Hardware Category - Page 2 of 1334 - CNX Software

August 7, 2026August 11, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

GEEKOM IT13 Max mini PC review – Part 1: specifications, unboxing, teardown, and first boot

We’ve just received a sample of the GEEKOM IT13 Max mini PC powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU for review. With up to 35 TOPS, sixteen cores clocked up to 5.1 GHz, and up to 24 GB LPDDR5 memory, the Meteor Lake mini PC is well-suited for AI workloads, creative tasks, coding, and heavy multitasking. Two configurations are available: one with 16 GB DDR5 SODIMM RAM and a 1 TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, and another with 24 GB soldered-on LPDDR5-5600 memory and a 500 GB SSD. Both feature two 40 Gbps USB4 ports, five USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, two HDMI 2.0 ports, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and dual 2.5 GbE networking, and come pre-installed with Windows 11 Pro. GEEKOM specifically sent us the IT13 Max mini PC with 24 GB LPDDR5 and a 500 GB M.2 SSD for testing. In this article, we will cover […]

August 7, 2026August 7, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Token Monitor – An ESP32-S3 desktop display that tracks AI coding assistant usage (Crowdfunding)

TokenMonitor supports Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, and customizable dashboard views

Fractal Manifold has introduced the Token Monitor, a 4-inch ESP32-S3-based desktop display for monitoring real-time AI coding assistant usage. The device features a 4-inch 480×480 IPS touchscreen with 5-point capacitive touch, Wi-Fi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 wireless connectivity, USB-C power, optional 1-cell Li-ion battery support via an AXP2101 PMIC, and two side buttons for power and boot functions. It shows usage information including quota consumption, session limits, token counts, reset timers, and estimated token costs. A local broker service fetches the usage data and transfers it to the device over a secure connection, keeping credentials on the user’s machine. Token Monitor specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML workloads RAM – 512KB SRAM; 8MB PSRAM Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 Storage – 16MB flash Display – 4-inch 480×480 capacitive touchscreen with ST7701 driver and […]

August 6, 2026August 6, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

PICOTTY project enables multi-target serial remote management through Raspberry Pi Pico boards and Pi Zero 2 W SBC

PICOTTY is an open-source project enabling serial-based remote management using a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W as a hub running a web server for the dashboard, and several Raspberry Pi Pico or Pico 2 boards with an Ethernet add-on to control and monitor the targets over serial. In some ways, it’s a multi-target IP KVM, but without video or mouse, so let’s call it an IP keyboard, since each Pico board acts as an Ethernet-connected USB keyboard, while the Pi Zero 2 W SBC manages all nodes attached to it over Ethernet. The developer, Chiranjeevi (morpheuslord), mostly uses it to control systems running Proxmox VE, but it could be useful for other headless applications where a keyboard is sufficient. Hardware for the project: Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W – Runs a web server on port 8080 and a TCP server on port 9000 to control the nodes Nodes Option 1 Raspberry […]

August 6, 2026August 6, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Antmicro releases open-source hardware Thunderbolt to dual 10GbE adapter

Antmicro has just released an open-source hardware Thunderbolt to (dual) 10GbE adapter that serves as a reference design for a high-speed Ethernet accessory, further customizable for smart terminals, Point of Sale systems, smart cameras, IoT gateways, and more. The company has a history of releasing open-source hardware designs, and we previously covered a baseboard for Quectel SA800U-WF System-on-Module (Qualcomm Snapdragon 845) and an AMD Xilinx Kintex-7 K410T FPGA development board, both designed in KiCad. The Thunderbolt to 10GbE adapter adds to the list. Antmicro Thunderbolt to 10GbE adapter specifications: Networking – 2x 10GbE RJ45 ports via Intel X710-AT2 Ethernet controller Host interface – Thunderbolt 3 USB-C connector via Intel JHL6340SLLSQ Thunderbolt 3 controller (PCIe Gen3 x4) Misc Passive cooling via heatsink 4-pin PWM fan connector 3x LEDs Power Supply – 5V via USB-C port and DC jack Dimensions – 110 x 70 mm The company tested the adapter, I assume with iperf […]

