This event in Florida (21-24 June) is a great way to get in-depth training on Freescale products and see what new things they have. It’s also a really nice change from the current weather in NZ!
Let us know if you are going to be at the show, or are in the area – we would love to meet up with you.
If you are developing .NET Micro Framework applications that require user interface we recommend you check out Rich Media Extensions from Innobedded. It provides a complete set of controls for application development and can be customised to match the look you need.
The commercial license has been reduced in price to US$249, and there is a new low-cost non-commercial license.
You can also try it out for free!
Due to popular demand, we have updated the ball-in-maze game to support v4.0 of the .NET Micro Framework. There are versions for the original Tahoe + accelerometer and Tahoe-II.
Get it on the Downloads page!
Are there features you would like to see added to the Micro Framework?
There are plenty of ways to get involved with the future of the Micro Framework through the netmf.com web site. You have been able to participate in feature discussions for while. Now Microsoft has posted more information on how you can contribute to the core implementation, so others can benefit from your coding genius!
Microsoft have announced plans for v4.1 of the .NET Micro Framework!
We are working on a version 4.1 release that includes (pending any last minute contributions):
- - VS 2010 support
- - The Hashtable proposed on the netmf.com discussion and contributed by Ed Harlow
- - Open Source TCP/IP and SSL
- - DPWS enhancements
- - Big Endian support
We don’t have any dates to share yet – but we will have beta firmware for Tahoe-II and Meridian/P as soon as we are able.
We are very pleased to announce the Topaz i.MX25 CPU Module and Development Kit. Topaz is a new CPU module designed for portable, industrial and automotive applications.
The Topaz module includes a Freescale i.MX25 (400MHz ARM926), 64MBytes mobile DDR, 128MBytes NAND flash, Freescale Power Management IC and Ethernet PHY. Like Meridian, Topaz is a surface mount module. This is easy to mount on new hardware and scales well in volume production.
Topaz includes 10/100 Ethernet (just add a MagJack), USB Host and High-Speed OTG ports, LCD controller, Touch-controller, ADC, SD card, CAN, 5x serial ports, PWM, One-Wire, SPI, I2C, Security and more. Check out the product page and data sheet for all the technical details.
For Topaz, we worked with partners to support Windows CE and Linux, as well as the .NET Micro Framework. We are shipping today with Windows CE 6.0 R3 in conjunction with GuruCE. The .NET Micro Framework and Linux are in development.
Topaz is ideal for portable applications as it uses low-power memory and can be powered from a LiIon cell. For HMI applications, the built-in LCD and touch-screen controllers make it simple to connect a variety of display types. For automotive applications, Freescale supply specific variants of the i.MX25 and these are supported by the Topaz module.
The Development Kit is great for evaluating the Topaz CPU module and development devices.
It includes 10/100 Ethernet, Serial, USB host and OTG ports, SD card and audio out. All other signals are available on 0.1” interface headers for easy connection.
You have a choice of LCDs for use with the kit:
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4.3” 480×272 TFT LCD with touch-screen. |
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7” 800×480 TFT LCD with touch-screen. |
The development kit is priced at US$299 and the LCD kits are US$199 for the 4.3” option and US$299 for the 7” option. These are available from our web shop now, and will be with distributors in the next 2-3 weeks.
Sytech Designs are shipping their new Micro Dev Board. This board uses the Meridian CPU and adds some of the main features found on Tahoe-II, but in a smaller form factor.
The small size and feature set make it ideal for low-volume production, or as a low-cost development platform for the .NET Micro Framework. You can order it online direct from Sytech Designs.
Features include:
Today we are very pleased to announce the release of a .NET Micro Framework Board Support Package (BSP) for our Meridian CPU and development boards. The BSP adds Meridian specific code to v4.0 of the .NET Micro Framework Porting Kit released by Microsoft late last year. It means you now have control over every aspect of the code on a Meridian device AND all the tools to do so are FREE! Yes – the BSP is available to download from our web site at no charge.
You need the Board Support Package to develop custom images for use on Meridian based hardware. We have included everything you need to build the same firmware we build for Tahoe-II, Tahoe and Meridian/P boards. With the BSP, you can:
The Porting Kit is quite a complex beast – especially when compared with writing applications in C#! Before you jump in, you should have a reasonable knowledge of C. We have provided some batch files and a step-by-step guide to get you started with setting up the build environment and doing your first build. From there you can dive into the porting kit documentation.
Just like the Micro Framework Porting Kit, we are providing the BSP for free! Of course, we are not able to include any support at this price 
We will try to answer simple questions posted on the forums, but you will need to purchase support for complex questions and issues that require investigation.
As always, we value your feedback on all of our products and love hearing about your projects!
Here are the best ways to get answers to questions about our products:
Microsoft has just launched their shiny new community development site for the .NET Micro Framework. Read their blog post for all the details and go take a look at www.netmf.com!
Today we are launching our community development site. This is the site specifically focused on supporting the collaborative development of the .NET Micro Framework. This is in addition to our continued presence at Microsoft.com and MSDN. As announced when we originally launched the open source version (4.0) we intend to continue development on a core implementation of the .NET Micro Framework here at Microsoft in conjunction with the larger NETMF community
