Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - HDMI Dongle Turns TVs Into Giant Android Tablets (linuxgizmos.com) 2

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: The BiggiFi Indiegogo project is nearing its funding goal for a $79 HDMI dongle that essentially turns HDTVs into supersized Android tablets. The BiggiFi device is claimed to let users run unmodified Android apps on their TVs using their phone or tablet as the TV’s touchscreen — including motion input for games — without screen-mirroring overhead latency. As explained by BiggiFi creator Karl Zhao, an Android app on the user’s phone or tablet collects touch input signals and transmits them over WiFi to a server daemon in the Android Framework layer on the BiggiFi device, which passes the event data to the device driver layer. When the action finally reaches the app, it's as though the BiggiFi/TV system has its own physical touchscreen. The result is claimed to be a fairly lossless Android experience, and requires no modification to Android apps. The process supports input gestures such as slide, scroll, pinch, zoom, and soft keyboard input, and also supports vibration and accelerometer movements, enabling tilting for gameplay, according to the project. Camera and mic input will be added in the future. Oh, and an app for using iPhones and iPads as the remote touchscreen is also being developed.

Submission + - Dexterous Mobile Robot Runs Linux and ROS (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: Unbounded Robotics, one of several spinoffs from Silicon Valley-based robotics lab Willow Garage, has announced UBR-1, a mobile manipulation robot designed for research and business automation. UBR-1 runs Ubuntu Linux along with Robot Operating System (ROS), has a 7 degrees-of-freedom arm with a dexterous gripper, and moves at speeds up to 1 meter per second. Among the founders of Unbounded Robotics is CEO Melonee Wise, who was the chief developer of the PR2, the similar flagship robot of Willow Garage. UBR-1 will open for pre-orders soon, starting at $35,000 and with shipments planned for next summer. While that price may seem high, it's lower than similar dexterous manipulation robots of its caliber, and only about a tenth that of Willow Garage's PR2.

Submission + - Cow Burps Tapped For Fuel (www.cbc.ca) 2

Submitted by Dave Knott
Dave Knott writes: Argentine scientists have found a way to transform the gas created by the bovine digestive system into fuel, an innovation that could curb greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Using a system of valves and pumps, the experimental technique developed by Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) channels the digestive gases from bovine stomach cavities through a tube and into a tank. The gases — which otherwise are commonly known as burps, or "eruptos" in Spanish — are then processed to separate methane from other gases such as carbon dioxide. Each head of cattle emits between 250 and 300 liters of pure methane a day, enough energy to keep a refrigerator running for 24 hours.

Submission + - How to Attend Next Week's Robotics Show Robotically (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: Suitable Technologies is offering $50 rentals of its Beam mobile telepresence robot, allowing 50 robotics enthusiasts to remotely attend the RoboBusiness conference in Santa Clara, Calif. on Oct. 23-25. The Ubuntu- and ROS-based Beam will be available to the first 50 applicants, letting them explore the show at up to 1.5 meters/sec and interact with others via video conferencing. The bots will be allowed everywhere on the show floor as well as in conference rooms, and the show will be open late to accommodate remote users from distant time zones. The Beam is a good choice for remotely exploring conferences, saving users the cost and time of traveling to an event, says Suitable Tech; for example, RoboBusiness registration costs $1,595, not including hotel and travel. A list of the conference's keynotes, which include one by Christ Urmson, director of Google's Self-Driving Cars project, is available here.

Submission + - Linux-capable Arduino TRE Debuts at Maker Faire Rome (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: At the Maker Faire Rome this week, Arduino announced a next-generation Arduino single board computer featuring a dual-processor architecture, and able to run a 'full Linux OS', in contrast to the lightweight OpenWRT Linux variant (Linino) buried inside the Yun's Atheros WiFi module. The Arduino TRE features a 1GHz 32-bit TI Sitara AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 SoC for running Linux software, plus an 8-bit Atmel ATmega MCU for AVR-compatible control of expansion modules (aka shields). The TRE's Sitara subsystem includes HDMI video, 100Mbps Ethernet, and 5 USB 2.0 ports, and is claimed to provide up to 100X the performance the Arduino Leonardo and Uno boards. Interestingly, the TRE's development reportedly benefited from close collaboration between Arduino and the BeagleBoard.org foundation.

