No pretty pictures today, but a lot of results.
Nikolaus has been busy testing all the features the mainboard offers,
takes quite some time (seriously).
A quick summary upfront:
The main PCB only had TWO layout mistakes - and that can be manually
fixed within a few minutes and fixed in the layout file (for the
production version) within 1 - 2 hours. So yes, the main PCB should be
ready for production now - and the display PCB as well. Only missing
thing now is the CPU PCB (which is more than halfway done already).
Here's a nice list of what has been done:
Note: As Nikolaus is currently working on the tests, it could be that
some stuff that I put in the untested list has been tested by him
already :) Not much left to test anyways :)
Tested and working fine:
------------------------
* Display (without using the ssd2858)
* Backlight
* Nub-Buttons
* Keyboard Backlight
* BMP180 (Barometric Sensor)
* Nubs
* FTDI (RS232 over USB)
* Power-LEDs
* LID-Detect
* BMC150 - accelerometer works with hacked bma150 input driver
* Panel-I2C
* TSC2007 + touch screen
* Charging Bypass
* Charger
* Fuel Gauge
* Keyboard
* Logo LEDs
* Shoulder Buttons
* USB-Host Currency Converter
* Cinterion Modem (both phone part and GPS)
* Modem Ignite
Issues found
------------
* Sometimes, I2C hangs (Reset issue)
Not yet tested
--------------
* CRTOUCH - we don't have a driver yet
* INA231 (Current Shunt and Power Monitor)
* Force-Reset-Logic
* Over-Current-Indicator
* BMG160 (Gyroscope)
* BMC150 (Compass)
* BNO055 (9-Axis Sensor)
* Mic-Detect
* FM
* ssd2858
Stuff we need the finished CPU PCB to test them:
------------------------------------------------
* DPAD, ABXY
* Microphone
* WLAN
* Bluetooth
* Audio (PCM1773 and TWL6040)
* Headset
* Vibra
* (u)SD-Slots
We're getting there - full speed ahead!
BTW: Beware - I'll start an official keyboard layout thread later
tonight... I guess there'll be a hot discussion after that...
Want to comment on the post?
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17879-test-drive/
Follow me on twitter for short news inbetween:
https://twitter.com/EvilDragon1717
Besides some news, you'll get more nice pictures in this Blog entry
(well, you need to visit the blog)
I hope you'll enjoy both.
1. The PCBs
-----------
As mentioned, Nikolaus populated the PCBs.
The main PCB and the display PCB are exactly as they'll be in the final
unit (except for the currently missing volume wheel) - unless we find
some design errors that need to be fixed.
So yes, except for the CPU PCB, these are actual prototype PCBs!
For the moment, we have a dummy CPU PCB where we can attach the
devboard - which means: Everything except the CPU PCB can already be
fully tested!
You can see them all on the website.
2. Change to the USB/SATA-Combo-Port
------------------------------------
Sadly, the USB/SATA-Combo port is discontinued and not available
anymore. Therefore, we decided to change it a bit.
The port will be replaced with a USB3 port.
Now hold your horses, the OMAP5 only has ONE USB3 port, which is the
MicroUSB port.
However, with a CPU upgrade, we'll have a USB3 port available.
With the OMAP5, it'll act as a normal USB2 Port AND we'll offer an
adapter to connect SATA as well to it.
So instead of one combo port, you need to use an adaptor if you plan to
use SATA, but at the same time we already have a USB3 connector on the
PCB for future upgrades. Sounds like a good idea to me :)
That's it for now, hopefully back soon with more news.
Want to see the pictures and comment to the post?
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17852-pictures-for-the-weekend/
Follow me on twitter for short news inbetween:
https://twitter.com/EvilDragon1717
Note: There are some nice pictures that go with this post.
You should really visit the boards to see them if you're interested :)
Things are slowly adding up!
Let's start with the biggest news first:
1. The Case design
------------------
The case design is basically finished.
