Let the latest Gadget Master posts come to you, with RSS

The best way to get the very latest Gadget Master posts as soon as they are published? RSS!

And it's not just Gadget Master. Check out all the RSS feeds that are available for Electronics Weekly content. The feed for Latest News, for example, can be found here.

There are 12 Electronics Weekly feeds you can tap into:
News
Jobs
Products

(Blogs)
Mannerisms
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Electro-ramblings
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To use an ElectronicsWeekly.com RSS feed you simply need to download and install a RSS reader. Alternatively RSS functionality is built into the personalised areas of sites such as Google & Yahoo, or in Internet browsers such as IE7 and Mozilla Firefox.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, by the way. And if you are unfamiliar with this technology, just check out the What is RSS section of our RSS page. electronics news

Wind River offers Qt Commercial on VxWorks

Wind River has collaborated with developer of Qt for desktop and embedded development Digia to offer platform support for the Qt Commercial development framework on Wind River's VxWorks real-time operating system (RTOS).

Qt Commercial is a cross-platform user interface (UI) and application framework with tools for the creation and deployment of applications for desktop and embedded platforms.

his collaboration opens the way for developers across a range of market segments including industrial, medical, and aerospace and defence to design and deploy rich UIs using the Qt development framework running seamlessly on VxWorks.

The Qt Commercial development framework in combination with VxWorks will support graphical user interface (GUI) development and standardisation across projects, revisions and organizations within the enterprise.

In addition, it will enable the users of VxWorks to create differentiated and user-appealing devices with advanced interactive GUIs and added support for 3D and 2D graphics through OpenGL ES and OpenVG.

Qt Commercial support will be offered on VxWorks 6.9 and subsequent versions, and will be available on selected Intel, Freescale and Texas Instruments platforms. Qt Commercial support for VxWorks will be available in a beta version based on the Qt Commercial 4.8.1 release.

Digia will be demonstrating Qt UI applications running on VxWorks platforms at Embedded World 2012, next week.

Richard Wilson

Self-balancing unicycle - the one true way!

This gadget may not yet be weatherproof enough for your daily commute in the UK, but for a pop to the shops for icecream on a sunny afternoon the Focus Designs self balancing unicycle, SBU V2.0 is a real treat.

The company reports that it's increasing production "to meet a quickly growing demand", with a lead time of 8-12 weeks.

The cycle is gyro stabilised, battery-powered and driven by an accelerometer, and the manufacturers claim green credentials for it too.

The SBU control unit basically controls the forward/backward motion and the rider controls the left/right balance - lean forward to go faster and lean backwards to stop makes that part of the ride entirely intuitive.

Focus Design's website says:

"The powerful 1000 Watt BLDC hub motor propels the rider forwards and backwards at up to 10 MPH. This advanced motor is built right into the wheel and is maintenance free. The SBU electronic balance control module is integrated into the wheel itself. The SBU control module performs several critical functions, including motor speed control, motor torque control, and regenerative braking. we've increased the number of sensors to seven for the SBU Version 2.0 which gives a smoother ride, a more accurate balance response and improved turning. Of course the most notable thing inside the SBU is the battery itself, our LiFePO4 lithium-ion nano-phosphate battery is powerful, safe, lightweight and able to take you more than 12 miles between charges."

Specifications:
    * Style: 1-seat, open-top, single-wheel-drive electric self balancing unicycle.
    * Drivetrain: Direct drive, variable speed with electronic motor control.
    * Motor: Permanent magnet brushless DC motor with variable drive.
    * Efficiency: 85%
    * Throttle: Rider lean detection determines speed and direction.
    * Chassis: High strength 7005 aluminum frame.
    * Seat: Deluxe gel unicycle saddle, adjustable height.
    * Suspension: The tire and your body.
    * Wheel: Heavy duty alloy hub motor.
    * Tire: Quality high PSI. Size: 20?x2.125?
    * Brakes: 1000W regenerative braking via the hub motor.
    * Speed: About 10 mph (depending on the rider's weight)
    * Range: About 12 miles (depending on the terrain)
    * Battery Life: Over 1000 cycles.
    * Battery: Custom high quality LiFePO4 lithium-ion phosphate 38.4 volt battery.
    * Full Charge Time: About 2 hours.
    * Charger: Custom international 2A fast charger. 100 to 240VAC.
    * Built: Camas, Washington USA

