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
- (Live-)Stream of Richard Stallman's Latest Talk in Europe (No Longer Live)
- The latest public talk and Live-Streamed schedule were announced early on for the public to know about
- Richard Stallman is Already in India, Giving Talks About Microsoft Chaffbots and More
- he's already giving some talks in India
- Drunk on Chatbots, LinuxSecurity.com Spews Out More LLM Slop About "Wine"
- They just keep googlebombing "Linux" and "Security" using slop
- Gemini Links 24/01/2025: The "Hey Hi" Hype Continues Fading, Tesla/X/Twitter/SpaceX Associate With Nazism
- Links for the day
- Robbery at the European Patent Office (EPO), Office Staff as 'Prisoners'
- publication from the Central Staff Committee, dated yesterday
- Techrights in 0.036 Seconds
- Combining Gemini and HTTP/S, yesterday we served an impressive number of requests
- BetaNews Run by Plagiarism Bots That Googlebomb (for SEO) "Linux"
- Google rewards and thus encourages plagiarism
- IBM Titles Considered Worthless and Many IBM 'Fellows' Are Vanishing (Also: IBM Staff Inside Linux Attacks the Rights of Computer Users for Recognition or Rewards Like "Distinguished Engineer")
- James Bottomley is still "a Distinguished Engineer at IBM"
-
- Rumour of IBM 'Bloodbath' in Clown Computing
- Performance Improvement Plans mean one step ahead or before layoffs
- Dr. Andy Farnell: "Richard Stallman Chose to Stand For the Rights of People to Use Technology as They Wish. He Chose Freedom Instead of Riches."
- Keeping busy in public transport
- Gemini Links 24/01/2025: Drehgriffel, Computer Science and Capitalism
- Links for the day
- Microsoft Lost a Ton of Market Share in Web Servers Last Month (the Last Month of 2024) and Massive Losses Continue in 2025, Shows New Report
- Microsoft down sharply
- Microsoft (Nick Vidal) and Co-opting "Open Future" With Microsoft-led "Open Source AI Definition" (Openwashing LLM Slop and GPL Violations)
- Microsoft is tainting all sorts of groups via the OSI
- Microsoft, IBM, and Front Groups That Advance Racism for Profit
- IBM has profited a lot from racism and it still does
- FOSDEM and 'No Nazis'
- the issue isn't wealth but principles
- Gemini Links 24/01/2025: "Social" Control Media is Unsatisfying; An Old Call for a Gemini Without TLS
- Links for the day
- [Meme] Levels of Outrage
- Apparently it's hip for criminals to leverage "the law" to silence their exposers
- Links 24/01/2025: Earthquake, Landslide, and Official Implicated in Airplane With Landing Gear Issues (Boeing Plane) "Found Dead"
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 23, 2025
- IRC logs for Thursday, January 23, 2025
- CDN Giant: Microsoft Bing and Skype Collapsed Since the LLM Hype, Same as Other Metrics Show
- No wonder Microsoft managers suffer anxiety and there are several waves of layoffs even on the same month
- Gemini Links 23/01/2025: Experience With Outer Wilds and Gifting a Site
- Links for the day
- Slopwatch: Fake 'Articles' About Linux by Brian Fagioli and by Brittany Day in BetaNews and linuxsecurity.com (LLM Slop Sites That Are Online Leeches or SEO Operations Working Against Free Software Journalism)
- Two new examples for today
- Links 23/01/2025: More Overt Constitutional Violations and "TikTok Executive Order" (White Flag to CCP)
- Links for the day
- Status of New Year's Resolutions
- 3 weeks later
- "The AI Bubble is Popping", Now It's Bailout Time
- The hype will quietly fizzle, just like "blockchains"
- [Meme] When the Government of the Netherlands Participates in Your Crimes It Lacks an Incentive to Hold You Accountable for Crimes
- the EPO's corrupt management boasted (on television) that it would ignore rulings against it even if issued by the highest Dutch court
- Links 23/01/2025: US Constitution Already Besieged (Impeachable Offences Pile Up), Arrest Warrant for Assad
- Links for the day
- Microsoft's Head of Business Development Quits (Days After Two Large Waves of Mass Layoffs)
- We recently learned that people close to the management are very stressed this month
