Crusoe: Linux's next big adventure
 
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If you've been wondering what else Linux creator Linus Torvalds has been up to since inventing Linux (when he's not participating in online discussions about the operating system's development), he's been working at the secretive Transmeta, a Santa Clara start-up that debuted its Crusoe line of microprocessors in January.
Crusoe chips are designed for small, handheld devices and PDAs. Using a method called "code morphing," the chips replicate the performance of Intel Pentium-class processors and are able to run X86 code while consuming a fraction of the battery power of a laptop Pentium. (Crusoe chips can run up to 10 hours on a battery.) The design of the chip mimics that of Reduced Instruction Set Computing processors, where instructions that would be burnt into silicon on an X86 processor are executed in software.
Because software is carrying out many of the chip's instruction sets, this removes power-hungry transistors from the chip itself. The "code morphing" technology lets the processor interpret X86 code and run it as if it were native to the Crusoe platform. The chip also can "learn" how an application uses power, allowing it to optimize battery life by regulating electrical distribution among applications.
The company is currently shipping two processors. The TM5400 has a clock speed of up to 700 MHz and is geared towards lightweight notebook computers running some version of the Windows operating system. The lower-end TM3120, which comes in speeds up to 400 MHz, is intended for mobile Internet appliances and PDAs.
For the TM3120, Transmeta has created its own specially tuned distribution of Linux that it is shipping along with its microprocessor line. Mobile Linux, which the company distributes to its OEM partners, has been optimized for power consumption and is small enough to fit on a ROM. While small, Mobile Linux is still Linux, and it can support a range of applications for handheld devices, such as Web browsing programs and personal productivity software.
Currently, Web pads (keyboardless, handheld Web browsing devices) running Mobile Linux have been announced by vendors such as S3 and Quanta. Recently, AOL announced it had selected the Crusoe/Mobile Linux platform for an upcoming line of Internet devices that it is co-marketing with Gateway. The Linux-based devices will offer access to AOL services and the Internet, and feature Netscape's Gecko minibrowser.
According to IDC, a Framingham, Mass., technology research firm, the number of handheld computing devices shipped worldwide will jump from eight million to 18 million by 2003. With Crusoe's long battery life and compatibility with Intel software, many expect the processor to quickly rise to the top of the mobile and handheld computing industry - with Linux going along for the ride.
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Phil Hochmuth is a Network World Senior Writer and a former systems integrator. You can reach him at phochmut@nww.com.
Linux in the Enterprise archive
Past newsletters.
Mobile processor battle heats up
Network World, 06/15/00.
Crusoe chip launches in Web device; IT impact unclear
Network World, 06/05/00.
Gateway, AOL tap Transmeta for 'Net applications
Network World, 05/30/00.
Discover other embedded versions of Linux for small Internet devices