The only thing left is to print it, test it (together with the
prototype PCBs) and make some final tweaks in case something doesn't
fit properly yet. Then it's time to produce the moulds and two months
later, we can start producing the case.
During that timeframe, we can also choose the colors (together with the
community, of course). I will probably publish a Blender file so
everyone can work on color designs as well!
I've rendered a few pictures for you.
Don't worry - weird stairs-like artifacts you can see on the case are
due to importing a CAD file into Blender - the Mesh had a too low
resolution. In reality, these curves will be perfectly smooth.
Now, what changed for the case since the last time I posted?
The edges where your palms hold the device have been rounded.
This should make playing a lot more comfortable.
The lid edges will have the corners changed to be slightly rounded in
order to fit there.
The shoulder buttons have been slightly tweaked so that the upper
button has no dead spots (where you can't press them).
Some minor change (just cosmetic):
The front has been changed to look a bit more symmetric.
I can't wait for the printed case :D
Let's move on to the...
2. LCD Cable
------------
Samples of Pyras LCD Cable will be ready in about 15 days (add some
more for shipping). As you know, we tweaked it so that will (hopefully)
not fail again.
BTW: The LCD Cable of the Nintendo 3DS uses the same solution we do:
Rounded edges everywhere. As the LCD Cable itself doesn't have any
parts on it, it's also a lot cheaper than Pandoras (about 3 USD
compared to the current 10 USD).
Next up:
3. The PCBs
-----------
Nikolaus spent the last week populating the main prototype and display
PCBs. These are now finished - the only thing missing is the Wifi
module (read below).
The layout for the CPU PCB is not yet finished (as Nikolaus didn't
manage to clone himself yet), but as we're still waiting for one sample
component, we couldn't populate those yet anyways. However, we can
fully test the main- and display PCB without the CPU PCB as well.
4. The rotator Chip
-------------------
Nikolaus just started to work on it today, but as with every MIPI
device, it's a lot of trial, error and browsing through documentation
to get the correct sequence. Let's hope he's lucky and will stumble
accross the correct sequence within a couple of days. The manufacturer
tries to provide as much help as possible as well.
I'll keep you posted!
5. Some stuff we need to solve
------------------------------
Well, not everything is nice and wonderful in real life, and that's
also the case with designing and producing a new device. The leadtime
we got for the Wifi Chip is 30 (!!!) weeks - which is WAY too long.
Jorjin (the module manufacturer) could produce them within a couple of
weeks, but it seems to take exceptionally long to get the needed
chipsets from TI right now. Also, some sample chips we ordered from TI
two months ago haven't arrived (that's the part missing for the CPU
PCBs).
It's not a dealbreaker, as we know we can get these parts, but we
surely don't want to wait that long! My contact to TI is on holidays
this week, but I'll try to find a solution for that together with him
next week.
We're also currently looking for different Wifi SIP manufacturers in
order to be able to have a solution that doesn't take 30 weeks. I'm
sure we can work something out, but it's a bit of annoying work to do.
So much for the news today. We're moving along :)
In case there's a part of the case you want to take a closer look on,
let me know and I'll render it :)
Want to see the pictures and comment to the post?
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17843-updates-in-all-areas-spiced-with-…
Follow me on twitter for short news inbetween:
https://twitter.com/EvilDragon1717
Well, you learned about the PCBs and displays in the last post, time to
update you on the rest.
Let's start with...
The case
--------
I received an update a while ago which has been adapted to the display
and all our other components (PCB, the battery, etc.) It's nigh
finished and the shoulder buttons received a new design as well (yep -
they do look familiar. The idea for those came from the community -
thanks for that!) If you want to see pictures, check the blogpost
linked at the bottom of the mail.
However, to fit the display, they increased the width of the device by
1,4cm... something we don't want (right? :)) They tried to keep the
screws in the lid, but I rather want them removed and have some other
way to fix the lid (i.e. with clips - but better ones we had on the
Pandora) and keep one screw in the middle area.
