The Efika MX Smartbook will be available to existing corporate customers that are already working with the Efika MX Open Client next week. We are looking forward to getting this product in the market.

We will have more than Linux running on this machine

Just enough computing any where you are...

R&B

February 06, 2010 10:42

This weekend the Super Bowl of American Football is very likely to be viewed by as many as 100 million people. Advertisers will pay $3,000,000 for a 30 second commercial or pub as it is known in France. During the 1984 Super Bowl, Apple ran this ad:

Steve Jobs suggested that IBM was the Big Brother
in Apple's version of George Orwell's book: 1984.

Years later, it seems Steve Jobs sees Google as today's Big Brother: Google’s ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Mantra is... As the industry's mindshare and market-leading titans head for their own Super Bowl of sorts, we are wondering if there will be an iPad commercial during this year's game. What is interesting is to see this much money being spent for ad placement (not to mention production, etc.) in an advertising world progressively evolving into cost-per-click. There apparently is still room for compelling and creative advertising verses a dozen words requiring in comparison an insignificant amount of creativity directed at single viewers. Traditional media would do well to transition to the Apple Apps Store where pay-for-something matters on a whole other level.

R&B

February 05, 2010 9:06

Whatever happens today in Cupertino, the biggest news this week from Apple is that they have a net cash position of almost $40,000,000,000. In the last three months of 2009, Apple sold early 9 million iPhones with an average selling price of $620 in 86 countries. Apple also sold 3.5 million computers in the quarter. Macs sales have grown faster than PC sales for 13 quarters in a row. Macs have not experienced the significant decline in average selling price of the PC.

At $10000 a centimeter the stack would rise 40 kilometers
or nearly 25 miles!

As difficult as it is to imagine that much money, it should not be hard to imagine Apple's continued success. With only a 4% share of the PC market, the only way seems up. This will be particularly true if Apple changes the rules. What was a 'PC' may be something different soon. iPods and iPhone redefined not only market segments, but industries as well. Let's see if what is presented today has a browser or stays with an App Store model. Only in this way can we surmize how fast the stack will grow and from where the real competition comes from next.

R&B

January 27, 2010 8:47

Long time no tumble again. The last one was posted in the middle of september last year. My work load has been pretty high again so I will have to go with that excuse. It is still my intention to keep bringing you interesting links but maybe at a slower pace than before depending on external factors.

Logic Analyzer, an open source logic analyzer with a large number of features.

OpenGL ES from the Ground Up, If you are interested in getting started with OpenGL for embedded devices such as the iPhone these are a set of very simple OpenGL ES tutorials.

Pez Dispenser

Fast File Copy – Linux!, How to quickly copy files between two Linux (Unix) machines.

The slam build system, slam is similar in concept to Jam in that it understands C/C++ and calculates dependencies for you but it is simpler in its design and should be easier to get up and running.

Your Hardware Exposed! 22 PC Parts Bare All, Maximum PC takes apart 22 different pieces of PC hardware and show you the internals. If you are interested in how some of the most common components work or at the very least what they look like inside you really should take a peek.

The Xbox Micro, Normally I would refrain from posting Xbox-related links here but this project is pretty impressive as far as hardware hacking goes. Take a look!

How to etch aluminum panel labels/designs with a reusable acid mix, Personally I have far from steady hands (thank god for computers) but it really isn’t that hard to etch really cool panels by yourself.

Zabbix, If you ever wanted to monitor your own network take a look at Zabbix. Most, if not all, of us have heard of Nagios one time or another but Zabbix appears to be a very strong competitor with support for an impressive number of platforms. It’s also surprisingly easy to install.

Adventures in voiding my MacBook Pro’s warranty: Dual Internal SATA Hard Drives, I’m considering if I can afford to invest in an Intel X25-M G2 for my MacBook Pro and if 160GB really would be enough for my needs (I have a couple of virtual machines which tend to eat space) . This guy had a different solution when it came to running out of hardware space in his MacBook Pro.

January 25, 2010 6:00

It is cold outside!

