Microware

Microware was an American software company associated primarily with OS-9, a real-time operating system originally developed for Motorola microprocessors and later adapted to a broad range of embedded computing architectures. The company operated as Microware Systems Corporation from 1977 until it was acquired by RadiSys Corporation in September 2001. It subsequently became a division of RadiSys, while the Microware name and OS-9 technology continued to be associated with real-time and embedded-system development. The company’s early work focused on low-level software for Motorola processors. Microware first produced RT68, a product for the Motorola 6800, and also developed BASIC and a real-time kernel. Motorola later asked Microware to create a BASIC implementation for its newer Motorola 6809 processor. The resulting BASIC09 required a suitable operating-system foundation, leading Microware to create the first version of OS-9. This origin gave the product a close relationship with the hardware and development practices of the late-1970s and early-1980s microcomputer market. OS-9 initially found users in general-purpose microcomputing environments, including systems based on the SS-50 and SS-50C buses. It was used on platforms associated with SWTPC, Gimix, and Smoke Signal Broadcasting, and developed a substantial hobbyist community. The operating system also became available on popular Motorola 6809-based computers such as the Fujitsu FM-7 and FM-77, the Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer, and the closely related Dragon computers. Hobbyist users valued its multitasking capabilities and Unix-like development possibilities, and many community members ported Unix software and utilities to the platform. As the embedded-computing market matured, Microware increasingly concentrated on industrial and commercial customers. OS-9 was ported beyond the original 8-bit Motorola processors to the Motorola 68000 family and was later rewritten largely in C. This enabled versions for Intel 80x86, PowerPC, ARM, MIPS, and selected Hitachi SuperH processors. The product’s positioning shifted toward dependable real-time control, embedded appliances, industrial systems, and other applications requiring deterministic behavior and a relatively compact operating environment. Microware’s technology was also used in specialized consumer-electronics and media applications. CD-RTOS, a customized OS-9/68K variant, served as the operating system for Philips CD-i players. Other products included DAVID, a digital audio-video interactive decoder platform for digital television, Ariel, a small operating system based on technology acquired from IPI, and extensions to the Color Computer 3 BASIC ROM that added enhanced text and graphics capabilities. RadiSys acquired Microware in 2001, bringing the operating-system business into a larger embedded-computing company. On 1 March 2013, rights to OS-9 and related software were purchased by a group of distributors, which operated under the Microware LP name. The available reference material does not establish the company’s current corporate structure, headquarters, leadership, revenue, or present product-release status. Microware is therefore best understood as a historically important embedded-software brand whose principal legacy is OS-9 and its long support across diverse processor families.

Microware Systems Corporation was established in 1977 in the United States and became known for software designed for microprocessors and embedded computers. Its initial work centered on the Motorola 6800 family. The company produced RT68, developed BASIC implementations, and created a real-time kernel for early Motorola-based systems. A major turning point came through Microware’s work for Motorola’s 6809 processor. Motorola commissioned the company to develop BASIC09, a more capable BASIC implementation for the new processor. Microware concluded that BASIC09 required an operating system beneath it and created OS-9. The operating system was designed as a real-time, multitasking environment and became the company’s defining product. During the early microcomputer period, OS-9 was used on systems built around SS-50 and SS-50C buses, including computers associated with SWTPC, Gimix, and Smoke Signal Broadcasting. It also gained visibility among hobbyists through versions for the Fujitsu FM-7 and FM-77, the Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer, and the Dragon computer family. This community used OS-9 as a general-purpose microcomputer operating system and developed ports of Unix programs and utilities. Microware later expanded OS-9 beyond its original Motorola 6809 environment. It was ported to the Motorola 68000 family and subsequently rewritten largely in the C programming language, supporting additional processor families including Intel 80x86, PowerPC, ARM, MIPS, and parts of the Hitachi SuperH range. These ports helped position OS-9 as an embedded and industrial operating system rather than only a hobbyist or personal-computer platform. The company developed or marketed several products around this technology. OS-9000 extended the operating-system family for broader processor and embedded-system use. CD-RTOS was a specialized OS-9/68K variant used in Philips CD-i players. DAVID provided a digital audio-video interactive decoder platform for digital television. Microware also offered Ariel, a small operating system based on MTOS-UX technology acquired from IPI, and developed Color Computer 3 BASIC ROM extensions that supported enhanced 80-column text and graphics modes. Microware’s business increasingly prioritized industrial and embedded customers. The company’s focus on those customers coincided with a reduced emphasis on its earlier hobbyist base, even as community users continued porting software to OS-9. This transition reflected the broader movement of real-time operating systems from enthusiast microcomputers into dedicated control systems, appliances, and commercial electronics. In September 2001, RadiSys Corporation acquired Microware Systems Corporation. Microware became a RadiSys division, preserving the association between OS-9 and the Microware name within a larger embedded-computing organization. On 1 March 2013, a group of distributors purchased the rights to OS-9 and related software. The acquiring group used the name Microware LP. The available reference material does not provide enough information to describe the current legal structure, management, product roadmap, or operating scale of Microware LP.

