SD card support comes to RISC OS

Jun 102012
 

Arrives in a flash.

Something missing from RISC OS, which is increasingly apparent with support for them on modern devices on which the operating system can be run (or could be theoretically run if it was ported), is a filing system and driver for MMC/SD cards, allowing them to be accessed and used when inserted in the MicroSD card on hardware such as the BeagleBoard, in much the same way as any other storage media are accessed, like a hard or floppy disk or a CD or DVD ROM.

MMC/SD cards can, of course, be read from or written to when inserted in a card reader plugged into a USB socket, but that’s much less convenient – especially considering (for example) that the card from which RISC OS is booted on current modern platforms will be in the SD card slot. With RISC OS taking up only a few megabytes, and the card almost certainly having considerably more space available, that’s either wasted space, or space which can only be made use of in an inconvenient way.

Until now, that is. Continue reading »

Snippets – 24th March 2012

Mar 242012
 

It’s been a busy month again here, which means there have been no posts to RISCOSitory for a while – so here’s a quick round-up of recent goings on in the world of RISC OS.

RISC OS 5.18

RISC OS 5 has seen its latest ‘stable’ release in the form of RISC OS 5.18, which features some 340 improvements since the last such release (version 5.16). The full list of improvements can be found on the RISC OS Open website, but this list isn’t written in ‘typical user-speak’. In response to requests for a more user friendly list, Rob Sprowson posted one to usenet, which Steve Revill has since posted on the RISC OS open forum. Continue reading »

Raspberry Pi launch causes indigestion

Feb 292012
 
The Raspberry Pi at the RISC OS London Show in October 2011

The launch of the Raspberry Pi this morning was either a resounding success, or it was an abysmal failure, depending on your point of view – and for the network staff of two companies, it must have been a nightmare.

As expected, the first batches of the Model B device went on sale at 6am GMT, with an order restriction of one per customer. Licenced manufacturing deals were set up with Premier Farnell (see footnote) and RS Components, so that the two companies could deal with the distribution of the first batches of the Model B to arrive in the country, and after that they’ll be manufacturing and distributing the boards on behalf of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, which means the device can be manufactured in large volumes much more quickly than the Foundation itself could manage. Farnell and RS Components, who both have worldwide distribution networks, will be manufacturing to meet demand. Continue reading »

The early bird catches the Raspberry Pi

Feb 272012
 

According to the latest post on the Raspberry Pi website, “The Raspberry Pi Foundation will be making a big (and very positive) announcement that just might interest you at 0600h GMT on Wednesday 29 February 2012.”

This is expected to be the first batch of the tiny computer going on sale; Eben Upton posted a status update on Saturday morning saying that they had “been assured this morning that a first batch of boards will ship to us either today or first thing Monday” – adding that “if you don’t own an alarm clock, this weekend might be a good time to do some shopping.”

Do bear in mind, of course, that while the RISC OS port is underway, it is still not complete – there remains work to be done. However, over on the RISC OS Open forum, Theo Markettos suggests that it might be helpful if a few people try to purchase one, either to help with development themselves or to lend to other developers working on RISC OS.

The South West Show is dead – long live The South West Show

Feb 262012
 

This year’s RISC OS South West Show almost didn’t happen. Paul Middleton of RISCOS Ltd, the show’s organiser for the last few years, revealed recently that he normally waits for the Webbington Hotel, the show’s usual venue, to reduce the prices of the rooms in which the show can be held – and it seems even more recently (early January, according to Archive 23:4, p4), Paul said that he wouldn’t be organising another show. Richard Brown of Orpheus Internet soon stepped up, with Andrew Rawnsley and R-Comp joining him to make sure we still had a show in the South West.

Considering that neither had any experience of actually organising a show, and that they only had a very short time in which to do it in order to ensure the show took place at its normal time of year, they should both be applauded for their efforts: Both visitors and exhibitors alike seem to have found the show an enjoyable and successful one.

Including me! Continue reading »

R-Comp Interactive announces ARMini software scheme for BeagleBoard users

Oct 242011
 

With the BeagleBoard forming the heart of R-Comp Interactive‘s ARMini computer, it’s easy to see that some of R-Comp’s developments and releases for their computer might be relevant to those people who have put together their own RISC OS computers using the board. Well, now those “DIY” users have a way to access those developments: R-Comp have announced an annual subscription based scheme whereby users of home built RISC OS computers based around a BeagleBoard can receive the software* and support enjoyed by ARMini owners. Continue reading »

Snippets – 10th September 2011

Sep 102011
 

QuadDioph is a new piece of software from Martin Carradus. It’s an application that solves or finds “solution of certain Quadratic Diophantine Equations, of the form x^2 + B.x.y + A.y^2 = z^p, (e.g. x^2 + y^2 = z^2, two squares adding to a square, or x^2 + y^2 = z^3, two squares adding to a cube).” The application is free to download from Martin’s website.

Martin Wuerthner has announced that an ARMv7 compatible version of InterGif. Version 6.18 can be used on the BeagleBoard, ARMini, etc. InterGif is an application for converting graphics from RISC OS Sprite and Draw formats to GIF format with optimised palettes, allowing them to be viewed on other platforms, and used on websites. Originally written by Peter Harley and now maintained by Martin Wuerthner, the software also allows GIF animations to be created from a series of Sprites, and can also convert from GIF to Sprite format.

Continue reading »

A slice of Raspberry Pi

Jul 242011
 

Back in May, on the RISC OS Open forum, Rik Griffin identified a possible new target for a RISC OS port, from The Raspberry Pi Foundation, “a UK registered charity (Registration Number 1129409) which exists to promote the study of computer science and related topics, especially at school level, and to put the fun back into learning computing.”

The foundation is developing a very small computer, about the size of a USB stick, with an intended price tag of £10 to £15. David Braben – a name anyone familiar with the Acorn and RISC OS worlds should recognise – took a prototype along to the BBC in May to talk about it and the motivation behind The Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Continue reading »

The boot’s on the other foot

Jul 202011
 

As sold by R-Comp, the ARMini comes shipped in much the same way any other computer running RISC OS has done – you connect it up, switch on, and moments later you are presented with the familiar RISC OS desktop. For many users, this is what they want – that’s why they’ve bought the ARMini, an out of the box solution, rather than the more DIY approach of a Beagleboard-xm and the necessary bits and pieces to get it up and running. That doesn’t mean users have to stick with just RISC OS, though – ARM Linux has been an alternative for some time for other RISC OS (and ARM based) computers, and R-Comp have themselves opted to put together a suitable Linux distribution (based on Lubuntu – a lightweight variant of Ubuntu) for the ARMini (and Beagleboard-xm).

Continue reading »

Snippets – 21st June 2011

Jun 212011
 

David Higton reported on the RISC OS Open forums that at the Southamton Acorn Users Group meeting on 14th June, to which he took his BeagleBoard for the purposes of this, he “demonstrated copying the files from a bootable SD card to an empty (formatted) SD card and booting from the latter.” Continue reading »

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