Software – Blog. by Next Thing https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com News & Notes. Process & Projects. No BS. Srsly. Thu, 09 Nov 2017 03:16:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.5 The PocketC.H.I.P. Cyberpunk Adventure Guide https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/the-pocketc-h-i-p-cyberpunk-adventure-guide/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/the-pocketc-h-i-p-cyberpunk-adventure-guide/#comments Thu, 18 May 2017 16:00:04 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=1472

The Year 2017An underground community of Pocketeers are creating their own cyberpunk future, hacking their PocketC.H.I.P.s far beyond a traditional game console. What follows is a guide to join their ranks. Jack in. Hack the Planet. Dream of Electric Sheep.

Change the Game with PocketC.H.I.P. & PICO-8

The PICO-8 fantasy console features hundreds of free community made games so there’s always a new game to play. But playing a PICO-8 game is just the beginning. Get into the code and change the game, or start from scratch and make your own! Here are some of the best PICO-8 resources to get you coding.


Phase into PocketC.H.I.P.

Thomas rocks the PocketC.H.I.P. with a lanyard strap.

Your cyberpunk summer requires appropriate music. Score your adventures with Phase, a synth created for PocketC.H.I.P. by Humbletune. Making use of PocketC.H.I.P.’s touch screen and keyboard, any Pocketeer can make beautiful music in a matter of seconds. Make your own song of the summer, accept no substitutes.


LAN Party Way the Hell Off the Grid

Cyberdemons are no match for Mitch and Crunch.

Host a LAN Party on your PocketC.H.I.P. and get your game on way off the grid. Battle through hell and back with DOOM in co-op mode, frag each other in Quake III Arena, and play countless other multiplayer classics. No additional cost, no router, no ethernet connection, and no internet required (after installation).


A Scanner PocketC.H.I.P.

Ari’s scanograph shows this log is all bark and no bite.

Go beyond traditional photography and embrace the strange with PocketC.H.I.P. scanographs. Armed with a PocketC.H.I.P. and a flatbed scanner, you’ll be creating images to make your smartphone photographer friends jealous. Welcome to the scanner PocketC.H.I.P.; a community project kicked off by Pocketeer panicrun while on a walk in the woods outside Berlin. Be sure to share your scanographs with us via Twitter. We’re @nextthingco!


Venture into the Virtual

PockulusC.H.I.P. – Strap it to your face!

PockulusC.H.I.P. is Virtual Reality. Breakout of this world by 3D printing a custom bezel for your PocketC.H.I.P. and DIY VR: here’s how. Play all your favorite homebrew Virtual Boy games in glorious monochrome three dee!


Block off time for Minecraft

With Minecraft on PocketC.H.I.P., adventure is in the palm of your hands. Strike out on your own or grab a Pocketeer friend and play cooperatively. You can even create new buildings and terrain with the Minecraft Python API!


Hack a Speaker into your PocketC.H.I.P.

Examining PocketC.H.I.P.’s back, you’ll find a super secret hidden prototyping area perfect for adding a speaker. Designed as a simple intro to hardware hacking, it’s perfect for beginners and takes less than 20 minutes. Get your hardware hack on here

For those looking to go further into hardware hacking, check out klundry’s addition of Qi wireless charging and community case mods here and here. The PocketC.H.I.P. case mod forum post is also a fantastic (and in depth) read.


Blast from Systems Past

Colecovision on PocketC.H.I.P. – One of many emulators the Pocketeer community has running.

Nostalgic Pocketeers can adventure into systems past. With Playstation, Gameboy Color, MacOS and ColecoVision, DOSBox, and TI-99 emulators running on PocketC.H.I.P., you can relive (or explore for the first time) the history of computing, gaming, and calculators.


Make the Call from PocketC.H.I.P.

