Electronics Giants Love Linux
Arik Hesseldahl, 07.02.03, 1:45 PM ET
NEW YORK - If there's ever going to be a great galaxy of consumer electronics devices that are all connected by a home network and through that network to the Internet itself, it's going to run Linux.
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The Cult Of LinuxAt least that's what some of the world's most prominent manufacturers have said with the formation of an industry group--the CE Linux Forum-- that will promote Linux in future products.
The companies involved aren't some small batch of die-hards. They make up the crux of the consumer electronics industry: Japanese firms Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people ); Matsushita (nyse: MC - news - people ), parent of Panasonic; NEC (nasdaq: NIPNY - news - people ); Sharp; Toshiba; and Hitachi (nyse: HIT - news - people ); Royal Philips Electronics (nyse: PHG - news - people ) from The Netherlands; and Samsung from South Korea. IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ) reportedly wants to join too.
Certainly the creation of the group is a warning shot at PC software juggernaut Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ), which thinks home networks, PCs and consumer electronics should interact without involving a penguin, the Linux mascot.
It's clear is what electronics manufacturers don't want: A royalty bill from Microsoft. Already used to operating on razor-thin profit margins with the products they make, using Linux software, which is freely available, should save them all money on developing future products.
For Sony in particular, taking part in the forum is the latest step in its duel with Microsoft. Linux is already the basis for Sony's CoCoon initiative, which involves giving TV sets and other entertainment devices a network connection, a hard drive and the ability to connect to broadband Internet connections.
If Sony's plans are an indication of what to expect from its new partners, that means an increase in security for copyrighted digital content such as movies and music.
Of course, central to all that is a PC running Windows. And Microsoft has its own ideas for connecting the home and all the electronic devices in it. It has been promoting the Media Center PC version of the Windows operating system for more than a year now with some success. The software turns a PC into a TV, jukebox and a video recorder among other things.
Its Smart Display technology allows portable flat-panel displays access to PCs elsewhere in the home for surfing the Web and accessing PC files. And its Windows CE .NET software for embedded devices has been demonstrated on household appliances as diverse as an exercise bike, a DVD player, a portable digital media player that can handle music and video, and a sewing machine. Obviously, there's a battle brewing.
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