[OT] Speaking of "fully-free" open hardware

10 Antworten [Letzter Beitrag]
MagicFab
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Beigetreten: 12/13/2010

Would this meet the "Respects your Freedom" certification from the FSF?

http://makeplaylive.com/#/open-hardware/improv/discover
http://makeplaylive.com/#/open-hardware/about

It's available for U$75 pre-order.

A bit of background:
https://dot.kde.org/2014/01/22/open-hardware-kde

F.

lembas
Offline
Beigetreten: 05/13/2010

I really hate it when people abuse JavaS***t, all I see is the disclaimer. Mind posting the hardware specs here?

t3g
t3g
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Beigetreten: 05/15/2011

How is JavaScript being abused in that page? I looked at the source and it seems to be running AngularJS and jQuery which are both considered free software under the MIT license.

Their other code (named app.js and controller.js) are not minified, so you can take a look at the code if you want.

lembas
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Beigetreten: 05/13/2010

Well, I consider requiring JavaScript to display (what at least should be) a static page a failure.

onpon4
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Beigetreten: 05/30/2012

It really is a misuse of Javascript. I don't know what it's doing, but it could be easily done with PHP, whatever it is.

Mampir
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Beigetreten: 12/16/2009
* Hardware

  Included CPU card capabilities:

    Processor:
        ARM® Cortex™-A7 1Ghz dual core (Allwinner A20)
    GPU:
        Mali400MP2 with OpenGL ES 2.0/1.1
    RAM:
        1GB DDR2
    Storage:
        4GB NAND flash
        Micro SD card reader
    Video:
        Micro HDMI (video + audio)
        RGB/TTL
    USB:
        Micro USB OTG
        USB2 host
    Networking:
        10/100 Mbit Ethernet
    Other buses:
        i2c, 8 GPIO, UART0
    Weight:
        Under 40 grams
    Dimensions:
        85.6x54 mm
    
Feature board ports:
    
    USB:
        Fullsize USB2 host port
    Ethernet:
        10/100/1000 RJ-45
    UARTO:
        Pins:
          1: GND
          2: 5VDC
          3: TX
          4: RX
    
    EEPROM:
        32K Serial EEPROM (i2c address 0x54)
    SATA:
        SATA II interface connector
    Casing:
        Sturdy metal case with guides for docking with the feature board
    Power:
        6-12VDC, up to 2.5A. Recommended 9VDC or less.

        Green power status LED.

        Energy consumption (these numbers are for guidance only; exact
        draw will vary depending on use case):

          At idle: 3.1-3.4 Watts (344mA @ 9V).
          With a SATA drive, flash drive connected to OTG port,
          keyboard and 2.4Ghz mouse via USB2 Host Port,
          Ethernet active, playing a 720p movie: 4.4Watts (488mA @ 9v).

    44 PIN DIL:
        Pins:
    
          1-29: RGB/TTL interface
          30-31: i2c SDA/SCL lines
          32-39: 8 GPIO for user's choice
          40: uBoot (Short to GND to enable)
          41-42: TX/RX UART0
          43-44: GND/5VDC
    
    Dock:
        68 pin header with guide rails and push-button ejector
    Weight:
        Under 60 grams
    Dimensions:
        100x74 mm
    Mounting holes:
        3mm diameter
        92x67mm center-to-center

  Manufacturer suggested retail price: US$75
    
* Software

  Pre-installed operating system:

    Distribution:
        Mer OS
    Kernel:
        Linux 3.x: SunXI 3.4, upstream Linus tree merge ongoing
    Init:
        systemd
    Userspace:
        GNU
    Package format:
        RPM
    Software management:
        zypper
    Build service:
        dedicated OBS farm
    Display:
        X.org, Wayland, framebuffer, Linux console
    Toolkits:
        Qt4 with QtQuick1, Qt5 with QtQuick2, KDE Platform Libraries 4
    Graphical environments:
        KDE Plasma Desktop and Plasma Active
    Developer SDK:
        Mer Platform SDK
lembas
Offline
Beigetreten: 05/13/2010

Thanks. Looks fairly free to me, if a bit futurey (could be a good thing, the arm and mali support parts)

ssdclickofdeath
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Beigetreten: 05/19/2013

"I really hate it when people abuse JavaS***t"

Is JS a swear word? :)

Legimet
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Beigetreten: 12/10/2013

Not yet..
"Improv is open hardware, as open as it can be given that all graphics processing units (GPU) are closed and proprietary."

Mampir
Offline
Beigetreten: 12/16/2009

I've asked Improv developers for how it compares with other such devices in terms of freedom. I've also asked if it would work with fully free software OS.

So far they haven't given any clear answers. They've only confirmed that the hardware accelerated graphics won't work, although that's something well know. I was positive about the project, but now I have doubts on how oriented towards freedom they are.

I think it's best if more people start asking Improv developers about those issues, so more attention can be give to freedom. They should provide clear information on what would work with free software, rather than just ship the device with a non-free operating system and hope no one would care to install something fully free.

I've asked here: https://dot.kde.org/2014/01/22/open-hardware-kde
The official web site has a forum and an email form: https://www.makeplaylive.com/

megurineturilli
Offline
Beigetreten: 01/10/2012

I think it might be able to run my port of Linux-Libre [1], but there is no free distribution yet with ARM support. I only have an A13 for testing, you will need to compile the kernel from source for A10. Maybe one could start with Arch [2] and upgrade to Parabola.

[1] http://platen-software.de/linux-sunxi/
[2] http://linux-sunxi.org/Bootable_OS_images#Arch