Just a few random thoughts (from the hearth)...

Whatever Apple introduces next week, we are guessing the most significant item to be revealed will be a new system-on-a-chip or SoC that leverages the PA Semi acquisition. We are also thinking this new device will be bounded by the network that can support it (meaning wifi for now, and, Apple outmaneuvers the mobile carriers again by raising consumer expectations past the carrier's ability to broadly support 'a new standard'). The general storyline continues: it is all about digital distribution and so on...

The Ars coverage (surprising in itself) of the self-announced transition of the NYTimes to a pay-for-unlimited-access model sounds like it will be far too little too late to save a newspaper icon: New York Times to spend 2010 erecting a partial paywall. This is especially true given the trend in online journalism: payment by page views. The wall between editorial and advertising has irreversibly crumbled. Social-media-jounalism here we come. It will still be news, but it should be: intelligence (go Ars, go!). You will be the judge. To pay or not to pay...

Google's strained relationship with a significant element of the Chinese population could lead to an Android fork, perhaps Redroid. Android phones with Baidu would be just as bad. It could get messy. In the meanwhile, everything is already headed into new territory with the mobile internet and mobile devices that a) solve the identity and security problems, and b) merge the contradiction of proximity and distance from computers to create new consumer awareness and incentive programs. Banking industry beware: the mobile wallet is coming and for all your sins disintermediation will gain a greater meaning...

Are you following Global Foundries? Customers include AMD, Qualcomm, STMicro and IBM. They now own a fab in Singapore, are building one in New York and planning one in Abu Dhabi (related: ATIC). The Chartered Semiconductor acquisition has been completed. It seems one day the semiconductor industry won't have to worry about an earthquake in Taiwan (at TSMC). All this will undoubtedly lead IBM back into the end-user device business (Lenovo was one heck of a sucker punch!). We can expect smaller footprints, lower power consumption, and of course greater performance - you know, a Common Platform. These are the folks that will be competing with the new Chinese processors and corresponding Chinese version of the Internet (the Chinese 'freedom' version) that is certain to be present by then (Lenovo's revenge: low/no cost computers for emerging markets?)...

Enough for now. Be back later...

R&B

January 21, 2010 19:27

I’ve worked on kernel projects before but today marks the day I submitted a patch myself. I cannot take full or even half credit for it because it is a backport of a driver from Linux 2.6 for Sierra Wireless modems.

Even though that might sound simple it still took me quite a bit of work to get it to work properly due to the subtle changes in the underlying USB stack. I had to struggle quite a bit with some nasty instabilities related to interrupts which in the end turned out to be double frees on 2.4 but not on 2.6

My LKML submission is available at: http://marc.info/?l=linux-usb&m=126392883122598&w=2
The patch is available from my site since apparently GMail botched some of the lines: http://www.dholm.com/files/sierra-2.4_1.7.16-1.patch

Apparently 2.4 only accepts stability and security patches these days so I don’t think it will get merged but if someone ever needs it the work has already been done. We are running it on uClinux 2.4.26 but the patch was made against 2.4.37.

January 19, 2010 19:53

Absolutely great stuff!

The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing a high quality education to anyone, anywhere. WOW! It is amazing to see what one person can do.

R&B

January 19, 2010 15:36

The latest and greatest merchant terminal

There is no reason why an application like this won't work on a standard wireless network. What might be more interesting is to forget the credit card and just have your grocery charges go to your mobile bill. The mobile carrier that sorts out support for users from home to anywhere and back could be a big winner. With Google Voice pulling messaging away and unlocked Google Phones undoubtedly becoming eventually successful, the network operators need to get moving before connectivity is commoditized.

There still is good news for the mobile network operators. It is not just about one device, but multiple devices that serve up what people care about from wherever they are. Mobile computing-communications platforms will be always on, are more personal with a specific number, and have integrated security and billing features regular computers just don't have. Our data/content at home or in the cloud needs to move seamlessly across devices. Developing a platform that incorporates social networking and sharing, location awareness, and subscriber intelligence (preferences, profiles, past behavior) across multiple devices wherever a single user can be found on the network is the key.

