B+ RISC OS problems

I didn't - mostly because I'm running it via ssh -X and screen updates are glacially slow that way. I'll hook a Pi up to a real monitor later on and give it a go. I know it will be slower though - how slow? Who knows!

Gordon

- and there was me fearing being howled down for being a dimlow :-)

I've taken your tip and downloaded the first you suggest, plus several others. Much to read; much to unlearn as well, I expect. Thanks :-)

I wonder what it was about RISC OS that was seen as "weird" by A.Dumas, above in this thread. Non-Windows and Linux, certainly, but that makes it different, not weird.

Inevitably, I had to use Windows, starting at 3.11, because RISC OS had few email clients, and no JavaScript browser. Now, email from RISC OS is a pleasure, and it remains my primary OS on a BeagleBoard, but still no JavaScript. Increasing unease with Windows saw me move to Ubuntu on a PandaBoard after WXP, which serves my JavaScript needs. Then came the disaster of the cessation of the manufacture of the Panda, so I moved to RPi; but however much I try, Ubuntu is - was - the best distro for my needs, if uneasily Windows-like, but is not compatible with RPi. I just can't even begin to get to grips with Raspbian. Two inches of Ubuntu Linux has served me well for upwards of a decade, but Raspbian is in a world divorced from any reality. I will delve through your book tips

Cheers :-)

--
Mark J 
From RISCOS on a BeagleBoard-xM and Raspberry Pi 
- and Linux on a PandaBoard ES

Try a *Verify at the F12 prompt to check the entire SD card.

---druck

Yes, RISC OS is unlike windows, so unlike Linux GUIs.

It uses heavily all three mouse buttons. This takes a bit of getting used to - but once ther it means that RISC OS can do thinks with fewer mouse/key presses than other GUIs.

It is a bit limited on some of the things it canot do, but what it does do, it generally does simpler than other OS.

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Yes, it is wireless. But it worked fine on the (now defunct) Iyonix. Since the clicks and mouse movement are registered, I cannot see that the fact it's wireless should cause them to be registered in the wrong order.

But it's worth a try.

I am aware there are USB problems, but now what they are.

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One of the things I used the Iyo for was storing and viewing photos. Once I've killed the present problems I will need to couple the Iyo's hard disc to the Pi.

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http://www.Torrens.org.uk for genealogy, natural history, wild food, walks, cats 
and more!

The 2 amp supply provided by Farnell as suitable for the PI. But yes, it is the main suspect at present.

No.I have anothe supply but no connector yet: that is my next expeioment.

MS prone to issues? well I never....

They are Logitech, worked fine with the Iyonix. Except the Menu button is a bit temperamental.

Wireless

Directly

Not present. a powered hub is one suggested possible cure.

Network. That works with no problem, except when a program strores a file on the Pi's microSD.

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------------------------------------------------------------------ 
Richard Torrens. News email address is valid - for a limited time only. 
http://www.Torrens.org.uk for genealogy, natural history, wild food, walks, cats 
and more!

Been there, done that, many times. Never failed to verify.

The original card has been replaced: this did not effect a cure.

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------------------------------------------------------------------ 
Richard Torrens. News email address is valid - for a limited time only. 
http://www.Torrens.org.uk for genealogy, natural history, wild food, walks, cats 
and more!

I assume you've checked the batteries? My Logitech wireless mouse starts missing clicks, or missing releases, so that it drags, just before the battery gives up completely.

--
Alan Adams, from Northamptonshire 
alan@adamshome.org.uk 
http://www.nckc.org.uk/

I'm glad you found that useful.

As a fairly long time user of *nix -type OSen I didn't find much weird about the RPi, but then again I've been using Unixes and Unix knock-offs (UniFlex, OS/9, VOS) since 1984 and Linux since 1998 and I have almost always programmed any and all of these systems from a 24x80 greenscreen terminal or the xterm console application.

