Getting bored with all the Raspberry Pi mentions? I'll sum up several items in this message, which should clear out my backlog of saved Pi articles. -Tom
Raspberry Pi opens its ARM graphics code http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Raspberry-Pi-opens-its-ARM-graphics-code-1735262.html The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced that it is now able to open source the ARM code of the Raspberry Pi's graphics stack, giving the mini-computer a completely open source ARM-based software platform. ... The software to drive the GPU from the ARM side has been closed source since the project began, but now developers will be able to gain free access to that code and take full control of the graphics capability of the chip. The code being opened up under a BSD licence includes the implementations of EGL, OpenGL ES, OpenVG and OpenMax which use the vcihq kernel module to pass messages to the VideoCore of the chip. ... "It also enables the developers of FreeBSD, NetBSD, Haiku, Plan9, RiscOS and other OSes to get the libraries working on their Raspberry Pi ports and take advantage of the VideoCore's capabilities", added Bradbury. It isn't all open source though, as there is still firmware that is loaded onto the GPU itself at boot up. The firmware is released under a permissive licence but is still binary-only; Raspberry Pi Team Launches Pi Store http://linux.slashdot.org/story/12/12/17/1353255/raspberry-pi-team-launches-pi-store Raspberry Pi developer team has introduced the Pi store, a place to get software for Raspberry Pi... The team hopes that the store will become a one-stop-shop for Raspbian Pi users. The store already has 23 major applications available for users including LibreOffice and Asterisk. There are classic games like Freeciv and OpenTTD and Raspberry Pi exclusive Iridium Rising. Raspberry Pi Gets RISC OS, A 25-Year-Old System Made By The Wizards Of ARM http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/06/raspberry-pi-gets-risc-os-a-25-year-old-system-made-by-the-wizards-of-arm/ In 1987, as the first reduced instruction set computing (RISC) ARM chips hit the scene, programmers at Acorn Computers created RISC OS, a simple, 'co-operatively multi-tasked' OS designed for small computing environments. While it's no Linux, it's still a great way to get to know RISC computing and, more important, it boots fast and has a working GUI. Now, according to a post on Rasberrypi.org, it's available for download for all Pi users. Modular rack for four Raspberry Pis http://www.giaceccosdigitalcontraptionsimaginarium.com/post/34442735088/modular-rack-for-four-raspberry-pis-in-pcsl-adafruit I think the rack is built from Legos, which the article references, but doesn't explicitly state. The components don't look like recognizable Lego parts to me, but I'm not that familiar with what's in a modern Lego kit. The Pi's are individually housed in adafruit enclosures. I'd be more impressed with a card rack-style design, that held "raw" Pis. -Tom _______________________________________________ Hardwarehacking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/hardwarehacking
