for those people who are interested, i've sent an update to
crowdsupply and another one today about shenzen.
joe, you're right: internet connectivity between china and the rest of
the world is massively-truncated. the effect is quite dramatic and
goes a long way to explaining the entire economic situation here.
businesses can't do business, basically.
have found some parts suppliers, they're documented here
http://rhombus-tech.net/suppliers/shenzen/
---
crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68
It would be great to have a housing for the EOMA68 that is of a similar
form factor to one of these devices:
- DragonBox Pyra [1]
- Openbox Pandora [2]
- HTC Universal [3]
or even:
- HTC Dream [4]
That is, an enclosure that can fit in a pocket, and has:
- Hardware QWERTY keyboard
- Touchscreen (resistive, ideally) that opens out from the keyboard
- TRRS audio I/O
- USB OTG
Something like a miniature tablet PC, essentially.
Bonus points if it is also "ruggedized": waterproof, shockproof, etc.
Likewise if it incorporates a trackpoint or similar, for using the mouse
cursor without needing to touch the screen.[5]
Goes without saying that it should be licensed as a Free Cultural
Work[6], i.e. under GPLv3 or suchlike.
Why would it be great? Well, traditionally, people using a PDA had to
synchronise their information between their desktop or laptop and the
PDA, e.g. via a cable or IrDA[7] or Bluetooth. Now lots of people do
this via "the cloud", but that just means going via someone else's
computers, so unless that system is implemented on a zero-knowledge
basis using client-side encryption basis, then whoever else's computers
are being used also gets to see the information. That might be really
private stuff, like contacts and appointments and correspondence. With
EOMA68, that problem would be solved: while out and about where a laptop
would be too bulky but a PDA wouldn't, just have the EOMA68 card in the
PDA housing. When at a desk, put it in the desktop or laptop housing. No
need to sync!
That means:
- No loss of privacy
- Less need for energy-intensive data centres
- No need to have two computers when one would do (less e-waste)
- No worries about race conditions due to data getting updated on
desktop and PDA before syncing.
- No headaches, essentially!
Is anyone working on such an enclosure and PCB?
spk
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonbox_Pyra
[2]
https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/the-day-the-pandora-goes-even-more…
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Universal
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Dream
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4t9Ys8wI6k#t=4m45s
[6] http://freedomdefined.org/
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_Data_Association
apologies i believe it may actually be better for me to try using GPRS
here in shenzen, it would be faster and more reliable. i will try to
find ways to get better connections.
l.
---
crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68
Hi. I'm making a C++ game engine and interested in supporting the A20
board. I wonder what features are available there. What's the gcc/g++
version? Is there a std::uint64_t type defined? Can it do 64 bit
floating point?
ok apologies i haven't much time/energy to deal with this one, so am
asking a huge favour / volunteer to recreate the prototype bumper
sticker that i put together. ideally it should be an SVG. this is
from chris:
I've used this site for bumper stickers before and liked them (the
people behind it have a freedom-oriented slant too which is neat):
https://thebumpersticker.com/shop/stickers/vinyl-stickers/
I would suggest the following:
Material: White Vinyl
Shape: Rectangle
Height: 3 inches
Width: 9 inches
now, i'd very much like to add some words at the top just above the
main image: "It's R/Evolution, baby" or something equally ridiculous.
any suggestions welcome - the more ridiculous or cheesy the better.
nothing crude or derogatory!
l.
---
crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68
well, i signed up for the gamechangers go course that my friend
informed me about. the course is specifically targetted to encourage
people to use wisdom and integrity in their purpose, with the primary
focus being on "changing the game" in their chosen field. it sounded
perfect, and exactly what i need, so i signed up. the cost is $3,000
and i have negotiated payment of that over 12 months, or until such
time as i raise sufficient income from sources *not* related to the
crowd-funding campaign (which presently total around GBP 700 and there
is more on the way).
the first assignment is here (discussion online took place at 5:30am
this morning...) and was around the following:
http://gcgo.lkcl.net/2016_course/prompt_1/
and my response (which you are all invited to comment on) is here:
http://gcgo.lkcl.net/2016_course/prompt_1/lkcl/
now, as the course is *defined* as "encouraging its participants to
act with integrity and wisdom in their chosen game-changing life
purpose", i was a leeetle bit surprised when, without any discussion,
consultation or consent, my inbox was flooded with signup demands for
proprietary privacy-violating services, accompanied by a message that
all communications forthwith regarding the course would henceforth
take place exclusively through the same.
oink.
a series of increasingly-specific communications with the organisers
was therefore escalated, and the proprietary SaaSS subscriptions
cancelled (for me). i have therefore set an assignment for the
organisers of the course, for them to provide satisfactory answers for
both myself and for you. you are therefore invited to participate in
the discussion of the questions raised (please do not edit them
yourself):
http://gcgo.lkcl.net/2016_course/organisers_prompt_1/discussion/
where the background and questions for the organisers are here:
http://gcgo.lkcl.net/2016_course/organisers_prompt_1/
the purpose of writing that to the organisers should be fairly clear.
any questions feel free to raise them here (or in the discussion as
appropriate)
l.
