Realm Systems BlackDog

Performance:

Even before plugging in the Realm Systems BlackDog device, we were impressed by the wealth of development literature available for this single device. On the Software Development Kit DVD, as well as at the Project BlackDog website, there is simply an unimaginable amount of content for setting up the device (under both Windows and Linux) as well as for developing applications to run atop this mobile solution as well as information pertaining to the Debian build it utilizes and all other major features. Realm Systems also provides documentation for the GNU C Library, 2.6.10 kernel, Pluggable Authentication Module (used by biometric reader), Debian, and crypto. They also share information pertaining to all of the software development for the mobile server. Consisting of the BlackDog SDK is the GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) with support for C and C++ and a GDB debugger. Some scripting languages supported by the BlackDog are Bash, Pearl, and Python while Glade 2 also allows for designing GTK+ applications. Some Windows and Linux systems may require drivers or a Pegasus kernel patch to be installed prior to operation, but simply connect the device to an available USB port and it shall initially be detected as a CD-ROM, followed by the BlackDog going into action (some Linux machines may require additional configuration). The official operating system support is limited to Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Novell SuSE 9.3, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, and Debian 3.1. In our tests, we had no troubles running them on the above-mentioned Linux distributions as well as others that we manually configured. No matter the host operating system used, the X server should have no troubles running and all of the embedded programs can execute without fault. Of course, during the entire process the device is dependent upon the host system for its keyboard, mouse, and display. The Realm Systems BlackDog is also capable of sharing other components on the host system such as WiFi networking support. Other device features include fingerprint enrollment, Samba Windows file sharing, and apt-get is even installed for easily updating the system as well as installing alternate programs. Another potential problem is the firewall on the host computer interfering with the BlackDog communication, but the issue can easily be resolved by granting the device access. Upon the standard setup of the device, some of the items available are XTerm, Info, and several other applications and games. Other packages included on the BlackDog, or available through the Project BlackDog, is an Apache web server, Mozilla Firefox, GAIM, and GNU nano. Being powered by FOSS, the possibilities for the Realm Systems BlackDog are certainly limitless and in the amount of time we spent with this lovable canine, it was time well spent.