Posts tagged linux

8 bit chip tune from one line of code on Linux

0
6 months ago
by Andy in

Chiptune_by_curpoplikI stumbled across this great tune today that is created by one line of code!

Just copy any paste the code below into a text file, make it executable and run it.

echo "main(i){for(i=0;;i++)putchar(((i*(i>>8|i>>9)&46&i>>8))^(i&i>>13|i>>6));}" | gcc -x c - && ./a.out | aplay

Many thanks to Martin Holec for creating the code, and Rob Kendrick for linking to it on Google+.

Enjoy!

Code like it’s 1982! – SpecBAS

3
11 months ago
by Andy in
Sinclair BASIC is back –  and can be run under Windows, Linux or on the Pandora handheld.
SpecBAS is a remake of Sinclair BASIC – it’s faster, far more powerful and more colourful than Sinclair BASIC has ever been!

SpecBAS incorporates all the features of Sinclair BASIC, but with more:

Procedures, with both referenced and normal variable parameters
Flow control with DO..LOOP, WHILE..LOOP, DO..UNTIL
Better array handling, with variable BASE settings and FOR..EACH support
Better string handling with LEFT$, RIGHT$, MID$, REPEAT$ etc
Memory banks which can be loaded, saved and utilised to hold a variety of data types
Many, many more maths functions, with both radians and degrees support
Graphics with 8bpp in any supported resolution with full palette changing, rotation, scaling etc
Sound support with MOD/S3M/XM/IT/MP3/VOC/WAV etc
Turtle graphics, sprites, tilemaps.

And it has less:

No more attribute clash
no 48k restriction
full disk access, so no tapes!
No more beeper :)
More information about SpecBAS can be seen on the following site : SpecBAS

Addition : SGI O2 workstation

3
11 months ago
by Andy in

SGI o2 workstationI picked up one of these the other day. It didnt come with any installation media,  so I wont be able to run IRIX at the moment. Luckily, there are a couple of *nix distributions available for it. I will upload some pictures and maybe a video once the box is up and running. My O2 came with 256Mb or RAM and a 9.1Gb SCSI hard disk. The CPU runs at 300Mhz.

The SGI O2 is an entry-level Unix workstation introduced in 1996 by Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) to replace their earlier Indy series. Like the Indy, the O2 used a single MIPS microprocessor and was intended to be used mainly for multimedia. Its larger counterpart was the SGI Octane. The O2 was SGI’s last attempt at a low-end workstation.

The O2 uses the CRM chipset that was specifically developed by SGI for the O2. It was developed to be a low-cost implementation of the OpenGL  1.1 architecture with ARB image extensions in both software and hardware. The chipset consists of the microprocessor, and the ICE, MRE and Display ASICs. All display list and vertex  processing, as well as the control of the MRE ASIC is performed by the microprocessor. The ICE ASIC performs the packaging and unpacking of pixels as well as operations on pixel data. The MRE ASIC performs rasterization  and texture mapping. Due to the unified memory architecture, the texture and framebuffer memory comes from main memory, resulting in a system that has a variable amount of each memory. The Display Engine generates analog video signals from framebuffer data fetched from the memory for display.

For more information about the o2, take a look at this page.

Watching Micro Men via XBMC on the Raspberry Pi

0
12 months ago
by Andy in

Its been a while since I have used my Raspberry Pi, so i though I would give XBMC a go. XBMC is a multimedia player for many systems, including the original XBOX and the Raspberry Pi.

XBMC on the Raspberry Pi

Getting XBMC running was really easy – but im not going to tell you how to install it. There are plenty of guides already on the Internet that tell you how to do it.

The only configuration change I had to make was to set the audio to come out via the 3.5″ audio jack. The monitor I use in my study doesn’t have a HDMI socket, so I have to use a HDMI to DVI cable. DVI does not carry a audio signal.

The ultimate test for me was to get a video file playing. The natural choice of program was Micro Men. Most of my video files have subtitles as my wife is deaf.

Micro Men on the Raspberry Pi

I really do think that XBMC is going to be one of the most popular uses of the Raspberry Pi in the home.

Raspberry Pi running the Fuse ZX Spectrum Emulator

2
1 year ago
by Andy in ,

As seen at the Horizons event at the BFI, London in May 2012!

Fuse install guide here! (Added August 2012)

Finally, I have got the Fuse ZX Spectrum emulator running on Raspberry Pi #7. Here is a video of it in action.

Getting the emulator to work was relatively simple. I just has to ‘apt-get’ in a few additional packages from the Debian repository. I didn’t need to modify any C code.

I tried to compile the code under the virtual machine set-up detailed on Russell Davis’s blog http://russelldavis.org, but it would not compile. So in the end, I compiled the code directly on the Pi. This did take about 20 minutes.

You should have seen my face once I got Manic Miner loaded :)

I will be taking more photos and video of the Raspberry Pi at the Beeb@30 event this weekend.

This Pi (Number 7) belongs to http://www.computinghistory.org.uk

 

My Raspberry Pi delivery delayed until 14th May!!! (UPDATED!)

0
1 year ago
by Andy in

The following has been ordered to the Raspberry Pi FAQ on the Farnell website.

Raspberry Pi Delivery Dates

 

Q: I got an email from Farnell element14 stating that my delivery date for the Raspberry Pi I ordered is now into May or June, is this correct?

 

 

A: Sorry! We updated the data in our system so that new customers placing their pre-order would be advised of the delivery date at the end of May or beginning of June.  If you originally had an estimated delivery date in March or April, your delivery estimate is still as per the original communication.

Not a happy bunny this morning. Got another email from Farnell saying my Pi will not be shipped until the week commencing 14th May.

Guess I will keep using my BeagleBoard for now then. Need to pick up a USB keyboard first – I cant believe I don’t own any!

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