The Contiki team has just released version 2.1 of the open source Contiki operating
system for low-power, wireless, memory-constrained networked
embedded devices that typically have as little a few kilobytes of
RAM. The major highlight of this release is a unique energy
profiling mechanism that measures where energy is spent, and how
much energy that is consumed. This is extremely important when
optimizing for low-power operation: to know where to optimize, one
must first know where energy is spent. Other additions to the 2.1
release are low-power radio protocols that increase system lifetime
from days to years, and improved data collection routing protocols.
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Member since:
2007-09-12
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I'm probably never going to use it myself, but it's very interesting after reading more about it.
It's fascinating to see how much usability you can still get out of very old machines (Apple II, Z80, C64,...), if they are only programmed accordingly.
And if you take a look at the power consumption of these TI-microcontrollers, (I think) you could run them literally for years with off-the-shelf batteries, makes up for some interesting applications.
Member since:
2006-03-13
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...SymbOS (http://symbos.de/) A microkernel OS with pre-emptive and priority-based multitasking, seamless memory management of up to 1 MB of RAM and a full Windows9x-style GUI (up to 512x212x16colors) all on a 3.5 MHz Z80...
Member since:2007-10-09
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It (SymbOS) may be fairly well done, but offering trailers of "Kink Kong" and erotic pics doesn't do much for promotional value. I can think of ten reasons why this is bad (and it's the third time this week someone has done similar: linking pr0n w/ normal software, ugh). 
Edited 2007-12-05 15:32
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2006-01-03
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Member since:2007-09-28
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I have this running on my Apple //e. The web browser works alright, and I have gotten the web server (!) running as well. Unfortunately, these lack major functionality because an interface has not been written between Contiki and the hardware, so in the case, for example, of the Apple, it only serves a sort of proof of concept "Hey you're viewing a page running on a web server running on an Apple //e" page. There's no interface to Apple I/O to serve up your own pages.
The other clients also have serious deficiencies, though the IRC client does work fairly well (as does the lynx-like web browser). I realize that this was mainly a proof of concept, a geek hack of sorts, so I'm not slagging it in any way.
I can see how Contiki will be useful on low powered devices, especially ones which are fairly static, but a fair amount of glue is left to be written, at least on the old 8 bits.
That this is not a priority of, oh, any developer in the world, is probably understandable 
Nevertheless, considering that in theory you can hook an Apple or Commodore 8 bit up to the internet, one can imagine the integration of Contiki into things like car dashboards, alarm clocks, etc.