Windows 'cheaper than Linux'
Published: 18 Jul 2003 09:26 BST
A Microsoft-funded report has shown that it costs more and takes longer to bring Linux embedded devices to market compared with devices using Windows.
Embedded operating systems are used in everything from cars, handhelds, and set-top boxes to industrial control devices.
The report, released this week by US research firm Embedded Market Forecasters, showed that it took 8.1 months to bring Windows products to market, compared with 14.3 months for embedded Linux projects, resulting in a 43 percent lead for Windows.
Also, an average Linux engineering team size was 14.2 people, compared with 7.9 for an embedded Windows project.
In addition, the average total cost of development for a Windows project was $480,000 (£301,820), versus $1.5m for a Linux project. The salaries of both types of developer were assumed to be the same. Windows is therefore 68 percent cheaper to deploy overall, said the report.
"Embedded Linux can be effective in distinct scenarios, but does not broadly translate into lower cost or faster development," said Jerry Krasner, the author of the study.
"Windows CE, .Net and Windows XP Embedded appear to deliver a significant total cost of development advantage due to their greater degree of maturity, feature-richness, componentisation, integrated tool chain and parallel development process," he said.
The report polled 100 firms globally, with half involved in Linux projects and the other half in Windows.
While Linux proponents may cry foul at the study, citing it as another example of Microsoft's policy of creating FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt), the open-source operating system is gaining ground with mainstream makers.
Recently, Matsushita Electric, Sony, Hitachi, NEC, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba announced the Consumer Electronics Linux Forum, or CELF, a consortium designed to adapt and advance the operating system for use in consumer electronics.
But Microsoft is not standing still. Windows CE operating system has been made more modular, allowing developers to discard unwanted components, keeping its footprint small. Up to two million lines of Windows CE source code can be downloaded by registered developers for debugging and testing. And the core of Windows CE can be licensed for as little as $3 per install, according to recent reports.
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