Tony using a PocketC.H.I.P. cell phone that Dave built

Clever Pocketeers Juve021 and Rob Baruch transformed PocketC.H.I.P. into a cell phone with the addition of an Adafruit cellular module. With well-documented tutorials, you too can make calls from PocketC.H.I.P.. Headphones port included; no dongle required!


Find Your Way with the PocketC.H.I.P. Navigator

Turn-by-turn navigation with navit

Never get lost with the PocketC.H.I.P. Navigator mod. By adding a GPS module to PocketC.H.I.P., you have access to your location, points of interest and turn-by-turn directions without relying on your phone. Learn more here


PocketC.H.I.P. Tweets!

The RainbowStream Twitter client running on PocketC.H.I.P.

Keep up with the Twittersphere with the RainbowStream twitter application by @dtvd88 on PocketC.H.I.P.. With complete configurability and custom themes, you can do pretty much anything you would from a traditional twitter client. Set it up and get your tweet on! (Tag us! We’re @nextthingco.)


Arduino in a Flash

With one simple command, you can turn your PocketC.H.I.P. into an Arduino flashing machine! Great for flashing in the field where a laptop would be unwieldy.


Customize Your PocketC.H.I.P. Home Screen(s)

Pocketeer Marshmallow wrote the de-facto software for adding icons to your PocketC.H.I.P. home screen. Widely used by the community, this is a must for new PocketC.H.I.P. owners. Simply follow Marshmallow’s tutorial and add custom icons for any application you install heretofore. Those looking for more PocketC.H.I.P. software mods can check more tutorials here.


PocketC.H.I.P. & A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Start your Star Wars Episode VIII preparations today by watching Episode IV on PocketC.H.I.P. presented in ASCII, it’s a must watch for any fans of everyone’s favorite space opera. Shout out to Pocketeer Meowter_space for the heads up!


Behind the Scenes

We’ve made PocketC.H.I.P open source so you can make it anything you want or learn how products are made. If you’d like to learn more about PocketC.H.I.P.’s development, complete with unprecedented behind the scenes footage, check out the PocketC.H.I.P. Time Machine .


More Fun on the Forum

These tips are only scratching the surface. There is a ton of fun to be had in the PocketC.H.I.P. forum. The Pocketeer community is always working on new projects and tips like case mods and new software features. Heck, BrianTheBuilder made his PocketC.H.I.P. draw with a robot arm!!! 

Send us your PocketC.H.I.P. Projects!

We love seeing what Pocketeers are up to. Whether its a case mod or a game made specifically for PocketC.H.I.P., we want to know! Tweet at us or post on the forum!

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Customize the Hell Out of Your PocketC.H.I.P. — Install Doom & Give It an Icon on the Home Screen https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/customize-the-hell-out-of-your-pocketc-h-i-p-install-doom-give-it-an-icon-on-the-home-screen/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/customize-the-hell-out-of-your-pocketc-h-i-p-install-doom-give-it-an-icon-on-the-home-screen/#comments Tue, 12 Jul 2016 17:20:38 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=753

PocketC.H.I.P. was designed to be customizable to your own personal taste, so it’s great to see Pocketeers like Marshmallow share their additions on the NTC forums.

Thanks to his work, you can modify the PocketC.H.I.P. home screen in a number of ways: add icons for your favorite programs, change the background color or add a wallpaper, and even add additional pages of applications. The software also offers nice additions to the user interface, such as the ability to delete icons from the home screen and a display of the remaining battery in an easy-to-read percentage.

Here’s how to install Marshmallow’s software and add an application and custom icon. Fire up your PocketC.H.I.P. and let’s head straight to hell with this community favorite: Doom!

1. Update Your System Package Lists

Make sure your PocketC.H.I.P. is connected to the internet, then open the Terminal application and update the package information. Type the following command and pressing enter.
sudo apt update

1.5 (Optional) Install SSH

It’s possible to do this project completely on PocketC.H.I.P., but some of the URLs are a bit tedious to type in. Instead, I installed SSH on PocketC.H.I.P., so that I can easily cut and paste the longer commands from my computer into an SSH terminal.