Dimensions:
    * Overall length (in. / mm) 20.0 / 508.0
    * Overall width - pedals folded: (in. / mm) 10.3 / 261.9
    * Overall width - pedals ready to ride: (in. / mm) 17.0 / 431.8
    * Overall height: (in. / mm) 34.5 / 876.3
    * Curb weight (lbs/kgs) 29 / 13
    * Leg Room (in./mm) unlimited / unlimited
    * Front Head Room (in./mm) unlimited / unlimited
    * Front Shoulder Room (in./mm) unlimited / unlimited

Find out more about it at http://focusdesigns.com/design/

Sue Proud

The Dead Platform Graveyard - mobile lessons to learn

Falling within the purview of "good ideas, bad execution", here's an interesting article that tries to take an overview of what makes a platform fail, when it comes to mobile devices. And there have been a lot of failed platforms...

The MD of VisionMobile, Andreas Constantinou, enumerates the more than 25 platforms that could be  classed as failed, from Meego and Aria (?) to UIQ and Prism...

He begins:

2011 turned out to be open hunting season for mobile platforms, with the MeeGo, webOS and LiMo projects coming to an end.

MeeGo, webOS and LiMo, together with Windows Mobile and Symbian are just the tip of the dead OS iceberg. The last 10 years have seen numerous companies launch operating systems or platforms for mobile devices, most of which have been fallen under the media radar. The table below lists all known mobile platforms that have died or are a 'zombie' (semi-dead) state - that's all 26 of them, from Access Linux Platform to Windows Mobile.

It is worth checking out the table - The Dead Platform Graveyard - a definitive looking summary.

The platforms failed for a combination of reasons such as cost of ownership, conflicting revenue models, lack of network effects, and high adoption barriers...

For example, discussing each of these factors in turn, when it comes to "network effects, he says:

It was Apple that proved how network effects - the positive feedback loop between app developers and users - can lead to enormous demand-side economies of scale. It was the power of well-oiled network effects that made Nokia realize that "it had to go to developers" (and not wait for developers to go to Nokia) before eventually losing the Symbian battle against Android and iOS.

But enough of failure. What is the success factor of modern platforms?

Firstly, Andreas  software DNA, that is a company with resources, processes and values routed in the PC or Internet world where developers, not OEMs are the platform's primary customer. Secondly, a successful platform vendor needs to have large pockets due to the billions of dollars in investment needed to build a stable and advanced software foundation, while attracting developers to the platform. Note that the bubble size in the chart shows last relative size of 4 quarters of vendor revenues.

Read the full blog post >>

Linux distributions, in graphical form

Thanks to Steve Bush, our Technology Eduitor, for flagging this amazing graphic. Ever wondered what a document of Linux distros would look like, in graphical form?

Check out the Wikipedia page for List of Linux distributions. Specifically, check out http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Gldt.svg

And there's anoher one for the Debian family tree.

Scan negatives with a DSLR and toilet-rolls...

Just like the LockCracking robot, this one is a project featured in Wired.com's dependable GadgetLab. The headline brings back fond memories of Blue Peter and its toilet rolls and sticky-back plaster - Scan Old Negatives with a DSLR and Toilet-Paper Tubes

Photographer, and Gadget Master, Claus Thiim has described a neat way to scan hundreds of nostalgic negatives and slides.