Submission + - Intel Galileo Board Sails Quark Into Maker Waters (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: Intel ramped up its race to the bottom against ARM today, with the launch of an Arduino-compatible single board computer based on its new Quark system-on-chip, and supported with a full Linux OS. The board's Quark X1000 SoC integrates a 32-bit, single core, single threaded, Pentium ISA-compatible CPU, and runs at clock rates up to 400MHz. Intel claims the Galileo SBC is both hardware- and software- compatible with Arduino Uno R3 shields (expansion boards), and says its open source Linux OS includes the Arduino software libraries, enabling scalability and re-use of existing Arduino 'sketches.' In addition to a basic Arduino-like set of features, the board adds a full-sized mini-PCI Express slot, 100Mb Ethernet, a Micro-SD slot, RS-232 serial ports, USB Host and Client ports, 8MB NOR flash storage, and more. Intel plans to donate 50,000 Galileo SBCs to 1,000 universities worldwide over the next 18 months.

Submission + - 'Black Holes' In Ocean Exist Scientists Say (huffingtonpost.ca)

Submitted by dryriver
dryriver writes: Nothing escapes the yawning chasm of a black hole. Not matter, sound nor even light. Normally confined to the reaches of space, black holes and their seemingly insatiable appetites for everything, have fascinated — and enlightened — scientists for years. Now, they may not have to look so far to study them. Researchers at Switzerland's ETH Zurich and the University of Miami say black holes are among us — at least, massive eddies in the southern Atlantic Ocean bear their telltale signatures. What a black hole is to light, an ocean eddy, scientists suggest, is to water. Dubbed maelstroms, they're bigger than cities, winding up billions of tonnes of ocean water so tightly, nothing escapes them. And scientists are discovering more every day. In a paper published earlier this month in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, George Haller, a professor at ETH Zurich and Francisco Beron-Vera of the University of Miami claim they can track and define these engorged eddies — a feat that has, until now, proven elusive. The ocean's natural turbulence has thwarted previous attempts to demarcate these islands of intensity. But, by studying satellite imagery, Haller and Baron-Vera were able to identify seven black-hole types in a group of eddies, called Agulhas Rings, that regularly appear off the tip of Africa.

Submission + - BeagleBone-powered Underwater Robot Goes Faster, Longer (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: The OpenROV project has begun shipping an upgraded version of OpenROV, an $849 Linux-based underwater robot kit. The new v2.5 design upgrades to a 1GHz BeagleBone Black SBC, substitutes a faster Arduino-compatible controller board design, and boasts improvements to buoyancy, durability, speed, and battery life. It's been over a year since the OpenROV project successfully completed its Kickstarter campaign, but only a few hundred kits have been sold to date. Now, with a much improved version 2.5 available, and a recent investment of $1.3M led by True Ventures, the project appears ready to expand. An interesting YouTube video demonstrating the original OpenROV is available here.

Submission + - Twelve Keynote Videos From LinuxCon 2013 (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: The Linux Foundation held its LinuxCon North America conference in New Orleans this week, and has once again pubished keynote session videos. The videos feature Linux luminaries including Google's Chris DiBona, Valve's Gabe Newell, Raspberry Pi's Eben Upton, Intel's Dirk Hohndel, and a panel with Tejun Heo, Greg Kroah-Hartman, Sarah Sharp, and Linus Torvalds (do sparks fly?). Lots of interesting insights and dicussion!

Submission + - Sailfish OS Gains Two-way Android Compatibility (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: Jolla announced that its Sailfish OS is now fully compatible with Android, letting the Linux-based mobile OS run Android apps, as well as operate on hardware configured for Android. This makes the MeeGo-based Sailfish OS the first alternative mobile Linux OS to achieve the feat. Jolla also announced that a second batch of pre-orders for its Sailfish-based Jolla phones will open later this week, after having sold out its first batch in August.

