Pixo
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Paul Mercer |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Fate | Acquired by Sun Microsystems |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Pixo OS (system software toolkit for mobile phones and portable electronics) |
| Parent | Sun Microsystems (from 2003), Oracle Corporation (from 2010) |
Pixo was established in 1994 by Paul Mercer, a former software engineer at Apple, focusing on developing infrastructure tailored for handheld gadgets. The company created a system software toolkit written in C++ designed specifically for mobile phones and other portable electronics. In 2003, Sun Microsystems acquired Pixo, which itself became part of Oracle Corporation in 2010.
Pixo OS and its integration with Apple's iPod
Apple brought Pixo back in 2001 to customize their system software for the iPod. Although Apple never officially declared the use of Pixo OS, the initial iPod's "About iPod" screen included a mention of Pixo. Additionally, Connectix credits Mike Neil, VP of engineering, as the "lead architect on the Pixo OS used in ... the Apple iPod." Shortly after the iPod’s debut, Apple purchased the rights to Pixo OS and later eliminated all Pixo mentions through firmware updates.
On April 9, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that the company had shipped its 100 millionth iPod, positioning Pixo OS among the most extensively deployed embedded operating systems worldwide.
With the discontinuation of the iPod Classic in 2014 and the iPod Nano in 2017—two models that operated without iOS—Apple ended sales of iPods running on Pixo technology.
External links
- Archived version of Pixo.com
- Archived summary of Pixo OS Platform 2.1 features and capabilities (August 15, 2001)
- Sun Microsystems press release confirming acquisition completion (January 17, 2007)
- Video interview with Bill Mogridge discussing Paul Mercer's contributions to iPod development
- Articles with short description
- IPod software
- Sun Microsystems acquisitions
- Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Software companies established in 1994
- Software companies disestablished in 2003
- 1994 establishments in California
- 2003 disestablishments in California
- Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Defunct software companies of the United States
- 2003 mergers and acquisitions