So here is the next big question: who tries to buy Motorola first, Google or a network operator?

R&B

January 15, 2010 8:07

Earlier this week we featured a m-commerce video from Motorola. The Mobile Loyalty Solution is probably the most strategically interesting package Motorola has put together in a long time. Barcode shopping could shake up the retail industry. In fact, it could shake up much more than that.

The barcode is the URL

Who needs a browser when buyer and seller are connected through a smartphone by a barcode? Two words come to mind: easy and convenient. The physical packaging of the desired item essentially becomes a webpage. The buyer and seller (or trusted information service provider who might source coupons too) now know each other. A mobile number is more effective than a cookie in a browser. Buyer and seller can communicate directly and instantaneously: I want this product and you can communicate with me. Can I have a barcode coupon that can be scanned at checkout? :) This is telesatisfying verses telemarketing: Sure! Would you like to see our other products on the next aisle (wow!).... Browsing takes on a whole new meaning. Or, rather, it could mean what it once did again.

In related news: SI Promoting Swimsuit Issue With Mobile Barcodes. JagTag may not help the print industry survive, but if we were a mobile carrier, we would be all over this opportunity.

R&B

January 13, 2010 21:22

The biggest news emanating from CES has to be Android. It was everywhere. Android was found in tablets, netbooks, home media centers, smartphones, e-readers and probably a few other places we missed (and, even on MIPS!). By our count there are at least five versions of Android in the market - 1.1, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0 and 2.1, which arrived on the HTC Nexus One just before CES.

Dell introduced the Tablet PC (concept) after announcing
that AT&T would sell its Android-based smartphone

With the Nexus One, Google is undoubtedly seeking to defuse some of the fragmentation that seems to be developing around Android. The modular approach is strategically interesting, but tactically this approach is creating problems. Google understood complete system integration was essential and has taken a big step: the Google phone. Could we call it a Compoogle? We did a while ago. Too bad PowerPC was not up to the task. We still have the same ideas, now on ARM.

Google and Motorola and Sony and HTC and Dell and everyone else are doing what they have to do to be different and compete with Apple and the iPhone. The problem is that all these different new devices have proprietary features that are not necessary available on other Android based products. Unlike the iPhone where a software application can be written once for all versions of the iPhone, most software applications written for Android have to be customized for each device. This limits the addressable market of an application. Plus, there are vendor and even device specific apps stores. Apple does not have these problems. Nevertheless, eventually everything will probably come together. What is everything? Credit cards, cash, keys, ID cards, books, newspapers and tickets all look replaceable. And, now there is more...

Much more interesting from Motorola and just after CES

According to Motorola, More than Half of Consumers Utilize Mobile Phones for In-Store Holiday Shopping Activities. Why they did not promote this new service at CES is a mystery to us. Motorola has some very big news. There are no keywords in the barcode version of Search (think coupons, comparative shopping, loyalty promotions, etc.). We don't find AdSense in iTunes. It could be Android is a double edged sword and that would be the biggest Android news yet. Hello!

R&B

January 11, 2010 22:41

January 10, 2010 6:37

Yesterday, Freescale announced a tablet reference design: Freescale evolves second-generation smartbook form factors with new tablet design (Smartbook Reference Design). Systems sell silicon. It is great to see the marketing progressively going in this direction. Consumer products probably hold the most significant opportunity for Freescale revenue growth.

This Skype-Asus videophone also has a 7" screen

Omitted from the list of potential applications was video conferencing. We can't think of anything more compelling. To speak across continents as if we were across a room seems to be a logical extension of what we do already. In any case, we should remember that in our brave new world whoever offers the system to the consumer has the opportunity to provide not only content, but communications options too. This creates a new dimension of potential customers and calls on us to expand our notion of what a reference design actually is. Seeing is believing!