Charlie Sorrel writes:

Thiim's method eschews slow, bulky scanners and doesn't even think about mail-in scanning services. He uses the fastest scanner he has: his DSLR. Onto the front are mounted an old manual focus (90mm) lens, an extension tube (which moves the lens forward and allows closer macro focusing). Then things get creative, with a couple of toilet-paper tubes taped to an old filter with the glass removed, along with a plastic 35mm slide-mount on the end. The mount is opened at the sides to let the film slide through.

To scan, you just move the film through and snap a frame. If your camera has live-view, you can even check framing and focus from the comfort of the rear screen.

If the focusing distance is not enough, you can always add another toilet roll!

Read the full post >>

Read the original post on DIYphotography.net >>

Impossible Object #29: A table with two legs

Here's a bit of fun, and we haven't had an Impossible Object for a while... How about a table with just two legs?

This one is from the designer Shay Carmon, who also brought us the defibrillator toaster! When you see it, of course, it all seems obvious...

How does it compare a previous Impossible Object, the Liquid Table? What this one needs for adornment is a liquid lamp, an inside-out salt shaker, and the classic coffee pot, which kicked this whole series off!..

Previous Impossible Objects we've covered:

• the Doll's House computer
• the parallel of time clock
• the upside down buildings
  
• 
  
• the wall-sized light switch
  
• 
  
• the liquid table
  
• 
  
• the liquid lamp
• 
  
• the foetal bed
• 
  
• the flying carpet sofa
  
• 
  
• the electric butterflies
  
• 
  
• the wall stairs
  
• 
  
• the other dimension storage
  
• 
  
• the Colt electric guitar
  
• 
  
• the piano stairs
  
• 
  
• the clock that draws the time
  
• 
  
• the pocket light folding bulb
  
• 
  
• the shattering door
  
• 
  
• the wooden mirror
  
• 
  
• the inside-out salt shaker
• the Wingdings keyboard
• 
  
• the door lock maze
• the dark lamp
• the global chess board
• the curved keyboard
• the implausible plug
  
• 
  
• the infinite tap
• 
  
• the simplified calculator
• 
  
• the electric hammer
• 
  
• the signature coffee pot

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Video: Get to grips with the BeagleBone

We're all for BeagleBoards here on Gadget Master and this is one I meant to flag before - Texas Instrument's system has a little brother: the BeagleBone, powered by the company's Sitara ARM Cortex-A8 processor.

"It builds in the most loved features of the BeagleBoard but has shrunk the size and price while adding more I/O connections," boasts TI in the video below. The RRP is $89.

To get started, simply plug it into your PC (Windows MacOs or Linux) and you can begin development... It will appear as a Flash drive and you will be able to extract the files to get you going.

Features of the hardware spec highlighted by BeagleBoard.org include:
    * Board size: 3.4" x 2.1"
    * Shipped with 2GB microSD card with the Angstrom Distribution with node.js and Cloud9 IDE
    * Single cable development environment with built-in FTDI-based serial/JTAG and on-board hub to give the same cable simultaneous access to a USB device port on the target processor
    * Industry standard 3.3V I/Os on the expansion headers with easy-to-use 0.1" spacing
    * On-chip Ethernet, not off of USB
    * Easier to clone thanks to larger pitch on BGA devices (0.8mm vs. 0.4mm), no package-on-package memories, standard DDR2 vs. LPDDR, integrated USB PHYs and more.

What is the BeagleBone capable of doing? They are glad you asked...

At over 1.5 billion Dhrystone operations per second and vector floating point arithmetic operations, the BeagleBone is capable of not just interfacing to all of your robotics motor drivers, location or pressure sensors and 2D or 3D cameras, but also running OpenCV, OpenNI and other image collection and analysis software to recognize the objects around your robot and the gestures you might make to control it. Through HDMI, VGA or LCD expansion boards, it is capable of decoding and displaying multiple video formats utilizing a completely open source software stack and synchronizing playback over Ethernet or USB with other BeagleBoards to create massive video walls. If what you are into is building 3D printers, then the BeagleBone has the extensive PWM capabilities, the on-chip Ethernet and the 3D rendering and manipulation capabilities all help you eliminate both your underpowered microcontroller-based controller board as well as that PC from your basement.

