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My real-time operating system

ericw.ca

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Re: My real-time operating system

#11

Post by kragen »

eworoshow wrote: post #7
kragen wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want it to be public domain, you could use the Creative Commons Public Domain Deed to clarify that. Right now, if I were to download your code, decide not to use it, write something similar, make a successful commercial open-source product from it, and then you got hit by a bus and your sister inherited your copyright, she could sue me on the theory that you didn't really know what it meant when you said, "I s…

Aha, well I'm an only child! Either way, I added some text saying everything is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License; thanks for the advice. I'll plead ignorance with your second sentence. AVRs? And why should it depress you that it took me three months? (Keeping in mind that I was taking other classes at the time, and that there was a ton of competition for lab space.)

Great! That's awesome! (Although it's true that CC-BY isn't really intended for software, it's open-source and IIRC GPL-compatible, so it's plenty good enough for me. The 4-clause BSD license recommended by the other poster is not GPL-compatible.)

AVRs are these fun little cheap microcontrollers; the Arduinos and Chalkroaches, among other things, use them. Writing enough code to drive a couple of on-board UARTs and switch between some real-time processes on an ATMega AVR would be a thing to do in an evening or a week, not three months. So three months to do the same thing due to the unnecessary complexities of PC hardware is kind of depressing! It's a little less depressing if you were only working on it, like, 8 hours a week or something.

Re: My real-time operating system

#12

Post by Jebdm »

blasdel wrote: post #9
eworoshow wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aha, well I'm an only child! Either way, I added some text saying everything is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License; thanks for the advice. I'll plead ignorance with your second sentence. AVRs? And why should it depress you that it took me three months? (Keeping in mind that I was taking other classes at the time, and that there was a ton of competition for lab space.)

Creative Commons Attribution is not the Public Domain, and it's not a good idea to use the CC licenses for source code. If what you want is for the code to always have your name on it, you should use a 4-clause BSD license (the original one with the advertising clause).

Also, for the record, there is this: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/

It's not really a license, it just lets you certify that you are putting your work in the public domain.

Re: My real-time operating system

#14

Post by DanielBMarkham »

tlrobinson wrote: post #13

Wow, model trains have gotten fancy! ( http://www.marklin.com/CentralStation08.pdf ) The one I had as a kid looked like this: http://www.rubylane.com/shops/seniormovingspecialists/item/T... (though it was previously my dad's)

Wow!

The only thing I can think of as a next step is to install micro-webcams in the engines and have that virtual-world headgear to see the scenery from the model's viewpoint.

Amazing!

Re: My real-time operating system

#15

Post by eru »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #14
tlrobinson wrote: post #13

Wow, model trains have gotten fancy! ( http://www.marklin.com/CentralStation08.pdf ) The one I had as a kid looked like this: http://www.rubylane.com/shops/seniormovingspecialists/item/T... (though it was previously my dad's)

Wow! The only thing I can think of as a next step is to install micro-webcams in the engines and have that virtual-world headgear to see the scenery from the model's viewpoint. Amazing!

Startup oppurtunity?

By the way: Why are model railroads still expensive? Shouldn't the Japanese or Koreans (etc) have invaded the market by now with affordable, high-quality goods?

Re: My real-time operating system

#16

Post by DanielBMarkham »

eru wrote: post #15
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow! The only thing I can think of as a next step is to install micro-webcams in the engines and have that virtual-world headgear to see the scenery from the model's viewpoint. Amazing!

Startup oppurtunity? By the way: Why are model railroads still expensive? Shouldn't the Japanese or Koreans (etc) have invaded the market by now with affordable, high-quality goods?

It definitely has all the initial attributes: clear market niche, mature market with room for innovation, users willing to trade value for money.

You could do some really cool stuff, like a hardware box for train control that has wi-fi, OLED, and a web server. Combined with some custom equipment, like the engine/webcam idea or others and it could be a killer app/platform.

