Linux, the open-source operating system that some say could give Microsoft Windows a run for its money, is now taking aim at a new market: personal digital assistants. If the nonproprietary software can stake its claim in that area, it could help lay the foundations for a generation of less expensive handheld devices.

In recent months, there has been a surge of interest in Linux handhelds. Irvine, CA's Agenda Computing and Redmond, WA's Empower Technologies have started selling personal digital assistants that come preloaded with Linux, and several other companies now offer versions of Linux that can be installed on handheld devices-like the Compaq iPAQ-that normally run Microsoft's Pocket PC operating system.

Empower Technologies' Linux DA not only runs on Empower's own device but is the first distribution of a Linux-based operating system capable of running on the Palm handhelds, which have dominated the market for several years. Its designers overcame "a lot of technical barriers," according to Paul Leung, CEO of Empower, as Palms have only a fraction of the memory and processing power of the iPAQ and other handhelds.