This is now being worked on. It will change the shoulder buttons a bit
as well, but hopefully, not too much. I'll update you once I got the
next design - which will then also be printed for a test with the
prototype PCBs.
Nothing moved ahead with the keymat, as they need the final case design
first. However, the keymat is simple, and the first sample (with
correctly sized keys) took two weeks, so I guess once they get the
final design, it'll take about the same time.
The battery
-----------
As you might remember, the 6000mAh battery is a bit wider than Pandoras
battery, so the battery compartment had to be changed to fit that. This
change has now been added to the case, so we knew exactly where to
place the contacts of the battery. And because of that, we could now
order the battery. We will receive 20 samples about end of February
(hopefully ;)) and when we confirm them to be working fine and fitting
well, 3000 batteries will be produced and shipped about end of April
(so we'll get them in June / July).
The LCD Cable
-------------
The last missing component is the LCD cable - and prototypes are being
produced now as well. I don't know yet when we'll receive them, but
hopefully it'll be end of February as well. They're a lot more simple
as the Pandora cables, as they have less traces, only use one side (not
two), have less edges (and all of them are rounded) and no electrical
components on them. All traces are redundant as well, so if one trace
breaks, the cable still works fine. Two traces of the same signal would
have to break to make the cable go bad - and that should not be that
likely.
So... did I miss something?
I don't think so, but if you think I did, let me know and I'll reply to
you :)
We should now also start to think about the packaging (what items we'll
include, what package design we'll choose), etc. I'll probably start a
poll about the items as well.
Discuss about that post and view the shoulder button pictures on the
webboards:
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17717-of-cases-and-batteries/
Follow me on twitter for short news inbetween:
https://twitter.com/EvilDragon1717
Sorry for the loooooong time without an official blog update - it's not
the case that so little happened that there was nothing to post... the
problem was, that I had so much work to do because so many things moved
forward, that I didn't find the time to actually post an update.
Additionally, end of the year always means you need to do your bookings
and stocktaking... so that needed quite a bit of time as well.
Well, as so many things have happened, I'll spread those over multiple
blog posts once again.
Let's start with...
1. The PCBs
-----------
As mentioned last time, the layout for the main PCB has been finished
and the PCBs and all parts except for one coil are already here with
us. Yep, it's a simple coil that's out of stock right now, but it's
ordered and will arrive early February, which means it's prototype time!
Nikolaus is working on the CPU PCB right now and about half-way
through, which means he should be finished roughly middle to late
February. The ordered OMAP5 are already on the way to us, so it looks
like CPU PCBs we'll see a prototype release in February as well (except
one other part will get a delay, which is something you never know when
doing prototypes).
Well - these PCBs will most probably be the last revisions before the
mass production (unless there are some serious errors), so we're moving
forward here.
2. The display and the rotator
------------------------------
Thanks to the awesome help of the BOE team, we were able to include the
correct initialization sequence in our driver and the display is now
working perfectly. We need a bit more work to use the rotator chip
though. It should be easy - but once again we are able to proof that
Murphys Law is always true!
Now things get a bit technical - if you don't want to know exactly
what's going on, skip the next section.
--------------- START OF TECHNICAL DETAILS ---------------
So, let me explain how it should work in theory:
The routing of the Video signal is:
OMAP5 -> Rotator Chip -> Display
The signal is being sent via MIPI. MIPI is a digital standard that
allows to send commands (like enable / disable rotation, change
backlight, change powersaving settings, etc.) as well as a video signal.
The first thing to do to make a display work at all is to send an
initialization command, so that it switches on, configures itself and
accepts the MIPI Video signal. This is what I mentioned above which is
already working fine.
Then we got the rotator chip inbetween. We need to be able to send
commands both to the rotator chip and the the display. To be able to do
that, Solomon (the manufacturer of the chip) implemented an easy way to
do that: There's a bypass mode, so that all commands will be directly
sent to the display.