Submission + - AMD Reveals Roadmap for ARM and x86 SoCs (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: On the eve of the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, AMD unveiled what it calls an ambidextrous embedded roadmap, based on a series of new system-on-chip (SoC) and accelerated processing unit (APU) products built from both ARM and x86 CPU cores. Planned for launch in 2014 are an ARM Cortex A57-based 'Hierofalcon' SoC, a 'Bald Eagle' APU using a new 'Streamroller' x86 CPU, a multi-core x86 'Steppe Eagle' APU, and an 'Adelaar' discrete Embedded Radion GPU. 'There are different customer needs in different segments of this market, from low-power to high-performance, Linux to Windows, and x86 to ARM,' commented Arun Iyengar, VP and general manager, of the AMD Embedded Solutions division.

Submission + - Tiny $45 Cubic Mini-PC Runs Android And Linux (linuxgizmos.com) 1

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: SolidRun refreshed its line of tiny 2 x 2 x 2-inch mini-PCs with four new community-backed models based on 1.2GHz multi-core Freescale i.MX6 SoCs. The CuBox-i devices run Android 4.2.2 and Linux, offer HDMI, S/PDIF, IR, eSATA, GbE, USB, WiFi, and Bluetooth interfaces (depending on model), and are currently available for pre-order starting at $45. All the models offer 1.2GHz clock speeds, OpenGL/ES 2.0 3D support, and video acceleration for 1080p video, while the two higher-end ones supply more robust GPUs that add OpenCL 1.1 support. Seems like a maker's dream...

Submission + - Company Creates Linux SBC Croudfunding Platform (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: Gumstix has just added crowdfunding features to its Geppetto drag-and-drop embedded board design platform, letting groups of users share costs and designs either publicly or privately. The browser-based Geppetto service lets users create custom Linux-compatible all-in-one designs using TI's ARM-based Sitara AM3354 system-on-chip processor, or alternatively create custom baseboards that use Gumstix modules as their core computer element, in a process that typically yields working boards booting Linux in less than three weeks. As part of the launch of the Geppetto crowdfunding capability, the $2000 fees normally charged for moving Geppetto designs into manufacturing are being waived for campaigns having at least 50 members, so the participants only need to share the costs of the 50+ boards their campaign orders. It seems like this approach might be simpler and more attainable than using Kickstarter or Indiegogo for many less-than-viral projects requring embedded computing.

Submission + - Intel Launches Yocto Project Innovation Challenge (linuxgizmos.com)

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: Intel has just kicked off a five month contest offering 254 prizes to developers who submit embedded Linux product or project ideas involving Yocto Project software running on Intel processors. Six types of prizes — ranging from $50 gift cards, to Yocto Project hoodies and blimps, to 480GB SSDs — will be awarded to winning contest entries between now and the end of the year, and all the ideas will be shared publicly. Developers submit product or project ideas via a form on the contest's website, optionally supplemented by a link to a blog post, video (on YouTube or Vimeo), or image describing their idea. Each submission will be reviewed and then published on the Yocto Project Innovation Challenge website, enabling participants to show off their idea or get inspiration from others. Winners will be selected by judges supplied by UBM, based on criteria such as ingenuity, creativity, relevance, and clarity. Developers are permitted to submit multiple entries.
Wine

Netflix Comes To Linux Web Browsers Via 'Pipelight' 303

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the contents-may-explode dept.
An anonymous reader writes "With Netflix continuing to rely upon Microsoft Silverlight, the video streaming service hasn't been supported for Linux users as the Mono-based 'Moonlight' implementation goes without Silverlight 5 DRM support. However, there is now Netflix support for Linux-based web-browsers via the open source Pipelight project. Pipelight supports Netflix and other Silverlight-based web applications by having a Netscape plug-in that in turn communicates with a Windows program running under Wine. The Windows program then simulates a browser to load the Silverlight libraries. Netflix then works as the Pipelight developers implemented support for the Netflix DRM scheme within Wine."

Slashdot Top Deals

God doesn't play dice. -- Albert Einstein

Close