Embedded DOS and Linux company
Lineo
Lineo logo
|
Industry
| Computer software
|
---|
Founded
| 20 July 1999
; 24 years ago
(
1999-07-20
)
|
---|
Headquarters
| |
---|
Key people
| Roger Alan Gross,
Bryan Wayne Sparks
,
Brad Walters
[1]
|
---|
Products
| Embedix,
DR-DOS
|
---|
Number of employees
| 14 (1999)
50 (2000)
[2]
350 (ca. 2001)
|
---|
Lineo
was a
thin client
and
embedded systems
company spun out of
Caldera Thin Clients
by 20 July 1999.
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
History
[
edit
]
Caldera Thin Clients, Inc., had been created as a subsidiary of
Caldera, Inc.
, on 2 September 1998.
[8]
Caldera Thin Clients' original President and CEO was Roger Alan Gross,
[8]
who resigned in January 1999. In April 1999, Caldera Thin Clients released the no longer needed sources to
GEM
and
ViewMAX
under the
GNU General Public License
(GPL).
[9]
In July 1999,
Caldera Thin Clients
decided on a major refocus on
Linux
and consequently changed its name to Lineo.
[7]
Lineo licensed a stripped down
OpenLinux
distribution from
Caldera Systems
and named it Embedix.
[7]
They continued to maintain the former Caldera Thin Clients sales office in
Taipei
in 1999. In January 2000, Lineo reincorporated in
Delaware
.
Lineo's technologies fully owned were well ahead of competitors' products in the
embedded system
portion.
[7]
These technologies included:
This combination of technologies allowed Caldera Thin Clients to offer a full
Linux
operating system
with a graphical browser that could run off a
floppy disk
.
[11]
[12]
[
clarification needed
]
More importantly the product was unique, and this came from the fact that Lineo's view on the Linux
embedded
market was different from other vendors.
[7]
[13]
All the other vendors believed that Linux was heavily fragmented and that the solution was to offer Linux features for real time OSes, that is a Linux
API
for some other OSes.
Red Hat
with its EL/IX created a
kernel
independent
framework
(API) which allowed some Linux software to run on the
eCos
kernel. Lineo did not agree with this assessment and believed the API offered far more advantages and allowed for a fully
hardened
system, that is, Lineo utilized a custom Linux kernel. Through the six companies Lineo acquired, they were able to extend the same Linux technology across multiple chip architectures and add real-time capabilities. The acquisitions gave broader Linux support, from very small
microcontrollers
, through traditional platforms like
x86
, and up to
high end
,
high availability
systems.
[13]
Lineo's president and CEO, when it reformed under the new name, became
Bryan Wayne Sparks
,
[3]
who also had been one of the original founders of Caldera, Inc., in 1994. At the time of its creation, Lineo had 14 employees.
Lineo's main product was
Embedix
, a lightweight
Linux
distribution for embedded systems, licensed from
Caldera Systems
, Inc., another subsidiary of Caldera, Inc.
[3]
[8]
[7]
Another product was
DR-DOS
, a
DOS
?compatible
operating system
, previously developed by
Caldera UK Ltd.
between 1996 and 1999 and originally acquired from
Novell
by Caldera, Inc., on 23 July 1996.
[14]
[7]
Through its acquisitions Lineo also had a range of products in many different product categories.
Through a series of acquisitions and mergers, Lineo eventually ballooned to a peak of about 350 employees, with offices in seven countries. The companies that it acquired or merged with were:
- Zentropix ? realtime Linux specialists
- Rt-Control Inc. ? uClinux creators, very small board (uCdimm) vendors
- Moreton Bay ? VPN/Router vendor (located in Brisbane, Australia)
- United Systems Engineering (USE) ? Japanese Linux consulting company
- Fireplug ? Canadian Linux consulting company (ThinLinux product)
- Inup ? High availability Linux
- Embedded Power Corporation ? Realtime and
DSP
OS (RTXC product)
Decline
[
edit
]
In October 2001, Lineo refreshed and expanded a free license for the redistribution and modification of original Digital Research binaries and sources related to
CP/M
and
MP/M
through "The Unofficial CP/M Web site"
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
a license originally issued by Caldera in 1997.
[19]
[20]
[21]
After some assets were auctioned off in April 2002, by July 2002 the company had reformed as
Embedix
, Inc.
[22]
under the lead of Matthew R. Harris, formerly a Summit Law attorney for Caldera, Inc. However, Embedix, Inc. was short-lived and ceased to exist later that year, when the
Embedix
division was purchased and absorbed by
Motorola
's
Metrowerks
.
