A regular exhibitor at RISC OS shows, RISCOSbits would have been at the one originally planned for tomorrow. However, as we (hopefully) all know, the London Show isn’t going ahead – but over the Summer and early Autumn Andy Marks from RISCOSbits has been working on a few new bits and pieces; things that would have been launched, released, shouted about from the rooftops (or at least a set of tables) at the show.
So let’s pretend we’re there, and look at what Andy would be telling us on the show floor.
Based on EDOS, the dual operating system option for the Raspberry Pi 4, RISCOSbits has now released a new product called EDO/SD. This is similarly a dual operating system solution, but one that runs from a single specially formatted 128GB SD card containing both RISC OS and Linux, as well as another partition accessible by both operating systems, on which files can be saved for access from either or both.
EDO/SD is available to order now for just £30.00.
Work on that has in turn lead to developments on RISCOSbits’ Super Turbo Drive system, which now allows a single drive to contain both a standard, bootable partition and a faster Turbo partition. This will be included as standard on future PiHarder and FOURtress systems, and for other systems hard drives can be supplied with this installed, ready to go – contact RISCOSbits for more information.
An NVMe option for the FOURtress range is the next new development, bringing a small speed increase compared with SATA solutions for disc access speeds under RISC OS, but a potentially much more notable increase when using Linux (and therefore EDOS), which is much more disc intensive that RISC OS.
Coming with 250GB of storage at this stage, there are a number of purchase options, depending on your status and need.
New customer? the FOURtress NVMe is available from £195, depending on the memory capacity of your Pi 4. Existing FOURtress Lite or standard FOURtress with the SATA M.2 SSD? Upgrade options are available, starting at £70, which include a new base for the machine with the NVMe drive ready to go. RISCOSbits’ can also offer a trade-in scheme to replace the existing M.2 at a discounted price – get in touch with the company for details.
EDOS can also be added, giving you the benefit of the faster storage system using Linux. This will add £25.00 to the price, which covers the time taken to hand-tune the drives, and install Linux.
A new HAT is now available for the Raspberry Pi, covering all models from the B+ onwards (i.e. those that are compatible with the HAT system). Called FHANTom – merging FAN and HAT – the new device can be used to control the speed of the fan, as used in the PiHarder and FOURtress systems, based on the CPU temperature.
Admitting the HAT breaks the specification for Raspberry Pi HATs, Andy notes that the FHANTom provides a through-link from the GPIO pins, so that further HATs can be stacked on top of it. He warns that not all HATs are compatible, though, so if you’re planning on doing this, get in touch with him in order to check if it’s possible with the HAT you’ll be using.
That aside, PHANTom is priced at just £17.00, if the case you are using is suitable for use with a HAT, the PHANTom will fit – and it certainly does in RISCOSbits’ own cases, such as the PiAno, Pi-Llok, and the new MiniMedia cases.
Wait! The what now?
RISCOSbits has introduced a brand new case – the MiniMedia, a stunning looking budget case for the Raspberry Pi 4 that looks as though it just belongs next to your TV. Well, okay, if your TV unit is oak veneered, like the layers that make up this case – and the black acrylic front (and rear) will probably match the colour of your TV. And it’ll probably look pretty damned good elsewhere, too.
Designed to house a Raspberry Pi 4, the case brings all of the main connectors out to its rear, and making use of the USB capabilities of the Pi 4’s power port, an additional USB port is available on the front. There are also three cooling options – passive, a lid-mounted fan, and the FHANTom HAT – and prices start at just £25.00.
Andy has been doing a little experimentation with overclocking, and the conclusion is that 2.28GHz has been found to be both possible and reliable. To that end, all new PiHarder machines will ship as standard with that speed – at which they continue to run at a low, constant temperature, often without the aid of the fan. FOURtress machines will now come overclocked to a slightly more modest 2.2Ghz. If you are an existing user of one of these machines and want to add that speed boost to your set up, get in touch with RISCOSbits for the appropriate software and settings.
Don’t forget that when you purchase anything from RISCOSbits you have the option of using PayPal’s ‘Pay in 3’ system to, well, pay in three instalments – exactly what it says on the tin. This allows you to spread the payments against any heftier purchases, making them more manageable.
Andy says he’ll be making additional ‘Not the London Show’ offers throughout the day, as well as some additional RISC OS Rewards. To hear about them as they happen, keep an eye on the @RISCOSbits Twitter feed, and the Twitter hashtag #RISCOSRewards – but fear not if you aren’t on Twitter, contact RISCOSbits during Not the London Show – after 11:00am, the normal start time for the show – for a heads up.