This is going to be a short post. Over the past couple of days I've been exploring the RP2350 and the Arduino IDE as a possible tool for teaching computer architecture. In the morning I've been turning on my macOS machine and have been faced with this:
What's causing the issue? I'm not sure. But I'll take a guess. The RP2350 presents as a USB thumb drive to the host computer. That's because it contains a little bootloader that is meant to allow you to drop complete binary programs via your Finder or Windows Explorer.
When you download an Arduino program to the RP2350 the Arduino IDE appears to take advantage of file transfer ability. I suspect that in the process it is making the RP2350 alternate between looking like a thumb drive and then not. It could also be happening while I engage the serial monitor. I'm not sure.
Now, what's weird is that these messages don't appear while I run the Arduino download task. They only seem to appear after I wake my computer from sleep -- which is generally in the morning when I start my day. This is why I'm not sure what's causing the issue -- it doesn't manifest itself visibly while it's happening.
I'll keep an eye out on this issue because I hope that it's not a show-stopper and doesn't manifest differently in Linux or Windows. And maybe I'll actually find the cause of this issue...
James Andrew Smith is a Professional Engineer and Associate Professor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department of York University’s Lassonde School, with degrees in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta and McGill University. Previously a program director in biomedical engineering, his research background spans robotics, locomotion, human birth, music and engineering education. While on sabbatical in 2018-19 with his wife and kids he lived in Strasbourg, France and he taught at the INSA Strasbourg and Hochschule Karlsruhe and wrote about his personal and professional perspectives. James is a proponent of using social media to advocate for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion as well as evidence-based applications of research in the public sphere. You can find him on Twitter. You can find him on BlueSky. Originally from Québec City, he now lives in Toronto, Canada.