Talk to the Hand(held)
By Sam Williams
February 15, 2000
A new voice appears to be joining the argumentative chorus of Linux user interface systems.
Unveiled last week at Demo 2000, the Nukulo, a palmtop prototype developed by Belgian voice-recognition specialists Lernout & Hauspie, might be a year away from fulfilling the 2001 human-machine conversational fantasies of cutting-edge technology users. That didn't prevent a loud murmur from rippling through the media gallery, however, as observers noted that the software providing a platform for the Nukulo's elegant speech interface was the same Linux operating system once notorious for its user unfriendliness.
According to Klaus Schleicher, director of product management for Lernout & Hauspie, the decision to use Linux had less to do with killing old stereotypes and more to do with showing off the opportunities available in the emerging embedded marketplace.
"The reason why we went with Linux is because of all the new processors available," Schleicher says. "Linux seems to be the operating system optimally designed for those processors."
In the case of the Nukulo -- a device that derives its name from the Hawaiian word for "echo" -- the processor Schleicher and his engineers settled upon was the as-yet-unavailable Intel StrongArm II processor. And though his development team could have easily picked an alternative OS -- the proprietary Windows CE being the most notable example -- the fact that Linux won out speaks volumes about the tidal changes currently overtaking the low-end marketplace.
"The future devices which are going to come into the market are going to be based on [Linux]," Schleicher predicts. "Until now, the choices were Windows CE or build-your-own operating system. Linux seems to have the potential to be the common user platform for those people who need an operating system fast but don't want Windows CE."
Although it might take a few months to test Schleicher's assertion, observers who took in the Nukulo unveiling at the Demo 2000 show share the sentiment.
"I think Linux has a good chance," said Amy Wohl, president of Wohl Associates and editor of Amy Wohl's Opinions, a technology industry newslettter. Pointing to three factors -- scalability, robustness and cost --Wohl says the opportunity exists for embedded Linux to consolidate the non-Windows options in the mobile device OSe market just as its mainstream counterpart has done in the server OS market.
"When you're building products for the consumer market it's very important that you not add any unnecessary pricing overhead. Whenever you can minimize the price of your operating system -- and I would call spending zero dollars on Linux a good example of doing that -- it's a good thing."
upside.com
LHSP is on the Translation List at the Bull Sector. The stock hit a new 52 week high today
bullsector.com;
RTS
|
