Open2x newsletter #1

Library work
Over the last few days, I've been rewriting the scripts that compile the Open2x libraries. They should be more manageable (since each library is split into an isolated 'module'), reliable (since they use more standard build procedures than the old scripts) and can now handle multiple versions and basic dependency tracking. In the future, integration with the buildroot-based firmware compilation system will be possible since I have used the same configuration format as buildroot produces. These new scripts will find their way into SVN over the next day or so. In addition to the improvements to the scripts, I've also been through an updated all the libraries where it was needed (roughly half) to the latest versions.
I've uploaded a binary lib pack which can be found here (these are untested, so use with some caution, and I'd appreciate feedback from everybody who tries them out).

MP2X
Recent work on MP2X (congratulations are in order for Lithosphere, who has waded through the horrible mass of code we have inherited from GPH and got this working dynamically linked on an Open2x firmware - look out for this in SVN soon) in particular has flagged up a few important libraries that we were missing, and these have now been added into the build procedure (libiconv, libunicodefont and libSDL_inifile). Any requests are of course welcome, but we can't include everything (especially not anything obscure) since space is very limited, even after I go through and strip/remove bits and bobs. So this is good news for everybody who has been using DR2 and needing to load compat each time they wish to watch a video as MP2X will be included in DR3.

DR3
In other news, I would like to thank trooper of GP32x for the donation of a GP2X to replace my old one which seems to have developed a hardware fault. Also, RobBrown and CanDoo from #gp2xdev for donating towards the cost of a new JTAG dongle. This means I am now able to begin work on the DR3 firmware release, which, if all our plans come to fruition, will be the best yet by far. Not only will we have all new libraries, MP2X but also included will be working USB host support (again, thanks go to Lithosphere for this), hopefully meaning a few more drivers than we've had up until now will be available (I am aware of some Bluetooth work being undertaken by sebtx on #open2x). I am aiming to make this the last developer-only release before we go into public testing and releases, since I know people have been waiting for a while and recently all the blockers for a final public release have been eliminated.

GP2X development talk
Jay Vaughan (torpor) recently gave a talk about homebrew development and had Open2x on display. There is a video of part of it (you can catch glimpses of Open2x!) on YouTube (German). Jay is the English-speaking guy later on in the video.