+[[!meta title="AltOS"]]
# AltOS
-This is Keith's "operating system" for [TeleMetrum](../TeleMetrum/).
+AltOS is the name of Keith's firmware "operating system" for
+Altus Metrum products.
-## Motivation ##
+In addition to the firmware for hardware products like
+[TeleMetrum](../TeleMetrum), [TeleMini](../TeleMini), and
+[TeleDongle](../TeleDongle), the AltOS source tree also
+includes AltosUI, which provides for flight monitoring, post-flight
+analysis, device configuration and firmware updating. AltosUI runs on
+Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. It's written in [Java](http://java.com)
+and offers the same functionality and interface on all three
+platforms. A small platform-specific library communicates with the USB
+interface on the Altus Metrum devices.
-[FreeRTOS](http://freertos.org) turned out to be too heavy for our needs, so
-Keith started over from scratch and wrote something that does just what we
-needed.
+There are also Linux-specific tools that provide lower level access to
+the devices which are useful for developing firmware for the devices.
-In addition to the firmware for [TeleMetrum](../TeleMetrum) and
-[TeleDongle](../TeleDongle) boards, the AltOS source tree also includes a
-number of utilities useful for monitoring and logging telemetry during flight,
-post-processing flight data for analysis, and utilities for updating firmware,
-and developing and debugging new functionality. The first generation of these
-utilities were Linux-only, but we are gradually evolving the code to work
-across multiple platforms, including Mac and Windows systems.
+We maintain a list of [launch site GPS coordinates](https://maps.altusmetrum.org/launch-sites.txt). If your favorite launch site isn't included, please let us know!
-## Features ##
+## Available Versions ##
-### User View ###
+There is a single manual for most Altus Metrum products, which is available
+in [html](doc/altusmetrum.html) and [pdf](doc/altusmetrum.pdf) formats.
-### Developer View ###
+We also have an AltOS internals document for programmers
+in [html](doc/altos.html) and [pdf](doc/altos.pdf) formats, and a
+document describing the AltOS over the radio protocol
+in [html](doc/telemetry.html) and [pdf](doc/telemetry.pdf) formats.
-* Licenses
- * The software is licensed [GPL version 2](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html)
+If you're running Windows 8, you should take a look at [Installing AltosUI on
+Windows 8](Win8) which will help you install the operating system
+drivers needed to communicate with the USB hardware.
-## Problems ##
+If you're running a recent version of Mac OS X, you'll probably need
+to read [Installing AltosUI on Mac OS X](MacOSX). This describes how
+to get rid of the the 'App is damaged' messages and run the program.
-## Artifacts ##
+Each available download includes AltosUI, documentation, and firmware updates
+for all current products.
-The source is available from [git.gag.com](http://git.gag.com) in the project
-[fw/altos](http://git.gag.com/?p=fw/altos;a=summary).
+[[!inline pages="./releases/* and !*/Discussion and !*.ihx and !*.sh and !*.html and !*.bz2 and !*.zip and !*.exe and !*.dmg" show="10" rss="no" raw="yes" ]]
+
+Note that [older versions](releases/) are still available if you really need
+them for some reason.
+
+## Source Code ##
+
+The latest source, which may include unreleased work in progress, is always
+available from [git.gag.com](http://git.gag.com)
+in the project [fw/altos](http://git.gag.com/?p=fw/altos;a=summary).
+
+We've gathered a few notes on [buidling AltOS](building).
+
+## Future Plans ##
+
+Bug reports, feature requests, and planning for AltOS releases happens
+on the [Altus Metrum Trac Site](http://trac.gag.com/altusmetrum).
+
+A number of features are implemented or in process in the sources available
+in our publicly visible repository that are not part of the current stable
+release.
+
+* Motor characterization. Because TeleMetrum contains a
+ high-resolution, high-frequency accelerometer, it is possible to
+ take the data from that and compute an accurate thrust curve for
+ the motor.
+
+* Comprehensive PDF and/or HTML -based flight report. Construct a
+ complete report of the flight suitable for publication on the web
+ that includes graphs of the flight and details about motor
+ performance etc.
