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Contiki 3.0 Released, Retains Support For Apple II, C64
An anonymous reader writes that on Wednesday the Contiki team announced the release of Contiki 3.0, the latest version of the open source IoT operating system. The 3.0 release is a huge step up from the 2.x branch and brings support for new and exciting hardware, a set of new network protocols, a bunch of improvements in the low-power mesh networking protocols, along with a large number of general stability improvements. And, yes, the system still runs on the Commodore 64/128, Apple II, Atari.
I had completely forgotten about Contiki. It's actually quite a neat OS, but I moved away from embedded systems years ago and all that sort of stuff slipped away. There's a box of things gathering dust that could run this.
Good stuff. Better than an oversized OS draining your power and sucking performance out of constrained hardware. Maybe it's finally Contiki's time to shine.
IOT is a fail because of manufacturers.
For example, ZigBee connected light bulbs, GE Link, Cree Connected, and Phillips Hue all use their OWN modified protocol. First the use the ZLL protocol instead of the ZHA that they should be using, then they refuse to repeat signals for other brands. So you have some cheap Cree bulbs in entryways and hallways, but have the expensive white color temperature bulbs for elsewhere... Oh they don't mesh, sorry. They also don't mesh with your other devices so you have a horribly broken and fractured mess that barely works.
IoT is an epic fail because we don't have a group of people going to different manufacturers with a sack of rocks and beating the shit out of executives and head engineers. I blame ZigBee and Z-Wave for not forcing companies at gunpoint to follow a freaking standard, but the engineers and executives made the decision to be assholes and intentionally be incompatible.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Funny but a friend of mine called the Apple II a toy but then he had a PDP-11.
Actually the AppleII was a better computer than the Vic-20 but it also cost many times as much.
Frankly I loved all the computers of the late 70s early 80s. So many new ideas and so many systems and all of them you could learn inside and out except for the Ti-99.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Agree. The Vic-20 was underpowered (5K RAM and only 3.5K was usable), but it was a great bargain at the time. I had the 16K RAMpack expansion, so that definitely made the computer a lot more usable and fun to use. :-) I eventually got a C-64, but the Vic-20 was my first computer and I would never call it a toy... it taught me too much. I even still own it to this day and it still works.
"Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^