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Domain: popbeads.org

Stories and comments across the archive that link to popbeads.org.

Comments · 11

  1. Java for LEGO - LejOS by mtDNA · · Score: 3, Interesting · on Mindstorms' Next Generation

    LejOS (http://lejos.sourceforge.net) is an open source Java API for RCX.

    LejOS is great, although it does have the usual Java problems: large memory footprint, slow (virtual machine), etc...

    I like to use both legOS and lejOS, depending on the project.

    Also, I've been working on RCXComm, which is fun if you grok RCX bytecodes.

  2. Java Drivers by mtDNA · · Score: 5 · on CueHack For CueCat Released



    There are some open source Java drivers for CueCat at:

    http://www.popbeads.org/Software/CCScan



  3. Classic example of SMPA by mtDNA · · Score: 5 · on Photorealistic, Reliable 3D Mapping For Robots

    Moravec's approach is a classic example of the SMPA (sense-model-plan-act) approach to mobile robotics. A lot of people think this is a dead end - not least among them Rodney Brooks, who advocates what is called the behavior-based approach. Behavior-based robotics basically relies on integrating several independently operating reflexes into a robot, which is much more lifelike. A nifty intermediate approach is taken by Ronald Arkin, who seems a little more pragmatic (and less dogmatic).

    You can read some superficial information about all of these guys (and others) in the book Robo sapiens.

    A review of Robo sapiens can be found here.




  4. What ever happened to the lawsuits? by mtDNA · · Score: 1 · on CueCat Seeks Simpsons Endorsement



    For a while, lots of people were getting cease and decist letters from the CueCat people. Then they stopped. Hmmm, maybe they ran out of money to pay the lawyers! Does anyone know what happened?

    I never got the letter, and I wrote these Java drivers for CueCat (Take them if you want. They're GPL'd):


    http://www.popbeads.org/Software/CCScan

  5. Java CueCat Drivers by mtDNA · · Score: 2 · on Slashback: Blockage, Stripes, Upswings

    Cuecat isn't so bad once you get it hacked.

    I wrote a set of decoder Java Classes that you can use if you want. They are designed to be incorporated into other programs, but they work standalone, too. Check out:

    http://www.popbeads.org/Software/CCScan

  6. Quantum RAM by mtDNA · · Score: 1 · on A Pair Of Quantum Computing Articles

    Articles on quantum computing focus on processing speed.

    But what about memory? If processing is fast but memory is low, the constraints on quantum computing will be different than if memory is high.

    Consider Quake, for example. A fast processor isn't exciting unless it has the memory to handle sophisticated (i.e. high memory) maps.

    How does quantum memory work? What are the constraints on it?




    Check out Java Drivers for CueCat at: http://www.popbeads.org/Software

  7. So video games can make you violent? by mtDNA · · Score: 1 · on Up, Up, Down, Down: Part Three

    Why does Katz take it at face value that gaming makes you a smarter, more articulate team player and simultaneously reject out of hand the possibility that games can make you violent?

    It seems like Katz's bias is really shining through, here. If Katz is admitting that games can have all of these positive effects, he has to admit they might have negative consequences, too -- something he would never concede.

    This is the same kind of logic flaw that a lot of people run into in racist arguments. For example, lots of people think they are doing American Indians a favor by asserting that American Indians are naturally in touch with the land and with nature. But if they admit that, then they also have to admit that American Indians might naturally be lazy drunks.

    Katz wants it both ways, and he can't have it.



    CueCat Java Tools at http://www.popbeads.org/Software

  8. Why Jamie Zawinski loves/hates Java. by mtDNA · · Score: 1 · on Why Linux Lovers Jilt Java

    Jamie Zawinski has an excellent commentary on the good and bad points of Java.
    It can be found at:

    http://www.jwz.org/doc/java.html

    Except for the handful of things outlined by Zawinski, Java is great. You can even get good performance (though not even close to C-like) with native compilers.

    Check out gcj (The gcc native Java compiler) at http://sources.redhat.com/java.

    Also, be sure to check out my Java CueCat driver at http://www.popbeads.org/Software

  9. Java Classes for CueCat by mtDNA · · Score: 3 · on CNET Says CueCat Restrictions Are Bogus
    I wrote some Java classes for handling CueCat scans. They are called CCScan and they are available at:

    http://www.popbeads.org/Software

  10. Java Tools for Mindstorms by mtDNA · · Score: 3 · on Lego Mindstorms AT-AT
    The Lego Mindstorms systems are slick, but a major problem is that Lego hasn't been very forthcoming with information about how to write custom software for the system. I use Linux, so Lego's out of the box programming tools are useless.

    Luckily, a lot of effort has gone into reverse engineering the Mindstorms Brick. Russell Nelson has a lot of good information at http://www.crynwr.com/lego-robotics/

    I have been working on a Java toolkit for programming the Brick, and for manipulating it interactively. My kit, called RCXComm, can establish serial connections with the RCX brick via the IR port, and can handle packet communications, upload programs, send messages to active RCX Programs, as well as a few other things. The RCXComm classes can be used as standalone software, but they are really intended for incorporation into other applications.

    Java tools for playing with the RCX are available at: http://www.popbeads.org

    If you use the kit, I would appreciate hearing any feedback you have.

    Incidentally, Java classes for decoding CueCat scan data are also available at http://www.popbeads.org

  11. Java Tools for Mindstorms by mtDNA · · Score: 3 · on Lego Mindstorms AT-AT
    The Lego Mindstorms systems are slick, but a major problem is that Lego hasn't been very forthcoming with information about how to write custom software for the system. I use Linux, so Lego's out of the box programming tools are useless.

    Luckily, a lot of effort has gone into reverse engineering the Mindstorms Brick. Russell Nelson has a lot of good information at http://www.crynwr.com/lego-robotics/

    I have been working on a Java toolkit for programming the Brick, and for manipulating it interactively. My kit, called RCXComm, can establish serial connections with the RCX brick via the IR port, and can handle packet communications, upload programs, send messages to active RCX Programs, as well as a few other things. The RCXComm classes can be used as standalone software, but they are really intended for incorporation into other applications.

    Java tools for playing with the RCX are available at: http://www.popbeads.org

    If you use the kit, I would appreciate hearing any feedback you have.

    Incidentally, Java classes for decoding CueCat scan data are also available at http://www.popbeads.org