oshug February 2014

oshug@oshug.org

10 participants
7 discussions

Real vs fake FTDI FT232RL chip
by Sevan / Venture37 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

http://zeptobars.ru/en/read/FTDI-FT232RL-real-vs-fake-supereal The rest of the blog is worth a look, lots of die shots e.g. Soviet Z80 http://zeptobars.ru/en/read/t34vm1-z80-angstrem-mme Sevan

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MFS Meeting. Tue, 18 Mar. Talk: "The GNU Compiler Collection: How to Use, Port and Upstream the World's Most Widely Used Tool Chain"
by Michael Dorrington 27 Feb '14

27 Feb '14

Please feel free to forward this to those that would welcome it. * Event: Manchester Free Software's March Meeting * Talk: The GNU Compiler Collection: How to Use, Port and Upstream the World's Most Widely Used Tool Chain * Speaker: Dr Jeremy Bennett (Embecosm) (and Joern Rennecke (Embecosm) for Q&A) * Date: Tuesday, 18th March 2014 (3rd Tuesday of the month) * Start time: 19:00 * Finish time: 20:30 (and then on for drinks) * Location: Madlab. (Manchester Digital Laboratory). - http://madlab.org.uk/ * Address: 36-40 Edge Street, Manchester. M4 1HN. - Opposite "Common" on Edge Street, Northern Quarter. - http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/53.48413/-2.23639 Details ------- The purpose of Manchester Free Software is to promote the Free Software philosophy. This meeting will be a talk with Q&A. "The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is 28 years old this year. Originally a C compiler, it now handles many languages (8 in the official distribution) and has been ported to many architectures (nearly 50 in the official distribution). Alongside the compiler are low level binary utilities (assembler, disassembler, linker, profiler, etc.) and a source level debugger (GDB). At 5 million lines of code, GCC is the third largest program in any GNU/Linux system. In this talk we'll look at how to best use the tool chain. Starting with official distributions, we'll look at what is needed to build your own version from source code. We'll then explore what it takes to modify the tool chain, to port it to a new architecture, to test it, and ultimately to have your code accepted into the official FSF distribution. We'll also look at some of the more unusual uses of the tool chain. Its porting to new chips during the design phase to test the hardware design before spinning silicon. How approaches such as iterative compilation and genetic algorithms can double performance compared to -O3. And finally how compilers can use machine learning to work out the best optimizations for your program and even optimize for energy efficiency. Throughout the talks we'll use practical examples from both native compilers (for Intel and ARM) and for cross compilers (such as Atmel AVR and Adapteva Epiphany). We'll also demonstrate the low cost free hardware energy measurement board used to optimize for energy efficiency." Speakers -------- "Dr Jeremy Bennett is Chief Executive of Embecosm, an free/libre and open source software consultancy specializing in tool chain development and silicon chip modelling. A former academic he is author of "Introduction to Compiling Techniques" (McGraw-Hill 1990, 1995, 2003). Joern Rennecke, who leads GCC development for Embecosm, will take questions at the end of the talk. Joern is one of the leading developers of GCC, a project to which he has been contributing for nearly 20 years. He has been responsible for the Renesas SH, OpenRISC 1000, Synopsys ARC ports and most recently has been developing the Atmel AVR and Adapteva Epiphany implementations. Embecosm are currently hiring both trainee and experienced compiler developers. Details at http://www.embecosm.com/careers/." After-meeting ------------- The meeting will be followed by informal discussion and socialising in the bar opposite, Common <http://www.aplacecalledcommon.co.uk/>. There are soft drinks available and there is no pressure to consume alcohol. Location -------- The meeting will take place at the usual venue of Madlab, details above. Ring the bell beside the door to be let in. The venue provides wifi. Parking ------- Around the venue there are parking meter bays that become zero cost after 8pm on Tuesday so you will have to pay up until then and the maximum stay is 2 hours BUT MAKE SURE YOU VERIFY ALL THIS on parking. There are paid parking lots around the venue, they are marked by a blue P in this OpenStreetMap centred on Madlab <http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/53.4843/-2.2365>. Most of those parking lots are owned by NCP <http://www.ncp.co.uk/>. If you can’t decide otherwise then park in Manchester Arndale <http://www.manchesterarndale.com/directions.aspx>. Public Transport ---------------- Manchester Victoria (MCV) train station, Shudehill tram and bus station, and Manchester Piccadilly bus station are all fairly close to Madlab, see OpenStreetMap centred on Madlab <http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/53.4843/-2.2365>. Manchester Piccadilly (MAN) train station and Manchester Central Coach Station are not too far away either. More Information ---------------- Information about Manchester Free Software can be found on the Manchester Free Software pages on LibrePlanet <http://libreplanet.org/wiki/Manchester>. Regards, Mike. -- FSF member #9429 http://www.fsf.org/register_form?referrer=9429 http://www.fsf.org/about "The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom and to defend the rights of all free software users."

