NetSilicon join forces with Lineo

NetSilicon join forces with Lineo
By David Larner, Embedded Systems
September 28, 2001 (9:07 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20010928S0037

Integrated hardware and software for Internet device provider, NetSilicon has partnered with Linux specialists Lineo.

NetSilicon has been in business since 1984, with its core products going into a hand full of key customers in the printer industry. But over the last two and a half years they have won around 450 new design ins amongst OEMs who want to add TCP/IP connectivity to their products. “We had to find another market besides printers as that market is pretty flat. Industrial automation, and building automation was the answer for us, and now we have teamed with Lineo and use their uCLinux operating system we feel we can build on our recent success”, said Michael Evensen, vp and general manager, Net Silicon.

NetSilicon's hardware platform is an ARM 32bit machine - 'ModNet50' which sell for about $16 in volume, and claims to be lower cost than Altera's ARM based FPGA products. “Our chip (ModNet50) will get customers to market in weeks not months, and has enough onchip memory and processing power to enable customer to develop their own applications” said Evensen.

The partnership should enable OEMs to add 10/100 Ethernet connectivity to their products without running into multi-licensing issues from ARM and OS vendors. The development can be carried out on a development platform from NetSilicon, which come s with all of the system development tools in a one off price.