Put Tux in Your Tuxedo

Okay, so it’s a painful title. But hopefully the product won’t be: Xybernaut has recently announced that they’ve adopted Linux for use in their upcoming line of mobile and wearable devices.

They have yet to come up with a nifty marketing name for the platform, but are referring to the customized setup as a “mobile-enhanced version of Linux.” They like it because of its extensibility and customizability versus proprietary competitors like Windows. However, they will continue to offer both Linux and Windows side-by-side, dependent upon customers’ needs.

I’m looking forward to seeing where these technologies take us. Some tout personal area networks as the wave of the future, and they may not be too far off considering we’ve already got cellphones with bluetooth headsets, PDA functionality, and audio/video capabilities. Start throwing in roll-up or fold-out displays and sub-vocal voice input, and pretty soon a person can carry a computer wherever they go.

Instead of unfolding a newspaper on the subway, you’ll unroll a monitor display from a pen-sized cylinder complete with its own wireless connection to the main unit clipped to your belt or sitting in your purse or briefcase. You’ll listen to MP3s or a phone conversation via your wireless headset while scrolling news headlines with your thumbs. Write an email with sub-vocal speech recognition that won’t disturb your neighbors. Sign off on that important document with a thumbprint.

Is it science fiction? Maybe. Give it a couple more years and ask again.

Of course, by then we’ll also be asking if we really want to be that connected.