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OSHUG #32 -- Embedded Scripting, 27th March 2014.
by Andrew Back 27 Feb '14

27 Feb '14

Hello, Registration is now open for the March meeting. Details below. Regards, Andrew // Event #32 -- Embedded Scripting (Lua, Espruino, Micro Python) 27th March 2014, 17:30 - 20:30 at BCS London, 1st Floor, The Davidson Building, 5 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA. Registration: http://oshug.org/event/32 The thirty-second OSHUG meeting will take a look at the use of scripting languages with deeply embedded computing platforms, which have much more constrained resources than the platforms which were originally targeted by the languages. -- Programming a microcontroller with Lua eLua is a full version of the Lua programming language for microcontrollers, running on bare metal. Lua provides a modern high level dynamicaly typed language, with first class functions, coroutines and an API for interacting with C code, and yet which is very small and can run in a memory constrained environment. This talk will cover the Lua language and microcontroller environment, and show it running on-off-the-shelf ARM Cortex boards as well as the Mizar32, an open hardware design built especially for eLua. Justin Cormack is a software developer based in London. He previously worked at a startup that built LED displays and retains a fondness for hardware. He organizes the London Lua User Group, which hosts talks on the Lua programming language. -- Bringing JavaScript to Microcontrollers This talk will discuss the benefits and challenges of running a modern scripting language on microcontrollers with extremely limited resources. In particular we will take a look at the Espruino JavaScript interpreter and how it addresses these challenges and manages to run in less than 8kB of RAM. Gordon Williams has developed software for companies such as Altera, Nokia, Microsoft and Lloyds Register, but has been working on the Espruino JavaScript interpreter for the last 18 months. In his free time he enjoys making things - from little gadgets to whole cars. -- Micro Python -- Python for microcontrollers Microcontrollers have recently become powerful enough to host high-level scripting languages and run meaningful programs written in them. In this talk we will explore the software and hardware of the Micro Python project, an open source implementation of Python 3 which aims to be as compatible as possible with CPython, whilst still fitting within the RAM and ROM constraints of a microcontroller. Many tricks are employed to put as much as possible within ROM, and to use the least RAM and minimal heap allocations as is feasible. The project was successfully funded via a Kickstarter campaign at the end of 2013, and the hardware is currently being manufactured at Jaltek Systems UK. Damien George is a theoretical physicist who likes to write compilers and build robots in his spare time. Note: Please aim to by 18:15 as the first talk will start at 18:30 prompt.

