Earlier quoted context omitted.
Has anyone tried to run Linux on that Apple adapter?
Obligatory “can it run DOOM?”
Looks like this dev has patched the HW and has shell access https://twitter.com/nyan_satan/status/1322329047779713024?s=...
ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
31–40 of 132 posts
Re: ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
#32Apart from the processors, I'm amazed/bewildered that USB is now complex enough, that the power component of it has its own serial communication protocol (USB-PD), which also has a vendor registry and is extensible with proprietary messages - and by the looks of it, is already in widespread use for all sorts of things that have nothing to do with power delivery. Isn't this sort of reinventing USB on top of USB?
When I lost the charger for my Nintendo DS, I was able to MacGyver one out of a piece of cardboard and two strips of aluminium foil.
A quick look at the USB-A port spec, and pin locations on the similar-to-USB-but-proprietary DS charging port indicated it was a very simple construction.
Amazingly, this hack worked successfully and I was able to have my yearly Elite Beat Agents binge. The hardest part was actually not building the "cable" but balancing and bending it all just right so that the pins actually maintained contact.
Now, in the days of complex calculated power delivery negotiation, a hack like this would be impossible.
And for good reason. Devices are safer now, more compatible with each other's chargers, and can charge faster. And the things we can do with USB-C/USB-PD are fantastic. I discovered yesterday that if for some reason I really want to, I can charge my MacBook Pro from my Android phone.
But my little foil hack was fun at the time.
Re: ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
You still need to provide the cpu with a clock signal though.
No, not really. The STM32s I use (I mainly work with Cortex-M4) have internal resonators that are enough for just about anything unless you need precise timing. Certainly good enough for toothbrush.
How would you explain this part of your argument then:
> You can technically do the same with resonators but it would take much more board space, be less precise, require inductors which you want to avoid in the circuit, etc.
Re: ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
#34Debugging hardware for the protocol described in the article:
Re: ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, not really. The STM32s I use (I mainly work with Cortex-M4) have internal resonators that are enough for just about anything unless you need precise timing. Certainly good enough for toothbrush.
How would you explain this part of your argument then: > You can technically do the same with resonators but it would take much more board space, be less precise, require inductors which you want to avoid in the circuit, etc.
[deleted]
Re: ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, not really. The STM32s I use (I mainly work with Cortex-M4) have internal resonators that are enough for just about anything unless you need precise timing. Certainly good enough for toothbrush.
How would you explain this part of your argument then: > You can technically do the same with resonators but it would take much more board space, be less precise, require inductors which you want to avoid in the circuit, etc.
[deleted]
Re: ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, not really. The STM32s I use (I mainly work with Cortex-M4) have internal resonators that are enough for just about anything unless you need precise timing. Certainly good enough for toothbrush.
How would you explain this part of your argument then: > You can technically do the same with resonators but it would take much more board space, be less precise, require inductors which you want to avoid in the circuit, etc.
Many microcontrollers (PIC, STM32, atmega8 etc) include an internal RC oscillator - which is literally inside the chip itself. Zero external components required.
Not only do you save the costs of using a crystal, you also save two pins - which was useful in the days of 8-pin microcontrollers like the ATtiny85.
As internal RC oscillator drift rates can be as much as 10% (and vary with temperature) they're not precise enough to run a serial connection, let alone a USB connection. That's why products like Arduino tend to go directly to using a proper crystal (which gives you a 0.01% drift rate for a few pennies).
Re: ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
#38Apart from the processors, I'm amazed/bewildered that USB is now complex enough, that the power component of it has its own serial communication protocol (USB-PD), which also has a vendor registry and is extensible with proprietary messages - and by the looks of it, is already in widespread use for all sorts of things that have nothing to do with power delivery. Isn't this sort of reinventing USB on top of USB?
When I lost the charger for my Nintendo DS, I was able to MacGyver one out of a piece of cardboard and two strips of aluminium foil. A quick look at the USB-A port spec, and pin locations on the similar-to-USB-but-proprietary DS charging port indicated it was a very simple construction. Amazingly, this hack worked successfully and I was able to have my yearly Elite Beat Agents binge. The hardest part was actually not…
I forgot to take my MacBook Pro's charger with me but could still charge it using my iPad's charger (USB-A to USB-C, mind you) - albeit very slowly. Still better than nothing, though. If only iPhones had USB-C…
Re: ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pretty much every microSD card has had an ARM cpu core in it since forever A lot of them use 8051, presumably because it's cheaper and smaller: https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=3554
The older ones for sure, but all the modern ones have moved to ARM7-TDMI then to Cortex-Mx cores.
Some of the more, ah, cost-reduced Bluetooth chips have 8051s or all kinds of weird, proprietary processors, presumably because the per-chip licensing fee for ARM is too much at that end of the market or something.
Re: ACE: Apple Type-C Port Controller Secrets
#40Once again i'm amazed what ALSO has a processor in it. I'm wondering if at some point I'll just see it as normal that nearly every device, no matter how static it may seem, has more processing power than my first computer.
Virtually every power tool has a micro-processor inside. LED dimmers have micro-processors. Christmas LEDs (that can blink) have micro-processors in the control block. Compared to Apple II, they might have more computation power but usually not 48KBs of memory.