IBM Taps DevelopOnline for Greater Exposure of Power PC Processors

Business Wire, Dec 19, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 19, 2000

DevelopOnline Tuesday announced that IBM Microelectronics is making its PowerPC(a) Platform with the new 405GP processor available on DevelopOnline's collaborative development Web site.

The new PowerPC 405GP processor hardware platform (board) will enable, for the first time, systems and applications innovators to use the Web for developing and running applications on the 405GP processor, which is ideal for processing data in the networking infrastructure.

"With the strong demand that exists for more processor information on the Web, IBM is tapping into existing resources to help more engineers become aware of our PowerPC platform and its wide range of potential applications," said Dean Parker, PowerPC product marketing manager, IBM Microelectronics.

"The sponsorship of DevelopOnline provides the opportunity to use and develop the IBM PowerPC platform for Linux applications."

"Making such hardware platforms available online brings the millions of Linux developers worldwide a giant step closer to the research and development labs of the globe's leading technology powerhouses," said Dr. Jerry Krasner, executive director of CMP's Electronic Forecasters.

"This may well be the catalyst for putting the Linux development community to work creating the next wave of technology products." Thousands of developers have registered at DevelopOnline since its launch this fall, and more than 400 development projects are underway.

"The IBM PowerPC platform helps to round out our processor offerings, providing developers access to handheld devices, Internet appliances, home computing devices and all types of networking infrastructure applications," said Alan Steinberg, chief executive officer of DevelopOnline.

"Before we put such platforms online, Linux developers were constrained to one platform for development -- the white box which sat under the desk or in the server closet. Developers using our resources are benefiting from millions of dollars of research and development investments made by the processor companies."

DevelopOnline ensures the compression of the development cycle for new products by opening the hardware platforms up to the Linux development community and providing the software required to the developers via a complete integrated development environment (IDE).

Faster development cycle time means faster time-to-market for the Internet era's frequently short-lived electronic products. Typically, faster time-to-market equates to earlier and greater profits on products.

MontaVista Software Support

Users of the IBM platform will also benefit from software support services recently announced by MontaVista. These Linux software support services are available in a special 30-day package created for DevelopOnline users.

About DevelopOnline

Based in Tempe, DevelopOnline provides an open-platform development site for e-collaboration, designed to reduce the total cost of innovation by introducing foundational building blocks to the electronic design process over the Internet.

By reducing engineering cycle time, DevelopOnline can help to accelerate time-to-market initiatives through an open environment that fosters creativity and defines the quickest path between innovators, the latest technology platforms, and their target markets. DevelopOnline currently employs 85 people.

(a) PowerPC is a trademark of IBM.