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Fwd: [OSC-Members] Interesting use for old tech
by Jeremy Bennett 18 Feb '14

18 Feb '14

This came up on the Open Source Consortium mailing list and thought it might appeal to/inspire OSHUG members Jeremy -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [OSC-Members] Interesting use for old tech Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 12:22:11 +0000 From: Robert To: osc-members(a)opensourceconsortium.org I came across this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOMX3deeW6Q First thought; somebody has a lot of time to spare - but interesting and amusing nevertheless. Is that a RPi or an Arduino I see as the controller? Having looked on YouTube I see there's lots more. This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGSTYvx5c78 is my favourite so far. Robert. -- Tel: +44 (1590) 610184 Cell: +44 (7970) 676050 SkypeID: jeremybennett Twitter: @jeremypbennett Email: jeremy.bennett(a)embecosm.com Web: www.embecosm.com

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OpenData + Wearable devices hackathon! 15-16th March at TechHub, Manchester.
by Andrew Back 13 Feb '14

13 Feb '14

Hello, Details below of an open data/wearables hackathon that may be of interest to folks. Cheers, Andrew // OpenData + Wearable devices hackathon! 15-16th March at TechHub, Manchester. Open Data - Wearable devices - HACK! Registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/numbers-that-matter-hackathon-tickets-103683… - What? We've done our studies. We've transcribed audio, shadowed people, documented their stories, captured their concerns, and been receptive to their ideas. We have a body of work relating to what kind of numbers matter to them, how we could realise them, and what kind of devices would work in the field. This leads to our hackathon. We have a body of documentation we'll make available about what people want, how they understand and relate to data around them, and ideas for possible devices. You'll be able to explore and help realise these ideas - either as they are, or from your own perspective. We'll have equipment for you to use, from Raspberry Pis to Arduinos, and experts on-hand who will help you get to prototype. The overall winner from the day, as voted for by a panel of judges, will win the opportunity to take their prototype to a full field trial with support from the Numbers That Matter team. - Who We encourage collaboration between participants - if you don't already have a team to work with, you can meet up with people at the start of the event. It's easier to complete a hack if there's a range of skills and people working together. We'll be making working prototypes of hardware and software on the day, so people with experience in these fields are important team members. Design is a key aspect of usable devices and experiences - teams will need these skills to anticipate and plan meaningful devices Analysis and data processing skills will be needed in your team - knowledge of existing formats and platforms can speed development on the day Entry is open to anyone; professional developers, activist hackers, design students, anthropologists, sociologists, geeks and social entrepreneurs are welcome, as is anyone who feels they can contribute to the day.

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Hardware project input required
by Chris Puttick 07 Feb '14

07 Feb '14

Hi all I've been asked if I can find someone who can provide design input for a product prototype. Project concept has been described to me as follows: a wearable tech device involving tracking and collecting motion data (probably using a gyroscope and accelerometer) and transmit it back to a mobile device wirelessly. Please feel free to ask questions and I'll try and get more detail if I can, or contact me off list to express an interest in being intro'd to the project owner. Thanks Chris -- @putt1ck putt1ck.blogspot.com http://twoten.is skype: putt1ck Opinions in this email are my own and may not reflect that of my clients, past employers, associates, friends, family, pets etc.. Documents attached to this email may be in ISO 26300 format: http://iso26300.info

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Fixing a date for OSHCamp 2014.
by Andrew Back 07 Feb '14

07 Feb '14

Hi All, Last year's OSHCamp was something of an experiment — hosting it as part of Wuthering Bytes — and based on how the event went overall and feedback, we've decided to do something a bit different this year. The idea is that OSHCamp will still be hosted as part of Wuthering Bytes, but that the latter will become more of a festival comprised of a series of events: * OSHCamp will have the Waterfront Hall to itself on the Saturday (10x talks) and Sunday (workshops). * On the Friday there will be a day of talks in the Waterfront Hall on a much broader range of topics (think of the non-OSHUG and crossover talks from WB 2013), with accompanying workshops upstairs in The Space on the Saturday. * Main social event Friday evening. * A number of smaller/fringe events in the week leading up. The dates we are looking at are: August 15/16/17 September 19/20/21 And ideally we need to decide on August or September ASAP. So, any preferences? Improved chances of better weather in August, but obviously a lot of people go away on holiday. Which may not be a bad thing, if you want to take a break in Hebden Bridge :o) Best, Andrew

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oshug February 2014