1. 2013OS-9 rights acquired by Microware LP

   On 1 March 2013, a distributor group purchased the rights to OS-9 and related Microware software and adopted the Microware LP name.

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2. 2001Acquisition by RadiSys

   RadiSys acquired Microware in September 2001, after which Microware operated as a division of RadiSys.

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3. 1977Microware Systems Corporation begins operations

   Microware Systems Corporation was established as an American software company focused on microprocessor and real-time software.

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4. Development of BASIC09 and OS-9

   Work commissioned by Motorola for the 6809 led Microware to create BASIC09 and then develop OS-9 as the operating-system foundation beneath it.

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Specialist embedded-software provider focused on real-time operating systems, processor portability, and software for industrial, consumer-electronics, and digital-media systems.

• RT68Real-time software

  RT68 was Microware’s original product for the Motorola 6800 processor. It represented the company’s early focus on low-level software and real-time computing for emerging microprocessor-based systems.

• OS-9Real-time operating system

  OS-9 was Microware’s principal product and a real-time, multitasking operating system first created for Motorola 6809-based systems. It later supported the Motorola 68000 family and numerous other architectures, including x86, PowerPC, ARM, MIPS, and selected SuperH processors. It was used in hobbyist computers, industrial systems, and embedded products.

• OS-9000Real-time operating system

  OS-9000 was a related Microware operating-system product intended for a broad range of embedded CPU architectures. It extended the company’s real-time operating-system portfolio beyond the original OS-9 implementations.

• CD-RTOSConsumer-electronics operating system

  CD-RTOS was a specialized version of OS-9/68K version 2.4. It was used as the operating system for Philips CD-i players, adapting Microware’s real-time technology to an interactive optical-media consumer-electronics platform.

• DAVIDDigital-media platform

  DAVID, short for Digital Audio Video Interactive Decoder, was a Microware platform for digital television and interactive audio-video decoding applications.

• ArielEmbedded operating system

  Ariel was a small operating system based on MTOS-UX technology acquired by Microware from IPI. It formed part of the company’s broader range of compact operating environments for embedded applications.

• Color Computer 3 BASIC ROM extensionsMicrocomputer software

  These extensions enhanced the Tandy Color Computer 3’s BASIC ROM environment with support for 80-column text and graphics capabilities that were not present in the earlier Color Computer models’ Extended Color BASIC.

• 2013Transfer of OS-9 software rightsM&A

  Following Microware’s period as a RadiSys division, ownership of the OS-9 and related-software rights changed hands.

  What changed. A group of distributors purchased the rights on 1 March 2013 and operated under the Microware LP name.

  Aftermath. The Microware name continued to be used in connection with OS-9, although the available material does not establish the subsequent corporate scale or operating status.

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• 2001Sale of Microware to RadiSysM&A

  Microware had established an embedded-software business centered on OS-9 and related products.

  What changed. RadiSys Corporation acquired Microware Systems Corporation in September 2001 and integrated it as a division.

  Aftermath. Microware continued within RadiSys rather than operating as an independent corporation.

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• Shift from hobbyist computing toward embedded and industrial customersStrategy

  OS-9 developed an active hobbyist community on several Motorola-based microcomputers, but Microware increasingly concentrated its business on industrial and embedded-system users.

  What changed. The company prioritized commercial embedded applications and gave less attention to the hobbyist community that had been porting Unix software and utilities to OS-9.

  Aftermath. OS-9 became more strongly associated with industrial, embedded, and specialized electronics applications, while its earlier hobbyist ecosystem received less corporate focus.

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• 2013OS-9 rights transferred to Microware LP

  A group of distributors purchased the rights to Microware OS-9 and related software on 1 March 2013. The new owner operated under the Microware LP name.

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• 2001RadiSys acquires Microware Systems Corporation

  RadiSys Corporation acquired Microware Systems Corporation in September 2001. Microware subsequently operated as a division of RadiSys, bringing its OS-9 real-time operating-system technology into RadiSys’s embedded-computing business.

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1. Microware