[23]
[24]
[25]
The remaining Digital Research assets fell back to the investor
Canopy Group
, and parts of the DR-DOS sources were acquired by
DeviceLogics
in 2002.
Parts of the embedded modules and uClinux software assets (formerly Rt-Control Inc.) were acquired by Arcturus Networks Inc. in 2002.
[26]
The router division (formerly Moreton Bay) spun out as SnapGear, and was later acquired by CyberGuard and then
Secure Computing
, and Secure Computing was acquired by
McAfee
and as of 2008 was still producing the SnapGear brand of VPN/routers.
Lineo Japan, a former Japanese acquisition and at one time wholly owned subsidiary, United System Engineers,
[27]
Inc. (USE), now trades as Lineo Solutions.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"SEC Form S-1 filing"
.
Archived
from the original on 2022-02-25.
- ^
Collins, Lois M.; Nii, Jenifer (2000-01-16).
"Settlement fuels Caldera 'family' - Orem company is 'settling up' with spinoffs thriving"
.
Deseret News
.
Archived
from the original on 2019-11-30
. Retrieved
2019-11-30
.
- ^
a
b
c
Caldera, Inc.
(1999-07-20).
"Embedded Linux moved to top priority at Lineo, Inc. formerly known as Caldera Thin Clients, Inc."
(Press release). Lindon, UT, USA.
Archived
from the original on 2017-06-25
. Retrieved
2017-06-24
.
- ^
Smith, Tony (1999-07-20).
"Caldera Thin Clients renamed to focus on embedded Linux - Lineo, Lineo -- wherefore art thou, Lineo?"
.
The Register
.
Archived
from the original on 2018-08-22
. Retrieved
2018-02-13
.
- ^
SB (2020-01-08) [2004-04-03].
"Development of Linux"
.
Operating system documentation project
.
Archived
from the original on 2019-10-02
. Retrieved
2020-02-02
.
- ^
"1998 in review"
.
Linux Weekly News
.
Eklektix, Inc.
Archived
from the original on 2019-10-12
. Retrieved
2020-02-02
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Ball, Lyle
(1999-10-01) [1999-08-04]. Richardson, Marjorie "Margie" (ed.).
"Interview: Lyle Ball, Lineo"
.
Linux Journal
.
Archived
from the original on 2017-12-13
. Retrieved
2019-06-01
.
[…] We […] have very deep experience with embedding
DR DOS
, and we've been making millions from that. So we are in a unique position: we are not a startup and we have funding. Our DOS product paid for all our
R&D
on embedded
Linux
. […] we are […] evolving our focus from an embedded DOS-only company to an
embedded Linux
company. […]
- ^
a
b
c
Caldera
(1998-09-02).
"Caldera Creates Two Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries"
(Press release). Orem, UT, USA:
PRNewswire
. Archived from
the original
on 2017-06-24
. Retrieved
2017-06-24
.
- ^
Jemmett, Ben A. L. (April 1999).
"Caldera releases GEM under the GPL"
.
Deltasoft - GEM News
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-11-07
. Retrieved
2016-11-07
.
Caldera Thin Clients, Inc. released the source code for
GEM
and
ViewMAX
under the
GNU Public License
in mid April, following years of speculation over GEM's future.
Caldera
bought the GEM sources from
Novell
along with the
DR-DOS
in 1996, at the time noting that they may develop GEM into a platform for mobile computers and thin clients. However, these plans were dropped, and GEM was instead released into the open-source community.
- ^
"embedix Browser - Internet connectivity for set-top boxes, kiosks and hand-held devices"
(PDF)
(Product flyer). Lineo, Inc. 2000-04-26. BREMBRW02.qxd. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2000-08-16
. Retrieved
2019-07-14
.
(2 pages)
- ^
"Download Caldera DR-WebSpyder 2.0 Today! The complete Web browser and E-mail client that fits on one 1.44 MB diskette!"
.
Caldera, Inc.
1998. Archived from
the original
on 1999-05-08
. Retrieved
2020-02-28
.
- ^
"Download Caldera DR-WebSpyder 2.0"
.
Caldera Thin Clients, Inc.
1998-05-10 [1998-02-17].
Archived
from the original on 2020-02-08
. Retrieved
2020-02-08
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
(NB.
Self-extracting archive
DRWEBDEM.EXE (
1
387
560
bytes) contains DRWEBDEM.IMG, a bootable 1.44 MB floppy disk image file.)
