Author: Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 50 Comments on EZCast Is a Wi-Fi Display Solution (Miracast, DLNA, etc..) to be Used With Actions Micro HDMI TV Dongles

EZCast Is a Wi-Fi Display Solution (Miracast, DLNA, etc..) to be Used With Actions Micro HDMI TV Dongles

This morning I’ve come across an interesting video via Google+ (in Chinese) that showcases the features of EZCast, an application that can be installed on Android or iOS, and supports screen mirroring, DLNA, and Miracast with HDMI TV Dongles designed by Actions Micro. The company is not to be confused with Actions Semi The company is a subsidiary of Actions Semi, an IC company that provides ATV6003 SoC used in HDMI TV Dongles such as iPush. If you’ve watched the video above, beside DLNA and Miracast, you’ve found out it can also be a nice presentation tools, allowing for PowerPoint slideshows, and notes writing via your smartphone. After further research, I found the application has recently been published on both Apple App Store and Google Play. The App description is only available in Chinese, but here’s the (unedited) Google Translation of the description: EZCast is a powerful home media sharing […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments on How to Buy an Arduino Leonardo (Clone) Kit for Less than $20

How to Buy an Arduino Leonardo (Clone) Kit for Less than $20

Borderless Electronics Indiegogo campaign for their $9 electronics kit with an Arduino Leonardo clone went so well that the owner of the campaign decided to limit the total number of boards to 15,000, and basically stop the campaign early to avoid production delays. For $12 ($9 + shipping), you could get a full kit with: Arduino Leonardo clone A mini breadboard with 10 Jumper wires A plug for a 9V battery A few components: 6 LEDs, 10x 330 Ohm resistors, 10x 1 KOhm resistors, 3x push buttons, 2 NPN transistors, 5 diodes, a light sensor, and a sound buzzer A micro USB to USB cable Although they may start a new one campaign in a few months, the campaign is over, and you can’t get this cheap Arduino kit anymore. But one of my reader (onebir) let me know that for less than $20, you can  get an Arduino Leonardo […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Lantronix Unveils xPico Wi-Fi Module For the Internet of Things

Lantronix Unveils xPico Wi-Fi Module For the Internet of Things

With Texas Instruments SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3000 and Qualcomm Atheros AR4100P embedded Wi-Fi processors that fully handle Wi-Fi internally, and transfer data to an MCU with an SPI interface, and solutions such as Electric Imp, there are already ways to add Wi-Fi at relatively low cost to appliances. There’s now another solution available on the market with Lantronix xPico Wi-Fi Module. Listed features and specification of xPico Wi-Fi: SoC – ARM Cortex M3 class processor with 1MB on-chip Flash and 128 KB SRAM Storage – SPI Flash storage Wireless LAN Interface IEEE 802.11 b/g and IEEE 802.11n (single stream) WLAN interface (2.4 GHz only) IEEE 802.11 d/h/i/j/k/w/r WPS 2.0 support u.FL connector for external antenna Serial Interface Two Serial CMOS Ports (3.3V, 5V tolerant) 300 to 921.6 Kbps Flow control XON/XOFF, RTS/CTS (SPort 1 only) Lantronix tunneling application (SPort 1 only) Host Interface –  Dual Serial Port, SPI, USB 2.0 (device), […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on CheapCast Chromecast Emulator for Android (Beta) is Available for Download

CheapCast Chromecast Emulator for Android (Beta) is Available for Download

Yesterday, I wrote developers were working on making any media App and any Android device compatible with Chromecast. Sebastian Mauer has taken care of the latter, by publishing CheapCast (Beta) in Google Play. Several people have been trying it successfully, including in iMito MX1 mini PC. I’ve been less lucky. I’ve tried it by running YouTube App in Zopo ZP900S smartphone (Android 4.0.4) with 4 devices: Tronsmart T428 – “Works” but the video won’t start playing. (Bug reported in Github’s issue tracker) [Update: It now works with the latest version in Google Play]. MK908 – Refused to install anything in Google Play today… (Older Android 4.1 firmware) Wandboard Quad – “Works” but the video won’t start playing. CX-01 – CheapCast will crash when playing video I can’t really play YouTube videos over 360p without buffering here, so the reason the video won’t start in T428 or Wandboard Quad might be […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on $275 HackRF Open Source Software Defined Radio (SDR) Platform

