[HH] other Raspberry Pi bits

[Tom Metro]

Getting bored with all the Raspberry Pi mentions? I'll sum up several
items in this message, which should clear out my backlog of saved Pi
articles.
 -Tom

Raspberry Pi opens its ARM graphics code
http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Raspberry-Pi-opens-its-ARM-graphics-code-1735262.html

  The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced that it is now able to open
  source the ARM code of the Raspberry Pi's graphics stack, giving the
  mini-computer a completely open source ARM-based software platform.
  ...
  The software to drive the GPU from the ARM side has been closed source
  since the project began, but now developers will be able to gain free
  access to that code and take full control of the graphics capability
  of the chip.

  The code being opened up under a BSD licence includes the
  implementations of EGL, OpenGL ES, OpenVG and OpenMax which use the
  vcihq kernel module to pass messages to the VideoCore of the chip.
  ...
  "It also enables the developers of FreeBSD, NetBSD, Haiku, Plan9,
  RiscOS and other OSes to get the libraries working on their Raspberry
  Pi ports and take advantage of the VideoCore's capabilities", added
  Bradbury.

  It isn't all open source though, as there is still firmware that is
  loaded onto the GPU itself at boot up. The firmware is released under
  a permissive licence but is still binary-only;


Raspberry Pi Team Launches Pi Store
http://linux.slashdot.org/story/12/12/17/1353255/raspberry-pi-team-launches-pi-store

  Raspberry Pi developer team has introduced the Pi store, a place to
  get software for Raspberry Pi... The team hopes that the store will
  become a one-stop-shop for Raspbian Pi users. The store already has 23
  major applications available for users including LibreOffice and
  Asterisk. There are classic games like Freeciv and OpenTTD and
  Raspberry Pi exclusive Iridium Rising.


Raspberry Pi Gets RISC OS, A 25-Year-Old System Made By The Wizards Of ARM
http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/06/raspberry-pi-gets-risc-os-a-25-year-old-system-made-by-the-wizards-of-arm/

  In 1987, as the first reduced instruction set computing (RISC) ARM
  chips hit the scene, programmers at Acorn Computers created RISC OS, a
  simple, 'co-operatively multi-tasked' OS designed for small computing
  environments. While it's no Linux, it's still a great way to get to
  know RISC computing and, more important, it boots fast and has a
  working GUI. Now, according to a post on Rasberrypi.org, it's
  available for download for all Pi users.


Modular rack for four Raspberry Pis
http://www.giaceccosdigitalcontraptionsimaginarium.com/post/34442735088/modular-rack-for-four-raspberry-pis-in-pcsl-adafruit

I think the rack is built from Legos, which the article references, but
doesn't explicitly state. The components don't look like recognizable
Lego parts to me, but I'm not that familiar with what's in a modern Lego
kit.

The Pi's are individually housed in adafruit enclosures. I'd be more
impressed with a card rack-style design, that held "raw" Pis.

 -Tom