To to initialize our display, we need to switch the rotator chip to
bypass mode, send the initialization sequence, disable bypass mode and
enable the rotation.
The bypass mode can be enabled or disabled with a command sequence. The
sequence starts with 0xFF. This would in theory work perfectly fine -
but the initialization of the display ALSO starts with 0xFF. Solomon
also thought of that. In order to send a MIPI command sequence that
starts with 0xFF, you simply send 0xFF twice.
So far no problem. However: MIPI command sequences have a maximum
length of four bytes. And the initialization command sequence of our
display uses the full four bytes. Now THAT'S a problem: As we need to
send 0xFF twice to tell the Solomon chip to pass through, we can only
send a sequence of three bytes.
So... Murphys Law has fully struck us. By chance we got the worst
combination possible: If the initialization command sequence of the
display wouldn't start with 0xFF (or the Solomon chip would use a
different byte for the bypass command), it would work without issues.
And even then - if the sequence would only be 2 or 3 bytes long, it
would STILL work. A start with 0xFF and 4 bytes long however is the
ONLY combination that doesn't work!
So, yay for this! I should really start playing the lottery!
But don't be afraid - there's a solution for this.. it just means a bit
of more work for us: We can flash the display driver IC so that it
initializes the panel automatically as soon as it is connected.
------------------- END OF TECHNICAL DETAILS --------------------
In order to use the Solomon chip, we need to flash the driver IC of the
LCD. This is no problem in mass production, as BOE will do it for us -
however, for our prototype panels, we need to do that ourselves. It's
not that complicated, but we need to modify one of our display PCBs for
that.
We decided to do that AFTER the CPU PCB is finished, so we can't test
the rotation chip before end of February (probably).
Both BOE and Solomon are giving us GREAT support here, that's awesome :)
3. The touchscreen
------------------
Upon testing, we found that the first touchscreen we received for our
displays was not responsive enough. It's similar to a batch of Pandora
touchscreens we had: It works fine with the stylus, but doesn't really
react to your fingers (unless you press really hard).
It took about only two weeks to get new samples of a different
touchscreen - and it works a lot better. Nikolaus tested it and
according to him, it works a LOT better (and reacts to your finger
gestures as well). I'll pay him a visit this week to check it out
myself and make sure it works fine.
So, today's newspost gave you the current information about the PCBs,
the display including the rotator chip and the touchscreen.
Coming soon: The case, the battery and the LCD Cable.
Feel free to ask any questions here, as usual :)
Discuss about that post on the webboards:
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17697-of-boards-and-displays/
Follow me on twitter for short news inbetween:
https://twitter.com/EvilDragon1717
2014 is coming to an end (or has already ended in some regions), so of
course I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope you had a few nice
christmas holidays. 2015 will be an important year for us.
The Pyra will be finished, that's pretty much for sure, and then it's
time to gain a lot of interest for it. The interest will determine
whether it'll be actually produced or not - but I'm pretty positive we
can do that :)
But first - the last update of this year :)
1. The PCBs
-----------
Nikolaus completely finished the main PCB just before christmas and the
PCBs have already been ordered! So we'll soon have some fully working
prototype PCBs. He also designed an adapter so we can plug in the
devboard as CPU board replacement, which allows us to fully test all
functions of the mainboard. So the only remaining PCB left is the CPU
PCB. That will need about 100 workhours to be finished, and then the
hardware is basically fully done (except for bugs we may find).
2. The Case
-----------
Not much else has happened since the last post, but it was christmas
time, so every company had some holidays. I expect more information in
January. I might make another trip to Greece as well to talk with them
about the last tweaks if need be.
So, Happy New Year to all of you - see you soon!
