Pixo

Pixo
Industry	Mobile software
Founded	1994
Founder	Paul Mercer
Defunct	2003
Fate	Acquired
Successor	Sun Microsystems
Products	Pixo OS

Pixo was a company that developed infrastructure for hand-held devices. It was founded in 1994 when Paul Mercer, a software developer at Apple, left to form his own company.^[1] The company developed a system software toolkit in C++^[2] for use on cell phones and other hand-held devices. They were acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2003.^[1]

Pixo OS and use in Apple's iPod

In 2001, Pixo was hired by Apple to adapt their system software for use in the iPod.^[3] The use of the Pixo OS in the iPod was never formally announced, although the first-generation iPod's "About iPod" display includes a mention of Pixo, and a Connectix biography of their VP of engineering Mike Neil mentions his role as "lead architect on the Pixo OS that is used in ... the Apple iPod".^[4] Apple acquired the Pixo OS shortly after shipping the iPod^{[citation needed]} and removed mention of Pixo from the "About iPod" display with a firmware update to the first-generation iPod.

On April 9, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the shipment of its 100 millionth iPod,^[5] making the Pixo OS one of the most widely used embedded operating systems.

As of December 2013, Pixo OS continued to be used on the iPod Classic and iPod Nano, which do not run iOS.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Markoff, John (27 February 2006), "He Helped Build the iPod; Now He Has Built a Rival", The New York Times, archived from the original on 2015-07-05, retrieved 4 January 2011 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ Stroustrup, Bjarne, C++ Applications, retrieved 26 August 2012
^ Yi, Matthew (16 August 2004), "Little-known startup was behind iPod's easy-to-use interface", San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved November 10, 2012
^ Archived 2003-08-06 at the Wayback Machine
^ 100 Million iPods Sold, retrieved 4 January 2011
^ "6G iPod nano hack just beginning of long road to nano apps". Ars Technica. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 2012-09-13.

External links

Archived (Date missing) at pixo.com (Error: unknown archive URL)
Archived 2001-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
Archived 2007-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
Bill Mogridge video interview of Paul Mercers involvement in the design of the iPod

[nyt-1] Markoff, John (27 February 2006), "He Helped Build the iPod; Now He Has Built a Rival", The New York Times, archived from the original on 2015-07-05, retrieved 4 January 2011 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[2] Stroustrup, Bjarne, C++ Applications, retrieved 26 August 2012

[3] Yi, Matthew (16 August 2004), "Little-known startup was behind iPod's easy-to-use interface", San Francisco Chronicle, retrieved November 10, 2012

[4] Archived 2003-08-06 at the Wayback Machine

[5] 100 Million iPods Sold, retrieved 4 January 2011

[6] "6G iPod nano hack just beginning of long road to nano apps". Ars Technica. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 2012-09-13.

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