PepperLinux
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Pepper Computer: "we're not dead"
Pepper Computer, manufacturer of the original Pepper Pads and developer of the Pepper Linux OS, has admittedly seen better days. After months of silence from the firm's executives led forum members to write the company off as dead, CEO Len Kawell has finally responded to users' pleas and posted a summary of Pepper's current state of affairs -- but not before we left a message at headquarters stating our intentions to write up a deathwatch piece this week. According to Kawell, both the OS and Pepper Pad 3 -- which is manufactured and supported by Hanbit -- are still alive and well, though poor sales of Pepper-powered OEM devices have meant declining revenue for the company -- resulting in what sounds like considerable downsizing. At this point, without the money to pay developers, Pepper is looking to either sell its distro or open source it, although even the latter route requires resources that seem to be in very short supply right now. If you're looking to contribute to the project in some way, make sure to chime in by clicking on the Read link; you can help them out and help save us from having to pen yet another teary corporate obituary at the same time.[Thanks, moorashj]
Pepper announces Pepper Linux support for Intel-based MIDs
Having already successfully ported its OS to the OLPC, Pepper has now set its sights on slightly less colorful territory, announcing today that its Pepper Linux OS now officially supports the latest Intel-based Mobile Internet Devices (or MIDs). Among other things, the OS has apparently been optimized for the MID's 4 to 7-inch displays, tweaked for optimal power management and battery life, and prepped to allow automatic WiFi and network configuration. The OS also boasts integrated malware protection, automatic system and application updates, and a full complement of audio and video codecs, with the entire OS weighing in at less than 500MB. While there doesn't appear to be word of any MID manufacturers that have signed up to use the OS just yet, it'll be ready to ship to any interested OEMs or ODMs sometime this fall.
