One of the biggest challenges with the Nouveau open-source graphics driver for NVIDIA graphics hardware in recent times has been with regard to GPU / video memory re-clocking. As a minor step forward, NVIDIA has contributed re-clocking patches for the GK20A graphics processor.

Re-clocking has long been a big challenge for the Nouveau driver to obtain maximum graphics performance while also maintaining optimal performance-per-Watt and being efficient while idling. With the Linux 3.16 kernel for select generations of GPUs is faster performance but it can be buggy while now today for Tegra K1 owners NVIDIA has come to the table with re-clocking code for the "GK20A" GPU found within this high-end NVIDIA ARM SoC.

As we've noted here many times, when it comes to the top open source stories of the past couple of years, it's clear that one of the biggest is the proliferation of tiny, inexpensive Linux-based computers at some of the smallest form factors ever seen. Surely, the diminutive, credit card-sized Raspberry Pi, priced at $25 and $35, is one of the most widely followed of these miniature systems. It's been implemented for use in home security systems, synthesizers and even in a supercomputer mashup using Lego pieces to bind the parts together, as seen in the photo here.

The Odroid-XU3 runs on a 5V 4A power supply, and once again features four energy monitoring chips for tracking the Big.Little cores. A plastic enclosure and an active cooler are available, along with numerous optional modules. OS support has been boosted to Android 4.4.2 and Ubuntu 14.04, available with full source code.
Schematics will be posted upon shipment, and community support is available via the Odroid project. The quad-core Exynos4412 based Odroid-U3 board came in at third place after the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black in our recent Top 10 Hacker SBC survey.

The CamJam EduKit was developed in partnership by Cambridge Raspberry Jam and The Pi Hut, and launched at CamJam this month. Designed to get kids interested in the fascinating world of electronics and programming, CamJam EduKit will soon have them building their own electronic circuits, flashing LEDs, reading button presses and making beeping noises by programming their Raspberry Pi with Python.

When it comes to operating systems, Linux® is perhaps the world’s most popular open source OS. Linux has been running on thousands of MIPS devices that have shipped in very large volume (north of several billions of units).

Would you buy a high-end laptop built completely around open hardware and the Linux distro of your choice? Novena offers that opportunity, but it comes with an out-of-the-box experience that might be beyond the reach of the typical computer consumer.

That said, the Novena laptop's experimental technology has the potential to offer new options to a sluggish computer industry. Novena is an open-hardware computing platform that is flexible and powerful. It is designed for use as a desktop, laptop or standalone board.

Two engineers cofounded Sutajio Ko-usagi, an operations-oriented company focused on the manufacturing and sales of hardware to OEMs and hobbyists.

Since Sutajio Ko-usagi is difficult to pronounce in English, the Novena developers shortened it to "Kosagi," noted cofounder Andrew "Bunnie" Huang. Huang also runs the IP-oriented Bunniestudios

TI unveiled a 1GHz, Cortex-A9 Sitara “AM437x” SoC with a 3D GPU, a Linux SDK, and an updated PRU module for dual simultaneous control of fieldbus protocols.

The Sitara AM437x is a major upgrade to the Texas Instruments Sitara AM335x, as well as the related Sitara AM3715 and Sitara AM3874. The Sitara AM437x is said to offer up to 40 percent more processing power than previous Sitara processors.

The Sitara AM437x begins sampling in July, and is available as part of a Linux-ready, $599 TMDXEVM437X evaluation kit (see farther below). Like other Sitara SoCs, the AM437x is aimed primarily at industrial applications. Suggested pairings include factory automation, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), home automation gateways, Internet of Things (IoT) gateways, and human machine interface (HMI).

Techbase has designed a Raspberry Pi Compute Module into a Linux-based “ModBerry” automation computer backed by an “iMod” cloud platform for remote control.

The computer-on-module version of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module, which began shipping this week, was anticipated by many, but perhaps nowhere so acutely as in Poland. First, we heard about A Sherlybox private cloud storage device based on the module from Polish startup Sher.ly, and now Gdansk-based industrial computer manufacturer Techbase has opened pre-orders for an automation computer called the ModBerry 500 based on the COM.

Russia's Baikal processor will be built around an ARM Cortex A57, which ties into Vladimir Putin's goal, established in 2010, to move all government computers over to Linux - another move that's easy to understand given the OS' open-source and modular nature.

Outside of Logitech, there's many Linux users that have come up with several different open-source utilities for supporting Logitech under Linux. For most of these apps the hardware support is limited to the few keyboards/mice that the developer owns, but it isn't too hard reverse-engineering a USB keyboard for others to help out and contribute.

As it's been a while since last delivering any "4K" resolution OpenGL benchmarks at Phoronix, out today -- now that we're done with our massive 60+ GPU open-source testing and 35-way proprietary driver comparison -- are benchmarks of several NVIDIA GeForce and AMD Radeon graphics cards when running an assortment of Linux games and other OpenGL tests at the 4K resolution.

