Wpisy

Linus Torvalds released Linux 5.7 with this announcement:

So we had a fairly calm last week, with nothing really screaming “let’s delay one more rc”. Knock wood – let’s hope we don’t have anything silly lurking this time, like the last-minute wifi regression we had in 5.6..

But embarrassing regressions last time notwithstanding, it all looks fine. And most of the discussion I’ve seen the last week or two has been about upcoming features, so the merge window is now open  and I’ll start processing pull requests tomorrow as usual. But in the meantime, please give this a whirl.

We’ve got a lot of changes in 5.7 as usual (all the stats look normal – but “normal” for us obviously pretty big and means “almost 14 thousand non-merge commits all over, from close to two thousand developers”), So the appended shortlog is only the small stuff that came in this last week since rc7.

Go test,

Source: https://lkml.org/lkml/2020/5/31/326

Linux 5.7.1 changes from 5.7

  • New, higher-quality exFAT file system from Samsung replacing the exFAT implementation added to Linux 5.4.
  • Thermal Pressure in the task scheduler – Thermal Pressure makes the task scheduler more aware of frequency capping, and leads to better task placement among available CPUs in event of overheating, which should lead to better performance numbers. See more details on LWN.
  • Tiger Lake enablement – Graphics, thermal & power management, Ethernet
  • Coding-style – Deprecate 80-column warning

MIPS Linux 5.7 changes

A few changes came also to MIPS:

  • loongson64 irq rework
  • dmi support loongson
  • replace setup_irq() by request_irq()
  • jazz cleanups
  • minor cleanups and fixes

Ubuntu 19.10 for latest Raspberry Pi applications

With 19.10 release of Ubuntu Server, Canonical announced official support for the Raspberry Pi 4. The latest board from the Raspberry Pi Foundation sports a faster system-on-a-chip with a processor that uses the Cortex-A72 architecture (quad-core 64-bit ARMv8 at 1.5GHz). Additionally, it offers up to 4GB of RAM. We are supporting the Raspberry Pi 4 to give developers access to a low-cost board, powerful enough to consolidate compute workloads at the edge. 

The Raspberry Pi has established itself as a most accessible platform for innovators in the embedded space. Canonical is dedicated to empowering innovators with open-source software. Consequently, Canonical endeavors to offer full official support for all the boards in the Raspberry Pi family. Canonical will therefore enable both Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Core for existing and upcoming Pi boards.

Ubuntu Roadmap. Source: https://ubuntu.com/blog/roadmap-for-official-support-for-the-raspberry-pi-4

Industrial use of Raspberry Pi 4

A year ago, TECHBASE released an updated version of the ModBerry M500 industrial IoT computer, replacing the aging Raspberry Pi 3 with a 3B+, giving it better performance. With the recent launch of the Raspberry Pi 4, TECHBASE has yet again, announced another upgrade to the M500, which now packs the latest single-board computer.

Raspberry Pi 4

Over 10 million Raspberry Pi’s have been sold and the Raspberry Pi is likely to stay as a new standard in the industry. Official Raspbian OS is free operating system based on Linux Debian optimized for the Raspberry Pi comes with over 35,000 packages, pre-compiled software bundled in a nice format for easy installation. ModBerry devices are compatible with Raspberry Pi accessories, supported by Raspberry Pi Foundation. ModBerry M500 now with Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ / Raspberry Pi 4 Model B support.

Linux Kernel 5.5 brings changes to ARM, RISC-V and MIPS

At the end of last week, Linus Torvalds brought a complete list of Linux 5.5 changes for ARM, MIPS and RISC-V architectures. Io_uring asynchronous I/O has been improved, adding the ability to modify the set of files being operated on without starting over, user-specifiable completion-ring sizes, absolute timeouts, and support for accept() calls among others.

Also the Airtime Queue Limits (AQL) for WiFi that make CoDel work more effectively with wireless drivers that utilized firmware/hardware offloading. KUnit unit testing framework for the Linux kernel with tests can now be run locally on a developer’s workstation without any VM or special hardware. Another change is SMB rootfs and multichannel support using SMB as root file systems, and support for using multiple network connections for the same SMB session.

For more information about changes to different architectures, check out the article exploring the subject: https://www.cnx-software.com/2020/01/27/linux-5-5-release-main-changes-arm-mips-and-risc-v-architectures/

Linux 5.5 changes announcement

So this last week was pretty quiet, and while we had a late network update with some (mainly iwl wireless) network driver and netfilter module loading fixes, David didn’t think that warranted another -rc. And outside of that, it’s really been very quiet indeed – there’s a panfrost driver update too, but again it didn’t really seem to make sense to delay the final release by another week.

