Raspberry Pi model B

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Some notes about my experience using the Raspberry Pi model B…and you get it running Linux Debian on it!

The #Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It’s a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing and games. It also plays high-definition video. We want to see it being used by kids all over the world to learn programming.

[…]

We don’t think that the #Raspberry Pi is a fix to all of the world’s computing issues; we do believe that we can be a catalyst. We want to see cheap, accessible, programmable computers everywhere; we actively encourage other companies to clone what we’re doing. We want to break the paradigm where without spending hundreds of pounds on a PC, families can’t use the internet. We want owning a truly personal computer to be normal for children. We think that 2012 is going to be a very exciting year. [About Raspberry PI]

Continue reading Raspberry Pi model B

When using Maven jetty:run, CSS and JavaScript files are never updated

I was getting mad because jetty was refusing to redeploy my static files (xhtml, css) in #Eclipse until I find the reason

The Jetty Web Server provides a HTTP server and Servlet container capable of serving static and dynamic contend either from a standalone or embedded instantiations.

Jetty buffers static content for webapps such as html files, css files, images etc and uses memory mapped files to do this if the NIO connectors are being used. The problem is that on Windows, memory mapping a file causes the file to be locked, so that the file cannot be updated or replaced. This means that effectively you have to stop Jetty in order to update a file.

To fix this, add a line with to your #maven-jetty-plugin configuration:

org.mortbay.jetty  maven-jetty-plugin  6.1.5       ...    src/main/resources/webdefault.xml     

The default webdefault.xml file is found in the lib/jetty.jar at org/mortbay/jetty/webapp/webdefault.xml. Extract it to a convenient disk location and edit it to change useFileMappedBuffer to false:

      useFileMappedBuffer       false     

Copy the changed file into src/main/resources/ of your project.

The problem is explained more in Jetty’s documentation.

SNK Neo Geo CDZ # 0013836

The CDZ was released in 1996 as the Japanese market replacement for SNK’s previous efforts (the “front loader” and the “top loader”). The Neo Geo CD had met with limited success due to it being plagued by slow loading times that could vary from 30 to 60 seconds between levels, depending on the game. Although SNK’s American home entertainment division quickly acknowledged that the system simply wasn’t capable of competing with 3D-capable powerhouse systems of the day like Sega’s Saturn and Sony’s PlayStation, SNK corporate of Japan felt they could continue to maintain profitable sales in the Japanese home market by shortening the previous system’s load-times.

SNK NEO GEO CDZ #0013836
Neo Geo CDZ #0013836 private collection Cédric Walter – http://www.waltercedric.com

Popular speculation suggests that SNK made several changes to the CD hardware to end up with the CDZ, most prominent is the rumor that they increased the CD-ROM drive speed from 1x to 2x. The truth of the matter is that the CDZ had a larger amount of cache. Though the CD-ROM motor in the CDZ may have been more efficient than the one in the original, it was still a 1x speed CD-ROM.

SNK NEO GEO CDZ #0013836
Neo Geo CDZ #0013836 private collection Cédric Walter – http://www.waltercedric.com

The console had a design flaw which sometimes caused it to overheat after certain periods of time, breaking the console in the process and making it hard to repair. This was a result of a lack of ventilation in the cramped housing of the smaller unit and the inability to dissipate heat generated by the newer drive, which could damage the circuit board.

SNK NEO GEO CDZ #0013836
Neo Geo CDZ #0013836 private collection Cédric Walter – http://www.waltercedric.com

CDZ availability

The CDZ was only officially sold in Japan during its production. However, its lack of a “region lock,” and the fact that it could play older CD software, made it a popular import item for enthusiasts in Europe and North America. Today they can be found sporadically on the internet, especially through auction sites such as eBay.

SNK NEO GEO CDZ #0013836
Neo Geo CDZ #0013836 private collection Cédric Walter – http://www.waltercedric.com

Technical specifications

  • Main Processor: Motorola 68000 running at 12 MHz
    • Although the 68000 CPU was designed by Motorola, there were many other clones of this CPU found in the Neo Geo hardware. The most common CPU is the TMP68HC000 manufactured by Toshiba. This is essentially a Motorola 68000 clone.
  • Co-Processor: Zilog Z80 running at 4 MHz
  • Colors On Screen: 4,096
  • Colors Available: 65,536
  • Resolution: 304 x 224
  • Max Sprites: 380
  • Max Sprite Size: 16 x 512
  • Number of Planes: 3
SNK NEO GEO CDZ #0013836
Neo Geo CDZ #0013836 private collection Cédric Walter – http://www.waltercedric.com

The system is also capable of reading Redbook standard compact disc audio.

SNK NEO GEO CDZ #0013836
Neo Geo CDZ #0013836 private collection Cédric Walter – http://www.waltercedric.com

In addition to the multi-AV port all Neo Geo CD models had composite RCA A/V and S-Video out jacks on the rear of the console.

The CD system’s 58 Mbit / 7 MB of RAM was split accordingly:

SNK NEO GEO CDZ #0013836
Neo Geo CDZ #0013836 private collection Cédric Walter – http://www.waltercedric.com
  • 68000 Program Memory: 2 MB
  • Fix Layer Memory: 128 KB
  • Graphics Memory: 4 MB
  • Sound Sample Memory: 1 MB
  • Z80 Program Memory: 64 kB
  • VRAM: 512Kb (For graphics attributes)
  • SRAM: 2 KB (For high scores / general save data)
SNK NEO GEO CDZ #0013836
Neo Geo CDZ #0013836 private collection Cédric Walter – http://www.waltercedric.com

© Copyright Authors – Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Geo_CD – Article under CC-BY-SA

SNK NEO GEO CDZ #0013836
Neo Geo CDZ #0013836 private collection Cédric Walter – http://www.waltercedric.com

Bought on eBay with 21 CD games.

NEC develops ultra-thin battery for mobile

A thin, flexible battery from NEC with a 30-second recharge could be an instant hit in a wide range of device markets. NEC has developed an ultra-thin, flexible, rechargeable battery capable of re-charging in just 30 seconds, the company said on Thursday.
The new battery has been dubbed ORB, for Organic Redical Battery, by NEC, because it uses an organic radical polymer as its cathode.  Read more at news ZDavis