Pasadena Foundation Blog

pIt seems that embedded Linux operating systems are all the rage. You can find Linux OSs in cameras , mobile phones, set top boxes, PDAs, networking equipment and in a raft of industrial automation systems. In a recent Venture Development Survey it was noted that more that 18% of consumer devices incorporated a Linux OS /p
pEmbedded Linux is designed for equipment with limited resources. Size constraints limit these devices to flash memory and lower amounts of RAM. These devices have very specific applications so they call for less resources in general. The end effect is a device with amazing but very specialized functionality often in a pint sized package./p
pTime clock manufacturers are starting to adopt the embedded Linux approach and we are now seeing a number of offerings on the market incorporation the operating system. The default interface for a a title=Linux Time Clock href=http://timeandattendanceconsultant.com/linux_time_clock.html target=_blankLinux time clock/a is a web interface which makes the device suitable for the Apple computer.. an almost completely un touched market. This web interface can include some reasonable award interpretation capabilities unheard of in conventional electronic time clocks courtesy of an application specific OS./p
pA a title=Web enabled Time clock href=http://timeandattendanceconsultant.com/web_time_and%20_attendance.html target=_blankweb enabled time clock/a provides many other benefits including a general reduction in costs both in the overall cost of ownership and the initial cost when compared with the traditional electronic time clock and associated windows based software. Additionally, the reporting functions are usually quite flexible allowing you to export into third party applications such as Excel./p
p What are the disadvantages of this technology? The answer to this question often lies in what the product was designed to do and how good a match that is to your application . Some of these devices have their origins in access control and because of this their time and attendance functionality is somewhat limited . When evaluating these products look closely at the specific time and attendance functionality and make sure it is a good fit for your company } . I have seen a number of these web enabled products fall short in some fundamental areas making them quite unsuitable for many industries./p
pFrom a reliability perspective embedded Linux time clocks have been criticised for not being robust enough for industrial applications. There is truth in this criticism but usually this is because these time clocks are not offered the surge protection they require. Fault here lies with the product distributors and resellers who often have a difficult task in front of them offering a product priced at double the price of conventional electronic time clocks. Competition is strong and in spite of the seemly obvious benefits a large number of a title=bundy clock href=http://timeandattendanceconsultant.com/bundy_clock.html target=_blankbundy card/a style time clocks are still sold. In the face of this competition there is an understandable reluctance to mention that ideally these Linux based time clocks should be connected to a surge protected outlet or better still a uninterruptible power supply./p
p It is clear that the embedded Linux time clock is certainly the way of the future . They have a lot to offer and improvements in features and performance are occurring every day. The time clocks of the future will almost certainly take this form. Interestingly they may be more often seen with less on board functionality handing this over the SAAS application./p
pJames Bell/p
pThe Time and Attendance Consultant/p
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