According to Holzle, things that were hard to do on processors embedded in a networking box become much easier when they separately designed and merely communicated to the hardware using OpenFlow.

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They are now working on adding improvements, like live data web-hooks, which make it possible to write a web app that talks to a sensor without first learning about embedded programming, electronics or networking.

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The minimalist approach has helped MIPS find licensees selling processor for networking devices and other embedded devices.

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The technology itself is fairly fascinating, though, as is the social networking demonstration that's embedded just past the break.

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Facebook's move to become more deeply embedded into Android smartphones comes as the social networking company becomes increasingly aggressive on mobile.

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