The one thing that *is* unusual is the way the RPi boots:

Here Booteth the Pi =================== In the beginning was the GPU. And the GPU was proprietary, and without publically available documents. And the power supply said "Let there be reset!" and the GPU awoke.

And lo, the GPU reached out to the SD card and read bootcode.bin, and saw that it was good. And so bootcode.bin was executed.

And bootcode.bin reached out to the SD card and found start.elf, and saw that it was good. And so start.elf was executed.

And the start.elf configured the system. RAM was divided between the GPU and the ARM.

And the start.elf loaded the kernel into the ARM side of the RAM. And the ARM was reset.

And the reset most likely proceeded in the manner described in the technical reference manual for the ARM1176JZFS processor.

- Roger Ivie

--
martin@   | Martin Gregorie 
gregorie. | Essex, UK 
org       |

I've tried doing without the dynamic view, which I think is best done by using Pygame to draw on a non-displayed surface and saving that as an image. It still takes about 15s.

#!/usr/bin/env python import pygame, random, os w = 600; h = 400 surface = pygame.Surface((w, h)) surface.fill((255,255,255)) rnd = 0; n = 0.655; m = 200.0 for j in xrange(0, int(w * m)): r = (j / m) / w * 1.1 + 2.89 n = (n * r) * (1.0 - n) + random.random() * 2.0e-4 coord = (int(j / m), int((1 - n) * h)) surface.set_at(coord,(0,0,0)) pygame.image.save(surface,"bifurc.png") os.system("xdg-open bifurc.png &")

Which has prompted me to plug a Pi into a monitor and try it - just under 4 seconds updating on every vertical with a tiny optimisation. (and a marginally bigger screen too - 640x480)

(0,0 is bottom left in RTB - it does the Y translation from SDL coords for you)

I'm still surprised (plesantly!) that RTB is faster at this than Python though! (But RTB is doing a lot less than Python has the potential for)

w = gwidth - 1 h = gheight colour = white cls n = 0.655 start = time for x = 0 to w cycle for j = 0 to 1 step 0.005 cycle r = (x + j) / w * 1.1 + 2.89 n = (n * r) * (1 - n) + rnd(997) * 5.0e-8 y = int (n * h) plot (x, y) repeat update repeat done = time print "Time taken: "; done - start; "ms" savescreen ("chaos.bmp") end

Any takers for a version in BASIC V under RISC OS? (Although last time I tried something like that, BASIC V was much much faster again - the advantages of writing the interpreter in assembler, I guess)

Cheers,

Gordon

Yes. I don't have a 3-button mouse so that's pretty inconvenient. (The scroll wheel can be depressed and function as a 3rd button, but that hardly helped.)

It's not bad with practice. I've done that for 10 years on my Iyonix with a Logitech trackball.

--
Alan Adams, from Northamptonshire 
alan@adamshome.org.uk 
http://www.nckc.org.uk/

You can always put glue in the scroll-wheel's bearing if you don't like it rolling when you press it.

--
martin@   | Martin Gregorie 
gregorie. | Essex, UK 
org       |

I've a standard Cherry optical mouse, with scroll wheel, working on this Kinetic Risc PC, via a PS2 to Acorn adaptor, with no problem.

--
Stuart Winsor 

Tools With A Mission 
sending tools across the world 
http://www.twam.co.uk/

[bifurc in python and RTB]

There certainly is. I did a line for line port of the RTB to BBC BASIC, accounting for the 2 OS units to the pixel and time in centi-seconds:-

10ON ERROR PRINT REPORT$;" at line ";ERL:END 11MODE 28 20w = 640 30h = 480 40COLOUR 255,255,255 60random = 0 70n = 0.655 80start = TIME 90FOR x = 0 TO w - 1 100 FOR j = 0 TO 1 STEP 0.005 110 r = (x + j) / w * 1.1 + 2.89 120 random = (random + 757) MOD 997 130 n = (n * r) * (1 - n) + random * 5.0E-8 140 y = INT(n * h) 150 PLOT69,x