Radio-controlled cars might not seem the most obvious place to mount a server, but JokerWorks disagree: the company has unveiled what they’re calling the world’s first Linux server for R/C cars, the Joker Racer R/C Server, easily allowing for remote internet-linked control. To keep things simple, the Joker Racer unit hooks up to the standard servo cables already in the R/C car, together with an off-the-shelf webcam.
Video demo after the cut
Over at Let’s Make Robots! Tyberius is showing off Giger, his two-foot tall DIY humanoid ‘bot. A roughly 100 hour project so far, Giger runs embedded Linux and has both an integrated camera and WiFi, and apparently cost around $10,000 to build.
Now that might sound like an awful lot – probably because it is an awful lot – but you can blame the pro-quality servos. Tyberius used Dynamixels RX-64 and RX-28 units, which come in at $300 and $200 each, respectively; however unlike cheap servos they put out a whopping 1,000 ounces per inch of torque.
We’re not sure what we like most about Giger: his classic Cylon-style eye, mean looking pincers, or how easily he segues from a butch fighting stance to a reasonably camp wave. Tyberius’ next job is tightening up the dynamic balancing and getting the walking gait more natural; right now Giger looks a little drunk.
Video demo after the cut
We doubt we’re the only people who forgot that Motorola had thrown their oar in with the LiMo Foundation, but happily we’ll unlikely to need that knowledge again since the company is seemingly dropping its support for the open-source mobile platform. Motorola VP Christy Wyatt has vacated her seat on the LiMo Foundation board, while the company itself has downgraded its membership from “founding member” to “associate member”.
“At this time it feels that the Android platform gives it a richer, more consistent foundation with strong support for the ecosystem and developer community” Motorola statement
Dell have announced their first netbook running Intel’s Moblin platform, and it’s available for developers to buy now. The Dell Inspiron Mini 10v Ubuntu Moblin Remix Edition is priced at $299 and comes with the usual Mini 10v specification – Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard-drive – but uses Canonical’s combination of the core Moblin Version 2.0 interface, libraries, and applications with the internals of Ubuntu Linux 9.04.
Video demo after the cut
ASUS‘ second netbook from this weekend offers a blast from the past, in the shape of a Linux OS option. The ASUS Eee PC 1001HA is billed as an entry-level model, but will be available in three different versions: the 1001HA XP, with Windows XP, the 1001HA LX, with Linux, or a bare model that comes with no OS at all.
Here’s some more all-in-one PC info for you, just in case you like that kind of thing. Shuttle has gone ahead and introduced a new version of their X500 line up, which still rocks that “ultra-thin” veneer. This time around, we’ve got a new OS for you, and it comes preloaded for your out-of-the-box using pleasure. It’s a touchscreen too, so that has to count for something, considering that’s all the rage right now, even for computers.
We sat down at a roundtable this afternoon with Nokia’s Ari Jaaksi, VP of software at the company, and talked about the Nokia N900 and the Maemo 5 OS it runs. Describing the N900 as “your internet device on the go” and Maemo as “putting the internet first”, it’s obvious that Jaaksi – and Nokia – have the MID segment in their sights; however they’re also upfront about the issues they’re going to face not only with their first-gen hardware but the ongoing development of the platform.
We’ve come so far these days in the world of personal technology but in some ways, we’re still missing the mark. Sure it’s the middle of summer but here are five things I’d like to see on the market this (or any) holiday season:
NEC have announced that they will be supporting Moblin-based mobile devices and in-car PNDs with WiMAX functionality. The company already develops WiMAX mobile broadband modules and has recently unveiled a battery-powered WiMAX router; this new announcement will see Intel’s open-source Moblin OS get native support for the high-speed wireless technology.
If you’re a Linux developer who has found that the recession has left you at a loose end, Peek may have just the project for you. They’re throwing open the doors to open-source development on their email-centric Peek device, in the hope that someone will get Linux up and running on the ARM7-based handheld.
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Hey, Premium Notebooks or Netbooks, Get the Basics Right!
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