August 5, 2026August 5, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

ZecTrix Note 4 – A 4.2-inch ESP32-S3 wireless e-paper display for voice tasks

ZecTrix Note 4 4.2 inch AI e paper smart note

Designed by ZecTrix Lab in China, the Note 4 is an ESP32-S3-based AI smart note with a 4.2-inch e-paper display and built-in voice input. The device is designed to display reminders, notes, clocks, weather, images, and custom templates, while the Note 4C variant replaces the monochrome display with a four-color e-paper panel. The device features 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, a microphone, a speaker, NFC, physical buttons, a USB Type-C port, a 2,000mAh rechargeable battery, and GPIO expansion for custom hardware projects. ZecTrix Note 4 / Note 4C specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML workloads RAM – 512KB SRAM; 8MB PSRAM Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 Storage – 16MB flash Display Note 4 – 4.2-inch monochrome E-Ink display, 400 × 300 resolution; supports partial refresh Note 4C – 4.2-inch four-color (BWRY) E-Ink display, […]

August 5, 2026August 5, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

CtrlVibe AI Console keypad – An OpenAI Codex Micro alternative for AI workflows (Crowdfunding)

The CtrlVibe AI Console is a programmable desktop keypad designed for AI workflows. The device includes hardware controls for switching between AI tools, launching shortcuts, selecting execution modes, and recording voice input. It comes with nine programmable mechanical keys, a rotary encoder, a three-position switch, a 1.14-inch LCD, a built-in MEMS microphone, USB-C and Bluetooth connectivity, and RGB status lighting. The features and specifications of the CtrlVibe make it an alternative to Work Louder Codex Micro, a $230 mechanical macropad designed for OpenAI Codex. There is also an open-source firmware project available for the M5Stack Core2 that reproduces many of the Codex Micro’s features. While the Codex Micro is designed specifically for OpenAI Codex, the CtrlVibe AI Console can be used with multiple AI tools and uses a rotary encoder to switch between applications or models, along with a three-position hardware switch for selecting AI execution modes. CtrlVibe AI Console […]

August 4, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

reComputer Mini J501 Edge AI computer features NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 64GB/32GB module, two FAKRA camera connectors

Designed for robotics applications, the reComputer Mini J501 is an Edge AI computer powered by an NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 64GB or 32GB module, delivering up ot 275 TOPS of AI performance. The computer features 10GbE and GbE RJ45 ports, HDMI 2.1 video output, two USB 3.2 ports, two USB 2.0 Type-C Debug/Recovery ports, a 128 M.2 NVMe SSD, two FAKRA connectors for up to eight GMSL2 cameras, and a range of other I/O connectors. reComputer Mini J501 specifications: System-on-module (one or the other) NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin 32GB (reComputer Mini J5011 model) CPU – 8-core Arm Cortex-A78AE v8.2 64-bit processor @ 2.2 GHz with 2MB L2 + 4MB L3 cache GPU and AI NVIDIA Ampere architecture with 1792 NVIDIA CUDA cores and 56 Tensor Cores @ 930 MHz DL Accelerator – 2x NVDLA Engines @ up to 1.4 GHz Up to 200 TOPS Video Encode – 1x 4K60 | 3x 4K30 […]

August 4, 2026August 4, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Espressif ESP32-C61-MINI-1/1U Wi-Fi 6 and BLE IoT module launched for about $2

Back in 2024, Espressif Systems introduced the ESP32-C61 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE (BLE) SoC as a low-cost variant of the ESP32-C6 without an 802.15.4 radio, a single RISC-V core, and lower-capacity SRAM (320KB vs 512KB). We had first seen the ESP32-C61 in the Wireless Tag ESP32P4C61 board introduced last June in a Kickstarter campaign last June, but Espressif has now started to sell samples of the ESP32-C61-MINI-1 and ESP32-C61-MINI-1U on AliExpress for $10.7 for a pack of 5 pieces, or around $2 per module. ESP32-C61-MINI-1/1U Module specifications: SoC – ESP32-C61 CPU core – Single-core 32-bit RISC-V microprocessor up to 160 MHz Memory 320KB SRAM Up to 8 MB PSRAM Storage 256KB ROM Up to 8 MB Quad SPI flash Wireless 2.4 GHz WiFi 1T1R Frequency: 2412 ~ 2484 MHz IEEE 802.11ax-compliant 20 MHz-only non-AP mode MCS0 ~ MCS9 Uplink and downlink OFDMA Downlink MU-MIMO Target wake time […]