New Packages for Server XR

Hello everyone,

We just finished uploading some new packages for the Server XR. This post will be rather short telling which packages had been upgraded and how to install them, a more detailed post will be made soon.

Updated packages:

• Recommended to update:
• Bluez-libs: Updated to version 3.28
• Bluez-utils: Updated to version 3.28, compiling all the dbus services now.
• Obex-Data-Server: Updated to version 0.3.
• OpenProximity: Updated to version 0.1.1.
  
• Optional:
  
• Bluez-hcidump: Updated to version 1.41

Check this little guide on how to upgrade packages, take special atention to the note in the end.

Packaging software is a very interesting experience, only that it's quite repetitive and can become REALLY boring, so now we are going to use scripts to package, you can check our scripts and see how we make our packages here.

Thanks a lot,
Manuel Naranjo
Wireless Cables Inc.

First images of kwort running in the ebox

Hello everyone,

It's me again. It's amazing we were not expecting so many people been exited about getting kwort running on the ebox. Not only people interested on Bluetooth, and our products. But also people that bought and ebox and wanted a nice, stable and good looking distro running.

We've been working hard on it, so you don't have to mess with much with distribution internals and all that. But I expect that the first release for testing will be ready in a day or two.

In the meantime here's a picture of kwort running OpenBox and wbar at my home, in a brand new LCD TV from Philips. You can see xterm running, along with xclock and wbar at the bottom. Wbar has LOTS of icons, most of them (actually all except for one are invalid and doesn't work at all). But you can see the nice eye candy from it.

Take into account I took the picture with my cellphone that's why it looks so blurry.





Cheers,
Manuel

Happy new year everyone!, How small Linux can go?

Wow it's been a long since my last post. I promise I will start making posts more regularly! This will be my present for this brand new year.

From our side we had been very very busy, and we have a lot of exiting new ideas and projects. Right now we are working on getting Kwort Linux ( www.kwort.org ) an Slackware based Linux distribution, into a machine based on the Vortex86 processor. This is a pc compatible computer, with about 10 * 10 * 4 cm with all the things you could imagine you can find on your desktop pc. Except of a monitor off course. It has RAM, a CF reader so you can use CF cards as hard drives, a VGA board, Ethernet and even a sound system, all integrated for quite a little price. Here you can find the machine if you want to know how it looks like: http://www.embeddedpc.net/Default.aspx?tabid=110

Anyway, the thing is that we got Linux working on it (Thaks David, AKA Nomius, for your help and the great work you have done with Kwort). And we are working on some packages so others can use it too, without the need to waste time like we did.

So stay tuned, and I promise you will hear from us more frequently,

Manuel

Interrupts handling

Hello everyone,

We have received lots of questions from our customers regarding how interrupts are being handled.

Interrupts handling is much more simpler from what you might thought in the AIRcable, even simpler from a PC interrupt schema.

Basically as in any other processor you have an interrupt stack, where each new even get's registered. The biggest difference between this stack schema and the PC schema is that interrupts are only pushed at bottom or at top of the stack, depending the interrupt priority.

Only 4 interrupts are pushed to the top: @ALARM, @PIN_CODE, @MESSAGE and @FTP. You might ask your self why @INQUIRY is not high priority, as we insist so much in making it short as possible, simple because if @INQUIRY would be high priority it would interrupt it self.

So how does the interrupt handler work? Simple each time a new interrupt is pushed into the stack it checks if it goes in the top of the current serviced interrupt, if it does then it goes to service that new interrupt, if it doesn't it will execute the code until it reaches RETURN. Once it reaches RETURN it will go and see if the stack has more stuff to service.

As you might know every processor allows you to disable interrupts, this is achieved by adding ; at the end of each line.

I think this will clarify all your questions regarding interrupts, if you have more questions for us please leave your comments and we will be glad to help you.

Thanks,
Manuel

Command Line Version 0.8 UART Released

Hello everyone,
We found a couple of bugs in the command line version 0.7 UART. Most of this bugs where related to the manual inquiry, and the service master mode. Version 0.8 fix all this bugs, and is another step forward the new generation command line (Version 1.0) which should be released soon.
Meantime we encourage you to download version 0.8 from here.
Thanks,
Manuel

NOTE: There's a bug in the Command Line V0.8 UART for the SerialOS device, please get the AIRcable.bas file from here.

Command Line Version 0.7 UART Released

Hello everyone,
We had just released the 0.7 command line for the UART. This version is a bug fixing from version 0.6, most sensitive bugs where related to mode changing.
You can get it here: http://aircable.googlecode.com/files/0.7UART.zip
This version applies to SerialOS, Mini, Industrial and OEM Boards.
Thanks,
Manuel

FAQ Released

Hello everyone,
We had started a FAQ section for our users. Based in the questions from our costumers, we wrote a simple FAQ that can be accessed from here.
Please give us your feedback, and if you think there is any question missing, don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks,
Manuel