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from the next-up-are-mcot-msofa-and-mrecliner dept.
Reported last week at the BBC, CNet and IEEE Spectrum is the news that ARM is launching a new OS targeting low power, low footprint devices.
The operating system, called mbed OS, is meant to resolve productivity problems that arise from fragmentation—where different devices in the so-called “Internet of things” (IoT) market run on a hodgepodge of different protocols. ARM is looking to consolidate those devices under a single software layer that's simple, secure, and free for all manufacturers to use.
(Although the IEEE article reports that "this is the first operating system ARM has ever developed", that slightly glosses over the history of RiscOS by Acorn, of which ARM was a subsidiary.)
The software comes as a free "mbed OS" and a licensable "Device server". Although parts of the OS will be open source:
ARM says it wants to retain control of other parts to ensure mbed remains unfragmented
More technical details at the mbed developer site. One oddity is the Online Toolchain, which provides the device IDE and version control online.
(Score: 2) by gallondr00nk on Tuesday October 07 2014, @04:51PM
For all its lofty intentions, I bet most internet of things devices will probably end up running decade old versions of apache with a holed, outdated version of php on top of it as an interface. They'll probably get two or three updates when the first major exploits are announced, then nothing.
And why a new OS? NetBSD was made for this. I mean, it already runs on toasters.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday October 07 2014, @05:16PM
And why a new OS? NetBSD was made for this. I mean, it already runs on toasters.
NetBSD is far too heavy for the sorts of things mbed is designed for. It's intended for the Cortex-M series, which have an MPU but no MMU (i.e. they can do protection of a small set of memory regions but not translation). They typically have a few tens of KB of RAM. Things like ucLinux have shown that you can run a UNIX-like OS on this kind of platform, but they've also shown that it's a stupid idea (you can't for fork() cheaply or mmap() at all, so trying to pretend that you're UNIX is silly).
sudo mod me up
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday October 07 2014, @05:33PM
They'll probably get two or three updates
Why would my light bulb, vacuum cleaner, and waffle iron get 2 or 3 more updates than the average much higher dollar value android phone or smart TV?
I think you might be a little bit optimistic. They'll be no updates. Ever. Powned right out of the package, permanently.
(Score: 2) by BasilBrush on Tuesday October 07 2014, @06:48PM
That's another argument for standardisation. Without standards, you need a software update every time there's a new thing on the market to communicate with. With standards, there's a much better chance that it will work without that software update.
Hurrah! Quoting works now!
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday October 07 2014, @07:08PM
The problem is the mfgrs have a vested financial interest in not making it work without an upgrade, and making the only way to get an upgrade to be buying a new device.
I suspect mfgrs are fairly pissed off they're not making money selling a new BT earpiece every time they sell a new phone or a new phone every time you need a new earpiece. Or charger for that matter. I imagine they're salivating at the smart watch idea, if only they can 1:1 product tie individual watch models to individual phone models by doing a precisely bad job of software.
Consumer electronics has never been very consumer friendly or environmentally friendly. I don't expect that to change just because of some software.
One IoT component I don't understand is I'm old enough to culturally recognize the icon of the VCR that flashes 12:00. Society just hasn't changed enough for an internet of things to "sell" to the general public.
(Score: 2) by BasilBrush on Tuesday October 07 2014, @07:30PM
I suspect mfgrs are fairly pissed off they're not making money selling a new BT earpiece every time they sell a new phone or a new phone every time you need a new earpiece.
You're too cynical. The manufacturers wouldn't have created the Bluetooth standards if they didn't see interoperability as an advantage. They could have gone for the same model as the razor/blade or printer/ink manufacturers, but they didn't.
Hurrah! Quoting works now!
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Tuesday October 07 2014, @07:56PM
"NetBSD was made for this."
It is, provided the MCU has MMU. And it's a pain many times to find one with MMU.
BSD on MCU without MMU requirement would be neat. And it has to be very slimmed too. No 10 MB RAM for a running kernel..
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Wednesday October 08 2014, @08:54AM
sudo mod me up
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday October 08 2014, @01:24PM
What it comes down to is to be able to port software from "real" Unix to your embedded environment with the least amount of core changes. Dynamic relocation of executables solves a lot of the problems a lack of MMU causes.
(Score: 1) by Horse With Stripes on Wednesday October 08 2014, @12:53AM
NetBSD was made for this. I mean, it already runs on toasters.
NetBSD lacks Toaster notifications. Oh, the irony is delicious (especially with a little butter or jam).