The FPGA+ARM Armadeus APF51 board: Setup notes

Scope I got myself an Armadeus APF51 board for some work combining a fullblown ARM processor running embedded Linux with a recent Xilinx FPGA. I wrote down some setup notes for possibly future need while setting it up for work, and they are below. There is not really something undocumented here, but it’s more convenient [...]

Capture data at 250 MBytes/sec with Linux on Microblaze

The problem The Xilinx Microblaze soft processor, which is implemented on the FPGA’s logic fabric, is indeed a stable and fully capable processor, but its rather low clock frequency — 70-100 MHz on a Spartan-6 — makes it a problematic candidate for data capture and frame grabbing. When running Linux on Microblaze, the current kernel [...]

Download a Linux distribution for Xilinx’ Microblaze

If you want to get to it, just go to the Xillybus mini-distro for Microblaze’s page. This distribution is a software kit, which allows you to run a functional Linux system on the SP605 or ML605 hardware evaluation kit (for Spartan-6 and Virtex-6, respectively). All components necessary to build it will be available for download [...]

Gnome: Using your own alert sound

As usual with those fancy Gnome themes (as came with Fedora 12 in my case), the basic assumption is that you’re a not-so-clever user, so not too many choices should be left for you. So pick one of those premade alert sounds. Picking your own sound file? Noooo. That’s way too much freedom for a [...]

Random notes about git

Merely for myself, so I’ll remember how to do it. If I’m doing stupid things, please comment below. Rule #1 If you’re about to do anything with git being unsure about the consequences, always protect yourself with $ git branch bettersafe $ git commit -a $ git checkout whatever Assuming that you want to mess [...]