R&B

January 05, 2010 13:41

Ten years ago we welcomed the New Year with an early morning walk. The street cleaners had not made it out yet. You could not cross the round point at Place du Trocadero without stepping on a champagne bottle. Millennium celebrations took place throughout the world. Y2K passed without the serious, widespread computer failures and malfunctions that had been predicted (Google News Timeline). Not surprisingly, celebrations took place throughout the world again last night. Today, we welcome 2010, or MMX as it would have been written by the Romans. There will never be a shorter Roman-numeral year.

Ten years have come and gone...

Ten years ago we witnessed the nascent growth of Search Media. Today, we are seeing, or better participating, in the emergence of Social Media (one attempt: @bbrv). In some ways, we have been engaged in social media for years through PowerDeveloper and MorphZone. We have connected with our developers and users. We have sought and encouraged their participation in improving, evolving and promoting our products. The latest PowerDeveloper Forum posts and Project blogs are ample testimony that it works. The money contributed to Bounties at power2people is also proof. We paid out nearly $10,000 of community donated funds to developers in 2009 (scroll down). Communities build volume, we are hoping they can help us build an open source MPC8610 motherboard too.

We will see even more changes in the next decade. The growth rates of e-commerce and m-commerce (that distinction will probably disappear soon) prove people like technology and the choice, convenience and comparative opportunity it can bring. As the cost of computing-communications resources progressively fall more people will have information to exchange. Social media is destined to fine-tune search and drive more and more purchasing decisions. The last ten years brought us the iPod, iPhone and YouTube. The next ten years are likely to be more focused on the power of plural interests. We are expecting a ground-up knowledge-driven evolution. Happy New Year!

R&B

January 01, 2010 13:09

The Efika MX is working its way to a world of potential users one PowerDeveloper at a time. After some fairly extensive holiday travel Johan Dams has delivered the first Efika MX to the African continent. Project #731, Intelligent Networking of/using Embedded Systems (INES), is yet another step forward from Johan's original Efika Project, Project #338, which he began in 2006.

Johan Dams demonstrates the Efika MX at
Mohamed Khider University in Biskra, Algeria

More than two years ago, we covered Johan's exploits in Morocco: Not Waiting for the World to Change II. You may recall that Project #338 became much more than a 'Project' and serves today as an invaluable experience upon which to base a new set of Efika MX deployments. It seems that once again, as before, many PowerDevelopers and Genesi Partners will benefit from Johan's meaningful effort. Great work, Johan. Salute!

R&B

December 29, 2009 3:35

We should have posted our Holiday message a little earlier this year to recognize all those folks that may have been trying their luck with a dreidel or la toupie. Nevertheless, Season's Greetings to you and to everyone else. Happy Holidays y Feliz Navidad!

Hello World! Join with us to spread some joy and kindness!


Peace on Earth and good will to all people!

R&B

December 20, 2009 22:17

Earlier today a PegasosPPC configured with standard off-the-shelf components sold on ebay. A licensed copy of AmigaOS 4.1 was included (worth 120 Euros). The seller emphasized that it was not installed properly on the likely possibility that the CD/DVD-ROM drive was defective. After a week and 32 bids the system sold for Euro 421/$613.80. It has been three years since the last new PegasosPPC boards were sold at a price of $399: Coffee, Tea, or PegasosPPC.

AmigaOS4.1 on the Pegasos

December 17, 2009 16:43

Just when you thought it was impossible to extend the realm of smart mobile devices, new information has set the world abuzz. Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at an unprecidented level of hysteria. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: it is a transporter. Yes, that is right, Google's leading-edge device is being designed to convert the user into an energy pattern so that they can be transported after search to the destination of their choice. Upon arrival they will be safely reconverted and released. And, best of all: there will be no dropped calls. Welcome to the human network. Wow!

Next up for Google: the mind-body problem

December 16, 2009 15:43

CrunchPad or JooJoo?

