Kit speeds wireless-LAN development on Linux

AbsoluteValue Systems Inc., an early supporter of IEEE 802.11-compliant chips on open-source platforms, is offering an embedded-software package that will support .11a/b/g chip sets on any Linux platform. The AVS 802.11 WLAN Development Platform marks AbsoluteValue's turn away from original design manufacturers to a different customer base. The Melbourne, Fla., supplier will now focus on established companies that want to wirelessly enable their systems quickly, said Brian Mathews, vice president of marketing and sales. "ODMs are now getting stuff from chip OEMs," so a refocus was necessary, he said.

AbsoluteValue established itself by offering open-source software to support Intersil Corp.'s Prism 1 wireless-LAN chip set on Linux platforms. The free software, which came out shortly after Prism became available in 1997, is still used today by students and experimenters, Mathews said. But the need to support ODMs in Taiwan and elsewhere has diminished, he said.

Tuesday, 6 July 2004 13:33 EST

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