First off, Canonical emphasized to Ars multiple times that it is not getting into the hardware business. If you really want to buy one of these things, you can have Tranquil PC build one for you (for £7,575, or about $12,700), but Canonical won’t sell you an Orange Box for your lab—there are too many partner relationships it could jeopardize by wading into the hardware game. But what Canonical does want to do is let you fiddle with an Orange Box. It makes for an amazing demo platform—a cloud-in-a-box that Canonical can use to show off the fancy services and tools it offers.
Inside the custom orange chassis are ten stripped Intel Ivy Bridge D53427RKE NUCs. Each comes with 16GB of RAM and a 120GB SSD, and they’re all connected to a gigabit Ethernet switch. One of the NUCs is the control node; its USB and HDMI ports are wired to the Orange Box’s rear panel, and that particular node also runs Canonical’s MAAS software. Its single unified internal 320W power supply runs on a single 110v outlet—even when all ten nodes are going flat-out, it doesn't require a second power plug.

Marvell has posted detailed datasheets on its previously opaque Armada 370 SoC, used in Linux-based NAS systems from Buffalo, Netgear, and Synology.

Until now, datasheets and other details about the ARM-based Armada 370 system-on-chips have been available only under NDA to Marvell customers and partners. Last week, however, the chipmaker released two detailed datasheets on the SoC, with no restriction or registration required. Both a functional spec datasheet and hardware spec datasheet were released, each of which is more like a manual than a typical datasheet.

We were tipped to the Marvell Armada 370 datasheet release by Linux training firm Free Electrons. The company is known here for its regular contributions of videos and slide decks from shows like the Embedded Linux Conference, released under a Creative Commons license.

Right now Linux gamers only have OpenGL renderers to exploit and recently OpenGL has come under a lot of scrutiny with one of the complaints being that it's too high-level compared to Mantle, DirectX 12, or even Apple's Metal. In terms of Mantle support on Linux, AMD has said in the past that it could come and they would like to see it come, but there are no active plans with no engineering resources being devoted to the process of actually porting it over to their Catalyst Linux driver but its feasibility is still being determined. This latest AMD Gaming blog post gives a bit more of a renewed hope that we could see Mantle on Linux given the reference and AMD's continued investment into this proprietary graphics API.

I’m not a big hardware guy. At all. Specs mean very little to me. However, Sean’s hardware is interesting, as it’s a Novena, something he developed himself. And of course, because he’s working with Linux, he’s able to get things to run pretty well. I have no idea what the future of the Novena is, but I love that people can make new devices that will be able to access familiar software and interfaces. Microsoft is making Windows cost-free for certain devices. It’s a smarter strategy than charging manufacturers, but until they let people get under the hood of the code, they’re going to have a hard time reaching new, experimental devices. Which is actually OK with me, since I’m happy to have Linux in as many places as possible.

AMD announced six new Embedded G-Series SoCs, featuring improved performance-per-Watt, on-chip security processors, and Mentor Embedded Linux support.

Following up on last month’s announcement of a new “Bald Eagle” generation of R-Series processors for high-end, multimedia-focused embedded processors, AMD unveiled new Embedded G-Series SoCs including what AMD classifies as “CPU solutions,” which are SoCs that include CPUs and I/O controllers, but without the GPUs of AMD’s earlier SoCs. The new parts are labeled with codenames “Steppe Eagle” and “Crowned Eagle,” respectively, for the SoCs with and without integrated GPUs. These new, more power-efficient embedded processors are pin-compatible with earlier models, which are still available.

Tizen Common is the common subset of the Tizen profiles, used by platform developers to develop the next version of the profiles. As such, it does not have releases in the traditional fashion. Instead, it has quarterly milestones.

Aaeon announced a compact, wireless IoT gateway that runs Linux on an Intel Quark X1000 Series SoC, and works in conjunction with an Asus Cloud Service.

The Aaeon “AIOT-X1000″ IoT gateway supports the Gateway Solutions for IoT architecture (aka “Moon Island”) unveiled by Intel in April. Aaeon’s product joins other “Moon Island capable” gateway systems previously announced by ADI, Adlink, Advantech, Eurotech, and Portwell, not to mention Intel’s own Gateway Solutions for IoT reference design. Although Intel’s reference design supports a choice of either Atom or Quark processors, Aaeon’s device, introduced this week at Computex in Taipei, casts its lot squarely with Quark.

When I set out to find a new laptop, I was looking for an ultrabook --a 13-inch powerhouse with plenty of battery life and a gorgeous screen. On top of everything, it had to run Linux.

That search led me to the System76 Galago UltraPro. Although not technically an ultrabook (it's too big, doesn't have ultrabook-level battery life, and doesn't contain a solid state drive). What it does have is elegance and power to spare...to the tune of besting most currently available ultrabooks. And, like all System76 devices, it runs Ubuntu Linux.

Let's take a look at what's good and bad with the Galago UltraPro.

The ultimate Linux gaming machine - aka Valve's Steam Machine won't be available until 2015. That's not good news.

The Steam Machines effort is a Linux powered gaming machine that could revolutionize console gaming and take on Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox, if it ever gets out the door. Valve will have multiple hardware vendors partners building Steam Machines, but that's not the problem behind the latest delay.