Install SSH.
sudo apt install ssh

Note: SSH is not pre-installed on PocketC.H.I.P., because we didn’t want thousands of devices to have SSH servers running with a widely known default password. It’s always a good idea to change your password once you get a device. This is especially true when your device runs a service that allows anyone who knows your IP address and password access.


2. Change your Passwords

Change the password for both the root and chip users on your PocketC.H.I.P.. For full details, consult this section in the docs.


3. Download and Use Marshmallow’s Installer

Open an SSH connection from your computer (or laptop) to PocketC.H.I.P., or you can type all of this in directly to PocketC.H.I.P., it’s up to you.

Note: If you need help, check the docs for details on using SSH.

Type cd to make sure you’re in the home directory.
cd

Note: cd without a directory path after the command will always take you to your home directory. Another way to do this is to type cd ~ or cd /home/chip.

Once you’re connected and have a command-prompt, use wget to download the text of Marshmallow’s installation script.
wget -O install-pockethome http://bit.ly/29zN90q

Back at the command-line, use chmod to change the permissions of install-pockethome. This will let you execute the file as a program.
chmod +x ./install-pockethome

Now run the installation script.
./install-pockethome

Reboot PocketC.H.I.P. and Marshmallow’s home screen will start right up. You’ll know you’re running his software when you see the battery icon has a percentage by it.
sudo reboot

Note: If you’re curious to look at Marshmallow’s source code, take a look at his GitHub repository.


4. Install Doom

From the command-line, install Doom and the shareware map files (called WAD files) for the game.
sudo apt install prboom doom-wad-shareware

Note: For those curious, Doom is open source software and you can read every line of this class game on id Software’s GitHub repository.


5. Download a Doom Icon

doom

The Icon Archive has a nice Doom icon that’s perfect for the home screen. Use wget to download and rename the file as Doom.png.

Type cd to make sure you’re in the home directory.
cd

Download the image.
wget -O Doom.png http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/3xhumed/mega-games-pack-26/256/Doom-1-icon.png

Note: Enter the command above without a line break in the URL.

Once the icon is downloaded, you won’t need to use the SSH connection. Grab your PocketC.H.I.P. and tap and touch you way through the rest of the project.


6. Adding a Doom Icon to the Home Screen

Tap the settings sprocket in the bottom right corner of the screen and then tap the Personalize button.

Adding the Doom icon to PocketC.H.I.P. home

Adding the Doom icon to PocketC.H.I.P. home

Tap the Add button and fill in the name of the icon, the path to the icon, and the command that should run when the icon is tapped.

  • Name: Doom
  • Icon Path:/home/chip/Doom.png
  • Command:prboom

Tap Apply and then reboot your PocketC.H.I.P. for the settings to take effect. When your PocketC.H.I.P. reboots, you should have an arrow at the bottom of the screen. Tap it and you’ll see the Doom icon.

hotpink

Doom is just a start! Once you’ve added Marshmallow’s software to yourPocketC.H.I.P., make sure to share screen shots on Twitter, Facebook, and in the forums.

Hunting down monster on PocketC.H.I.P.

Hunting down demons on PocketC.H.I.P.

A great way to snap a picture on PocketC.H.I.P. is by using the built-in screenshot tool. Open the Terminal and run the following command.
xfce4-screenshooter

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Personalize Your PocketC.H.I.P. — Tutorials For Changing the Background, Icons, & Adding a Web Browser https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/personalize-your-pocketc-h-i-p-tutorials-for-changing-the-background-icons-adding-a-web-browser/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/personalize-your-pocketc-h-i-p-tutorials-for-changing-the-background-icons-adding-a-web-browser/#comments Tue, 05 Jul 2016 15:01:18 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=710 Johnbiehler swapped in the classic matrix background

Johnbiehler swapped in the classic matrix background and 3D printed a D-pad

Hold onto your PocketC.H.I.P.s! Industrious Pocketeers from the forums have discovered how to customize the PocketC.H.I.P. home screen, modify the icons, and install a web browser.

