Software Solutions - Ampro Embedded Linux
Ampro Embedded Linux supports Ampro's single board computer (SBC), computer-on-module (COM) and system-level products in a wide range of applications in industries such as medical, defense, industrial control, retail point-of-sales/service, avionics, and wired/wireless communications.
Derived from Ubuntu® packages, Ampro Embedded Linux is a free, open-source, reduced-footprint Linux® operating system enhanced with device-oriented features such as its default touch-enabled Hildon graphical user interface, plus other selected technologies from the Ubuntu Mobile & Embedded (UME) project.
Ubuntu's meteoric rise in popularity among embedded developers is evidenced by LinuxDevices.com's 2008 embedded Linux reader survey, in which Ubuntu ranked third in popularity for future embedded projects, behind only Debian and kernel.org sources. Additional reasons why Ampro selected Ubuntu as the basis of its embedded Linux distribution include:
- Ubuntu has rapidly emerged as one of the most popular Linux distributions in both desktop and server applications, and the project recently has become a key partner in Intel's Mobile and Internet Linux (Moblin) initiative.
- Ubuntu is a completely free and open-source OS, availing developers of easy access to source code and minimizing device costs.
- Ubuntu features a simple yet powerful package management infrastructure, APT, that enables quick and easy software installation, updates, and security patches.
The reduced-footprint Ampro Embedded Linux operating system currently includes some 700 packages and offers three kernel options: the latest standard Ubuntu kernel, plus both standard and real-time kernels built from kernel.org sources. On top of this, developers can use the provided APT tools to select from among thousands of additional open-source packages located in Ubuntu's and other repositories. For example, the Fluxbox graphical user interface (GUI) comes preinstalled, but alternatives like GNOME and KDE are easily added or substituted.
Further technical details on Ampro Embedded Linux can be found in the Ampro Embedded Linux FAQ (PDF download).
Availability
Ampro Embedded Linux is being added at no extra charge to the QuickStart Kits associated with most of Ampro's single-board computer, computer-on-module, and system-level products. Consistent with the GPL and other open source licenses under which Ampro Embedded Linux is released, full source code is available and no run-time royalties apply.
For more information on Ampro Embedded Linux, contact Ampro.