Read more details >>

Video: The Four-bit Maze challenge, via Arduino

This is a good one, from Gadget Master Oskar van Deventer. He had a vision for a mechanical or electronic puzzle without a screen and without lights, purely tactile and purely mechanical...

Based on an Arduino UNO microcontroller, it's programmed for ten different levels of difficulty, with an Arduino Motor Shield operating the motorfaders, reports Engadget.

He writes:

The Four Bit Maze is an electronic mechanical puzzle that is 100% tactile. The object of the puzzle is to move all four sliders from the "0" position to the "1" position. 

Each challenge has only 16 binary states, and the operation of each challenge is 100% deterministic without any hidden states. Some challenges are easy and playful, whereas others are fiendishly hard.

How does it work? Check out the video below:

If you wish, you can buy the device for €435 from Oskar directly.

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Most read Gadget Master posts in January

Well, the New Year is here and is already a month underway... Time to ask the question: which posts have proved the most popular on Gadget Master among your peers, in January?

Well, the answer covers IO boards, LED displays, the Raspberry Pi and a whistle-activated light switch...

Let's take it in reverse order:

10. How to build a rotating LED display

9. Build your own wand based barcode scanner

8. A DIY Android Gadget Starter Kit

7. How to build a whistle-activated light switch

6. Android advances to centre stage

5. Keep your property where you can see it

4. Build your own LED cube

3. The IOIO Android breakout board competition

2. Build your own laser harp

1. Raspberry Pi #0001 goes for £3,500 on eBay

Let the latest blog posts come to you, instantly. Get the Gadget Master RSS feed, delivering new entries as they are posted, whether to your browser or favourite Feed Reader.

Create your own Terminator Arm!

Are you up to the challenge of creating your own Terminator Arm, complete with LED lighting effect?!

I ordered an Android IOIO board from SparkFun recently - for the current Gadget Master compo - and this tutorial on the same site caught my eye.

It's a tutorial by one "T Zero", taking us through the creation of afore mentioned robotic arm....

They begin:

Being a solder jockey, I'm not the best at programming and making things light up and blink. But, I am a wiz with a soldering iron. I enjoy making sculptures and little objects you can set at the edge of your desk to strike up a conversation. For this tutorial, I was trying to come up with the best sculpture or desk ornament - something every nerd or geek like myself would be proud to put on display. Something that didn't cost much and was a good rainy afternoon project. This project was done with trashed parts I found around the shop, and if your workstation looks anything like mine, you should be able to find these or similar parts.

The full list of parts is as follows:

• Buzzer              
• Standoff
• Pogo Pins x2
• 10k Trimpot x2       
• Machine pin headers
• 16MHz crystal
• Reed switch
• Any PTH LED

And as pictured:

He takes you through the various stages of the project, with pictures. For example:

"Once you have soldered the reed switch into place, slide the stand off over both LED leads. This is probably the most difficult part. In order to solder to the stand off, you need to hold a glob of solder on it, heating it up."

Check out the full tutorial >>

Not-So-Smartphones of 2011

Not sure about about this one, the premises or the conclusion (that all older Android phones should be considered 'orphans' and that Android should be identified as the most vulnerable platform)... 

Anyway, starting at the top, the Mannerisms blog recently featured a Top Ten of "riskiest phones", which immediately caught my eye for Made By Monkeys.

The idea is that certain phones - most notably Android phones - are no longer getting software updates, which means known vulnerabilities or bugs are going unfixed or unpatched.

Bit9 - a company that specialises in application Whitelisting services - has identified the "Dirty Dozen" of such phones, in a snappily entitled blog, Orphan Android - The Not-So-Smartphones of 2011. Android, specifically, is in their sights:

The company writes:

Unlike Apple iOS, RIM Blackberry or Windows Phone, the phone manufacturer - not the software vendor - is responsible for providing Android software updates to their smartphone.  Phone carriers also inject themselves into the process, selling further customized models and sometimes charging data usage for software updates. The result is chaos. As anyone who has ever owned an Android phone can attest, waiting for your phone to receive the latest Android release is like walking through prickly bushes - slow, painful, and sometimes buggy.

