Computer-bookfor

السبت، 25 فبراير 2012

How to build a BeagleBoard-based Open Source Ebook Reader

Ebook readers were hailed several months ago as the end-all-be-all of digital devices. They were supposed to put books out of business. In effect they have, they've put some book distributors out of business. But somehow, the Ebook itself is somewhat unsatisfying - after all the hoopla, we're left with "just" a screen tablet-like device, with a few buttons and a mini keyboard. It just doesn't feel like there's enough new to it... so I got inspired to build my own as a platform for experimenting with the "user experience" of Ebooks.

I got bored with my Kindle after about 20 times using it, and started wanting to hack it. I have a modern form of A.D.D. that makes me want to break open cases and solder memory expansion ports onto any device I touch. There's so much I'd do differently, yet you can't really do any development on it - I don't understand - they should just open it up, and let people like me hack away at it.

Since Amazon didn't, and doesn't, I decided to turn the Open SciCal into a hackable ebook reader, based on the FBReader source code. This means that it's hackable from the ground up...

It's not bad, but there are some things I'd change. Luckily I can, because the source is open and accessible... in fact, it's quite easy to understand - here's the important main function set, from FBReader, which gives a good idea of how approachable the code is (if you know C and C++, that is):

void FBReader::openBookInternal(shared_ptr book) {
    if (!book.isNull()) {
        BookTextView &bookTextView = (BookTextView&)*myBookTextView;
        ContentsView &contentsView = (ContentsView&)*myContentsView;
        FootnoteView &footnoteView = (FootnoteView&)*myFootnoteView;

        bookTextView.saveState();
        bookTextView.setModel(0, 0);
        bookTextView.setContentsModel(0);
        contentsView.setModel(0);
        myModel.reset();
        myModel = new BookModel(book);
        ZLTextHyphenator::Instance().load(book->language());
        bookTextView.setModel(myModel->bookTextModel(), book);
        bookTextView.setCaption(book->title());
        bookTextView.setContentsModel(myModel->contentsModel());
        footnoteView.setModel(0);
        footnoteView.setCaption(book->title());
        contentsView.setModel(myModel->contentsModel());
        contentsView.setCaption(book->title());

        Library::Instance().addBook(book);
        Library::Instance().addBookToRecentList(book);
        ((RecentBooksPopupData&)*myRecentBooksPopupData).updateId();
        showBookTextView();
    }
}

The Open Source Ebook reader is based on a handful of modules:

-BeagleBoard - the guts of my Ebook uses the TI OMAP
-BeagleTouch - it has a touchscreen OLED screen
-BeagleJuice - it's powered for 8 hours at a time with lithium ions
-FBReader - open source software, quite nice and hackable
-Liquidware Ebook Boot - an open source boot SD card with a tweaked version of Angstrom to integrate all the parts

The base parts are pretty straight-forward, they just snap together and go. If you're a hacker, you could build it all together pretty straightforward-like from source and use Angstrom. But if you're lazy, you can just buy the "Ebook Boot" SD card which took Chris and Will and me about 2 weeks of hacking around to build, from source, from scratch. It includes all of the drivers needed to get the touchscreen working within Linux, and a handful of libraries and scripts to make wifi, power management, screen control, etc. work right out of the box...

The fully combined stack of modules makes an Ebook:

Here it is from another angle, against a go table that I built by hand (those lines took forever, and were done with a heat iron, for wood carving, but it was so worth it):

This photo is probably the most "ironic" given it's a shot perhaps the most purpose-built hackable Ebook reader on top of the perhaps the most purpose-built non-hackable devices ever: a Mac laptop.

This is probably my favorite picture:

I haven't tried it yet, but conceivably, it could be connected to the net using the Wifi module, and then it could download Ebooks and free Ebooks from the various online stores that FBReader lets you connect to...

I've uploaded some pictures over on the flickr page, and the modules and finished EbookBoot SD Card are all available over at the Liquidware shop... I think I should run a timed contest against myself on how many different types of gadgets I can build within 4 minutes, like these guys that Make blog featured a little while ago...

:-)

Source: http://antipastohw.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-build-beagleboard-based-open.html

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Happy Valentine?s Day from the IE team

In honor of the holiday, our engineering team decided to riff on our ?Let it Snow?Faster? demo and create a Valentine?s Day version. You can read more about it here or see it for yourself. Enjoy!

