This Special Edition is entirely dedicated to Real-Time Operating Systems Summaries Reports. We will be comparing the results of tests carried out on 7 different RTOS. Through this special issue we would like to make the link between the end of Real-Time Magazine and the start of a new brand name, Dedicated Systems Magazine. From now on, Dedicated Systems Experts, the Editor of Dedicated Systems Magazine, will launch a yearly Special Edition.

Although everyone wants to do something to mark the new millennium, this has not been our intention. Instead, other reasons have provided motivation for the change.

Firstly we have noticed the widespread, intensive use of “embedded systems” for magazines and shows. The problem lies with the definition of embedded systems. The term does not really cover systems like cellular phones and set-top boxes, to name just a couple of examples. Some of these systems may require real-time characteristics, but a lot of them do not. They are not all fault-tolerant either, and nor are they all open systems.
To escape from this tower of Babel, we have found that “Dedicated Systems” is a better description of what it is we want to talk about. It covers every possible permutation of the two aforementioned terms.

Secondly, Real-Time Consult has changed from being a company collating and disseminating information in the field via a magazine and a Web site, to being experts in dedicated systems. In particular, the start of the RTOS evaluation program, a couple of years ago pushed us in this direction.
Real-Time Consult therefore decided to change its name to Dedicated Systems Experts.

Dedicated Systems Magazine will, like Real-Time Magazine, continue to be the reference in the field. We will continue on a paid subscription basis because we do
not want to compete with other magazines that contain lots of colour advertisements but limited editorial content.
Delving into the far future by publishing “research” papers is not our goal, and neither do we want to publish product and industry news on paper any more. The Web has proven to be a far more efficient medium for this. Our VirtualPressRoom® and Dedicated Systems Buyers Guides, will be part of a newly designed Web site: Dedicated Systems Encyclopaedia. With the magazine now partially on-line, our goal is to inform you to a greater extent than before about our experience as experts in the field by producing a compilation comprising both contributions from us and the industry.

More exciting announcements about how we are extending our services will follow, but we will leave those for the first issue of Dedicated Systems Magazine.

Dr Martin Timmerman
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Dedicated Systems Magazine in general