They identify 'Orphan Android' devices as "phones running any Android OS 2.3.3 or less."

Which were Bit9's "Dirty Dozen" Android phones?

1. Samsung Galaxy Mini

2. HTC Desire

3. Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

4. Sanyo Zio

5. HTC Wildfire

6. Samsung Epic 4G

7. LG Optimus S

8. Samsung Galaxy S

9. Motorola Droid X

10. LG Optimus One

11. Motorola Droid 2

12. HTC Evo 4G

Instead of a Dirty Dozen they could have had a Baker's Dozen because there at number 13, they say, was the Apple iPhone (version 4 and older models)...

Bit9 writes:

The majority of smartphones worldwide are running the Android operating system. The open nature of the platform has enabled both innovation and creativity in the mobile space. However, the distribution model adopted by phone manufacturers and their carriers has created a chaotic and insecure environment where it can take several months for important updates to be distributed, if at all. At the heart of the issue, providing software updates for Android phones is currently the responsibility of the individual hardware vendors along with their different carriers.

This would be akin to buying a PC from Dell and relying on Dell to coordinate with your home Internet provider, instead of Microsoft, to update your Windows software. With so many PC makers and Internet providers, the result would be a complete fragmentation of the market, with different computers having different versions of Windows depending on where they purchased the PC and where they live. That is exactly what has occurred within the Android smartphone market. In many cases, the only recourse a consumer has, if they want the latest and most secure software, is to purchase a new phone. 

You can read more on their research on their website - Orphan Android: Not-So-Smartphones of 2011 (PDF)

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Most Read in January - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

Show us the Best of the Worst! If you've had a recent run-in with a cheaply-made, inferior product, tell us about it and you could win a shoddy, badly-made Made by Monkeys T-shirt! See how to submit an example.

Let the latest Made By Monkeys posts come to you, with RSS

The best way to get the very latest Made By Monkeys posts as soon as they are published? RSS!

And it's not just Made By Monkeys. Check out all the RSS feeds that are available for Electronics Weekly content. The feed for Latest News, for example, can be found here.

There are 12 Electronics Weekly feeds you can tap into:
News
Jobs
Products

(Blogs)
Mannerisms
LED Luminaries
Gadget Master
Made by Monkeys
Electro-ramblings
Directive Decoder
Tech Startups
Open Source Engineering
Parallel lines

To use an ElectronicsWeekly.com RSS feed you simply need to download and install a RSS reader. Alternatively RSS functionality is built into the personalised areas of sites such as Google & Yahoo, or in Internet browsers such as IE7 and Mozilla Firefox.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, by the way. And if you are unfamiliar with this technology, just check out the What is RSS section of our RSS page. electronics news

I can't believe someone makes... the Love Box analogue video mixer for iPhone

Now this sounds like it might be a really clever piece of kit, and I suppose in a way it is. But it requires no knowledge of electronics whatsoever to assemble it.

A video mixer sounds as if it should be in a sleek grey case, and feature - oh I don't know - crossfaders for audio and video, maybe a Chroma key or a Luma key, fades, wipes and other clever functionality.

This wooden box is about as low-tech as it gets, certainly since the invention of the  camera obscura.

Featured on wired.com, the makers are quoted as saying:

"THE LOVE BOX Video Mixer" is a unique device conceived to record two sided videos in one single iPhone's shot. It consists of a wooden base and a mirroring system that, when mounted with your mobile phone, simultaneously record "front" and "back" views in one single, split screen image. It is compatible with iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S."

In fact you could improvise the whole thing with a handbag mirror and a pile of books, so it's hard to imagine who would shell out the $100 asking price! And what's the betting it's made of sustainably sourced timber?

Hmmmm....

