Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft), Author at CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

November 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Android 5.1 Firmware for Rockchip RK3288 TV Boxes by Ugoos and CloudNetgo

There are times when you are happy to have spend a little extra for a device to get better software support, and while most Rockchip RK3288 TV boxes are still running Android 4.4, a few companies have been porting Android 5.1 Lollipop to their products, including Ugoos and CloudNetgo. Ugoos has been working on Android 5.1 for RK3288 for while, releasing several beta firmware in the process, and the latest beta firmware (3.0.2b) includes Light Biz OS (aka Multiwindow) support to provide a better Android desktop experience, OTA firmware updates, and several bug fixes. One new small-yet-neat option is to customize the use of the power LED on the devices (WiFi, Ethernet, IR, CPU usage….), or if you don’t like it turn it off. The Android 5.1.1 firmware (still beta) is available for three devices: Beta Firmware v 3.0.2 for Ugoos UT3 – See Ugoos UT3 specs Beta Firmware v […]

November 25, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Black Friday 2015 – International Deals

While Black Friday is very much a US tradition, Chinese online retailers have made an habit to launch Black Friday, and to a lesser extend Cyber Monday, promotions discount on their sites bringing the event to an international audience. This year is no different, and have gathered some promotions that may be of interest to CNX Software readers. DealExtreme I have not found specific deals on DealExtreme, but the company launched a Black Friday 2015 Lucky Draw event where you can get partial or full refunds of existing orders, as well as coupons for future order. Here are the rules: This campaign is for all DX customers. Please log in first. One play per valid order number. Valid Orders must meet the following three conditions: Orders made on or after 10:00:00(AM) Oct. 28th and before 9:59:59(AM) Nov. 26th, 2015 (UTC+8). Order should include one or more MVP product(s) and the […]

November 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

One Education’s Infinity is a Rugged Modular Laptop for Kids (Crowdfunding)

Could 2016 be the year where modular / DIY laptops take off? Several projects has now in progress for modular laptops with Olimex’ OLinuXino DIY laptop project, Rhombus Tech’s MIPS based laptop with EOMA-68 module, and now One Education, has taken the footsteps of the OLPC (One Laptop Project per Child) project, by launching Infinity modular laptop on Indiegogo (flexible campaign) with delivery scheduled for September 2016. Infinity laptop / tablet hybrid specifications (subject to change): SoC – Quad core processor @ 1.4 GHz System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 8GB + micro SD slot Display – 8.9″ capacitive touchscreen display with 2560×1600 resolution Audio – Dual mode audio In/Out Connectivity – WiFi and Bluetooth USB – USB type C connector Misc – Dock with keyboard and touchpad Battery – 7,000 mAh The laptop prototype currently runs Android Lollipop with a Linux distributions (Ubuntu) in development. The laptops will […]

November 24, 2015November 24, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 130 Comments

How to Update Firmware on Amlogic S905 TV Boxes

Videostrong has just sent me a new firmware for K1 Plus mini PC based on Amlogic S905 processor. The procedure is basically the same as for previous Amlogic devices, but I’ve still documented the step to follow an update. Please note that devices from decent brands should have OTA updates implemented, so it may not be needed, except for the cheapest devices, or in case of network issues. The firmware update procedure below can be done in any computer, including the Android TV box itself. The firmware is specific to K1 Plus, so if you have another TV box, you’ll need to change the download link to the firmware for your device. Download the firmware file (e.g. K1 Plus 2015-11-23.rar) Extract the compressed file to the root of a micro SD card, or on any other external storage. You should have a few files as shown above, including a zip […]

November 24, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

MeegoPad T08 Windows 10 mini Projector is Powered by Intel Atom x5 Processor

This week-end, I quickly mentioned MeegoPad T08 projector while announced MeegoPad T07 TV Stick Indiegogo campaign, so today, I’ll have a closer as the Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” based Windows 10 projector. MeegoPad T08 projector preliminary specifications: SoC – Intel Atom qual core “Cherry Trail” x5-z8300 or z5-8500 processor with Intel HD Gen8 graphics System Memory – 4GB DDR3L-1600 Storage – 32 to 64 GB eMMC storage + micro SD card Projector – 1280 x 800 resolution, up to 110″ screen projection, 400 lumens, and optional touchscreen support Video – HDMI input or output? port Audio – HDMI, headphone jack, JBL speakers Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x USB 3.0 port Misc – Power button Battery – 10,400 or 12,000 mAh battery Power Supply – 5V Dimensions – 139 x 79 x 16 mm The project will run Windows 10, and […]

November 24, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

FleaFPGA Uno Board Combines a Lattice FPGA, Arduino UNO Form Factor, HDMI Output, and an ESP8266 WiFi Module

FPGA board with Arduino headers are not exactly a rarity, for example Digilent ARTY in a larger form factor, and some developers have designed FPGA boards using Arduino Mega form factor, such as Papilio DUO and Arduissimo. But FleaFPGA Uno is the first Arduino Uno like FPGA board I’ve seen and it includes HDMI output, one USB host port, as well as an optional WiFi module based on ESP8266. FleaFPGA Uno specifications: FPGA – Lattice Semi MachXO2-7000HC with 6864 LUTs, 256 Kbits flash, and 240+54 Kbits SRAM System memory – 512KB 10nsec User SRAM. Storage – 16MB User Flash ROM. Video Output 24-bit Digital Video out via HDMI port up to 800×600 Composite NTSC video via 3.5 mm jack Audio – Stereo audio out via 3.5mm jack. USB 1x micro USB port for power and slave serial port 1x USB 1.1 host port (PS/2 port) On-board USB JTAG for easy […]

November 24, 2015November 25, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 21 Comments

No.1 D3 Smartwatch (Mediatek MT6261) Review

Since I’ve listed the specs and torn down No.1 D3 smartwatch, I’ve spent several days wearing the smartwatch / watchphone, and trying most of its features, so it’s time for a review. I’ll go through all screens of the user interface, include a video review, before providing a conclusion to this review Charging the watch take between 15 to 30 minutes, and you can turn it on by pressing the only button on the side of the watch for a few seconds. The first menu you are likely to see if the one with the phone functions including the Dialer, messaging, phonebook and call logs. You can use these in two ways: with a micro SIM card inserted into the watch, or/and via your smartphone connected over Bluetooth. I mostly used the watch connected to my smartphone, but both methods worked for me. When you receive a call, it’s not […]

November 24, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Yocto Project 2.0 “Jethro” Released

The Yocto Project 2.0 was released a few days ago. The framework used to create embedded Linux distributions supports Poky 14 “Jethro” reference distribution by default, but other Linux distributions can also be built with the Yocto Project. Some of the key features and improvements of Yocto Project 2.0 include: Added gcc 5.2 which is now the default compiler (gcc 4.8 and 4.9 are also provided) Updated linux-yocto kernel for qemu* and reference BSPs to version 4.1 Added basic support for Altera Nios II and Adapteva Epiphany Added tune files for Cavium ThunderX, Cavium Octeon, ARM Cortex-A17, Intel Quark X1000, and ARM vfpv3 and vfpv3d16 features Toaster Web UI improvements – Better performance and reliability; simplified setup; user-friendly layout; etc… wic image creation tool version 0.2.0 with bug fixed and new features, such as GPT partition tables, native tools, image compression, etc… Image generation adds support for qcow2, vdi (VirtualBox […]