Karaoke gives Linux fans something to sing about

Linux firm MontaVista is to release a version of the open source software for consumer-electronics devices, as the company seeks to have its software used in everything from karaoke machines to high-end television sets.

MontaVista, whose software is already used in personal video recorders from NEC and Sony, will also take advantage of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to announce that its software is being used in a new Panasonic video phone sold to Japanese customers with high-speed internet connections.

With hundreds of products using its software currently in development, MontaVista is succeeding in a market that hasn't been kind to some competitors. The Red Hat unit devoted to Linux for "embedded" computing devices, for example, has been punished by slower spending on the part of microprocessor companies, and the beleaguered Embedix (formerly Lineo) was acquired last month by Motorola subsidiary Metrowerks.

Some companies have adapted Linux to higher-end consumer-electronics devices such as TiVo's personal video recorders or Hewlett-Packard's Digital Entertainment Center, which aren't far removed from regular PCs in terms of processing power. But MontaVista has customers fitting its software into some of the most tightly constrained spaces, such as the innards of cell phones.

Scott Hedrick, senior product marketing manager for MontaVista's consumer-electronics software, said: "People are going to be pushing this down into very low-end devices.

Hedrick added: "We have hundreds of products in development: mobile phones, advanced remote controls, high-definition televisions, telematics systems, musical instruments, karaoke machines, gaming machines. A lot of these are going to come out this year."

Stephen Shankland writes for News.com