Linux Devices and Open Hardware

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Dec 20, 2022

• Upgrading my old Chumby 8 Linux kernel part 1: U-Boot

  As I mentioned in my last post, I spent a good chunk of my spare time over the past 6 months working on a project I’ve been thinking about for over a decade. I bought a Chumby 8 in 2011. It’s an 8″ touchscreen device powered by the Marvell PXA166 processor. It is essentially a souped-up digital picture frame with extra capabilities like speakers, a microphone, and Wi-Fi. There are a bunch of little Flash-based “apps” you can install for stuff like pictures, music, sports scores, weather, games, etc. I have no idea how many of the apps still work these days. Chumby actually went out of business a few months after I bought mine, although one of the founders stepped up to keep the service running. A variant of this device was also created for Insignia, which was called the Infocast 8″ Internet Media Display.

• Open-Source, Reusable Software Stack Enables Real-Time Processing and Algorithm Development for CbM

  The CN0549 CbM platform provides system flexibility and a myriad of software resources to designers when developing their applications. A deep dive into the software stacks has been provided with discussions around how the different components can be leveraged for CbM and predictive maintenance (PdM) developments. Due to the openness of the software, HDL, schematics, and integrations with data science tools, designers can leverage the components they need for their end system throughout the entire stack. In summary, this condition monitoring design offers an easy to use out-of-the-box solution, complete with open-source software and hardware, to provide flexibility and allow designers to achieve better, customized results in less time.

• Acorn RiscPC: Upgrades Part 4

  What is likely the final batch of upgrades has arrived for my RiscPC. This is exciting stuff as I got some games running on it too. Let’s get into it.

• The Rough And Ready Guide To Getting Your RC2014 Pro Online

  Back in t’day (drops 20p in t’swear jar), before the advent of the Internet as we know it in its current form, computers talked to each other using BBS software and terminal programs. You dialled the remote machine, the modem on the other side would pick up and a conversation would ensue, machine to machine.

  The internet abstracted all this away, and we moved towards a model where your computer connected to an Internet Service Provider, and then all your traffic is routed over a global network of connected machines.

• Foreign manufacturers stop delivering ‘Russian’ Baikal and Elbrus microchips to Russia — Meduza

  The foreign producers of the nominally “Russian” Baikal and Elbrus CPUs have stopped delivering them to Russia.