Open Hardware and Linux Devices
-
Open Hardware/Modding
-
Ken Shirriff ☛ Talking to memory: Inside the Intel 8088 processor's bus interface state machine
In 1979, Intel introduced the 8088 microprocessor, a variant of the 16-bit 8086 processor. IBM's decision to use the 8088 processor in the IBM PC (1981) was a critical point in computer history, leading to the success of the x86 architecture. The designers of the IBM PC selected the 8088 for multiple reasons, but a key factor was that the 8088 processor's 8-bit bus was similar to the bus of the 8085 processor.1 The designers were familiar with the 8085 since they had selected it for the IBM System/23 Datamaster, a now-forgotten desktop computer, making the more-powerful 8088 processor an easy choice for the IBM PC.
-
Dan Q ☛ 5 Cool Apps for your Unraid NAS
I was chatting this week to a colleague who was considering getting a similar setup, and he seemed to be taking notes of things he might like to install, once he’s got one. So I figured I’d round up five of my favourite things to install on an Unraid NAS that:
1. Don’t require any third-party accounts (low dependencies),
2. Don’t need any kind of high-powered hardware (low specs), and
3. Provide value with very little set up (low learning curve).
-
Arduino ☛ This Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect-powered flute blows your PC’s mouse away
For this project, Six went with an Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect because it not only supports USB HID functionality, but is also fast enough to determine frequencies based on the input from the board’s onboard PDM microphone. The program running on the Nano RP2040 Connect works by initializing the microphone and a YIN-based library, which finds the fundamental frequency from an array of samples. From here, the Nano RP2040 continuously reads new samples from the microphone and passes them to the algorithm before getting back the result and a confidence value.
-
Old VCR ☛ Virtualizing the 6502 with 6o6 (and The Incredible KIMplement goes 1.0)
Okay, promises, promises. Here's the first of my bucket list projects I'm completing which I've intermittently worked on for literally two decades. Now that I've finally shaken out more bugs, tuned it up and cleaned it off, it's time to let people play with the source code.
-
Tom's Hardware ☛ Raspberry Pi storybook uses Hey Hi (AI) to create stories with pictures on its eInk display
Thomas Valadez is using a Raspberry Pi to create stories and pictures with a little help from open-source Hey Hi (AI) tools.
-
Hackaday ☛ The Z80 Is Dead. Long Live The Free Z80!
It’s with a tinge of sadness that we and many others reported on the recent move by Zilog to end-of-life the original Z80 8-bit microprocessor. This was the part that gave so many engineers and programmers their first introduction to a computer of their own. Even though now outdated its presence has been a constant over the decades. Zilog will continue to sell a Z80 derivative in the form of their eZ80, but that’s not the only place the core can be found on silicon. [Rejunity] is bringing us an open-source z80 core on real hardware, thanks of course to the TinyTapeout ASIC project. The classic core will occupy two tiles on the upcoming TinyTapeout 7. While perhaps it’s not quite the same as a real 40-pin DIP in your hands, like all of the open-source custom silicon world, it’s as yet early days.
-
CNX Software ☛ Olimex ESP32-POE2 board offers up to 25W for power-intensive applications
The Bulgarian hardware manufacturer, Olimex, has designed a new ESP32 board with Power over Ethernet (PoE) functionality. The Olimex ESP32-POE2 board builds on the original ESP32-POE and features the same ESP32-WROOM-32 microcontroller module with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. However, it supports up to 25W power delivery from the Ethernet port via PoE and can be used in more demanding projects. The Olimex ESP32-POE2 board features a low-power design and consumes only 200µA in deep sleep mode.
-
-
Devices/Embedded
-
Linux Gizmos ☛ LILYGO New T-Panel S3 Lite with 4” LCD and Wireless Connectivity
The T-Panel Lite by LILYGO is a compact ESP32S3-based development board designed for makers and hobbyists who are interested in creating IoT projects with a visual display component. This user-friendly tool provides a rich set of features packed into a small form factor with Arduino and MicroPython support.
-
Linux Gizmos ☛ Holybro Integrates Pixhawk and NVIDIA Jetson into Advanced Flight Controller Baseboard
Holybro recently introduced the Pixhawk Jetson Baseboard, designed for autonomous vehicle systems. This compact baseboard seamlessly integrates the capabilities of both Pixhawk and NVIDIA Jetson platforms, making it ideal for developers and researchers focused on advanced robotics and unmanned vehicles.
-