December 14, 2009 6:36

Network operators have a growing problem. A small percentage of their network subscribers use a disproportional amount of network capacity. Yesterday, Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive for mobility and consumer markets at AT&T, told analysts at a conference in New York that 40 percent of AT&T’s data traffic came from just 3 percent of its smartphone customers (no doubt mostly the iPhone). iChat on the iPhone is going to increase network congestion dramatically. This is likely to be the reason this feature has not been introduced, as it is a safe bet the iPhone can handle the job technically. At issue is quality of service. "Unlimited use" with increasingly capable computing-communication devices is creating problems, not only in the US, but worldwide.

Smartbook block diagram

As we look ahead, wireless carriers are preparing for growth in the use of smartphones and mobile computers. Progressively higher demands will be placed on their networks. At the same time, as the number of connected devices and data traffic grows, service providers want to be smarter about how they bill customers. The iPhone and the Apps Store have not only changed the face of digital distribution (for developers and users), but have made it very clear to network operators that they need to understand their customers better. The iPhone is not just a neat gadget. Network operators will expand capacity as fast as they can, and when they can't (or don't want to) capacity will be metered first to those that pay.

R&B

December 10, 2009 6:02

As promised the Freescale Semiconductor Networking and Multimedia Group delivered the design documentation yesterday for the MPC8610 Reference Design. The board was designed with the intention to provide access to as many features of the MPC8610 as possible in a micro-ATX form factor.

Block Diagram MPC8610 Reference Board

It will take some time to review the materials and decide whether or not we need to adjust the MPC8610 Open Source Mainboard Bounty or leave the Bounty Steps and the funding requirements as they are. The Step 1 Bounty has reached more than 1500 Euros, while a general contribution of $10,000 for Steps 1-6 has also been received. In the meanwhile, the power2people MPC8610 Developer Program is open and ready for your proposals.

R&B

December 08, 2009 2:33

December 06, 2009 20:43

It did not take too long for the second Gentoo Developer to get his Efika MX update online: The Efika MX has arrived!

"I was thinking it was a lot bigger than it actually is."

Thanks Steev, the pictures still look good. At least we know it arrived safely. We especially appreciate you posting on you PowerDeveloper.org i.MX515 Project #765. Please keep the community informed!

We are looking forward to working again with the Gentoo Community. More from the archives: Gentoo Weekly Newsletter: January 24, 2005.

Efika MX Country Count: we have shipped the Efika MX to 17 countries.

R&B

December 05, 2009 10:59

It did not take too long for the first Gentoo Developer to get his Efika MX online: Gentoo: Genesi Efika MX unboxing and first impressions.

"My first impressions are pretty good."

Great! Thanks Jeremy. We are looking forward to working again with the Gentoo Community. From the archives: Gentoo Weekly Newsletter: November 29, 2004.

Efika MX Country Count: we have shipped the Efika MX to 17 countries.

R&B

December 04, 2009 7:24

The MPC8610 Open Source Mainboard Bounty got a boost yesterday. First, the MPC8610 Product Manager agreed to provide us with all the design documentation for the Freescale Reference Design and Evaluation System (MCEVALHPCD-8610E: schematics, bill-of-materials, etc.). As we have four of these systems already, this will speed up the development process.

The Project is powering ahead!

The other good news is that we received a commitment for $10,000 to be applied to the Project as we think best from a corporate donor.

We will be reviewing the Freescale documentation and making some decisions on how best to proceed in the weeks ahead. In the meanwhile, the power2people MPC8610 Developer Program is open and ready for your proposals.

R&B

December 03, 2009 5:27

If you have been following the Efika MX Development Blog you will know we have been working through a myriad of challenges. As a way of saying thank you to all our customers, we will be providing a free upgrade to any person or company that purchased an Efika MX Open Client by 1 December 2009 (yesterday).

The Efika MX is not much bigger than an iPhone

By the end of this week, we will have already shipped the Efika MX to 14 countries. We are looking forward to posting more about developers and the efforts they are making with the Efika MX soon.

R&B

December 02, 2009 5:18

...some time later, we had the Times, and now we have the bots. The strings of words that become the most popular can take on a life of their own. The problem compounds and builds on itself. What happens when what people search for becomes the content that is created (you know, instead of the other way around!)? Think about this: journalists used to tell us what the news was. Increasingly today, advertisers pay for keyword association. If the headlines are created from the most valuable keywords, the content itself is generated after-search.