Outside of those, it’s all really tiny, even if some of those tiny changes touched some core files.

So despite the slight worry that the holidays might have affected the schedule, 5.5 ended up with the regular rc cadence and is out now.

That means that the merge window for 5.6 will open tomorrow, and I already have a couple of pull requests pending. The timing for this next merge window isn’t optimal for me – I have some travel and other things going on during the same two weeks, but hopefully it won’t be all that noticeable. But there might be random timezones, odd hours, and random delays because of that. I try to avoid scheduling things during the merge window, but hey, it doesn’t always work out, and I’d have to delay things by two weeks to avoid the conflicts, which just doesn’t seem worth it.

Particularly since it’s not necessarily going to be a problem to begin with. We’ll see.

Anyway. Go out and test 5.5, and start sending me those pull requests for all the new development that is ready,

Source: https://lkml.org/lkml/2020/1/26/232

Ubuntu 19.10 for latest Raspberry Pi applications

With 19.10 release of Ubuntu Server, Canonical announced official support for the Raspberry Pi 4. The latest board from the Raspberry Pi Foundation sports a faster system-on-a-chip with a processor that uses the Cortex-A72 architecture (quad-core 64-bit ARMv8 at 1.5GHz). Additionally, it offers up to 4GB of RAM. We are supporting the Raspberry Pi 4 to give developers access to a low-cost board, powerful enough to consolidate compute workloads at the edge. 

The Raspberry Pi has established itself as a most accessible platform for innovators in the embedded space. Canonical is dedicated to empowering innovators with open-source software. Consequently, Canonical endeavors to offer full official support for all the boards in the Raspberry Pi family. Canonical will therefore enable both Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Core for existing and upcoming Pi boards.

Ubuntu Roadmap. Source: https://ubuntu.com/blog/roadmap-for-official-support-for-the-raspberry-pi-4

Industrial use of Raspberry Pi 4

A year ago, TECHBASE released an updated version of the ModBerry M500 industrial IoT computer, replacing the aging Raspberry Pi 3 with a 3B+, giving it better performance. With the recent launch of the Raspberry Pi 4, TECHBASE has yet again, announced another upgrade to the M500, which now packs the latest single-board computer.

Raspberry Pi 4

Over 10 million Raspberry Pi’s have been sold and the Raspberry Pi is likely to stay as a new standard in the industry. Official Raspbian OS is free operating system based on Linux Debian optimized for the Raspberry Pi comes with over 35,000 packages, pre-compiled software bundled in a nice format for easy installation. ModBerry devices are compatible with Raspberry Pi accessories, supported by Raspberry Pi Foundation. ModBerry M500 now with Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ / Raspberry Pi 4 Model B support.

Ubuntu Touch for Raspberry Pi 7-inch display

UBPorts community has released an update claiming to support Ubuntu Touch running on a Raspberry Pi 3 with an official 7-inch Raspberry Pi touchscreen. The Raspberry Pi is growing as the Ubuntu Touch programming platform, says UBports founder Marius Gripsgård in the attached video below. However, there was no demo. In this film, UBports creator Florian Leeber added that the Raspberry Pi platform can also serve as the home touch interface for the Internet of Things and other applications.

The key to Pi support is the recent merger of the libhybris project and ARM64 at the “edge” that points to the repository used by the project. This should also facilitate portability to other Arm-based platforms.

A new feature of Ubuntu Touch is the ability to run a Mir display server in Wayland using the Wayland protocol. It is said to enable user session suspension, save battery life, and improve security and privacy. This work has improved the handling of Bluetooth headsets with the upgrade to the BlueZ Bluetooth daemon and PulseAudio patch.

Ubuntu Touch’s way to 64-bit IoT applications

Ubuntu Touch is a special version of Ubuntu, which was designed for mobile devices with touch screens, and more specifically for smartphones and tablets. Unfortunately, Ubuntu was abandoned before conquering the market. However, as is the case in the Open Source world, someone has taken over and developed this project. Ubuntu Touch has just been released in the 64-bit version.

Just two years ago, Canonical was working hard on the Unity8 graphics environment and the Mir display server. Work on these projects was already in a fairly deep stage, and the British giant was tempted to add Unity8 to one of the Ubuntu versions. Unfortunately, at this point the environment was – to put it mildly – infinite and did not work very well (at least in my case). How does it connect with Ubuntu Touch? Well, Ubuntu Touch also used Unity8 and Mir, and both platforms – Desktop PC and mobile – were to be unified. Unfortunately, to the surprise of project enthusiasts, Canonical decided to abandon their work and after a few years of separation return to GNOME and leave the mobile world completely.

