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
- Hard to Find a Job After Working for Microsoft (Back Doors Giant, Bribery Hub)
- It generally looks like people who chose to serve Microsoft's agenda don't end up too well
- Altering Perceived Reality to Make It Seem Like Microsoft is Thriving, Not Failing
- pretend XBox did not die
- Confluent Insiders: IBM Laid Off Over 800 at Confluent, Not Just 800
- For the record, the layoffs at Confluent won't be over. After the bluewashing there will be "IBM RAs" impacting Confluent folks, aside from PIPs
- Where and How to Spot LLM Slop
- Many people correctly perceive LLMs as a site's downfall, a step towards the abyss
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- Links 26/03/2026: Tor Relay at National Taiwan Normal University, Copyright Hammers Fall
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 26/03/2026: "The War of the Worlds" and "sometimes science is just the dumbest thing"
- Links for the day
- The World Wide Bots
- The shape of the Web is so bad that bots exceed humans in some places
- Links 26/03/2026: Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Closes 101 Law Firms in 2 Years, "Please Compensate the Work You Appreciate"
- Links for the day
- Regaining Software Freedom Means Regaining Control Over Programs That Run on Our Devices
- Richard Stallman will speak in Italy
- Microsoft Secure Boot Removes Users' Choice
- Has Greenland banned Microsoft and 'secure' boot yet?
- IBM Pushes Workers Out, It Does Not Count Them as "Layoffs"
- The number of IBM layoffs can be as large as tens of thousands per year
- Microsoft Lost 31% Of Its Alleged "Value" in Five Months, Then It Got Downgraded
- In 2026 Microsoft focuses on keeping the layoffs silent
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 24 Out of 200: The Failed Effort by Brett Wilson LLP to Strike Out My Lawsuit and My Wife's Lawsuit Against Garrett (the Master Allowed Our Lawsuits to Proceed)
- This is lawfare
- Official New Figures Show That Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Sees Rise in Dishonesty Among Law Firms Forcibly Shut Down ('Euthanised' Due to Misconduct)
- It's rather if in our little country as many as 16 law firms were found to be so dishonest that they needed to be shut down
- Back to Normalcy
- In our datacentre at least
- IBM is "Increasing Its Temporary and Part-time Headcount" While Net Headcount Falls (Despite Buying Many Companies and Their Workforce)
- Headcount is a rather superficial yardstick.
- EPO Union Decides to Continue Industrial Actions, Next Strike in Four Days
- The latest strike had the highest participation rate
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 25, 2026
- IRC logs for Wednesday, March 25, 2026
- Microsoft's "Silent Layoffs" in Slop Clothing
- "AI-powered transformation" is just a euphemism for mass layoffs
- Public Talk by Richard Stallman in Half a Day "at the Engineering and Architecture Campus of Cesena of the University of Bologna"
- He'll probably attract a fairly large crowd
- Gemini Links 26/03/2026: Buying a House, Stargazing, OFFLFIRSOCH 2026
- Links for the day
- Links 25/03/2026: Nations Return to Russian Oil and Burning Wood
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 25/03/2026: Resisting Authoritarianism and Why Slop Needs to Go Away
- Links for the day
- Fedora Maintainer-ship Using Slop (Mistakes) Would Make Fedora Less Reliable
- It won't produce reliable code or stable systems one can rely upon
- IBM's "Legacy Employees" (Experienced Workers, IBM Management Dubs Them 'Dinobabies')
- This notion of "legacy employees" seems like something overlapping with "expensive" (well paid) staff, even if not entirely equivalent
- EPO's "Current Industrial Actions Are Likely to Intensify Further."
- There is another strike in 5 days
- This Morning The Register MS Published Slop Promotion With the Term "AI" 15 Times In It. The Register MS Was (As Usual) Paid to Do This
- This is not a serious publisher
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 23 Out of 200: We Were Right All Along (for 2 Years) About Third Party Funding and Willingness to 'Break the Bank' in Pursuit of "Revenge"
- How much damage can a person do to oneself in pursuit of cover-up of legitimate technical concerns?
