microcontrollers

Winsage
March 6, 2026
FRANK OS is a newly launched open-source graphical desktop operating system specifically designed for microcontrollers, with its first official version, 1.0, now available. It is built on FreeRTOS rather than the Linux kernel, optimized for the RP2350 microcontroller, which has approximately 520 KB of SRAM and dual CPU cores. The operating system features a desktop environment reminiscent of Windows 95, including overlapping windows, a taskbar, and a start-menu-style launcher. It supports standard desktop behaviors and allows users to switch between applications using an Alt+Tab-style interface. FRANK OS comes preloaded with nine lightweight applications, such as an interactive terminal, a C compiler, classic games, and a ZX Spectrum emulator. Programs can be compiled as ARM ELF binaries and loaded from an SD card. The system is aimed at hobbyists and experimental use.
Winsage
February 11, 2026
YouTuber Throaty Mumbo successfully ran Windows 98 on a smart toaster by disassembling the Revolution Cooking High-Speed Smart Toaster and using a Raspberry Pi 5 to emulate a late-1990s Pentium II PC. He created a custom program called “toast.exe” to facilitate communication between the Windows 98 interface and the toaster's hardware. The project resulted in a functional system that allows users to operate the toaster through a retro Windows 98 environment, complete with a 7-inch HDMI monitor and a 3D-printed shell designed to resemble a classic PC.
AppWizard
September 13, 2025
Minecraft servers can be run on devices like the Raspberry Pi, and a recent innovation involves implementing an open world on an ESP32-C3 microcontroller using a C-based server implementation called bareiron. The server code has been optimized for the ESP32's hardware, enhancing performance and simplifying the game experience. Terrain generation uses x and z coordinates as seeds for a pseudorandom function, and underground features mirror the world above, creating a seamless experience. The loading time is approximately 200 milliseconds per chunk. Previous attempts to rewrite Minecraft server code have been made in languages like COBOL on actual computers.
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