Sue Proud

Previous I can't believe posts:

* I can't believe someone makes... A defibrillator toaster

* I can't believe someone makes... Night Vision Golf headsets

* I can't believe someone makes... Room shrinking iPod docks [Part 2]

* I can't believe someone makes... Three metre high iPod docks

* I can't believe someone makes... Sling shot cameras

* I can't believe someone makes... Neolithic laser pointers

* I can't believe someone makes... DIP switch watches

* I can't believe someone makes... Luggage scooters

* I can't believe someone makes... Canon SLR lens shots glasses

* I can't believe someone makes... Steak Station Thermometers

* I can't believe someone makes... USB face masks

* I can't believe someone makes... Ball of wool chargers

* I can't believe someone makes... Sliced grandfather clocks

* I can't believe someone makes... Drill-powered pencil sharpeners

* I can't believe someone makes... Grow bag beauty covers

* I can't believe someone makes... Augmented reality business cards

* I can't believe someone makes... MP3 playing plugs

* I can't believe someone makes... LED benches

* I can't believe someone makes... Power cable lamps

* I can't believe someone makes... Unreadable watches [Part 5]

* I can't believe someone makes... USB skullhubs

* I can't believe someone makes... Starship Enterprise pizza cutters

* I can't believe someone makes... Gunship watches

* I can't believe someone makes... Extra dimension light switches

* I can't believe someone makes... Bacon and egg iPhone cases

* I can't believe someone makes... Tuna can alarm clocks

* I can't believe someone makes... Kitchen scales with iPod dock

* I Can't Believe Someone Makes... Steering Wheel Laptop Holders

* I Can't Believe Someone Makes... Voice Recognition Grocery List Organisers

* I can't believe someone makes... Yet More USB nonsense

* I can't believe someone makes... Coca Cola powered cell phones

* I can't believe someone makes... Cassette Tape Ties

* I can't believe someone makes... Augmented reality t-shirts

* I can't believe someone makes... Recursive remote controls

* I can't believe someone makes... An electric guitar T-shirt

* I can't believe someone makes... LED cake cutting guides

* I can't believe someone makes... More (food-based) USB nonsense

* I can't believe someone makes... YouTube microwaves

*  I can't believe someone makes... R2-D2 Christmas lights

* I can't believe someone makes... 12V Heated Pizza Bags

* I can't believe someone makes... 24 carat gold plated fuses

* I can't believe someone makes... Wi-Fi Dowsing Rods

* I can't believe someone makes... In-car pizza ovens

* I can't believe someone makes... More USB nonsense

* I can't believe someone makes... Helmet-shaped USB humidifiers

* I can't believe someone makes... Faceless watches [Part 3]

* I can't believe someone makes... Wi-Fi detector baseball caps
* I can't believe someone makes... Mobile phone cigarette lighters

* I can't believe someone makes... Tweed Karl Lagerfeld iPod Helmets

* I can't believe someone makes... Faceless watches [Part 2]

* I can't believe someone makes... Faceless watches [Part 1]

* I can't believe someone makes.... USB construction sites

* I can't believe someone makes... LED disco shower lights

* I can't believe someone makes... Snail Art Cars

* I can't believe someone makes... Electric paper plane launchers

* I can't believe someone makes... A wooden MacBook

* I can't believe someone makes... Rubik's Cube Calendars

* I can't believe someone makes... A mobile phone shaver

* I can't believe someone makes... An LED messaging mouse

* I can't believe someone makes... Swarovski Crystal LCD TVs

* I can't believe someone makes... Glowing writstballs

* I can't believe someone makes... Klingon keyboards

* I can't believe someone makes... Armadillo Breadbins

Recall Corner: Ford motors crowd Recall forecourt

Recently we featured a hybrid car in Recall Corner and now here comes a whole fleet of contenders vying for the same parking slot! Start your engines, Ford Fusions, Milans, and Freestar SUVs (!), and also BMW Minis!

