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

June 1, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Dell Inspiron Micro Desktop with Intel Celeron J1800 or Pentium J2900 Starts at $180

We’ve already seen Chinese mini PCs based on Intel Bay Trail-D processors for less than $200, even with a 500 GB HDD as found in VX2 mini PC, but if you’d like to buy from a more established brand, Dell has launched two models of Inspiron 3050 Micro Desktop with Intel Celeron J1800 (dual core) and Pentium J2900 (quad core) selling respectively for $179.99 and $229.99 direct from Dell US, and they also have built-in Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11ac that you may not always find in the cheaper Chinese models. Beside the different processors, but models share the same specifications: SoC Intel Celeron J800 dual core processor @ up to 2.58GHz with Intel HD graphics Intel Pentium J2900 quad core processor @ up to 2.67 with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 2GB DDR3L @ 1600MHz (SO-DIMM slot, up to 8GB supported) Storage – 32GB SSD, SATA 3Gbps (up to […]

May 31, 2015May 31, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Linaro 15.05 Release with Linux 4.1 and Android 5.1

Linaro 15.04 has been released with Linux 4.1-rc4, Linux 3.10.79 and 3.14.42 (LSK), and Android 5.1_r3. The Ubuntu image is now based on Vivid instead of Utopic. Android and Debian builds/images have been released for Hikey’s 96boards, Ubuntu Vivid and Android builds have been setup for Qualcomm’s Dragonboard 410c. A new platform, Socionext M8M, has also show in Linaro changelog. I could not find details about M8M, but Socionext is a “new company that designs, develops and delivers System-on-Chip products” and focuses on “imaging, networking and other dynamic technologies”. Their latest press release mentions a 4K media processor with build-in HDMI 2.0 Tx and Rx, so maybe M8M is based on that processor, but I can’t know for sure as they have several chips. Highlights of this release: Linux Linaro 4.1-rc4-2015.05 GATOR updated to version 5.21.1 updated integration-linaro-vexpress64 topic by ARM LT: PCI support added – for Juno r1. Linaro […]

May 30, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Android M Preview Images & SDK and Key Changes

Google formally announced Android M (Marshmallow?) at Google I/O, and released preview images for Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and the Nexus player. If you don’t own any of these devices, you can also run Android M in the emulator using the preview SDK. So what’s new in Android M? Google reports over 100 changes, but here are some of the highlights of improvements and new features: User Control of Permissions – With Android M, apps can trigger requests for permissions at runtime, and let users choose whether to allow it. For example, if your flashlight app suddenly request access to your contact list, a window may pop up and you are free to decline it. Users will also have easy access to manage all their app permissions in settings. Doze improves Battery Life – Android M will use motion detection to learn if a device has been used […]

May 29, 2015May 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

ESP8266 SDK 1.1.0 is Now Released Under an MIT License

ESP8266 is the now famous dirt-cheap Wi-Fi SoC used for IoT applications. It can be used by hobbyists and companies alike. But for the later, there was a licensing issue as Espressif ESP8266 SDK was initially released under the GPLv3 license. GPL code is great and lots of open source projects are released under the most common open source license. But since proprietary, closed source software has still its place in the market place, some other more permissive licenses such as LGPL are used for library, and Android for example has an Apache License 2.0. So previously, if you developed an application using ESP8266 SDK, you’re code would have to be GPL too, since the license is viral. It would also cause issues if you had released your application under an Apache or MIT license. But now, all is well, as Espressif released ESP8266 SDK 1.10 under an MIT license, […]

May 28, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Baikal T1 is a Dual Core MIPS P5600 Communication Processor

When allegations surfaced that the NSA messed with devices manufactured by US companies, and possibly other, government of geopolitical significance started to take measures. For instance, China may have removed Apple and Cisco products from its list of approved products due to security reasons, and Russia decided to design its own Baikal processors to replace Intel and AMD solutions. At the time of the announcement, Baikal M and M/S chip were supposed to be the first ones and based on ARM Cortex A57 cores, but Imagination Technologies recently announced that Russia based Baikal Electronics was working on Baikal T1 communication processor with two MIPS P5600 cores. Some of the specifications include: CPU – Dual core MIPS 5600 processor @ 1.2 GHz with 1MB L2 cache Memory – DDR3 controller Storage – SATA 6Gbps controller and PHY Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet controller, 1x 10Gigabit Ethernet controller and PHY USB 2.0 […]

May 27, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 24 Comments

Allwinner H3 Based Orange Pi 2 Board Price Drops to as Low As $25

As Raspberry Pi Model B+ price got reduced to $25, some competitors also decided to bring their price down. Shenzhen Xunlong Software, the maker of Orange Pi board, decided to decrease their Orange Pi 2 and Orange Pi 2 Mini boards by $5 to respectively $30 and $25 plus around $2 shipping. Both boards are based on the same PCB, but the mini version lacks WiFi. Let’s refresh our memory with the specs: SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.6 GHz with 256KB L1 cache, 1MB L2 cache, and an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU up to 600 MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – micro SD card slot (up to 64GB) Video Output – HDMI (CEC and HDCP support), AV port Audio I/O – HDMI, AV port, on-board microphone Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (Realtek module, not found on mini version) USB – 4x USB […]

May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

Intel Introduces Braswell NUCs with Celeron N3050 and Pentium N3700 Processors

Intel has already announced several Braswell processors as successors for Bay Trail-M processor with 4 to 6W TDP and 14nm manufacturing process. Two of these, namely Intel Celeron N3050 (dual core) and Pentium 3700 (quad core), have fund their way into the latest Intel NUCs that are currently listed for $140 and $180 in the US with the official release date fixed on June 8. The dual core version is called NUC5CPYH, while the quad core is NUC5PPYH. Both share the following specs: Processor Intel Celeron N3050 dual core processor @ up to 2.16 GHz with 2MB cache, Intel HD Graphics @ 600 MHz max, 6W TDP Intel Pentium N3700 quad core processor @ up to 2.4 GHz with 2MB cache, Intel HD Graphics @ 700 MHZ max, 6W TDP Memory – 1x DDR3L SODIMM 1.35V, 1333/1600 MHz up to 8GB maximum Storage – 1x SATA @ 6.0 Gbps for […]

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

MeLE PCG01 is a Windows 8.1 TV Stick with External WiFi Antenna, Optimized Thermal Design

MeLE has released their own Intel Atom Z3735F HDMI TV Stick running Windows 8.1. MeLE PCG01 looks very much like MeegoPad T01, but the company claims to be the first to include an external Wi-Fi antenna, and they’ve worked on improving power dissipation. MeLE PCG01 specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics Gen 7 (2W TDP) System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L-1333 Storage – 32 GB eMMC (Class 5 up to 90MB/s) + micro SD slot Video & Audio Output – HDMI Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi up to 300 Mbps and Bluetooth 4.0 with external antenna USB – 2x micro USB port (including one for power only), 1x USB host port Misc – Power button Power Supply – 5V/2A via micro USB port. Dimensions – 102 x 49 x 11.5mm Weight – N/A The […]