The final time I spent a lot time enthusiastic about the QNX working system was when Lee spent a number of weeks in 2011 determining how you can root a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet working the QNX-based PlayBook OS, sideload Android apps onto the tablet, and even load the Google Android Market (which was the predecessor to the Google Play Retailer).
However QNX has truly been round for greater than 4 a long time. It’s a Unix-like real-time, microkernel-based working system that’s most generally used as of late in automotive methods – greater than 200 million vehicles run QNX-based software program. Whereas QNX has had a number of completely different homeowners over time, BlackBerry has owned it since 2010. And now BlackBerry has introduced that QNX is free for non-commercial use and released a QNX 8.0 image that runs on Raspberry Pi 4 computers. It’s a part of a QNX Everywhere aimed toward increasing the attain of QNX and attracting builders to the platform.
It’s price noting that BlackBerry is not open sourcing QNX and proper now the software program isn’t actually designed to be a user-friendly desktop or cellular working system. But it surely has supported that type of use previously.
Skimming a Hacker News submission about QNX Everywhere reveals a good quantity of skepticism from people who really feel that QNX has pulled the rug out from underneath builders previously. Whereas QNX has by no means been a totally open supply working system, the platform has been extra open for improvement previously, even releasing some supply code. And, as OSNews notes, 20 years in the past there was an lively group of QNX desktop builders who created a graphical consumer interface and ported open supply software program like Firefox and Thunderbird to run on the platform.
However QNX later shifted course and closed up its working system, successfully killing the impartial developer group. It’s attainable that this newest effort might revive or create a brand new group of builders and hobbyists. These with an extended reminiscence could be cautious of getting burnt once more although.
That’s probably not the purpose of QNX In all places although. It’s extra about constructing a developer group fascinated about engaged on embedded methods just like the automotive and healthcare merchandise that at present run QNX.
by way of Hackster.io