Follow along, and make your PocketC.H.I.P yours! Be sure to share your mods in the forums!

Customize Your Home Screen

Image of TK's home screen with custom background

Image of midheaventech’s home screen with custom background

As midheaventech has discovered, all of the PocketC.H.I.P. user interface assets — icons, background graphics, and config files — are stored in the directory /usr/share/pocket-home. You can swap out any of these files for a more custom experience. Here’s the entire conversation, which is still developing.

Inspired by the thread, this how to swap the default home screen background and use your own.

  1. Scale your image to a resolution of 480×272.
  2. Copy the file to PocketC.H.I.P.’s /usr/share/pocket-home/mainBackground.png using SSH’s SCP tool.
  3. Restart PocketC.H.I.P. for the new background to load. Or follow Itxaka’s advice and simply restart the window manager by running the following command in the terminal.
    sudo systemctl restart lightdm

After you change the background, make sure to share a screenshot. The easiest way to take these on PocketC.H.I.P. is to use the built-in screenshot application. In the terminal type xfce4-screenshooter and follow the on-screen instructions.


Adding More Settings Control

Custom PocketC.H.I.P. user interface with a Personalize section

Custom PocketC.H.I.P. user interface with a Personalize section

Marshmallow has begun to add features to the home screen using C code. This is a much more complicated approach to customization and requires that you not only write C code, but also recompile the PocketCHIP-pocket-home repository.

Import custom icons easily with Marshmallow's  hack

Import custom icons easily with Marshmallow’s hack

If you’re interested in digging into this more advanced hack –and we encourage you to do so– be sure to follow this forum thread.


Install a Web Browser

Browsing the web on PocketC.H.I.P. after running TKTK's installation script

Browsing the web on PocketC.H.I.P. after running TKTK’s installation script

Stevemcgrath has written a set of installation scripts to automate the installation of the web browser dwb. Enter in the following commands in the terminal and follow the script’s prompts.

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SteveMcGrath/chipbuild/master/pocket_builder.sh

bash pocket_builder.sh

During the installation you will be prompted for your password. Unless you’ve changed it, your password is chip.

Once the script finishing running, type the command, sudo reboot, and wait a moment while the system restarts.

Dwb uses keyboard shortcuts that make it a bit challenging for beginners. Be sure to have the manual handy the first time you run the browser.

This script does more than just install a browser, it also stops SSH as a service. To turn it back on, simply type sudo systemctl start ssh in the terminal. For a full list of things the script automatically changes, check out Stevemcgrath’s forum forum post.


These are just some of the hacks that are popping up in the forums. Spot a cool hack, send us a tip about it on Twitter @nextthingco. And make sure to share how you’re making PocketC.H.I.P. fit your style!

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Flash your C.H.I.P.s without an Internet Connection! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/flash-your-c-h-i-p-s-without-an-internet-connection/ Tue, 10 May 2016 23:33:51 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=527

Today we’re pleased to release a new version of the C.H.I.P. Flasher for Chrome. The Flasher now includes a way upgrade your C.H.I.P. without needing a persistent internet connection, and a new user interface. Nice work Howie and Tina!

Upgrading an Old Flasher

Great news, this should happen automatically, so just head over to the Flasher and follow the onscreen directions.

If you want to make sure you have the latest version, type in chrome://extensions/ (You’ll need to type the address in manually, since chrome:// hyperlinks do not work as you’d expect) and look for the C.H.I.P. Flasher icon. If it says 3.0.0, then you’re using the latest and greatest release.


Installing From Scratch

If you have never used our Flasher before, make sure you have the latest version of Chrome, and head to flash.getchip.com for onscreen instructions.


Using Offline Flashing

flasher_local_file

Once you have the latest version of the Flasher, browsing to flash.getchip.com will show you all of the available C.H.I.P. images, plus a new “Choose a file” button.

