Hardware News: Freedom, Modding, Hackability on the Rise
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-04-14 08:44:38 UTC
- Modified: 2014-04-14 08:54:03 UTC
ARM
ARM Compiler 6 is beginning to use the LLVM/Clang compiler.
Velocity of open source Clang and LLVM combined with the stability of commercial products improve code quality, performance and power efficiency on ARM processors
With the release of Compiler 6 today, ARM moves from a proprietary architecture to one based on open sourced Clang/LLVM. Although there is going to be a lot contributed back the greater DS-5 Ultimate Edition are initially not going to be as fully open as SemiAccurate would like.
UK microprocessor-design company ARM has decided to move to an open-source compiler for the latest release of its software development tools, moving away from its own technology.
Raspberry Pi
Seven tutorials for seven days as we take you from Pi beginner to Raspberry Pro, and we also show you how to develop Android apps with Python in Linux User issue 138
Soon, there could be Pi in just about any device that needs embedded computing power. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced a new version of the Raspberry Pi platform that is aimed at a whole new class of devices and applications. Called the Raspberry Pi Compute Module, the new product puts all of the Pi’s core functionality onto a small board the size of a laptop memory module, allowing it to be plugged in to custom-built hardware.
As we've reported many times, the diminutive $25/$35 Linux computer dubbed Raspberry Pi has emerged as one of the biggest open source stories anywhere over the past couple of years. It's attracted all kinds of developers and tinkerers, is now running many different flavors of Linux, and there is even now a supercomputer consisting of many Pi devices lashed together with Lego pieces. In some of the more exotic new applications for Raspberry Pi, it's being used in music, robotics and security scenarios.
The compute module contains the guts of a Raspberry Pi (the BCM2835 processor and 512Mbyte of RAM) as well as a 4Gbyte eMMC Flash device (which is the equivalent of the SD card in the Pi). This is all integrated on to a small 67.6x30mm board which fits into a standard DDR2 SODIMM connector (the same type of connector as used for laptop memory*). The Flash memory is connected directly to the processor on the board, but the remaining processor interfaces are available to the user via the connector pins. You get the full flexibility of the BCM2835 SoC (which means that many more GPIOs and interfaces are available as compared to the Raspberry Pi), and designing the module into a custom system should be relatively straightforward as we’ve put all the tricky bits onto the module itself.
With the new Compute Module, the Foundation manages to pack the Raspberry Pi’s SoC with 512MB of memory and 4GB of storage onto a board the size of your standard DDR2 laptop memory. The Compute Module is seen above to the left of the standard PI unit. It's not entirely a size thing here though, the company is looking to offer a more universal version of the system, stuffing it on a board with a much more standard connector. This will allow developers to implement the system in whatever way they want as opposed to being tied to the traditional Pi I/O.
Qualcomm
Qualcomm revealed 20nm, 64-bit Snapdragon SoCs featuring Cortex-A57 and –A53 CPU cores, 4K video encoding, LTE Advanced, DDR4 RAM, and more.
Qualcomm announced this morning their next-generation 64-bit processors for what they hope yields "the ultimate connected mobile computing experiences" with a ton of new features and capabilities.
This is all done at 20nm compared to Beast’s 45nm and about 100 watts less power waste. I probably wouldn’t even have a fan to annoy me, not on the PSU, and not on the CPU. Beast’s replacement will likely be just big enough to hold a few hard drives or SSDs. Qualcomm will ship in 2014, probably just in time for Christmas.
Development
Embedded Linux Pioneer Launches Yocto Project-Based Linux BSPs for Boards in the Freescale Vybrid Controller Solutions Ecosystem
Habey unveiled a tiny, open-spec, Freescale i.MX6-based SBC that runs Ubuntu and Android, and features stackable daughter boards, PoE, and wing extensions.
Mainline Linux kernel support enables ease of migration by providing consistent access to new devices and the latest features
Open Hardware
For more advanced robots, there will be other available parts such as an infrared distance sensor. TinkerBots’ use of the Arduino-compatible micro-controller platform enables older enthusiasts to dabble in programming (C) for their TinkerBots creations.
I bought an Arduino Mega and started putting together the custom electronics in the form of a daughter board (Arduino calls them "shields"). However, it needed to be a standalone unit, so what could I do for user interfacing to the Mega that was flexible? Touch screens.
Novena
At 8-years old, Andrew "Bunnie" Huang appreciated the fact that his Apple II came with schematics and source code because it allowed him to figure out how it worked.
