Compaq iPaq plunges into Inferno

Inferno, an operating system originally developed by Bell Labs for devices such as set top boxes and telephones, has been ported to Compaq's iPaq handheld computer.

The port of the operating system -- which can also be run as an application on platforms including Windows, Linux and Solaris -- will be demonstrated at the Usenix Annual Technical Conference 2001 in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday and Friday. The port includes wireless networking, a virtual machine, a Web browser with HTML 3.2, JavaScript 1.1, and a full development environment, running on less than 3MB of Flash memory.

Inferno is distributed by Vita Nuova Holdings, based in York, England, which also distributes the Plan 9 operating system, also developed by Bell Labs.

Vita Nuova said the port will be available in July. Inferno is not distributed under an open source licence, but its source code is readily available and can be modified.

Find out how the open-source movement is revolutionising the high-tech world at ZDNet UK's Linux Lounge.

Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Click on the TalkBack button and go to the Linux lounge forum

Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom. And read other letters.