NVIDIA joins Linux Foundation, doesn't mention driver development

It's a big day for open source fans now that NVIDIA, the last member of the "big three" chip makers with AMD and Intel, has signed on with the Linux foundation. The company has previously kept the system at arms length, with users relying on reverse-engineering to get things working nicely with Linus' baby. It's joining Fluenco, Lineo and Mocana, three companies who also became signatories to the foundation at the same time. Whilst there's no commitment to provide drivers for its chipsets, at least there's a glimmer of hope that the company will contribute -- especially given the growing popularity of its mobile platforms.

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Fluendo, Lineo Solutions, Mocana and NVIDIA Join The Linux Foundation
By Linux_Foundation - March 7, 2012 - 8:00am

New members collaborate on Linux in the areas of mobile, embedded, security and multimedia

SAN FRANCISCO, March 7, 2012 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that four companies are joining the organization: Fluendo, Lineo Solutions, Mocana and NVIDIA. While

Linux continues to see strong gains in the enterprise market (Read: Linux Adoption Trends 2012: A Survey of Enterprise End Users), its accelerated growth in other areas such as mobile and embedded development, security and multimedia is undeniable. Companies see the benefits of Linux and the collaborative development model as key advantages in the future of computing and are adopting the operating system for a variety of applications.

More details on today's new Linux Foundation members:

Fluendo is a leading multimedia software development company and GStreamer expert. The company specializes in software development and consulting services to enable multimedia on a variety of devices and operating systems. Fluendo employs several of the central developers of GStreamer, an open source framework, and provides a wide range of products under and above GStreamer, such as legal playback plugins, a DVD Player and a media center.

"By joining The Linux Foundation we can build upon our community collaboration on the technical, promotional and legal fronts," said Muriel Paumier-Moscardini, CEO of Fluendo. "Linux is an integral part of multimedia systems and we are committed to contributing to its advancement in this area. We are convinced that this partnership is a great opportunity to contribute with the Linux ecosystem from a technical, legal and commercial perspective."

Lineo Solutions is based in Japan and has more than 19 years of experience in Linux and embedded systems development. The company helps its customers speed time to market with professional services, tools and training in this area. "Linux is leading the way forward in the mobile and embedded software space," said Akira Kobayashi, President, Lineo Solutions.

"The Linux Foundation understands this and has moved to prioritize a variety of mobile and embedded Linux initiatives in which we are looking forward to participating."

Mocana is a device-agnostic security platform that protects mobile devices, apps and the information and services that run across them. Devices from more than 180 companies leverage the Mocana device security platform, including enterprise and consumer electronics from Cisco, Honeywell, Dell, General Electric, General Dynamics, Avaya and Harris, among others. The World Economic Forum in Geneva recently selected Mocana as one of its 25 "Technology Pioneers for 2012."

"As the Internet evolves into the Internet of Things, security needs to evolve, too. Technologies and best practices developed over the past 20 years for networks of PCs need to be totally rethought when most of the nodes on the network are now non-PC devices, like phones, tablets, medical implants, smart grid meters, industrial automation and consumer electronics. As one of the most robust & security-friendly operating systems, Linux provides us a dependable platform for delivering the confidence consumers and enterprise users need," said Kurt Stammberger, CISSP, VP Market Development Mocana. "By joining The Linux Foundation, we have immediate access to the technical collaboration and resources we need to help secure the Internet of Things."

NVIDIA invented the Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) in 1999. These multi-core processors enable PC gamers to enjoy fully immersive worlds and professionals to design everything from the latest cars to digital film characters. Their parallel processing capabilities provide researchers and scientists with the ability to efficiently run high-performance applications, and they are deployed in supercomputing sites around the world. More recently, NVIDIA has moved into the fast-growing mobile computing market, where its processors power phones and tablets, as well as auto infotainment systems.

"NVIDIA is strongly committed to enabling world-class experiences and innovation with our GPU and mobile products. Membership in The Linux Foundation will accelerate our collaboration with the organizations and individuals instrumental in shaping the future of Linux, enabling a great experience for users and developers of Linux," said Scott Pritchett, VP of Linux Platform Software at NVIDIA.

"The ongoing support from companies and organizations across industries and geographies demonstrates not only Linux's ubiquity but also its ability to quickly adapt for a variety of technical and market opportunities," said Amanda McPherson, vice president of marketing and developer services at The Linux Foundation. "Fluendo, Lineo Solutions, Mocana and NVIDIA each represent important areas of the Linux ecosystem and their contributions will immediately help advance the operating system."

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. Founded in 2000, the organization sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and promotes, protects and advances the Linux operating system by marshaling the resources of its members and the open source development community. The Linux Foundation provides a neutral forum for collaboration and education by hosting Linux conferences, including LinuxCon, and generating original Linux research and content that advances the understanding of the Linux platform. Its web properties, including Linux.com, reach approximately two million people per month. The organization also provides extensive Linux training opportunities that feature the Linux kernel community's leading experts as instructors. Follow The Linux Foundation on Twitter.