To get started with offline flashing, first download an image you want to store locally on your computer by clicking on the cloud with a down arrow icon. This saves a .chp file to your computer, which is just a fancy file-extension we use for C.H.I.P. flashable images.

Once the download completes, click on the “Choose a file…” icon in the Flasher and select the local image you just downloaded. The flasher will then walk you through the rest of the installation process.


Total Offline Flashing

With the Flasher extension installed and an image downloaded, you don’t need an internet connection. Rather than using the flash.getchip.com website, you can access the locally stored Chrome extension directly. This method of access is the only difference between the Offline Flashing and Totally Offline Flashing.

To use the Totally Offline Flashing method, type chrome://apps/ (again, you’ll need to type this in manually), in the location bar and press Enter.

Example of the chrome://apps window for offline flashing.

Example of the chrome://apps window for offline flashing. Your installed apps may vary.

Click on the C.H.I.P. Flasher icon and then follow the onscreen instructions.


Share Your Experience with Us

This new Flasher version opens the door for exciting new features we can’t wait to release. For a full list of changes in the latest Flasher, see Howie’s forum post, and make sure to share with us you experiences using the software.

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So Shiny, So Chrome – The Brand Spanking New C.H.I.P. Flasher!!! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/so-shiny-so-chrome-the-brand-spanking-new-c-h-i-p-flasher/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/so-shiny-so-chrome-the-brand-spanking-new-c-h-i-p-flasher/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2016 15:00:57 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=445

C.H.I.P.s come pre-flashed with an operating system because we felt it should be usable out of the box. Installing an operating system can be an arduous process, especially when you’re raring to get started. We’ve definitely felt it ourselves…heck, even our own C.H.I.P. flashing process was arduous…until now!

Howie and Tina took to the challenge of a simple C.H.I.P. flasher and came back with our new C.H.I.P. web flasher for Google Chrome, now available in its Alpha Release. So what’s that mean?

You can now replace the operating system on your C.H.I.P. from your computer directly from the Chrome web browser. Just head to flash.getchip.com, and follow the on-screen instructions. All you’ll need is a C.H.I.P., a micro USB cable, a jumper wire or a paper clip, a computer with the Chrome web browser, and around 7 minutes. Keep in mind, this will replace the ENTIRETY of your C.H.I.P.’s storage. If there’s anything you want to keep, back it up before flashing.

The Flasher has 3 options: the C.H.I.P. boot repair tool, Debian on C.H.I.P. with GUI by Crunch (our most up-to-date factory flashed image), and Debian on C.H.I.P. without GUI by Crunch.

We’re super stoked to release this. It’s a vast improvement over our previous flashing process and the most exciting thing is it only gets better from here! Can’t wait to show you what else we have in store!

Let us know what you think in the forum. What works. What doesn’t work. It all helps us move forward.

Stay Tuned and Get Flashing!

mmmtc

Everyone at NTC especially Howie and Tina (and Barry Allen)

Thanks to Howie, flashing is relaxing!

Thanks to Howie, flashing is relaxing!

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Making Music with SunVox on PocketC.H.I.P. https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/making-music-with-sunvox-on-pocketc-h-i-p/ https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/making-music-with-sunvox-on-pocketc-h-i-p/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2016 21:36:31 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=336

Here at the office we have some really, really big ALTEC Lansing speakers we found online. We’ve had a bit of a tough time agreeing on what to blast. That was until we got SunVox working on PocketC.H.I.P. and gave it to Peter.

(Grab Peter’s CHIPTRON track and listen while you read!)

Peter is one of the NTC crew. He writes code, projects, and documentation, but he’s also an accomplished electronic musician. Having never used SunVox before, we gave him a PocketC.H.I.P. running the software. Now Peter is hooked and we finally can agree on office music!