It's hard, in fact, to keep track of all the Ford recalls, across various models.

For Escape SUVs - with year range 2001 to 2002 being under the recall - the "brake fluid can leak from the master cylinder cap and lead to corrosion that could cause a fire," reports SlashGear.

Meanwhile, it says, the Freestar and Monterey vans are being recalled due to issues with the torque converter. "The output shaft of the torque converter could fail and cause a loss of power". Not what you want when overtaking, of course.

In total, the recalls affect more than 400,000 Freestar, Monterey, and Escape vehicles. Shane McGlaun writes:

The recall covers 205,896 Ford Freestar and Mercury clone Monterey vans. The recall also covers 244,530 Ford Escape SUVs along with an additional 40,000 Escape SUVs sold outside the US. The recalls are being handled in coordination with the NHTSA and were confirmed by a Ford spokesman.

Read the original article >>

"Two minor accidents are have alleged to have resulted over eight years, with minor injuries in one and no injuries in the other", according to a Ford spokesperson, reports Freep.com.

Meanwhile SlashGear also reports rather alarming problems with Mercury Milan vehicles, following the discovery that the wheels on certain 2010-2011 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan cars "could fall off".

Chris Davies writes:

The issue, Ford told the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was spotted when lug-nut tightening was found to cause fracturing; if the drivers ignored the subsequent vibration warning signs, the wheels themselves could potentially detach from car.

This involves cars with 17-inch steel wheels, not those with alloy wheels, according to Ford...

Close behind the Fords came some bad news for the ever-popular Mini - see, for example, SlashGear's report - BMW Mini recall hits 235,000 vehicles

The problem, it seems, lies with an "electric water pump malfunction"...

Chris Burns writes:

What happens with this water pumps is that when it's supposed to be cooling the turbo charger, it can malfunction and cause the connected electronic circuit board to overheat. This malfunction can then cause the circuit board to smolder or outright catch fire. Mini drivers that this recall might affect should expect communication starting next month.

How many Minis are affected by the recall? It seems a sizeable 235,000, but a BMW spokesperson has said there haven't been any accidents resulting from the problem.

Read the full article >>

Google opens source code for Android 4.0.1

How open is Google's Android? That's a subject of long and sometimes bitter debates, but it is "open enough" for the Mountain View search giant to release the source code for v4.0 - the 'Ice Cream Sandwich' release, which aims to unify smartphone and tablet code bases. 

Well, after a lot of speculation around the exact due date, the code is now out.

To be precise it is releasing 4.0.1, which is the version that will ship on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone (pictured right).

Jean-Baptiste Queru announced the release on the 'Android Building' Google Group.

We just released a bit of code we thought this group might be interested in. Over at our Android Open-Source Project git servers, the source code for Android version 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is now available. Here's how to get it: Follow the instructions at
http://source.android.com/source/downloading.html Check out the 'ics-release' branch:repo init -u https://android.googlesource.com/platform/manifest -b android-4.0.1_r1 That's it!

He goes on:

This release includes the full history of the Android source code tree, which naturally includes all the source code for the Honeycomb releases. However, since Honeycomb was a little incomplete, we want everyone to focus on Ice Cream Sandwich. So, we haven't created any tags that correspond to the Honeycomb releases (even though the changes are present in the history.)

View the post >>

See also: Amazon releases source code for Kindle Fire's version of Android

MulticoreWare works with AMD on OpenCL multicore tools

MulticoreWare has announced the beta availability of key OpenCL tools and libraries for download from its website, writes Richard Wilson.

The company has worked with microprocessor firm AMD to provide support for OpenCL in multicore design incorporating graphics procesors (GPUs) and CPUs.

"We have worked closely with AMD to produce the fastest and most developer-efficient way to delivering optimised code for heterogeneous multicore environments, with full support for OpenCL standards and portability across platforms," said Curtis Davis, co-founder, v-p of engineering and chief operating officier at MulticoreWare.