- ^
a
b
Lehrbaum, Rick (2000-05-23).
"An interview with Lineo CEO, Bryan Sparks"
. LinuxDevices.com. Archived from
the original
on 2000-10-25
. Retrieved
2008-09-24
.
- ^
Leon, Mark (1996-07-29).
"Caldera reopens 'settled' suit, buys DR DOS ? Antitrust suit against Microsoft"
.
InfoWorld
. News. Vol. 18, no. 31.
InfoWorld Publishing Co.
p. 3.
ISSN
0199-6649
.
Archived
from the original on 2020-02-08
. Retrieved
2020-02-08
.
[5]
;
Leon, Mark (1996-07-29).
"Caldera reopens 'settled' suit, buys DR DOS ? Microsoft's response: lawsuit is 'ironic and sad'
"
.
Computerworld New Zealand
.
IDG Communications
.
ISSN
0113-1494
. CMPWNZ. Archived from
the original
on 2018-08-23
. Retrieved
2018-02-13
.
- ^
Sparks, Bryan Wayne
(2001-10-19). Chaudry, Gabriele "Gaby" (ed.).
"License agreement for the CP/M material presented on this site"
.
Lineo, Inc.
Archived from the original on 2018-09-08
. Retrieved
2015-09-14
.
[…] Let this email represent a right to use, distribute, modify, enhance and otherwise make available in a nonexclusive manner the
CP/M
technology as part of the "Unofficial CP/M Web Site" with its maintainers, developers and community. I further state that as Chairman and CEO of Lineo, Inc. that I have the right to do offer such a license. […]
Bryan Sparks
[…]
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
Chaudry, Gabriele "Gaby" (ed.).
"The Unofficial CP/M Web Site"
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-02-03
. Retrieved
2016-02-03
.
- ^
Gasperson, Tina (2001-11-26).
"CP/M collection is back online with an Open Source licence - Walk down memory lane"
.
The Register
.
Archived
from the original on 2017-09-01
. Retrieved
2017-09-01
.
- ^
Swaine, Michael
(2004-06-01).
"CP/M and DRM"
.
Dr. Dobb's Journal
.
29
(6).
CMP Media LLC
: 71?73. #361. Archived from
the original
on 2018-09-09
. Retrieved
2018-09-09
.
[6]
- ^
Olmstead, Tim
(1997-08-10).
"CP/M Web site needs a host"
.
Newsgroup
:
comp.os.cpm
. Archived from
the original
on 2017-09-01
. Retrieved
2018-09-09
.
- ^
Olmstead, Tim
(1997-08-29).
"ANNOUNCE: Caldera CP/M site is now up"
.
Newsgroup
:
comp.os.cpm
. Archived from
the original
on 2017-09-01
. Retrieved
2018-09-09
.
[7]
- ^
"License Agreement"
.
Caldera, Inc.
1997-08-28. Archived from the original on 2018-09-08
. Retrieved
2015-09-24
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
[8]
[
permanent dead link
]
[9]
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Correia, Edward J. (2002-07-01).
"Lineo Is Now Embedix - New company releases SDK, dumps RTXC"
.
SD Times
: Software Development News. Archived from
the original
on 2012-04-07
. Retrieved
2012-04-07
.
- ^
"SPECIAL REPORT: Motorola/Metrowerks acquires embedded Linux pioneer Lineo"
.
Linux Devices
. 2002-12-17. Archived from
the original
on 2013-01-28
. Retrieved
2013-01-28
.
- ^
"Metrowerks to Expand Embedded Linux Tools and Solutions Offerings Through Embedix Asset Acquisition - Company to Add Embedix Tools and Technology to Integrated Development Platforms for PDAs, Smart Handheld Devices, Residential Gateways, Digital TVs"
. Austin, TX & Lindon, UT, USA:
Metrowerks
. 2002-12-17. Archived from
the original
on 2002-12-23
. Retrieved
2002-12-23
.
- ^
"Embedix Technology"
.
Metrowerks
. 2002-12-23. Archived from
the original
on 2002-12-23
. Retrieved
2002-12-23
.
- ^
"uClinux/uCsimm originators form new startup - News - Linux for Devices"
. Archived from
the original
on 2013-01-28
. Retrieved
2013-01-28
.
- ^
"United System Engineers - Lineo@Linux"
. Archived from
the original
on 2010-01-30
. Retrieved
2007-06-19
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]