SunVox is an intriguing electronic music application and tracker written by Alexander Zolotov. It gives you an entire studio in one place. No joke! I mean almost everything is there. From a full keyboard to digital theremin, Zoltov’s packed it all in one program. Tune your snares, modify sound characteristics on-the-fly, or simply grab someone else’s track and mix on it.

SunVox Beat Basics


PocketC.H.I.P. running SunVox with headphones (banana for scale)

PocketC.H.I.P. running SunVox with headphones (banana for scale)


SunVox on PocketC.H.I.P. takes advantage of the 4.3″ touchscreen and audio out. It’s easy to control with your finger and SunVox is lightweight on the C.H.I.P.’s CPU. Best of all, the sound quality is good at 14-bit, 32k, though Peter did note it wasn’t “studio quality.” Artists!

At the core of the SunVox is a tracker. This provides a terse composition environment. Use it to sketch out notes, dynamics, and any parameter changes you want to make and add to your track. Patterns, a looping collection of notes, make controlling the aural chaos much easier to handle. And unlike a traditional recording workstation, SunVox permits a track to have many instruments in it. Once you have a pattern you like, you can clone it in your timeline, build up your song, then share it with your friends.

Another use for the software is as an effects processor. Take an input, process the audio input on PocketC.H.I.P. with a chain of effects, and output to speakers.

Or just play the SunVox theremin like Peter! It’s easier than building one from scratch

SunVox is more than just a cool application, it has a seriously active community of electronic music enthusiasts. Check out their tutorial section, download SunVox, and while you’re at it, grab the CHIPTRON.wav track.

And as always, make sure to tell us what you’re planning to do with PocketC.H.I.P. over on our BBS and be sure to tweet us @nextthingco.

PocketC.H.I.P. running SunVox

PocketC.H.I.P. running SunVox

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C.H.I.P. Community Coders Unite! https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/c-h-i-p-community-coders-unite/ Wed, 09 Mar 2016 13:21:11 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=149 C.H.I.P.sters are porting the Adafruit GPIO library, the Johnny-Five robotics framework, and Gobot to C.H.I.P.!

We’re excited that the community is working to get these projects fully working on C.H.I.P.. All three make it easier for people to write software that use C.H.I.P. to drive motors, blink and dim LEDs, and interface with buttons. Simply put, they make building projects a faster and more fun process. 

You should note, these projects are all works in progress. If you’re interested in helping out, the best way to get involved is to hop on the BBS or reach out to the developer directly.


ada

xtacocorex from the NTC BBS is porting the Adafruit Python GPIO library to C.H.I.P.. Rather than using echo to write strings of text to /sys/class/gpio/gpio408/, the library let’s you use Python functions instead.

Frankly, it’s a lot easier to work with the python code, and it’s so much more readable. While the port is not fully implemented yet, you can keep track of the progress on our forum thread, and even start working with the code yourself.


Johnny-Five

Sandeep Mistry is in the process of writing a Johnny-Five I/O plug-in for C.H.I.P.. This enables code to be written for C.H.I.P. using the well established Johnny-five Javascript robotics framework.

The platform currently supports analog read, digital read & write, PWM, and I2C.


gobot

And finally, for all of you fans of Go, Hrishikesh Tapaswi recently wrote code to bring GoBot to C.H.I.P.. GoBot is a Go framework for robotics and currently supports a variety of i2c sensors and components.

For more, check out the full installation details and sample code on their site or read deadprogram‘s BBS post.


We Want to Know, How Are You Using C.H.I.P.?

Of course, we also enjoy seeing how you are using C.H.I.P. in your life. We love the unboxing tweets, images of custom enclosures, and even just shots of you using the computer.

Stab from the BBS built a Lego NES case for C.H.I.P.

Stab from the BBS built a Lego NES case for C.H.I.P.

Tell us what you’d doing with C.H.I.P. over on our BBS and be sure to tweet us @nextthingco. And if we’ve missed your project, make sure to let us know and we’ll help spread the word.

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