$275 HackRF Open Source Software Defined Radio (SDR) Platform

HackRF is an open source hardware project to build a Software Defined Radio (SDR) supporting a frequency range between 30 MHz and 6GHz in both directions (Tx and Rx, half-duplex) with a maximum bandwidth of 20MHz. Jawbreaker (shown below) is a beta hardware that has been tested by several developers and beta testers, and applications such as Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Bluetooth monitoring, spectrum sensing, wireless microphones, AIS, FM radio, etc.. have already been ported to the platform. In order to lower the cost of the hardware, Michael Ossmann has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund mass production. There seems to be many SDR enthusiasts as the campaign has already reached its funding target ($80,000) and received for over $300,000 in ledges. What is Software Defined Radio (SDR) and What Can it Be Used for? Before providing details about the hardware and software, it may be useful to provide some […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Fritzing Open Source Software Designs PCB Layouts from Breadboard Drawings

Fritzing Open Source Software Designs PCB Layouts from Breadboard Drawings

Earlier this year, I’ve tried Gumstix Geppetto, a web-based application that let you easily design and order boards. You can just add some building blocks in Chrome browser, connect them, and you’re ready to order a PCB. However, the setup fee of $1999 reserves it to businesses. Don’t worry If you’re just a hobbyist as Fritzing, an open source software supporting Windows, MacOS and Linux, allows you to draw breadboard connections, and automatically route the schematics, and the PCB layout. You can then export the gerber files, or order directly from Fritzing Lab. The software is not exactly new, but it’s the first time I’ve come across it. I’m using Ubuntu 12.04 64-bit, so let’s download, install and run the corresponding version:

I’ve decided to connect an LED on the breadboard, and control it with an Arduino Leonardo board to try the software. Alternatively, you could also play around […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on MK908 Rockchip RK3188 mini PC Android 4.2.2 SDK Leaked

MK908 Rockchip RK3188 mini PC Android 4.2.2 SDK Leaked

We’ve had the Linux source code for RK3188 for a little while, which allowed a preliminary Ubuntu image to boot on devices such as Tronsmart T428. But AFAIK, we did not have any Android SDK for RK3188 HDMI TV Stick, until now. A new user on ARMTvTech has uploaded 5 rar files that can be decompressed into a single 3.2GB file called mk908_RK3188_R-BOX_ANDROID4.2.2-SDK.tar.gz. I’ve had a look, and this is the content of the file which appears to be a complete Android 4.2.2 SDK for MK908. There’s 2 documents in Chinese: mk908_checklist.doc – Apparently some instructions, or recommendations specific to Android MK908_checklist_kernel.docx – Some details about the kernel config There are also more documents and directories in RKTools/docs, but I haven’t checked the details:

Back to the root directory, we’ve got a Makefile, and mkimage.sh script, but both are called by 3188.sh script which apparently builds all, and generates […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Developers Are Working on Chromecast Functionality From Any Android Apps via Any Android Devices

Developers Are Working on Chromecast Functionality From Any Android Apps via Any Android Devices

If you don’t just come back from (too long) holidays, you should know Google has released the Chromecast, a $35 HDMI TV Stick that uses a protocol called DIAL to let users stream online videos on the TV via your mobile device or mirror your Chrome browser on the TV. However, there are currently quite a few limitations. It can only be used with apps specifically designed for Chromecast (e.g. YouTube, Netflix,…), and Chromecast is the only available receiver, and can only be purchased in the US. Luckily these may not be an issue soon… Koushik Dutta (Kouch) has taken care of the first issue by modifying Cyanogenmod to allow any video or audio app to stream the media files via the TV, using Android notifications. Perfect. Moving to the second issue. If you don’t live in the US, you’re still stuck, and if you do live in the US, […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC