Snappy Ubuntu Linux Now Used in Networking, Refrigerators

With its number of uses growing, the Snappy Ubuntu Core Linux operating system is now coming to network switches and refrigerators.
Canonical, the lead commercial sponsor behind the open-source Ubuntu Linux operating system, today announced an expansion of its push to embed Linux in everything from phones to refrigerators—and now network switches. The Snappy Ubuntu Core Linux operating system, a minimal version of Ubuntu Linux that provides an improved updating and security model, is designed for embedded devices and the Internet of things (IoT). Snappy was first announced in December 2014 and became generally available with the Ubuntu 15.04 Vivid Vervet release on April 23. To date, Canonical has positioned Snappy as a platform for the cloud and mobile devices and is now bringing it to Open Compute Platform (OCP) network switches. The OCP networking effort kicked off in 2013 as a way to enable an organization to choose the operating system they want to run on an open networking switch. "Switches to us are important and very strategic," Dustin Kirkland, product manager at Canonical, told eWEEK. "There is switch at the top of every rack in every data center." With OCP, switching is now happening on commodity hardware, typically with some form of Linux as a base operating system, Kirkland said. There are multiple vendors in the Linux for networking space today, including Cumulus Networks and Big Switch Networks, that Ubuntu Linux will now compete against.







"We are positioning Snappy for switches, bringing the Ubuntu Linux experience that many developers are already familiar with," Kirkland said. "The same Ubuntu Linux skills from the server world apply in the Ubuntu-on-a-switch role."

Switching also plays well into what Canonical is doing with the open-source OpenStack cloud platform. Having control of the network at the switch level, for security or access, can all be driven from an integrated Ubuntu platform.

While Ubuntu is now coming to switches, Canonical is not going to become a switching vendor. Rather, Canonical will take care of the kernel and operating system layer with Snappy, and the network functions virtualization (NFV) feature can sit on top, Kirkland said.

"Virtual switching software vendors can concentrate on their expertise, be it hardware or the network application, and we at Canonical will take care of the operating system layer," Kirkland said.

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Gartner Predicts Three Big Data Trends for Business Intelligence

Big data has given businesses a window into valuable streams of information from customer purchasing habits to inventory status. However, internal data streams give only a limited picture, especially with the growth of digital business.

Three trends Gartner has identified describe information’s ability to transform business processes over the next few years.

Our predictions include:

No. 1: By 2020, information will be used to reinvent, digitalize or eliminate 80% of business processes and products from a decade earlier.As the presence of the Internet of Things (IoT) — such as connected devices, sensors and smart machines — grows, the ability of things to generate new types of real-time information and to actively participate in an industry’s value stream will also grow.

Source:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gartnergroup/2015/02/12/gartner-predicts-three-big-data-trends-for-business-intelligence/?ss=data-companies

Canonical partners with Amazon, Microsoft, and others on Internet of Things

Maybe Microsoft does love Linux! Canonical, the company behindUbuntu Linux, announced this week that both Microsoft and Amazon have agreed to publish their Internet of Things (IoT) application programming interfaces (APIs) on Ubuntu Core.
Canonical wants Ubuntu Core to become the operating system for the IoT. Ubuntu Core, like CoreOS and Red Hat's Project Atomic, uses a lightweight Linux server to support containers. Unlike the others, which are pointed exclusively for the data-center and the cloud, Canonical also sees Ubuntu Core as being ideal for devices as well. As Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical and Ubuntu's founder put it, "Snappy is much better than package dependencies for robust, distributed devices."

It's Canonical's position that Ubuntu Core provides the security needed for critical infrastructure with fast, automated, reliable updates for the machines that drive networking and industrial systems. This, the company states, is especially important since "Critical infrastructure systems are now an attack vector for espionage and disruption. Canonical and partners are working to deliver certified Ubuntu Core devices that are automatically updated to address systemic vulnerabilities fast. Ubuntu Core also provides best-in-class application isolation based on kernel containers, minimizing the impact of errors and vulnerabilities in third-party applications."

Of course, that's easy to say, but without support from other vendors it doesn't mean much. But, Canonical now has IoT partnerships not just with Amazon and Microsoft, but with major silicon providers whose processors and platforms power mission critical device and OEMs building the next generation of secure, software-defined network equipment.


Source:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/canonical-partners-with-amazon-microsoft-and-others-on-internet-of-things/

IoT Invades the Kitchen

A session on "Cooking with IoT" at the Embedded Systems Conference in Santa Clara in July will bring together a handful of IoT startups invading the kitchen.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — An emerging Silicon Valley style of cuisine is on the rise. It should come as no surprise that it has a scientific bent and uses sensors, microcontrollers, wireless networks and mobile apps. Consider this your invite to a high-tech cook off in July.







