Author Archives: dwatts

Cosm Gadget: Kissing the Pink Goodbye

One of the data logging services I use, Pachube, was rechristened as Cosm many months ago: a name that’s decidedly easier to pronounce, if only slightly easier to comprehend.  The new name and website design was making my Pachube Google … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics, Software Tools | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Beaglebone Coding 101: I2C

Updated 12/20/12 – Corrected instructions for installing python smbus on Angstrom. Updated 1/6/13 – Another correction to the instructions for installing python smbus on Angstrom  In previous articles in the Beaglebone 101 series, I covered digital GPIO, analog and serial pins, … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics, Programming | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Beaglebone 101: Linux Tricks for Backing up and Resizing your microSD Card

I recently came across a couple of ideas on Raspberry Pi forums that made me think “wow, that’s so crazy it might just work!” These are disk management commands that Linux allows, but probably shouldn’t.  Even Linux power users go … Continue reading

Posted in Gadgets | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Arduino for Visual Studio: Come Over to the Dark Side

As a guy who earns his living writing software in the corporate world, I’ve always felt a little out of place in the Arduino world. The Arduino platform hardware and software is, to quote the Arduino home page, “intended for … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics, Programming | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Beaglebone Coding 101: SPI Output

It’s been too long since my last “Beaglebone Coding 101″ article.  Perhaps many of you have graduated to Beaglebone Coding 201 by now, but I’m going to continue with the 101 level for us less gifted students. I’ve been experimenting … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics, Programming | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Adding a Linux CUPS Printer to Windows 8

On my home network, I have an elderly HP Deskjet 932C printer connected to a middle aged Beagleboard running Ubuntu.  This combination has served me well as a print server for many years.  As such, they’ve borne silent witness to … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 3 Comments

Ubuntu on the Beaglebone: Enabling Analog In, PWM, I2C and SPI

When writing about the Beaglebone in the past, I mentioned that you needed to be running Angstrom in order to have access to certain devices, since they weren’t yet supported by the kernel in Ubuntu. Well, I’m rather late in … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics | Tagged , | 8 Comments

A New Nimbits Gadget: It’s About Time

I’ve just released an updated Google Gadget for monitoring your Nimbits data. If you have no idea what that means, here’s a quick overview: Google Gadgets are plugins for your iGoogle web page.  If you don’t have an iGoogle page, … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics, Software Tools | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Beaglebone Coding 101: Buttons and PWM

Update Dec 16 2012 – As pointed out in the comments, the PWM clock is activated by default in the current Angstrom version, Revision A6A.  If you are running this image, there is no need to use mmap to activate … Continue reading

Posted in Electronics, Programming | Tagged , , | 68 Comments

Beaglebone Linux 101: Assigning a Static IP Address with Connman

My article on configuring Angstrom Linux included instructions for setting a static IP address. Sometime after posting that article, I realized that the instructions work great unless you happen to reboot. Then, the settings reverted to the default of using … Continue reading

Posted in Gadgets | Tagged , | 19 Comments