MP3 is a compression format, not a computer.
Most of the time this code is called "embedded code" because it is contained on a ROM or RAM or some combination of the two. MP3's use an embedded form of a Unix OS to play the music. It isn't just magic.
MP3s don't play on their own, you need an audio player with the proper codec to play them...
It's a Linux OS that runs that car. Toyota takes care of your licensing, source code and digital medium.
Ok, so does the car come with the source on a CD, or does it come with a 2 year offer for it?
...
Sit and think about how many computers you REALLY have in your house and realize that 80-85% of them are running a version of Linux.
100% of them are... but they're not embedded...
Your probably right about the traditional computers that sit on your desk. But what about the computer that runs your TV,
What TV?
microwave, dishwasher (not the kids), digital alarm clock,
If any of these are Linux-based, I certainly didn't get the mandatory source code or offer...
Stereo, CD/DVD player...
That's the desktop PC.
Think about all the things in your house that are performing automated tasks that were not there 30-40 years ago. Almost all of them have some type of embedded OS and most of them are using a derivative of Linux now.
I've never heard of someone's dishwasher, alarm clock, or such coming with a source code offer, let alone CD with the code or printout of the GPL. Unless they're violating the GPL left and right, I doubt many, if any, of these run Linux.