- [Meme] Reliable Sources
- Sooner or later LLMs swallow up their own lies (that they generated), which means that over time those things will only deteriorate further, exacerbating an already-large misinformation pandemic
- BetaNews Plagiarising Work in the Linux Space
- The originals won't even be listed
- Gemini Links 23/01/2025: US Politics and DevOps Career
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
- IRC logs for Wednesday, January 22, 2025
- Links 22/01/2025: Jeju Air Blame-Shifting (Talk to the Wall), Copyright Maximalism Rebounds
- Links for the day
- [Meme] The 'Garbage in, Garbage Out' Patent Office
- "law of the buzzword"
- Clueless and Nontechnical EPO Management Uses the 'Great Scam' (Hey Hi Hype) to Justify Automation Where It's Both Detrimental and Illegal
- The EPC has been practically set aflame; thus, the EPO has no legitimacy or reason to exist anymore
- Links 22/01/2025: Democratising Tech Initiative and "Bye Bye Meta"
- Links for the day
- The Japanese translation of the term "free software"
- by Akira Urushibata
- Links 22/01/2025: "The AI Bubble Is Bursting" and Microsoft's Scam Altman is Already Looking for De Facto Bailout From the Insurrectionist
- Links for the day
- Dr. Andy Farnell's Latest Article About Software Freedom and Richard Stallman
- why Dr. Stallman is being picked on
- Geminispace (Gemini Protocol) Offers an Escape From Social Control Networks Owned by Oligarchs and Governments
- Gemini capsules that promote fascism and retreat to feudalism are rare and scarce
- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has Formally Added an Outreach and Communications Coordinator
- Maybe the addition happened last year (we mentioned it in passing), but now it's in the "rota"
- Electronic Frontier Foundation: Fighting 'for the Poor and Powerless' While Taking Home $336,000 in Annual Salary
- nowadays works for or serves not the interests of the masses
- Of Note: The Misguided, Infiltrated, Weakened Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Now Operating at a Loss of Over a Million Dollars
- Worst since the COVID-19 lockdowns
- Free Software Foundation's Miriam Bastian: We Surpassed Our Year-end Goal of $400,000 USD Thanks to You!
- Miriam Bastian: We surpassed our year-end goal of $400,000 USD!
- [Meme] Omit Microsoft When It's a Scandal or a Breach, Whereupon It Becomes Just an 'IT Company'
- Microsoft is like a cult. Members of this cult promote the opposite of security, expecting to be financially rewarded for it.
- Calling Out Windows (TCO) is Apparently Impermissible in Some News Sites
- The online news sites are failing us (and corporate sponsors play a role)
- Richard Stallman's Remarks on His Pain
- Published two days ago
- Focusing on the Issues
- we'll do our best to find the news and not talk about "Mr. T"
- Only About 3.6% of Web Users in Pakistan Use Vista 11, According to statCounter
- It's not hard to see why so far in 2025 Microsoft has already had several waves of mass layoffs - more than any other company
- Rumour: In IBM, Impending "25% Reduction in Finance Roles"
- 25% to be laid off?
- [Meme] Fake Articles From linuxsecurity.com (Just Googlebombing "Linux" With LLM Slop)
- Google should really just entirely delist that site
- RedHat.com Written by Microsoft Staff, Promoting Microsoft' Proprietary Software That Does Not Even Run on Linux!
- This is RedHat.com this week...
- Links 22/01/2025: Mass Layoffs at Stripe, Microsoft's Illegal Accounting Practices Under Scrutiny
- Links for the day
- Fake 'Article' by Brittany Day (Guardian Digital, Inc) About Linux Mint 22.1 'Xia'
- Apparently they've convinced themselves that this is OK
- Red Hat Dumps "Inclusive Language", Puts "Master" In Official Communications and Headlines
- Red Hat: you CANNOT say "master" (because it is racist). Also Red Hat: we put in it our headlines.
- Red Hat Offers DRM, TPM, and Backed Doored 'Confidential' Containers (CoCo) for Microsoft (Proprietary Spyware)
- No kidding!
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 21, 2025
- IRC logs for Tuesday, January 21, 2025