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
- Layoffs in Twitter, Facebook, and Microsoft's LinkedIn
- There are silent layoffs at Microsoft this month
- We Don't Depend on Google and Don't Care for Google
- We have our own site search and we don't depend on Google to bring visits/visitors to us
- Facebook Layoffs Due to Enormous Debt, Nothing to Do With "Hey Hi" Slop
- The lies about "hey hi" in relation to layoffs will only contribute to further public resentment towards: 1) the media and 2) all the slop.
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- software in the public domain
- Reprinted with permission from Alex Oliva
- Links 15/03/2026: Slop "Bubble Driving Interest in Chip Alternatives" and Wildlife Erosion Reported
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 14, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, March 14, 2026
- Change of Address at the Hired Guns, Address Removed
- Companies tend to alter their 'shell structure' in anticipation of major action
- The Good IBM Managers Have Flown Away, All That's Left is the Book-Cooking Loyalists
- IBM is just cheating the SEC and shareholders. This seems to be the only thing IBM's management is nowadays good at.
- Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 12 Out of 200: Months Ahead of Serial Strangler From Microsoft Who Helped Double the Lawsuits (Funded by Third Parties) as 'Revenge' for Exposing Crimes
- In 2024 I sat down and wrote about what had been done to me and to my wife
- Crime Comes in Many Forms
- apparently the SRA is OK with stranglers of women in America bullying the media in the UK
- commandlinux.com, linuxteck.com, linuxiac.com, and linuxsecurity.com are Slopfarms With "Linux" in Their Domain Name
- once readers realise they read slop they immediately lose interest
- Links 14/03/2026: Adoption of Slop Has Killed BuzzFeed, Russia Sees "Economic Gain From Iran War"
- Links for the day
- Patriotism is Conditional, If It's Unconditional, Then It's Like a Cult
- My love for Software Freedom is only as strong as my love for Freedom of the Press
- Links 14/03/2026: Mass Layoffs at Facebook ('Meta') and Sweeping Layoffs at Twitter (xAI), Social Control Media and Slop Are Only Debt
- Links for the day
- Wrong Time, Wrong Place (Digg)
- Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian can relaunch Digg.com, but we doubt it'll work "this time for real!"
- Universities Became Bad Places for Work
- What happened to academia?
- Reporting New and Suppressed Information is What Journalism is All About
- In the domain of Free software, there are very few sites out there that offer exclusive coverage on community affairs and there are many gagging/censorship attempts
- The Limits of Speech and the Rationale of Limitations
- it seems to be part of an international trend
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 13, 2026
- IRC logs for Friday, March 13, 2026
- Gemini Links 14/03/2026: Goodness, AD534 Multiplier Module, and Extroverts Online
- Links for the day
- Atlassian Corp: We're Doing Layoffs Because of "Hey Hi"; Wall Street: Atlassian Corp is Just a Failing Business
- Don't ask "the media"
- Microsofters' SLAPP Censorship - Part 11 Out of 200: Cannot Censor His Spouse, Accusations Are Repeated Today
- He already has a history of threatening to sue gay people in America; he cannot take criticism too well
- Price of Storage, Price of Energy... What Next?
- EPO workers are going on strike because their salaries don't keep up with price increases and tech companies without connections in "the channel" face long delays, low availability, and high prices (no "bulk" purchases), which further solidifies monopolies.
- Don't Forget Red Hat's RTO (Return-to-office) Layoffs
- How many people still remember that Red Hat did the same thing?
- Reminder: Microsoft silent Layoffs by RTO (Commute Time and Lack of Comfort/Work Satisfaction) Already in Effect This Year
- It's difficult to measure how many employees have already "left on their own" due to the RTO policy
- Founder of IBM Ventures Has Just Quit IBM
- Some people leave IBM and many people 'leave' IBM
- Signs of Impeding Mass Layoffs - Not Just Quiet Layoffs - at Microsoft
- Beneath the surface there are waves of layoffs and even entire teams are let go
- Career Science and Academia as Corporate Propaganda 'on Tap'
- article about surveillance
- Veteran GNU/Linux Journalist Jack Wallen Tries Geminispace and Likes It
- It'll turn 7 some time soon
- Scheduled Maintenance Tonight
- There will be similar work early next week
- "Alternative to Microsoft Office" Must Use Free/Open Standards/Formats for Real Sovereignty
- It would make sense for the EU to invest in its own workers and its own software projects, more so now that there are hostile countries both to the east and to the west
- IBM Has No Clue How to Integrate Companies Like Red Hat
- IBM is failing to respect this company's culture
- Fake Articles From Sites With "Linux" in Their Name/Domain Name
- we can at least hope that linuxteck.com made a decision to quit slop
- Links 13/03/2026: New US Weapons for Taiwan, Pakistan Air Strikes Hit Kabul
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 13/03/2026: Exhaustion and Smartphone Addiction
- Links for the day
- Friday the 13th & Debian Developers afraid to nominate in DPL elections
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Links 13/03/2026: Chatbot "Pentagon Contract" (Bailout) and Secret Service Ditches Slop Pusher
- Links for the day
- When Everybody Has a Right/Access to An Attorney/Lawyer (But Some Get Funding From Malicious American Corporations to Spend a Million Dollars on Many Lawyers and Several Barristers)
- And send about 75 KG of legal papers to the residence of the "opponent"
- European Qualifying Examination (EQE) Being Reduced to Pieces of Papers One Can Buy, Patent System Rapidly Losing Its Legitimacy
- Welcome to the "new Europe"
- Priorities in 2026
- 2026 is an interesting year
- Willis Towers Watson (WTW) Producing More Propaganda for EPO "Cocaine Communication Managers"
- The Local Staff Committee The Hague (LSCTH) has this new paper about Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and its annual EPO-sponsored propaganda, pretending all is well when things are clearly dire
- Head of Microsoft Office and Microsoft 360 is Leaving Microsoft Amid Problems and Mass Layoffs
- Microsoft is like a "legacy" company
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, March 12, 2026
- IRC logs for Thursday, March 12, 2026
- Gemini Links 13/03/2026: "Someone to Take Over Antenna" and Random Seed/RNG
- Links for the day