Linuxo Planet

Aaron J. Seigo answered some questions in a recent blog post revealing more details on Mer/KDE Plasma Active Tablet Spark. 

$25 credit card size ARM Linux PC Raspberry Pi is getting lots of love from community. 

First, XBMC playing HD video on rPi was shown shown off at Scale 10x. Now a specific Linux distribution Raspbmc is being developed by Stm Labs which is specially optimized for Raspberry Pi.  

Aaron J. Seigo, from KDE Plasma Active development team has revealed a tablet which could be the first device to come with Plasma Active pre-installed.

If you don't know about Plasma Active project yet:

Plasma Active is a joint project by the KDE community, basysKom and open-slx. The goals for this open source project are to deliver a fast embedded UX platform with minimal memory requirements, provide customizable and modular to support different form factors and design an interface that adapts as users change Activities.

Couple of months back, we reported about a new Open Source Linux gaming handheld GameGadget. At that time we were a bit suspicious as many such projects were announced in past and they have now gone into oblivion.

However, it looks like they will deliver it. Few days back GamGadget team has shown a working prototype of the device in action. Check out yourself:

Open Source Linux based gaming handheld and mini-laptop Pandora has created lots of buzz when it was revealed 4 years back.

Since then the project has gone under numerous rough stages, production issues, tech spec changes and financial problems. A limited batch of 4000 units was available for pre-orders but not everyone has got the device on time.

However, it looks like that bad time is finally over. They tested a prototype recently and it was a 100% success. Pandora will go into mass production next month in Germany. 

Looks like everyone is trying to build a smaller and cheaper Linux computer. FXI is bringing Cotton Candy for about $200, production for $25 Linux computer Raspberry Pi has already started and now Rhombus Tech is aiming to deliver a low cost $15 (estimate) Linux PC Allwinner A10.

Allwinner A10 will have fully GPL compliant hardware and is more powerful then Raspberry Pi. At least on paper now as the production has not started yet and there are no prototype builds. However, the development is going on rapidly and sooner or later they will deliver it.

MakerBot Replicator is a 3D printing Machine that can bring 3D computer models to your living room. Brought by MakerBot Industries, Replicator was demonstrated at CES and is simply a thing of awe.

Before I go ahead watch the video below:

You can Create your own 3D designs using Google Sketch Up, Blender and other software or download one of the thousands of models from Thingiverse.com, and turn your ideas into real, physical objects. The material used is natural ABS plastic which is also used for Lego products.

Few months back, FXI revealed its USB stick size mini computer - Cotton Candy. The ARM device created lots of buzz then and the makers said that it can run Ubuntu.

They are true to their words and have now ported both Ubuntu 11.04 and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Laptop Magazine had an exclusive look at the device at CES 2012.

Retrode 2 can turn your Linux box into a retro gaming machine. The little black box allows you to play all your good old SNES and Genesis games legally on your PC.

What is this thing and How it works?

Retrode 2 is a USB adapter for classic 16 bit video games. It includes dual cartridge reader ports and supports original game controllers. 

Raspberry Pi Foundation has made available 10 limited edition beta boards of their $25 ARM Linux PC on Ebay. These boards are currently being auctioned with highest bid being £2,050 at the time of writing this article.

Raspberry Pi is a credit card size $25 computer that can plug into TV and a keyboard. It can be used for many of the things that you do on your desktop PC, like spreadsheets, word-processing and playing games. It is also capable of playing high-definition video.

These limited edition boards will most likely have Debian installed by default.