---
crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68
http://www.rhombus-tech.net/community_ideas/laptop_15in/news/EOMA68_Libre_1…
quite a long video in this one, where i'm going over the component
selection, component placement, knock-on effect on the casework and so
on. i'm going to need some help with the schematics on this one, as
there is quite a lot that needs to be integrated and double-checked,
especially the GPIO: all these ICs weren't really designed to be put
together, they don't have proper IO VREF inputs (unlike e.g. the
SN75LVDS83b or many of the I2C EEPROMs), they're Open-Drain and to be
honest i really don't get it how things that are 1.8v, or 3.3v, or
blah-blah voltage are supposed to work.
so i need some help here! the schematics as a PDF have been
auto-generated, and are at
http://hands.com/~lkcl/eoma/laptop_15in/pcb3/
l.
---
crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68
I am still new to this community, and am more of a lurker than a
contributor.
Many of the projects I am interested in have a code of conduct of some
kind, typically based on the Contributor Covenant[0]. If they are
well-written and proportionate, I find them welcoming. And I,
correspondingly, welcome them. Not because anything especially terrible
has happened to me in such communities, but because it would send a
clear message that nothing terrible should happen to me or to anyone
else as a result of participating, and that were such to happen, it
would not be tolerated lightly.
I searched this mailing list's archive, the Rhombus Tech wiki, and the
elinux.org wiki, for evidence of a code of conduct.
Happily, the elinux.org wiki does effectively have a code of conduct:
http://elinux.org/ELinuxWiki:Policies_%26_Guidelines
However, neither the arm-netbook mailing list nor the Rhombus Tech wiki
has one, as far as I can see.
Does anyone else here think it would be, on balance, a good idea to
adopt a Code of Conduct, perhaps based on the Contributor Covenant[0],
for some combination of: this mailing list; the Rhombus Tech wiki?
I would welcome concise responses in this thread, ideally formatted
along the lines:
"""
- arm-netbook list: yes.
- Rhombus Tech wiki: yes.
"""
I would, personally, *not* welcome receiving supporting arguments for
your position, for the following reasons:
- I am much more interested in the community's view on whether or not
adopting such a code would be a good idea, than its view on why it would
or would not be a good idea.
- In discussions of the merits of such codes of conduct, both supporters
and detractors typically raise pros or cons that have already been
raised, by them or others, in at least one of the many such discussions
that have occurred other communities. That is, the arguments on both
sides of the debate are quite well-worn. I would prefer anyone
interested in such pros and cons to look them up (e.g. search the Web)
than to expend effort re-hashing them here.
- Such discussions of rationale often become contentious. The last thing
I want is to cause acrimony on the list.
I hope that affirmative replies will predominate. If they do, then I
will at some point in the future probably add a draft Code of Conduct
page to the Rhombus Tech wiki and/or ask Luke to add one to the mailing
list web page[1], as appropriate (unless someone else acts first). If
they don't, or if nobody replies, then I'll quietly let this go.
Thanks :)
spk
[0] http://contributor-covenant.org/
[1] http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/arm-netbook
Hello,
I read the archives of the Tinkerphones (previously OpenPhoenux) community
mailing list, and it appears that Nikolaus - the man behind the GTA04
smartphone and influential in the Pyra and Neo900 projects - may end up making
the processor module for the Pyra handheld available as a separate item:
http://lists.goldelico.com/pipermail/community/2016-September/001505.html
Unlike the EOMA68-A20 card, the Letux Cortex 15 uses an OMAP5 processor, and
so there are certain issues with freedom aspects of parts of the software (it
incorporates PowerVR). That said, there is an active effort to keep the
software as close to the upstream Linux kernel as possible:
http://projects.goldelico.com/p/gta04-kernel/
What's interesting about this card, though, is that it could almost be done as
an EOMA68 card: PCMCIA dimensions are 85.6mm x 54mm; this card is 81mm x 33mm;
it has on-board RAM, flash memory, and a variety of interfaces that EOMA68
also has. However, it is possible that in attempting to offer a PCMCIA-style
connector, a different layout might then become necessary that might not fit
within the appropriate area. And although it would have been great if the
EOMA68 profile had been used instead, that might have had implications for its
use in the Pyra.
Nikolaus notes that it could be used with a "to-be-designed" motherboard. If
only it could have been made to plug into the micro-desktop or laptop offered
in the EOMA68 crowd-funding campaign. Then, its audience might have been
broader, the demand for boards higher, and perhaps the unit costs lower for
the Pyra project, too. :-)
Paul