8-bit TCP/IP stack for your washing machine

joabj writes, “Hitachi and a company called LiveDevices are working on a real-time 8 bit kernel and TCP stack that could be used in microcontrollers for consumer devices. Evidently the thing that has held appliance makers back in the past from making their toasters and blenders and washing machines Internet ready has been the cost of the 32-bit chips needed to implement the TCP/IP stack. So these two companies have produced on a kernel and TCP/IP stack that works in the 8 bit format. The OS is free, though the SDK for this OS–called Realogy Real-Time Architect–costs $3500. Also, many add-ons are available for a fee such as FTP, DNS and e-mail clients. EE Times has the story here.”