It is true that Canonical abandoned their projects, but there was another team that wanted to take them in. We are talking about the UBports group, which is gradually updating Ubuntu Touch and spending them on new models.

Ubuntu Touch. Source: https://twitter.com/UBports

After months of announcements, the Ubuntu Touch project finally got a 64-bit compilation. Earlier, even operating on a suitable processor, this system operated only in 32-bit mode. This is a big step forward, although the compatibility list typically fails.

The change in the UI range will only be introduced by the OTA-12 update, anticipated for an undefined future. But with Ubuntu Touch 64-bit debuts Telegram client – TELEports 0.6.0.

The creators admit that they delayed 64-bit binaries, considering them unnecessary, especially for equipment with less than 4 GB RAM. Now, however, according to new observations, they have changed their minds. Of course, the system itself is not everything. You still need to recompile the apps. But this is to take place successively, based on the base in the form of an already operating system.

Ubuntu Touch for Raspberry Pi Compute Module?

Will Raspberry Pi Compute Module powered solutions get a support for Ubuntu Touch? Maybe the transition to 3rd party devices will be seamless, because of Ubuntu Touch already working on official Raspberry Pi 7-inch display. Similiar soliutions, such as TECHBASE’s TECHPANEL P500 with Compute Module 3/3+ support might be the first device with fully working Ubuntu Touch.

TECHPANEL P500 with CM3/3+ support. Source: https://iiot-shop.com/product/techpanel-p500/
Ubuntu 19.10 „Eoan Ermine” for Raspberry Pi 4

Many users’ favorite Linux distribution has a new version. Ubuntu 19.10 has been officially released, whose name is „Eoan Ermine”. Ubuntu 19.10 „Eoan Emine” is the latest version of the popular Linux distribution, valued for its intuitive operation, fast operation, pleasant interface and wide compatibility. Anyone interested can already update or download and install this edition manually.

This new version replaces Ubuntu 19.04 „Disco Dingo”. It will be updated for 9 months, followed by 20.04 „Focal Fossa” with extended support period (LTS).

The most important news in Ubuntu 19.10 is the Linux 5.3 kernel and the GNOME 3.34 graphical environment, which is supposed to provide faster performance, better responsiveness and the option of grouping applications in the menu along with many other functions and changes. The authors also tout „dramatically improved” performance and accelerated startup (although this has never been a major problem).

The installer of the new Ubuntu may also contain Nvidia graphics card drivers, which may not be a revolutionary change, but it is certainly something that users will welcome with open arms. The same as the appearance of USB icons in the system dock, clearer graphic themes, support for the ZFS file system or the software package in the latest versions: LibreOffice 6.3, Firefox 69, Thunderbird 68, Transmission 2.9.4 or Remmina 1.3.4.

Ubuntu 19.10 for latest Raspberry Pi applications

With 19.10 release of Ubuntu Server, Canonical announced official support for the Raspberry Pi 4. The latest board from the Raspberry Pi Foundation sports a faster system-on-a-chip with a processor that uses the Cortex-A72 architecture (quad-core 64-bit ARMv8 at 1.5GHz). Additionally, it offers up to 4GB of RAM. We are supporting the Raspberry Pi 4 to give developers access to a low-cost board, powerful enough to consolidate compute workloads at the edge. 

The Raspberry Pi has established itself as a most accessible platform for innovators in the embedded space. Canonical is dedicated to empowering innovators with open-source software. Consequently, Canonical endeavors to offer full official support for all the boards in the Raspberry Pi family. Canonical will therefore enable both Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Core for existing and upcoming Pi boards.

Ubuntu Roadmap. Source: https://ubuntu.com/blog/roadmap-for-official-support-for-the-raspberry-pi-4

Industrial use of Raspberry Pi 4

A year ago, TECHBASE released an updated version of the ModBerry M500 industrial IoT computer, replacing the aging Raspberry Pi 3 with a 3B+, giving it better performance. With the recent launch of the Raspberry Pi 4, TECHBASE has yet again, announced another upgrade to the M500, which now packs the latest single-board computer.

Raspberry Pi 4

Over 10 million Raspberry Pi’s have been sold and the Raspberry Pi is likely to stay as a new standard in the industry. Official Raspbian OS is free operating system based on Linux Debian optimized for the Raspberry Pi comes with over 35,000 packages, pre-compiled software bundled in a nice format for easy installation. ModBerry devices are compatible with Raspberry Pi accessories, supported by Raspberry Pi Foundation. ModBerry M500 now with Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ / Raspberry Pi 4 Model B support.