Source: http://windowsteamblog.com/ie/b/ie/archive/2012/02/14/happy-valentine-s-day-from-the-ie-team.aspx

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الجمعة، 24 فبراير 2012

Android^D^D^D^D^D^D^DCyber Monday

I've heard a lot about this magical "Cyber Monday" effect, and never really believed it until today. I've sold almost as much Android hardware in the past 3 days - including today - than I have in the previous MONTH. And the day isn't even over... I can't figure out where all the traffic is coming from...

It's like the Slashdot Effect met the Digg and Reddit Effect, and got in a three-way love triangle. And then the bastard child grew up and wanted to program Android. I guess on the one hand, I'm happy that a lot of people like the kits I'm building, and on the other hand I'm thinking to myself,... I have a lot of work to do.

It's only 2 pm, and for the first time in a long time, I'm low on almost all of the inventory and products I stock at Liquidware... but especially on the Android hardware development kits. For those that don't know, this is a big deal because all of the kits are hand made, hand soldered, and hand packaged by Will, Chris, Matt and me. I usually like to keep enough kits built up so I can hack on a few of them myself, but today, I'm so low that I've had to cancel most of my plans for the next week so I can catch up (sorry Nick!)...

The next 10-14 days are going to be ridiculous, but I will do the best I can to ensure that I don't go out of stock on anything for too long. Here's my plan:

-I'm going to spend all day soldering and building
-I'm going to spend all night programming
-I'm going to spend all "meta-night" packaging

"Meta-night" is my name for that time of the night when you really ought to be asleep, but aren't, because the program isn't compiling for some reason, and you really want to get it done before the next day. Also known as 1 am - 5 am.

I guess all I can say is, thanks for supporting Liquidware, and for supporting Open Source, the Open Source Hardware movement, hardware hacking, Arduino, and Android.

Now it's my turn to work my ass off to make sure everything gets out in time!

Source: http://antipastohw.blogspot.com/2010/11/androiddddddddcyber-monday.html

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Ben E. Keith Gets Rugged with Windows 7

Ben E. Keith is one of the largest beer wholesalers in the nation and the world?s second largest distributor of Anheuser-Busch products, selling more than 38 million cases of beer a year. They have always been a technology leader and strived to give their sales reps the best tools to sell and distribute more beer. As the company has continued to grow over the years, the pocket-type devices that sales reps previously used to take and send orders into the warehouse became outdated. When new Anheuser-Busch Mobility software was implemented, Ben E. Keith used the opportunity to also look for new mobile hardware that would offer their reps a more efficient user experience, which in turn, enabled them to sell more beer.

The Rugged Windows 7 Solution

Ben E. Keith needed a mobile computing solution compatible with the new Anheuser-Busch Mobility software, and a device tough enough to endure the rough demands of a beer distribution environment ? as these devices get knocked, dropped and banged around, Ben E. Keith knew they needed a tough solution.

The company tested several different devices before settling on the xTablet T7000 Rugged Mini Tablet PC from MobileDemand running Windows 7. Steve Fleming, Vice President of Administration and Information for Ben E. Keith, considered many options, but says ?competitor options just couldn?t get everywhere we needed to go.?

After testing the tablets, Ben E. Keith?s sales reps were so enthusiastic that Fleming knew they?d found the ideal tablet PC for their business. Replacing their outdated devices with MobileDemand?s tablets equipped with Windows 7 has allowed the sales reps to accomplish more on the job in less time - they?ve reduced the time spent completing store inventory by more than 50 percent! Ben E. Keith sales rep Aaron Nelson says store inventory updates that used to take 20-25 minutes are now complete in less than ten minutes.

Windows 7 Offers a Smooth Transition

The familiarity of Windows 7 on the tablets provided Ben E. Keith sales reps with a smooth transition. Fleming explains, ?Having Windows 7 made it easy to image the tablets and make updates. And our reps were already familiar with the operating system which made implementation and training seamless. It?s all in the bottom line results. The MobileDemand tablets simply have the right combination of features and functionality to help our sales reps make better decisions at the point of customer interaction.?

Ben E. Keith is now benefiting from increased productivity, reduced on the job errors and greater customer reach. The MobileDemand tablets with Windows 7 are a dependable, long-term solution that makes Ben E. Keith sales reps secure and productive.

To learn more, visit the Microsoft New Center for a new Customer Spotlight press release on Ben E. Keith?s story.

Source: http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/business/archive/2012/02/14/ben-e-keith-gets-rugged-with-windows-7.aspx

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