Weekly Update W/C 14th Nov

[Fred]

Dear All,

As Promised earlier today, here is the update for this week:

Tomorrow we will release the following features:

1. Bluetooth coexistency along with a Bluetooth class on the network module.
2. Updated file system layer which fixes a few bugs, especially the one seen when completely filling up the disk and then trying to erase files and create new ones.
3. Updated MicroPython core to the latest version.
4. We found the root cause of the floating point bug and it seems to be caused by the gcc xtensa compiler. We have gone back to Espressif and requested further investigation/resolution about this.
5. A fix for the watchdog timer problem and FTP server instability.
6. Added SD card class and support for mounting cards on the file system via the OS module.

Next week we aim to release:

1. An update to the LoRa stack.
2. More bug fixes and stability improvements.
3. Pre-liminary support for interrupts via callbacks allowing memory allocation within the interrupt handlers.
4. Improvements to multi-threading.
5. Support for changing the CPU frequency via the machine module.

I have once more touched base with the legal guys today (yes they do work Sundays as do we) and they will release the licence to us tomorrow. Our objective is to release the source code tomorrow BUT it may also be that we need a couple of days grace in case something is thrown up. I want to take a few moments here to clarify some points regarding Opensource:

• We have listened to the requirements of our community and will release the source code so that developers can work in an unhindered manner.

• Should 'another' hardware manufacturer wish to use the source code then they will be free to do so as long as they respect our and (for obvious reasons) other 3rd party licences.

• Developers wishing to create their own product using our boards and subsequently making it closed source will be able to do so as we will deem that the licence fees from the modules allows them to do so.

• 3rd party Board manufacturers whom wish to use our code and subsequently 'close source' their products will need to make a separate agreement with Pycom.

We believe this caters for all requirements. I suggest any questions regarding the licence be emailed to me once you have had time to review the detail from the GPL V3 licence. We will then prepare a thorough FAQ document to address these questions.

We are also preparing a detailed Roadmap and change log to align each parties' expectations and will release some documentation shortly. It is however important to understand that Espressif will provide us with their first (non-beta) SDK later this month. We will then focus resources on the new SDK. We have therefore decided to focus the dev team on bug fixes past next week and create a more mature software stack vs bringing-on further functionalities between now and the introduction of Espressif's new SDK. We have a privileged relationship with Espressif as they happen to be an investor in Pycom nevertheless we are dependent on them in providing us timely software updates.

Finally, thank you again for your support and we look forward to all your contributions. We appreciate you taking time to contribute to this forum.

Best wishes
Fred

[Fred]

@littlebat Indeed. For Volume/Licensing pricing as well as integration services, these can be obtained through direct discussions. Thanks Fred

[littlebat]

You should just say "dual license". Are you going to post any volume module and commercial license prices or is that all closed door negotiation stuff?