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Linux running oil-rig systems

Oil-equipment supplier Varco International has announced a deal with MontaVista Software under which the Linux company will supply its Hard Hat version of the operating system for setups that control oil rigs, the companies said Monday. This embedded version of Linux is used in Varco's e-Drill product, which allows remote control and monitoring of drill-control systems. The first systems with Hard Hat Linux are being used on oil rigs in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, the companies said. More will be shipped this year.

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Stephen Shankland
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Stephen Shankland principal writer
Stephen Shankland has been a reporter at CNET since 1998 and writes about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science Credentials I've been covering the technology industry for 24 years and was a science writer for five years before that. I've got deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and other dee
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Oil-equipment supplier Varco International has announced a deal with
MontaVista Software under which the Linux company will supply its Hard Hat version of the operating system for setups that control oil rigs, the companies said Monday.

This embedded version of Linux is used in Varco's e-Drill product, which allows remote control and monitoring of drill-control systems. The first systems with Hard Hat Linux are being used on oil rigs in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, the companies said. More will be shipped this year.