Are you searching but not finding?

The bots can't do all the work. Search quality has to be based on more than an algorithm, and that is, us

December 01, 2009 7:09

Earlier this month, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 generated $550 million in sales worldwide in the first five days it was available. Since 2003, the Call of Duty series has sold more than 55 million units creating over $3 billion in revenue. In contrast, it is surprising to know that only three films released in a series have done better: Harry Potter (six films, $5.4 billion), James Bond (22 films, $5 billion) and Star Wars (seven films, $4.2 billion). The highest grossing single film was Titanic, which took ten months to generate $1.8 billion.

Call of Duty is not the Mighty Mophin Power Rangers

15 years ago last month the Xiphias produced Mighty Morphin Power Rangers made a debut as a CD-ROM. It was available for the PC and Mac and based on a popular children's TV program. Successful in one media, the Power Rangers brand generated interest and success in another. The President of Xiphias was Peter Black. It is interesting to read what Peter had to say about digital distribution at the time: Home Video, NY Times, December 1994. The CD was distributed by Paramount, a movie studio. In the first two months, Xiphius had 113,000 CDs in distribution, making it one of the most successful CDs of the year. Peter had the right ideas.

In the meanwhile, have you seen a movie or show on YouTube? The ads are embedded and change in placement, number and variety. Google continues to find ways to co-opted the hardware through the browser. Android and ChromeOS are logical steps. It is not hard to imagine a mass-multi-player version of Call of Duty for 'Google Games' running on free hardware supported by the world's largest server infrastructure and all paid for by advertising. Premium versions can be offered in subscription. The cost of the hardware will be driven down to the cost of the processor and I/O (hopefully, we will remain analog beings!!!). The network connection is likely to be considered simply a device feature and thus also paid for by advertising.

R&B

November 29, 2009 13:47

Last week AT&T announced Synaptic Services. These will be on-demand compute and storage resources that can be scaled as needed and only paid for when used. There are no set-up fees and no minimum commitment requirements. AT&T will manage the network, server, and storage. Customers can develop and manage everything else as if these resources were their own. It sounds and looks like the Sun Cloud.

The Efika MX has no moving parts
and it's not much bigger than an iPhone!

For years, AT&T and other carriers have paid dealers and value added resellers commissions for selling network services. This seems to be something more. Synaptic resources could be made available to developers working within the AT&T cloud to offer their own applications, or storefront, while supporting a whole new world of customizable devices. It sounds and looks like Cloud City. Any guess which device we will be pulling with?!

November 22, 2009 12:37

Following up on yesterday's blog...

It is a good video

In the press conference for Chrome OS, Google said they were working with hardware manufacturers, which they would not name, on developing Chrome OS machines. These will first be netbooks. Eventually Chrome OS could be in laptops and desktops, said Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management at Google, but the focus now is on cheap machines "that you use all day and charge at night, like a cellphone."

Well, that all day part should be good news for ARM-based devices...

R&B

November 20, 2009 7:21

This cow had a habit of going for the grass that he did not have. Nevertheless, between the fence and the simple, but effective forked stick placed around the cow's neck, this cow was 'locked.'

Will you be locked to your service provider?

As netbooks increasingly enter the mobile market, unlocking the netbook from a service provider may be a bit more problematic than swapping a SIM card or mastering a software tweak. It will be interesting to see if the quality and variety of netbook service offerings keep folks happy or looking for something more. As fast as technology evolves, two years is a long time to stay linked to a service contract.

A couple of weeks ago Google announced that you could use Google Voice with your existing mobile number. Your messages can now go to your computer or to your mobile as text, unlocking your messages from the service provider. Step by step, it seems the service providers are being herded by Google right to where Google wants them to be. If the service providers don't tend to favor the consumer a bit more soon, they could actually be the ones that find themselves on the wrong side of the fence.

R&B

November 19, 2009 19:01