+
+* Publish flight data to the Altus Metrum web site. This will allow
+ you to share your flight data with others, and let you download
+ flights published by others.
+
+There are any number of additions that could be made to this list; feel free
+to send along ideas that you’ve got. Of course, all of this software is
+licensed under the GNU General Public License, so you can get the source and
+hack on it in the comfort of your own home.
+
+## Platform Specific Notes ##
### Linux ###
-If you use [Debian](http://www.debian.org), then a pre-built package for
-32-bit x86 is currently available here:
+If you use [Debian](http://www.debian.org), you can simply install the 'altos'
+package from any Debian mirror, like so:
- wget -O - http://altusmetrum.org/apt/altusmetrum.key | apt-key add -
- wget -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/altos.list http://altusmetrum.org/apt/altos.list
- apt-get update
- apt-get install altos
+ apt-get update
+ apt-get install altos
If you use some other distribution of Linux, then
-a [Linux package](Altos-Linux.tgz) of our second-generation Java bits that
-should run on any distribution with a modern Java version is also available.
+a Linux package of our second-generation Java bits that
+should run on any distribution with a modern Java version is also
+available. Unlike the Debian pacakge, which depends on various libraries
+already part of the Debian distribution, this package includes a "fat" jar
+file with all of the Java libraries that aren't part of the basic Java runtime
+environment included, so it should "just work" on any system with
+Java 6. Development and testing is done with OpenJDK 6, but current
+downloads from [java.com](http://java.com) should be fine too.
If you'd rather build from source, our source tree includes documentation on
how to build packages for various
ground station use. It includes a photo of a drag-race between
nearly-identical rockets
built by Keith and Bdale, that was the first time either of us gave TeleMetrum
-complete control of a rocket flight without some other backup! This theme is
-available in the same repository, to install it just install either gdm or
-slim (both already available in Debian), and then do:
-
- apt-get install altusmetrum-themes
+complete control of a rocket flight without some other backup! See the themes/
+directory in the source tree (the themes are included in the Debian package).
### Mac ###
-A [Mac OS X package](Altos-Mac.zip) that is compatible with
-versions 10.5 "Leopard" and later (including 10.6 "Snow Leopard") is now
-available.
+A Mac OS X package that is compatible with versions 10.5 "Leopard" and
+later. The Mac operating system includes Java, and all Altus Metrum products
+show up as simple USB serial ports, so this should just work with no
+additional drivers or other dependency issues. Older versions of the Mac
+operating
+system, and even newer versions for PowerPC-based machines, come with
+Java version 5 or older, which is too old for use with Altus Metrum
+software. We know of no way to update the Java version other than
+upgrading to a newer operating system (for Intel based macs) or
+purchasing new hardware (for PowerPC based macs).
+
+If you have trouble installing on a Mac, and are getting errors about the
+package being corrupt, you may not be configured to allow installation of
+software from arbitrary sources. One customer running 10.8.1 reported that
+he was able to work around this by going to "System Preferences", "Security
+& Privacy", "General", and then clicking the "Anywhere" radio button where
+it askes "Allow applications downloaded from:".
### Windows ###
-A [Windows package](Altos-Windows.zip) is now available.
+Our Windows package is known to work on at least some flavors of XP, Vista, and
+Windows 7 Enterprise. If you don't already have Java installed,
+download and install a current Java 6 version from [java.com](http://java.com)
+first. Then download our installer and run it. Windows already has
+the required USB serial device driver, and our package should do the right
+things to bind it to our devices, but if you get a complaint about the device
+being unrecognized, try pointing to the copy of the telemetrum.inf file
+included in the package directory manually.
+
+Note that on some Windows 7 systems, it may be necessary to install AltOS using
+'compatibility mode'. You can set this mode by
+[changing the properties](http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/316-compatibility-mode.html)
+of the installer .exe.
+
+## License ##
+The firmware and associated software are licensed [GPL version
+2](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html)
projects / web / altusmetrum / blobdiff