Posted by Cliff Brake on 2009-01-09 | 
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As detailed in the article I wrote back in September of 2007 (http://bec-systems.com/web/content/view/75/9/), getting embedded wifi modules functioning is not a simple task. However, due to recent advances in the Linux kernel, it looks like a viable solution for low-mid volume products is emerging. This article provides a few details on how to get a [...]
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I recently updated the Mono recipes in OpenEmbedded to include the Mono 1.2.6 version. Several critical bugs that were present in 1.2.5 have been fixed, and its looking very good. More on this later …
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Update: Michael Dominic K. has kindly provided feedback on this article and has some additional points about Mono and embedded systems. Mono has included support for ARM systems for some time, but with the release of Mono 1.2.6, and its inclusion in OpenEmbedded, it is now practical and easy to build and run C# applications [...]
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From http://www.embedded.com/design/opensource/204300381 : Host platform Although everything I will describe can be also done on a Windows host, I recommend using Linux. It’s more convenient, and more tools and utilities are available. And if you rely on a few Windows applications such as Word and Outlook, you can still run them on Linux in emulation [...]
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Updated 2.6.23 kernel patches for the Compulab cm-x270 are now available in OpenEmbedded: http://www.openembedded.org/filebrowser/org.openembedded.dev/packages/linux/linux-2.6.23/cm-x270 The cm-x270 support in OpenEmbedded has undergone a lot of clean-up in recent weeks. Now is a good time to give OpenEmbedded a try if you need a full featured Linux distribution for the cm-x270.
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There are quite a few people using (or would like to use) OpenEmbedded on the Compulab cm-x270. The cm-x270 is a high performance, low cost computer module that can be used with a custom baseboard in embedded systems (see http://bec-systems.com/web/content/view/62/9/ for a review). I get a lot of questions on how to load OpenEmbedded on [...]
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If you are having trouble mounting a JFFS2 file system on a Compulab cm-x270 module, you may have a device that has a NAND flash with 16KiB eraseblocks. All of the devices I have personally used to date have had 128KiB eraseblocks, but I just helped a cm-x270 user through some flash issues and after [...]
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Original article published 2007-10-04 As of today, the Mono build in OpenEmbedded is working pretty well. Mono support for ARM and other embedded architectures should add some interesting capabilities for embedded Linux devices. Having written a number of large embedded Linux applications, I can really appreciate the advantages of high level languages for exception handling. [...]
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Update 2007-10-14: use IMAGE_INSTALL in image recipe Update 2007-10-22: a few corrections, added full path for include and comments Update 2010-06-07: use recipes instead of packages directory As more and more OpenMoko developers are coming on-line, it is becoming obvious that my previous post (http://bec-systems.com/web/content/view/59/9/) about adding packages to OpenEmbedded could use some improvements. This [...]
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Have you ever wondered what is the best way to implement periodic tasks in Linux applications — something better than usleep()? This article covers a number of issues related to this subject including real-time tasks, the different timers available, timer resolution, and how to implement periodic tasks accurately so that error is not accumulated. The [...]
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This is the first in a multi-part series on the OpenEmbedded development environment. This and subsequent articles will provide an introduction to OpenEmbedded, why to use it, how it works, and will provide examples of how BEC has used OE in various projects. Part 1 — Why do we need OpenEmbedded? This article discusses some [...]
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I just completed porting the cm-x270 Linux kernel patches to the 2.6.22 kernel. Kernel build is available in OpenEmbedded. Patches are available in the OE tree: http://www.openembedded.org/filebrowser/org.openembedded.dev/packages/linux/compulab-pxa270-2.6.22 Shortly I will be making 2.6.22 the default kernel for the cm-x270 in OpenEmbedded and posting instructions on how to use JFFS2 with the NAND flash on the [...]
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I recently purchased an Atmel NGW100 development board which includes an Atmel AT32AP7000 CPU. This CPU is based on the new Atmel AVR32 architecture, and is capable of running full Linux. This review covers the basics of this development board, the AVR32 architecture, options for building Linux for this system, as well as opinions on [...]
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When designing a system that runs embedded Linux, there are number of things you can do to make your life a lot easier and provide for future expansion to cover cases you did not anticipate. Following these simple guidelines can drastically improve the efficiency of developing the system, and troubleshooting problems during field testing, and [...]
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How much does hardware capable of running Linux cost? Recently, I priced components for a fairly minimal system. CPU: Atmel AT91SAM9260 (< $10) 32MBytes of SDRAM ($6) 256MBytes of NAND flash ($6) These are prices for relatively low volumes on the order of 1000 pieces. So, you can get a processor, RAM, and flash that [...]