A handful of startups are putting a new spin on the old stereotype of the Internet refrigerator that sends you a text when you need to buy milk. This time around the goals are more diverse, useful and tasty.

“I’m sick of discussions dominated by the Internet refrigerator,” said Jim Reich, a CTO of Palate Home Inc., a San Francisco startup making a connected precision grill for consumers. “Kitchen devices can have higher value than that because this is an area where you can make a big difference in people’s lives,” he said.

For its part, Palate Home is about to ship alpha units of its Palate Smart Grill, a device that aims to bring consumers the sous-vide experience offered in top restaurants. I had to look up sous vide to find out it’s a method of slow cooking food often in sealed bags in relatively low temperature water baths, popularized in the 1960’s.

According to the Palate Home Web site:


Source:
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1325527

Silicon Labs Deploys M&A to Crack IoT

MADISON, Wis. — Silicon Labs (Austin, Texas) has acquired a privately-held Finnish wireless module vendor Bluegiga Technologies at $61.5 million in an all-cash deal.

With the acquisition of Bluegiga, Silicon Labs is picking up the last missing link for its Internet of Things (IoT) play. Silicon Labs’ other IoT-related mergers include the acquisition of low-power microcontroller startup Energy Micro AS (Oslo, Norway) in 2013, and Ember, Boston-based wireless mesh networking technology firm in 2012.






Bluegiga, an active member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, is one of the fastest growing suppliers of ultra-low-power Bluetooth Smart, Bluetooth Classic, and Wi-Fi modules, according to Silicon Labs. Bluegiga, not a Bluetooth chip supplier, uses a wide range of third-party chips and the company's own software in their wireless modules.

The acquisition is expected to give Silicon Labs instant access to a new set of loyal Bluegiga customers.


Source:
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1325563&

FTC calls on IoT vendors to protect privacy

Companies developing Internet of Things (IoT) products should adopt best practices to protect the privacy and security of consumers, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has recommended.

IoT companies should embrace best practices related to cybersecurity defense and take steps to keep unauthorized users from accessing a consumer’s device or personal information, the FTC said in a 71-page report released Tuesday. 

IoT companies should also monitor connected devices throughout their life cycles, patch security holes, and consider ways to minimize the data the devices collect, the FTC report recommended.

The FTC report generated controversy as soon as it was released, with critics saying it could scare consumers and businesses away from the hot IT field. The report also sets up the FTC to enforce security and privacy standards on IoT companies in much the same way as it brings complaints against companies that suffer data breaches, critics said.

Source:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2876332/ftc-calls-on-iot-vendors-to-protect-privacy.html

Two Korean IoT Standard Experts Selected as Leaders of Working Group at oneM2M

IoT Standards Leaders

26 JANUARY 2015

Cho Jin-young

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced on Jan. 25 that Song Jae-seung, researcher at the Korea Electronics Technology Institute, was selected as head of the Testing Working Group at oneM2M. The decision was made during the technical general assembly for oneM2M, a global standardization organization for the Internet of Things (IoT), held in Florida from Jan. 19 to 23.
In addition, Ahn Hong-bum, senior researcher at LG Electronics, was chosen as vice chairperson of the Architecture Working Group at oneM2M.
Mr. Song is widely regarded as a leader in international standards related to the IoT through his 10-year research in the fields of computer and communications standards.
Mr. Ahn is in charge of projects for global standard IoT platforms at LG.


Source:
http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/8745/iot-standards-leaders-two-korean-iot-standard-experts-selected-leaders-working-group

BlackBerry sticks to business as it unveils IoT plans, AT&T-exclusive Passport phone

BlackBerry is taking the same approach with its Internet of Things platform, launched Wednesday at International CES, as it is with its handset business: Aim at its core markets.

In IoT, the struggling mobile vendor has found an emerging area of technology where it may have the right combination of strengths. The company signaled as much last May when it announced Project Ion, a future cloud-based service it said would make it easier for enterprises to develop IoT software.

The results of that project, which involved beta testing by several customers, have been folded into a product called simply the BlackBerry IoT Platform, set for availability in April. The cloud-based system was announced at the biggest consumer technology show in the world along with some device and messaging news closer to the spirit of CES. But apart from some plans for messaging on wearables, the company’s IoT story steered clear of Las Vegas gadget fever.

Source:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2866652/blackberrys-iot-plans-start-close-to-home-cars-asset-tracking.html