Andrew “Bunnie” Huang lists a bunch of reasons why you’ll want his open-source laptop, the Novena. You can modify it yourself so that its battery will last however long you want it to. You can inspect the software to see if there’s any present from the National Security Agency. And you don’t have to pay a tax to any big corporation just because you want to do some computing.
In a post-Edward Snowden’s disclosure world, where people and companies are seriously exploring options to keep their digital data and communication secure from NSA (or other illegitimate) snooping, here’s some good news.
Project Novena is alive and kicking, promising to bring you the world’s “almost” fully open source laptop. And it doesn’t just have open source software, but open source hardware. Hardware with open designs for anyone to manufacture and implement as they deem fit.
Hackers Bunnie Huang and Sean “xobs” Cross have launched a fundraiser for their open source laptop, the Novena. It looks very different from its prototype, but the idea behind it remains the same: a computer with transparent and easily modifiable hardware and software.
Mods
The last time I wrote about the best hacks available for a board, I had so much to choice between; now instead, writing about Arduino Yún and all of its best hacks, it was difficult to me to find really good projects, because the platform is so young. While Raspberry Pi had a strong community, Arduino Yún is still growing up.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- It Has Cost $215,000 in Legal Costs to Sue IBM for Wrongful Termination
- IBM typically settles out of court and demands secrecy (to avoid anyone else benefiting from the very expensive outcome)
- The PIPs or 'Voluntary Termination Offers' Help IBM Fake Its Situation
- "IBM is not a tech company"
- General Assembly Covers EPO Strikes on Thursday, September 17th (2026)
- The EPO's staff representation at The Hague has asked people to join an upcoming online session about industrial actions
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- LG Lies to Cover Up Lies About Its Spying TVs (It Records and Transmits Conversations in Rooms)
- This is what a lot of "modern" technology is like
- Oracle's Debt Continues to Soar (Increase of 60 Billion Dollars in 15 Months, Not Counting the Secret Debt, With Off-balance-sheet Debt Having "Grown Roughly Thirtyfold in Four Years")
- Oracle debt continues to grow
- Apple's iOS and macOS Measured as Bigger Than Windows in the US, Linux-Based OSes at Almost 30%
- Expect the silent layoffs at Microsoft to continue at a rapid pace
- Oracle, Like Microsoft, Drowns in Debt and Discards Tens of Thousands of Staff (Microsoft Does the Same More Discreetly)
- The main difference between Microsoft and Oracle is that the latter is honest about what's going on
- Gemini Links 14/09/2026: First Android Phone, Leaving Sony, and Rant About Gemini-to-HTTP Proxy Providers
- Links for the day
- Links 14/09/2026: "Scam Altman Now Trying to Gain Control of Electric Grid" and Sweden Moving to the Right
- Links for the day
- Vista 11 Flunked
- Microsoft cannot start a "Vista 12" campaign as it would only make matters worse
- Microsoft Urgently Needs Distraction: There's No "Next XBox", But There's a New Boot Screen (Like 'Dark Mode', a Feature That Can be Implemented in Mere Minutes/Hours)
- Anything to distract from XBox fiasco
- IBM Flying Away to Sweatshops (So Will Red Hat)
- Even on Sunday people post about 'leaving' IBM
- RFID Ambitions Already Established by Widespread Skinnerbox Adoption
- A society that cannot maintain privacy for those who deserve it will not manage to assure dignity of citizens
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 183 Out of 200: What Actually Happened Two Months Ago (Based on People Who Attended)
- It's dangerous to assert what happened in a hearing you did not attend (there was no video stream or recording, either)
- Phil Harvey, an Editor-in-Chief in a B2B Site, Explains Why ChannelFutures (Connected to TechTarget) and Other Sites That Used to Cover Linux Deleted Many Articles
- Every old article in channelfutures is gone!
- Software Freedom Day 2026 is 5 Days From Now, Fresh Reminder to Boycott Proprietary Software
- Let this be a timely reminder of why people should avoid proprietary software
- Links 14/09/2026: Slop Hardly Used for Actual Work (Chatbots Are for Lonely People), Slop Bots (Scrapers, Plagiarism) "Are Thirsty for Power"
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 14/09/2026: Trip, Hiding, and OCR
- Links for the day
- IBM PIPs Are Layoffs (RAs Come Later Even If You Satisfy the "Performance" and "Plan")
- Notice how "the media" almost never mentions silent layoffs, as if just because they're silent, there's nothing to investigate, nothing to see there
- Slop Companies Engage in Plagiarising the Web, Now They Pay People to Contaminate the Web With Their Lies
- Remember that the lawfare against us is funded by slop salaries!