Discuss about that post and view the pictures on the webboards:
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17548-welcome-to-the-decisive-year/
Follow me on twitter for short news inbetween:
https://twitter.com/EvilDragon1717
Whew, I can't understand so much time has passed again already since I
did any newspost - time sure flies when you got a lot of work to do!
So, anyways, here's today's update... I hope I don't forget anything,
as there's plenty to tell you.
1. The Nubs
-----------
Well, as mentioned last time:
We'll order a bit more than 10,000 of the current Nubs so we got enough
for the first 5000 Pyras.
After that, we can either use the smaller ones, have high enough order
quantities that the current nubs are being produced again or find
someone else to produce them (as mentioned, it's basically just a
magnet that moves around - no electronics inside).
If the first 5000 Pyras sell fast, we can easily order high enough
quantities of the nubs to continue their production.
If they sell slower, we've got plenty of time to find a replacement
So either way, we'll find a solution after that.
One good thing: The smaller nub would fit out of the box - the height
form of the pin is EXACTLY the same - so the case wouldn't need to be
modified if we'd use that.
(You can see that in the pictures at the forum post (link at the bottom
of the mail))
I'll test the small one myself on Tuesday, but I don't think we'd want
that - the travel distance really is too small.
2. A puzzling experience
------------------------
The PCB layout was actually more work than Nikolaus expected.
A LOT more work. Keeping the PCB down to four layers and fitting
everything into the small space of the PCB is a complex puzzle.
Nevertheless, each day, less issues are left. And he's still positive
that we can get finished, unpopulated PCB just before christmas.
This means though that we won't get a populated one before christmas
(unless GC wants to work on December 24th, but I doubt that), but
shortly after christmas.
Still a huge step - and still the most complicated thing in the whole
Pyra-Creation process.
After that, it's time to layout the CPU PCB - but that's easy compared
to the mainboard, as there's more space (and layers), so that should
work out a lot faster.
Want an example of the puzzles Nikolaus has to work on each day?
Here you go:
(Again, picture is at the forum post)
Inside of that picture are at least 3 major and 8 small rule
infringements. If we keep it like that, the PCB could not be produced
reliably, would get shortcircuits or similar issues.
Moving traces around could lead to other rule infringements - so this
is quite a puzzle (high-level Sokoban, eh?)
Each issue needs about 5 - 30 minutes to solve, so it's possible, just
takes a loooot of time.
And the more you solve, the more complicated it gets for the remaining
ones... fun.
Someone should create a puzzle game on the Pandora based on that :D
3. The case
-----------
According to the case designer, I should receive the case design files
with all requested changes tomorrow.
I won't believe it until I get it (as it usually ALWAYS takes longer
than expected), but it shouldn't take much longer.
The battery we'll use will probably be a bit wider than the Pandora
one, so the case needs a bit of a change here.
The Stylus will probably get a tiny bit thinner and all four screws
will be hidden inside the battery compartment (which is nice).
With a small adapter you can also use a Pandora battery, which is great
as well.
I should get two different versions of the case with different shoulder
button designs.
I'll let you know and show you renderings once I get the design files,
that's for sure :)
4. AC Adaptor and LCD Cables
----------------------------
Fatih is looking for various AC Adaptors. Basically, it's a normal USB
plug (with 2A) with replaceable plug, similar to the Pandora (so it
works with EU, UK, US and AU plugs).
There are various manufacturers for that and we'll get different
samples for testing.
The LCD Cable design has been finished as well and Fatih is getting a
quotation for it.
Each trace is wider than on Pandora's cable, the traces are redundant
and there's a bit more space to the edge. Also, all edges are rounded -
which prevents tears directly at the edges (which was an issue with a
lot of broken Pandora cables as well).
The cable also doesn't have any electronics on, so it will be a LOT
cheaper (Pandora's cable was 10 EUR production cost each).
These enhancements should reduce the risk of breaking LCD cables to a
minimum (of course, you can never reduce that to 0 - everything can
break in the world).
