Devicescape Software, provider of wireless software for service-enabled devices, today announced its continued support to the open source community with the contribution of its previously proprietary Advanced Datapath Driver to the Linux 2.6 kernel. Devicescape’s Advanced Datapath Driver delivers the first-ever native Wi-Fi support in the Linux kernel. Additionally, it significantly improves the quality of service for Linux-based multimedia devices that deliver voice and video services over Wi-Fi.

 With this contribution, Devicescape is encouraging additional Wi-Fi innovation and proliferation of consumer, mobile and business electronics based on Linux. "Devicescape is committed to unlocking the full potential of Wi-Fi to create a world in which people can connect and share digital entertainment and information wirelessly," said Glenn Flinchbaugh, vice president of marketing for Devicescape. "As Linux becomes increasingly more sophisticated, we view it as a critical technology that will help drive the proliferation of service-enabled devices."

The acceptance of Linux as the core technology for wireless multimedia devices has been stalled by the lack of native Wi-Fi support and quality of service issues. In the past, developers needed to wait for semiconductor firms to produce suitable Linux drivers for their Wi-Fi chipsets. Now, these developers can quickly adopt the latest Wi-Fi silicon technology into their wireless product designs.

 In addition, the Linux kernel was previously unable to distinguish and properly handle different media streams, such as voice and video. However, with Devicescape’s Advanced Datapath Driver, a wireless user will be able to employ a Linux-based device to carry on a voice-over IP conversation, stream video or interact in real-time with Web-based services. Open source developers can now leverage tested and proven Advanced Datapath Driver technology to create new multimedia devices.

Since the company’s founding, Devicescape has leveraged and extended open source, specifically as it relates to wireless. Devicescape used the popular wpa_supplicant and hostapd projects to develop its commercial platforms, Devicescape Secure Wireless Client Platform and Devicescape Wireless Infrastructure Platform. In addition, Devicescape has committed engineering resources to support these projects and plans to provide ongoing support and code contribution to the community.