- Gnome Foundation Inc is in Trouble
- the agenda is set GAFAM and IBM rather than donors
- Links 25/03/2026: Airports Further Militarised, "Slopification and Its Discontents", Microsoft 'Open' 'Hey Hi' Shutting Things Down
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 25/03/2026: Blogging Fright and Absolutely Useless 'Apps' Made by Slop Machines
- Links for the day
- Rise in Energy Prices Will Significantly Accelerate the Death of So-called "AI Companies"
- It should be noted that fake news about Microsoft OpenAI doubling workforce (mere words, not actions) can serve as a nice distraction from the death of Sora due to divestment
- It's Always a Question of Trust
- There's a widespread stigma of lawyers being manipulative and chronically dishonest
- Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Must More Carefully Investigate or Assess the Financial State of Law Firms in the UK
- We'll cover this in depth in the future
- GAFAM Mozilla Removes Theora Support, Now GNU Needs to Re-encode Videos
- Mozilla used to mean something to Free software advocates
- An Open Admission Profits Depend on Addiction
- Proprietary software tends to be like this
- IBM Americas President Ayman Antoun Comes to OpenText, Weeks Ahead the Mass Layoffs Begin
- Is that what IBM will be good at?
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
- IRC logs for Tuesday, March 24, 2026
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 22 Out of 200: When You Complain People Impersonate You in IRC (But You Yourself Impersonate People in IRC and Lock Them Out of Their IRC Handles)
- We'll cover this with direct evidence some time soon
- Gemini Links 24/03/2026: Junk Drawer Time Capsule and Building Outside Alire
- Links for the day
- Not Much LLM Slop About "Linux" Lately, It Only Ever Comes From the Same Few Sites
- As long as only few such sites use LLM slop we can skip and avoid them
- Links 24/03/2026: "Epic Lays Off Over 1000 Employees" and US in Financial Trouble According to the Fed
- Links for the day
- The "Media" Does Not Only 'Miss' Mass Layoffs
- "The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it"
- The Empty Suits of IBM Managers (NIH or "Nothing Invented Here")
- IBM's management adopted the business model of parasites
- 2012: 'Secure' (Microsoft-Controlled) Boot Has Not (Yet) Been Made Obligatory. 2026: systemd Has Not Implemented Age Verification
- should we stop calling "nazi" everyone we don't agree with?
- More Threats (Including Physical Threats) Against Us Are a Dumb Move
- It's like a "hit list" (targets list) and I shall keep the police duly informed
- New Example of Pentagon in "Feminist" Clothing Inside Fake News of Publishers Paid to Promote Outsourcing to US ("Clown Computing") and American Slop
- Google now pays money to promote Google as a friend of women
- Hating Techrights is a Career
- but is it good for civil society?
- Dr. Stallman’s Work Will Never be Considered 'Mainstream' Because He Rejects and Works Against the So-called 'Mainstream'
- Try to be more like Stallman
- The New Layoffs: 'Silent Layoffs', 'Secret Layoffs', 'Quiet Layoffs', 'Passive Layoffs' 'Stealth Layoffs', and Unannounced Layoffs Disguised as Return-to-Office (RTO Mandates)
- The US needs to revisit and fix the WARN Act
- EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part IX - Cocaine Addicts in Charge of the EPO Attacking Families of EPO Staff
- Things like being high-profile and being a serious drug addict aren't opposites
- What Feminism in Science Means (Codes of Conduct Don't Tackle the Real Issues)
- Universality matters, more so in a project or community that's said to build the "universal operating system" (Debian)
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 21 Out of 200: It's About Behaviour Online, Not How Much Money From Shadowy Third Parties Gets Spent on Lawyers and Two Barristers
- 75+ KG of legal papers, 2 cases, 2 barristers (one hiding in the metadata) and maybe two law firms (also hiding in the metadata) against two modest people in Manchester seems disproportionate and vindicative
- Links 24/03/2026: "Airports on ICE" and "Have You Paid Your “Intuit Tax”?"
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 24/03/2026: Slop Interview and Why Slop Makes Lousy Code
- Links for the day
- Richard Stallman to Give Public Talk This Thursday at the University of Bologna (Italy)
- Hardly the first time he speaks in Bologna
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 23, 2026
- IRC logs for Monday, March 23, 2026