5. Software
-----------
We now added key signing to our repository, tweaked the scripts a bit
more and are now able to create working rootfs to our likings.
If anyone got an OMAP5 devboard: I'll post a link and instructions on
how to install it soon, so anyone with a devboard can try it out and
help us improving the default setup and tools.
I THINK that's all for now - but as mentioned, so much happened, so I
might've forgotten something - but feel free to ask me if you have any
other questions.
Discuss about that post and view the pictures on the webboards:
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17476-the-pyra-puzzle/
Follow me on twitter for short news inbetween:
https://twitter.com/EvilDragon1717
Still no time to slow down - so here's a summary of what happened
lately :)
The PCBs
--------
Finally, the full schematics for the Pyra have been finished by
Nikolaus early last week! Which means, that the hardware is basically
done - the only thing left to do is to translate the schematics into
the layout of the PCB.
It's very time consuming work, but Nikolaus will try to finish that in
December, so that we can produce the first prototypes before the end of
the year! December 23rd would be a cool date for the prototype
production run - as December 23rd, 2011 was the day we made the test
production run of the Pandora at Global Components in Germany.
The OMAPs have already been ordered, we plan to produce 15 prototpe
PCBs. Will we be able to keep that schedule? It's a short timeframe for
the remaining work to be done (we know that), but we'll try our best.
These prototypes need to be thoroughly tested then. Quite a few won't
work at all (as such a test run is used to setup the machine properly).
Some of the working ones will go to devs like notaz and maybe one or
two will be auctioned off.
And after that? Well, all bugs we still find need to be eliminated, a
new test run needs to be done. And once the hardware fully works, it's
time to setup the mass production and the preordering. Hopefully, we
won't need to many revisions before we have all bugs fixed.
The cases
---------
Of course, a fully working PCB is nothing without a finished case!
Now that all specifications are fixed, the designer has resumed work on
the case to do the final tweaks (and offer me two different solutions
for the shoulder buttons). I hope the final case will be ready for a 3D
print in December as well.
The nubs
--------
We took the chance to meet the designer and engineer of our current
nubs at the Electronica exhibition in Munich. Basically, the part is
end of life (EOL), because there weren't enough orders to keep the
production alive. All other nubs we tried won't fit, sadly (the 3DS one
is twice as thick, so that won't work). The only EOL part of the nub is
the mechanical one which is basically a disc with springs that move a
magnet. The electrical part (which is simply a hall sensor) is
available without any issues.
Our current solution is this one:
The deadline for placing the order is the current nub is end of
December. We'll order 10,000 of those, which will be enough for 5,000
Pyras. If these Pyras sell really fast, we can probably resume the
production with a high enough order. If these Pyras sell slow, we have
enough time (and money) to find a solution, i.e. a company that can
create a compatible mechanical frame.
I sure hope though we can get enough orders to make them resume the
production though! The first order of 10,000 will be a first step to
that!
3G / 4G
-------
More good news from the Electronica:
We found a Tetra-Band Antenna that fits onto the reserved space of our
PCB, which means that the Pyra will be able to do 3G/4G.
AMD
---
I've also paid AMD a visit to ask them about their upcoming ARM SoC for
tablets. Nothing to get excited yet, but I've got some contacts now to
discuss with. We know they'll release a 64bit ARM SoC which uses the
Radeon GPU (which has working open source drivers), so that surely
would be an interesting chip for a first Pyra upgrade.
IF (in capitals) we will be able to use it, it will still be a long
time away. And if not enough people buy the Pyra or we we can't get it
from AMD, it won't even be made.
The first release will be the OMAP5 Pyra - and the more people buy it,
the more likely a future CPU Board upgrade will be :)
Videos
------
You probably know about the 'What would you like to see?'-thread
(http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17295-what-would-you-like-to-see/)
Well, I got the devboard prepared at work and will hopefully be able to
produce regular videos of those requests from this week on - this just
depends on the amount of spare time I have.
