Bits and Bytes: Linux groups merge; TAM Airlines offers in-flight mobile; and more

The Linux Foundation and the CE Linux Forum announced they will merge, resulting in the CE Linux Forum becoming a technical workgroup at The Linux Foundation. The Linux Foundation will expand its technical programs in the embedded computing space as well.
Brazil’s TAM Airlines started offering in-flight mobile communications using onboard connectivity solutions from OnAir. The service is now available to passengers on TAM’s Airbus A321 airplanes operating in Guarulhos, Recife, Natal, Fortaleza and Porto Alegre. The service allows passengers to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages and access the Internet through GPRS networks using their own GSM handsets.
Nuance Communications added support for Italian on its Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search applications. The products already support English, French and German.
iQmetrix said it has been named one of the “50 Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada” for 2011 by the Queen’s University School of Business and AON Hewitt. The company was ranked 24th on the list in the small and medium-sized employers list, which includes companies with between 50 and 399 permanent employees.
Digium Inc. and the Asterisk open source community launched the Asterisk Scalable Communications Framework, which allows developers to create real-time communications applications that include voice, video and text for a range of uses from embedded applications to carrier solutions. Asterisk SCF will be delivered as a system of distributed components that can be deployed in clusters on a single system or on many systems, said the company.
Claro Dominicana the Dominican Republic subsidiary of America Movil launched a mobile e-mail and synchronization solution based on Syncrhonica‘s Mobile Gateway messaging infrastructure.
Procera Networks Inc. and BroadHop Inc. said they have successfully completed interoperability testing of their Deep Packet Inspection, Policy Management and PCRF solutions. The solutions provide service providers with network intelligence to address scalability, performance and service expectations of LTE deployments.
Dialectric announced it has changed its name to SPX Communications Technology. The company will continue to use the Dialectric brand for all of its products, including its RF broadcast antenna systems, transmission line and patching components, and transmission accessories. The name change emphasizes the company’s close strategic alignment with its parent company, SPX as well as reflecting its expanding focus on a broader spectrum of global communication technologies.
IBM said it expanded its enterprise mobile computing offerings to include new software that provides information about buildings and equipment to maintenance staff in the field. The new software will replace paper reports and help organizations better manage and maintain their facilities.
The Associated Press said it is expanding its development of white label apps and content modules for a variety of handheld devices. More than 70 member newspapers and broadcasters have gone live with white label smartphone apps developed by AP in conjunction with Verve Wireless. AP also said it is working on private label iPad applications.
Huawei said it has expanded its North American headquarters in Plano, Texas. The new facility includes a customer demonstration center, a test lab and a technical assistance center.