Where do you find Linux?
Jul 30, 2010 By Johan Thelin

Looking through my home for Linux systems I just realized that it is everywhere. First of all, I find it on my computers - from servers to laptop. That is the obvious place though. I wonder, where else can I find Linux running?

Next, I find it on my set-top-box, a DM500 - a dreambox. The dreamboxes range from my very basic PAL receiver to devices with multiple receivers and HD-support. All are based on a Linux system running on a PowerPC processor. The box has networking and there is community driven development version of the software running on the box. The result - I can stream TV to my laptop, play content from my server and set record timers over the internet.

Then, looking further, there is a cell phone. Not mine actually, but my wife has an Android phone, so that has to count. Not as hackable as I'd like. I just might have to get a N900 to remedy this situation. Any phone with a shell prompt is a must have

Realizing that I missed the obvious - my router. The LinkSys WRT54-something router happily runs Linux. Actually, it is running (a rather old) image from the OpenWrt project. OpenWrt can be considered as a distribution for Linux-based routers. I can't boast about having configured and extended it to prepare my morning coffee - but the community driven images can handle features such as printer sharing and NAS in addition to being a great DHCP server and firewall.

Looking in my daughters room, I can't find Linux anywhere - at least not yet. However, a small Tux sits on a shelf.