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 13, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, September 13, 2026
- Microsoft is Laying Off All Year Long (It's Just Keeping Quiet About It)
- The issue here is also the media. It's complicit.
- MElon's Twitter Takeover Was Meant to Amplify People Like Himself or David Heinemeier Hansson (Slop Pyramid Schemes and Bigotry)
- Social control media is not neutral
- Microsoft Lunduke of 'Linux Sucks' (and Microsoft Corp.) Tries to Replace GNU/Linux With Toxic Discussions About Toxic Politics
- Poisoning the well people drink from
- Links 13/09/2026: Republican Campaign Aide Uses Nazi Photo and Convicted Felon is Wielding Power to Stifle Speech
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 13/09/2026: Never Settling, Plain Text Digital Life, and Newsgroups
- Links for the day
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 182 Out of 200: UK Dockets With Machine-Generated Applications to the Court (From American Slop Companies)
- Earlier this year Garrett was using machine-generated output as legal papers and submissions
- Efforts to Cancel Matt Mullenweg Have Made Us More Sympathetic Towards Mullenweg and More Sceptical of the People Who Run Automattic (Named After Mullenweg)
- Mullenweg, unlike Automattic, is not "in it for the money"
- Boosters of Omarchy Are No 'Underdogs'
- There are many Arch derivatives that do not rely on "viral" marketing in MElon's child porn-pushing social control media and are instead relying on real development, not slop
- PIPs Are a Setup: They Set Workers Up to Fail While Working Their Arse Off Before Getting Kicked (Out) in the Arse
- Malicious and exploitative
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 181 Out of 200: This is Really More Like Brett Wilson LLP v Schestowitz (Using Money From American Slop Companies, Plagiarism Pushers)
- We approach the parts where we explain that the Application to the Court with Garrett's name on it was instead complaining about fair criticism of the combative law firm (irrelevant to any injunctions) as if it was impermissible to explain what it had done - and still does - to my wife and I
- It Sometimes Feels Like Slop Companies Are Committing Online/Digital Crimes
- "GPT" out of control
- Gemini Links 13/09/2026: Why Omarchy is "Plain Disgusting" and "AI Slop" and Why "Plain Text To Do List" Rocks
- Links for the day
- Links 13/09/2026: Scam Altman Admits Issues (Financial), Rival Says Stop Slop (Plagiarism)
- Links for the day
- Windows Down to New Lows as Switzerland's Federal Government Abandons Microsoft (Where Feasible for Now)
- That's how it starts...
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 12, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, September 12, 2026
- Televisions Have Become Billboards
- Bottom line: you get what you pay for
- Mass Layoffs at Microsoft as "Voluntary Separation Agreement" (or PIP)
- the man who kept lying about the layoffs has just left the company
- The Cyber Show on Media Clickbait About Slop as 'Existential Threat' and Derek Thompson's Response to That
- Ignore the hype, focus on real news
- Links 12/09/2026: "Revolt Is Here" Against Slop and "Top Chinese Court" Cracks Down on Slop That's Fake/Misleading
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 12/09/2026: Rants About Slop, Switching From QWERTY, and Why TVs Are 'Cheap'
- Links for the day
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 180 Out of 200: A Third Act, (Mis)Using Your Client's Application to the Court for Your Own Purposes as a Law Firm (Reputation Management and Censorship)
- How much can a lawfare firm get away with?
- Canonical Has Withdrawn Ubuntu 24.04.5 Installer Due to a Critical Bug Connected to Microsoft-Controlled Restricted Boot and TPM
- already breaking systems running GNU/Linux [...] Who asked for TPM in Linux?
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 179 Out of 200: Using One's Clients to Save Face at Their Expense
- Who's being served really?
- Switzerland's Software Freedom/Digital Sovereignty is Improving as People Move to GNU/Linux
- Well done to them
- Links 12/09/2026: "U.S. Debt Surpasses $40 Trillion" and "Trump Wants to [Illegally] Bribe Voters."
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 12/09/2026: Readjusting, Fighting Sleep, and FreeBSD bhyve
- Links for the day
- Matt Mullenweg Got the 'Linus Treatment' or 'RMS Treatment'
- "back, but not in charge any more..."
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 11, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, September 11, 2026