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

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Chromium OS Image for PopMetal Rockchip RK3288 Development Board

We’ve been teased about Chromium OS on Rockchip RK3288 about a year ago, and RK3288 kernel and Chromium overlay have also been available for nearly a year, but AFAIK there hasn’t been any Chromium OS firmware for any particurlar hardware, until yesterday, where Chipspark released a Chromium OS image for their PopMetal board. I haven’t been able to download the file yet, because the download speed is terrible, but you could download chromium_image.tar.gz to have a look. That could mean Rockchip RK3288 based Chrome OS devices may not be so far off now. 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. www.cnx-software.com

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Embedded Systems Conference 2015 Schedule – May 6-7, 2015

The Embedded Systems Conference took the name “Design West” for a couple of years, but this year, there’s no mention of Design West, and the Embedded System Conference 2015 will take place in Boston, MA, US on May 6-7, 2015. The 2-day event will have a demo hall, and well as sessions divided into 8 tracks: Connected Devices and the IoT Embedded Software Design Hardware: Design, I/O and Interfacing Prototyping Embedded Systems Design Software: Design, Languages, & Quality Fantastical Theater Teardowns The full schedule has now been posted, and I’ll build a virtual schedule with some of the sessions provided. Wednesday May 6, 2015 8:00 – 8:45 – Understanding Google/Nest Thread by Michael Anderson, Chief Scientist, The PTR Group, Inc. The IoT will live or die based on its connectivity. In examining existing wireless protocols, Google/Nest found most of them lacking. In order to address the needs for low-power wireless […]

March 11, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Emcraft Systems STM32F7 ARM Cortex M7 SoM and Development Kit Run uClinux

STMicro announced their STM32F7 MCU family the same as ARM announced their latest ARM Cortex M7 core for high-end micro-controllers last September. Emcraft Systems have now launched a STM32F7 system-on-module with 32MB SDRAM and 16MB NOR flash, and ported uClinux to the platform. The company has also launched a STM32F7 starter kit for evaluation and development. Both target industrial automation, system and power management, wireless networking / sensors and other embedded applications. STM32F7-SOM-1A Module STM32F7 system-on-module specifications: MCU – STMicro STM32F746 Cortex M7 MCU up to 200 MHz with 320KB RAM, 1MB flash in TFBGA-216 package System Memory – 32MB SDRAM Storage – 16MB NOR flash Connectivity – 802.3 Ethernet PHY SoM connectors – 2x 80-pin (0.4mm pitch) Debugging – ARM SWJ-DP combined JTAG and serial wire debug port Misc – Watchdog, RTC, USB and other I/Os via SoM connectors Power – 3.3V DC; Low-power mode with short startup times; […]

March 11, 2015March 13, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 226 Comments

Giveaway Week – RipplTV Quad Core Android Media Player

Today, I’d like to give away RipplTV, an Android TV box based on M8 hardware with Amlogic S802, 2GB RAM, and 8GB eMMC, but putting XBMC front and center, as the popular media center is used as the default launcher in this media player. When I tried RipplTV, the device had a much better firmware than M8/TM8 from the same company (Shenzhen Tomato), although it was not always trouble free, as 3D gaming could be problematic (Riptide GP2), and I had to clear data for XBMC once to have it run correctly, but overall a pretty decent device. It probably never became very popular through due to the rather large difference in price with M8 TV box. You can get full specs and more pictures in the unboxing post. Please note that the 5V/2A power adapter is not included, since I cut the cable for some other purpose, so you’d […]

March 10, 2015March 12, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

$35 Tessel 2 IoT Board Features Atmel SAMD21 MCU and Mediatek MT7620n WiSoC

Tessel is a Wi-Fi IoT board based on NXP LPC1830 Cortex M3 MCU and Texas Instruments CC3000 modules, that’s designed to bring embedded development to web programmers with a system that can be programmed with JavaScript and Node.js. At the time of the crowdfunding campaign in 2013, the board was available with external modules (Relays, sensors, Bluetooth LE…) for $100 and up, but now Technical Machine, the company behind the project, has announced Tessel 2 combining Atmel SAMD21 Cortex M0+ to control I/O and Mediatek MT7260n for Wi-Fi connectivity, still programmable with JavaScript ot Node.js. Tessel 2 specifications: MCU – Atmel SAMD21G14A-MU Cortex M0+ MCU @ 48MHz with 16KB SRAM and 2KB Flash SoC – Mediatek MT7260n MIPS24KEc Wi-Fi SoC @ 580 MHz System Memory – 64MB DDR2 Storage – 32MB flash for firmware (OpenWRT) Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with dual PCB antennas USB – 2x […]

March 10, 2015March 26, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Xiaomi Mi Box Mini Media Player Can Now Be Purchased for $50 Worldwide

Xiaomi announced their tiny Mi Box Mini media player powered by Mediatek MT8685A quad core processor in January, and the power plug sized box sells in China for 199 RMB (~$32 US). The good news is that I’ve just found out it listed on GeekBuying for $54.99, and several sellers also offer it for just under $50 on Aliexpress, so it’s available worldwide now, as long as you are comfortable purchase it online. [Update: Gearbest has it for $42.98 with coupon MIBOX] Mi Box mini specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT8685(A) quad core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.3GHz with Mali-450MP4 GPU (4 fragment + 2 vertex cores) @ 416MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4GB eMMC 4.5 flash Video & Audio Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 1080p with Dolby 2.0 and Digital Plus pass-through Video Codecs – H.265, H.264, H.263, MPEG 1/2/4, VP8 (Up to 1080p30) Connectivity – […]

March 10, 2015March 10, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

Android 5.1 Released, Adds multiple SIM Cards Support, HD Voice, and More

Google has just announced the release of Android 5.1, still called Lollipop, which mostly improves performance and stability, but also adds a few features. There are at least 4 main additions or improvements on Android 5.1: Multiple SIM slots support – Allows to use 2 or 3 SIM cards in your phone to better manage your mobile costs. Device Protection – Your lost or stolen device will remain locked until you sign in with your Google account – even if someone resets your device to factory settings. Google says it will be available on most Android phones and tablets shipped with Android 5.1, implying it might not be supported on all. High Definition voice calling Join Wi-Fi networks and control of your paired Bluetooth devices directly from Quick Settings. Factory images can already be downloaded for Nexus 5, Nexus 10, and Nexus 7 Wi-Fi (nasaki), but Android 5.1 firmware should […]

March 10, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 161 Comments

Giveaway Week – VidOn Box XBMC Android Media Player

Vidon Box is the second item for the Giveaway Week organized on CNX Software. This nice looking media player is powered by Allwinner A31s with 1GB DDR3 and 8GB internal storage, and runs Android 4.4 with VidOn’s own XBMC version. VidOn Box is certainly not the fatest device around but in my review I found out that it mostly did the job with excellent Wi-Fi performance, and good XBMC support, but for some reasons transfer from USB hard drive was particularly slow, at least with the firmware version I used during testing. Some features that you may take for granted like Blu-ray playback and audio pass-through require a $15 one year membership, but one free year is included. I’m not sure if the one-year free card is transferable, so the giveaway winner may not be able to enjoy the remaining membership options without paying extra. Basic functionalities will work fine. […]