These will only be very short videos, just showing one thing at a time.
And we won't be able to show all of those requests yet, as our current
OS still has some things like the 3D driver missing. But those videos
will follow once we have it working as well.
Keyboard
--------
Well.... as the design is basically finished, it's time to soon start
for me to work on the keyboard layout. I know we've got hundreds of
posts about that already, which I all need to browse and check and find
the best suitable keyboard layout. I'll probably make a few different
layouts and put them up to discussions, so we can tweak them. I plan to
do this end of November / early December.
Phew, that was quite a lenghty post - but we certainly had (and have) a
lot going on :) See you at the boards!
Discuss about that post on the webboards:
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17337-finished-well-the-schematics-that…
Follow me on twitter for short news inbetween:
https://twitter.com/EvilDragon1717
--
Greetings,
Michael Mrozek
-----------------------
OpenPandora GmbH
Geschäftsführer: Michael Mrozek
Schäffbräustr. 11
85049 Ingolstadt
Deutschland
Tel.: 0841 / 13 177 33
http://www.openpandora.de/
HRB 4879, Amtsgericht Ingolstadt
-----------------------
eMail: mrozek(a)openpandora.org
What have you been doing lately?
1. Schematics: 40 Pages
-----------------------
Well - Nikolaus surely won't forget... he created page after page of
Pyra schematics. A long and exhausting work, as it needs very high
concentration.
But now it's almost finished! He already sent me a preview version
which consists of 40 (!) pages just for the schematics!
Next step will be to move those schematics into the PCB layout. This is
partly assisted, but still some work to do. Well, most of that work
will be the CPU PCB, as the main PCB was pretty much finished for quite
a while already.
Some OMAP5 CPUs (and other parts) have already been ordered, so we
should be able to create (hopefully :)) working prototypes soon
(whatever soon means :))
What's neat: The Pyra will be compatible with the devboard. That means:
We can use the SD Card from our devboard and put it into the Pyra
SD-Card slot - it should boot up and work. Really helpful with
development :)
However, it also means that in theory you should be able to use TIs
Android Demo images and run them on the Pyra. Or run the polished
PyraOS on a devboard at home.
Speaking of the OS...:
2. First Debian rootfs created on our build server!
---------------------------------------------------
With a lot of help from aTc, I finished setting up the build server for
the OS. We can now automatically build images with preconfigured
configs and packages - a quick test today was successful.
The image already includes our own repository and our own packages.
So far, fbturbo (for a blazing fast X.Org) has been included as well as
meta-packages (which we can use to decide what stuff we want to have
preinstalled on the Pyra).
As Debian has almost anything we need in their repository, we can now
easily create a fully fledged desktop OS. We still need to create our
own packages and include them, for example: our kernel, glshim, First
Boot Wizard, SGX driver, Config files, etc. We already created a
package for fbturbo, so we know how to do it, it's just a bit of work :)
3. Electronica2014
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Next week we're visiting the Electronica2014 in Munich, which is a huge
electronics exhibition. We'll visit our partners there and will discuss
problems we still need to solve (i.e. getting the LCD with the rotator
chip to work), visit the nubs manufacturer and talk about solutions,
etc.
While they all help us via eMails as well, it's always different
meeting them, being able to show what we already have and speaking with
some of their experts.
We're getting there :)
Discuss about that post on the webboards:
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/17294-an-image-an-exhibition-and-40-pag…
Follow me on twitter for short news inbetween:
https://twitter.com/EvilDragon1717
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Greetings,
Michael Mrozek
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OpenPandora GmbH
Geschäftsführer: Michael Mrozek
Schäffbräustr. 11
85049 Ingolstadt
Deutschland
Tel.: 0841 / 13 177 33
http://www.openpandora.de/
HRB 4879, Amtsgericht Ingolstadt
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eMail: mrozek(a)openpandora.org