On the down-side, you need to be really close to the customers, you need to know what sells and what doesn't, and you need tight and immediate feedback as you try new ideas. You also need a way to communicate to lots of them at the same time -- repeatedly.

I think it's a great startup idea. I'd be concerned about those challenges though. The best situation would be to launch as part of a partnership with well-trafficked, locally-run hobby stores. Perhaps with the cooperation/endorsement of a large hobbiest club and good press from the model train magazines.

I don't think any of that is cheap or easy, but there's always obstacles.

Re: My real-time operating system

#17

Post by eru »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #16
eru wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Startup oppurtunity? By the way: Why are model railroads still expensive? Shouldn't the Japanese or Koreans (etc) have invaded the market by now with affordable, high-quality goods?

It definitely has all the initial attributes: clear market niche, mature market with room for innovation, users willing to trade value for money. You could do some really cool stuff, like a hardware box for train control that has wi-fi, OLED, and a web server. Combined with some custom equipment, like the engine/webcam idea or others and it could be a killer app/platform. On the down-side, you need to be really close…

Thanks for the analysis.

The webcam idea may make it viral. Perhaps you can even implement controlling the trains via the net, so that you get a kind of train simulation. Though you would have to be in touch with customers to see if this is an idea that sells.

Re: My real-time operating system

#18

Post by DanielBMarkham »

eru wrote: post #17
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It definitely has all the initial attributes: clear market niche, mature market with room for innovation, users willing to trade value for money. You could do some really cool stuff, like a hardware box for train control that has wi-fi, OLED, and a web server. Combined with some custom equipment, like the engine/webcam idea or others and it could be a killer app/platform. On the down-side, you need to be really close…

Thanks for the analysis. The webcam idea may make it viral. Perhaps you can even implement controlling the trains via the net, so that you get a kind of train simulation. Though you would have to be in touch with customers to see if this is an idea that sells.

We're thinking along the same lines.

Would I want to surf home from work and play with my train set? Both as a switchboard operator and as a virtual engineer/passenger? Would I want my friends to share in this experience with me? Running other trains, or coming along for the ride? Making movies of the experiences?

Heck yes. I'd even want a link into FaceBook where people could tell what's going on in my model world in case they wanted to join in.

Model trains are virtual worlds. The more you can make it like a complete MMORPG with social hooks the more viral it becomes (in my opinion)

Re: My real-time operating system

#19

Post by eworoshow »

Jebdm wrote: post #12
blasdel wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Creative Commons Attribution is not the Public Domain, and it's not a good idea to use the CC licenses for source code. If what you want is for the code to always have your name on it, you should use a 4-clause BSD license (the original one with the advertising clause).

Also, for the record, there is this: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/ It's not really a license, it just lets you certify that you are putting your work in the public domain.

Ah, thanks for clarifying things. Now I have the code licensed under an MIT license. Out of curiosity, what are the implications of changing the license on software you've already released?

Re: My real-time operating system

#20

Post by eworoshow »

kragen wrote: post #11
eworoshow wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aha, well I'm an only child! Either way, I added some text saying everything is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License; thanks for the advice. I'll plead ignorance with your second sentence. AVRs? And why should it depress you that it took me three months? (Keeping in mind that I was taking other classes at the time, and that there was a ton of competition for lab space.)

Great! That's awesome! (Although it's true that CC-BY isn't really intended for software, it's open-source and IIRC GPL-compatible, so it's plenty good enough for me. The 4-clause BSD license recommended by the other poster is not GPL-compatible.) AVRs are these fun little cheap microcontrollers; the Arduinos and Chalkroaches, among other things, use them. Writing enough code to drive a couple of on-board UARTs and s…

You're right, targeting the x86 architecture added a lot of complexity without any tangible benefit. Poring over the subpar Intel documentation consumed an inordinate amount of time.

That said, it only took a little over a month to build the OS itself, while the other two months I spent working on the train control program. All the equipment is notoriously flaky so coping with real-world brokenness was probably the biggest time sink.

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