Developers Can Now Get QNX® for Free
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SAN JOSE, ESC Show, September 26, 2000 - The moment eagerly awaited by over
45,000 pre-registered developers and enthusiasts is here: This morning, QNX
Software Systems officially released the QNX realtime platform on
http://get.qnx.com. Starting immediately, anyone can download the entire
platform for evaluation, prototyping, personal use, or other non-commercial
purposes at no charge.
“Today marks two firsts in the embedded industry,” said QNX CTO Dan Dodge.
"To begin with, the QNX realtime platform is the only solution to combine
the reliability, speed, and small footprint of an RTOS with all the benefits
of a platform OS: low cost of entry, friendly self-hosted environment, plus
tools and POSIX APIs familiar to thousands of developers.
“Second, QNX is the only major OS vendor to give away its entire technology
suite free to anyone who wants it for non-commercial purposes. The new Get
QNXT program will make it much easier for developers to join the
fast-growing QNX community, and much easier for our OEM customers to
leverage a large base of knowledgeable developers.”
A Complete Distribution
The free download is a complete, fully functional distribution of the QNX
realtime platform. It includes the full suite of QNX OS modules
(microkernel, file systems, networking, etc.), a GNU toolchain, a
code-generating application builder, the Photon microGUI® windowing system,
Internet and multimedia applications, hundreds of utilities, plus source
code for many applications, drivers, and libraries.
Third Parties Get with the Program
The free download also includes a variety of software from third-party
vendors, including: Glide 3D API from 3dfx, scalable fonts from Bitstream,
ICA client from Citrix, RenderWare 3D toolkit from Criterion, Quake III
Arena demo from id Software, Flash Player from Macromedia, and RealPlayer
from RealNetworks.
Partners Join in
Several of QNX’s key alliances have also joined in, by serving as active
members of the platform’s beta program. According to Jim Colson, lead
architect for appliance software at IBM’s Pervasive Computing Division,
“With its POSIX APIs, open architecture, and rich multimedia capabilities,
the QNX realtime platform will serve as an excellent development environment
for the emerging Internet appliance market. Furthermore, it will enable
developers to build reusable, standards-based, and network-deployable
components that can run on various devices, including mobile phones, PDAs,
Internet-enabled vehicles, set-top boxes, and residential gateways.”
Productivity First
Dan Dodge explained the QNX realtime platform was designed with one
overriding goal: to significantly improve the productivity of embedded
developers. “Besides providing immediate access to a complete OS and suite
of development tools, the QNX realtime platform offers extensive memory
protection to speed up debugging, POSIX and Linux APIs so developers can
leverage existing code, and, most importantly, a self-hosted environment
that eliminates the need to build a separate target system developers can
develop, debug, and test embedded applications right on their PCs.”
Modular Packaging, Easy Installation
The QNX realtime platform auto-detects a PC’s hardware, making installation
a snap. Plus, it can be installed on an existing Windows system no need to
create a separate partition.
The download itself comes in distinct packages that the developer can pick
and choose from, using a convenient package installer. This modular approach
makes for faster downloads and simplifies the process of installing new or
upgraded components.
Once the platform is installed, the developer can visit the QNX Developers
Network (http://qdn.qnx.com), a web site filled with useful services,
including a searchable knowledge base, FAQs, bug reporting, and more. Plus,
the QDN contains a public newsgroup where anyone can discuss the QNX
realtime platform, ask questions, and help others.
CD Available
The noncommercial version of the QNX realtime platform is also available on
CD, for US $29.95. To order the CD, visit http://get.qnx.com.
ISV Program in the Works
QNX also announced it will launch a special program for independent software
vendors (ISVs) who want to develop applications for the QNX realtime
platform. The program, to be unveiled later this Fall, will include special
discounts on commercial development licenses.
About QNX Software Systems
Founded in 1980, QNX Software Systems is the industry leader in realtime,
microkernel OS technology. The company has established a strong customer
base in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, consumer
electronics, transportation, medical instrumentation, process control, and
point-of-sale. QNX products are distributed in over 100 countries worldwide.
Visit www.qnx.com.
Editorial Contacts
Paul Leroux
QNX Corporate Communications
Tel: +1 613 591-0931
Email: paull@qnx.com
Matthias Stumpf
QNX Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 511 94091-0
Email: mstumpf@qnx.de
. If you’re interested, I can get you in