"AMD firmly believes industry standards such as OpenCL allow the development community to fully leverage the benefits of heterogeneous computing platforms," said Raghu Rao, senior director, developer solutions at AMD.

The intention is to allow developers to use these tools to take advantage of integrating a GPU with a CPU multicore systems for video and image analytics and gesture processing.

Global Memory for Accelerators (GMAC) enables development of code for CPUs and GPUs in a single pointer space, without requiring the developer to be aware of, or manage, the different memory domains and allocations.

There is a task manager for sequencing operations across both CPUs and GPUs, with resulting optimisation of memory accesses.

"By working with MCW to make key development tools freely available to developers worldwide, AMD is further advancing the role of heterogeneous computing and industry standards among the developer community," said Rao.

The tools are available on Microsoft Windows platform initially, with support for Linux and MacOS coming in the subsequent weeks. AMD and MCW are both committed to global, open standards, with on-going participation and leadership through actions with Khronos.

ARM releases Development Studio 5 Community Edition for Andorid

For small firms, ARM has released Development Studio 5 Community Edition, a free version of its reference software development toolkit, writes our technology editor Steve Bush.

Known as DS-5 CE. "the new edition is dedicated to the Android application developer community and helps them create native software for compute intensive tasks that can run up to 4 times faster than Java code," claimed the firm. "DS-5 CE includes limited, but essential functionality from the premium DS-5 toolkit to help solve common Android application developer pain points."

Included is an integrated graphical debugger for NDK-generated code and visibility of processor information including NEON single instruction multiple data (SIMD) registers.

It permits development of Java and C/C++ code in the Eclipse development environment, and there is a tailored version of the Streamline performance analyser for compatible Android development platforms.

"Streamline captures detailed, system-wide performance statistics from a variety of sources which helps developers to locate hotspots in their code and isolate potential causes," said ARM. "Platform builders can add support for Streamline by integrating an open source driver available from the Linaro website."

"We have worked with ARM to ensure that DS-5 support is available as an easy to install add-on for Linaro Ubuntu images in the past and are working together to deliver a similar developer experience for DS-5 CE as part of our Android images", said Alexander Sack, platform technical director, Linaro.

DS-5 CE is available free-of-charge for use by individuals and organisations with annual revenue of $100,000 or less, and up to 10 employees.

Steve Bush

Raspberry Pi number 1 goes for £3,500 on eBay

The Raspberry Pi  project is almost a perfect example of open source engineering story. Well, it has started in popular fashion - a £20 Raspberry Pi computer sold for £3,500 on eBay last week, writes Steve Bush.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation, which intends to sell its educational computers directly, auctioned 10 of its beta production board on eBay.

As executive director Eben Upton pointed out in a video on the Foundation's website, this limited auction was aimed at: computer collectors, benefactors intending to donate to the foundation - which is a charity, and software development firm's wanting hardware before full-production boards are released later this month.

In a move that may cause priority arguments amongst collectors in the future, Raspberry Pi number 1 was actually the tenth auctioned, with number 10 going first for the relative bargain price of £1,900.

Number 7 was bought by an anonymous benefactor for £989 and donated to the Computer Museum at the Centre for Computing History in Suffolk.

Set up by a group of high-flying techies, the Foundation aims to inspire a generation of programmers by putting competent low-cost hardware into the hands of children and teenagers, much in the way that Sinclair computers did in the 1980s.

"We have parts in stock for our first 10,000 units, and expect to be in volume production by the end of January," said Raspberry Pi Foundation executive director Eben Upton.

The computer, Raspberry Pi, is intended to cost under £20, is based around a 32bit ARM11 system chip which plugs into a TV through HDMI or analogue video, and will run some Linux distributions, Python, Iceweasel and KOffice amongst other open-source applications - a slight setback is that Ubuntu is not yet supporting the hardware.

Most importantly for the Foundation, unlike PCs and smart phones, Raspberry Pi can be programmed by the user as soon as it is switched on, tempting them to explore computer science.

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