MNT Pocket Reform 7-inch modular mini laptop takes a range of Arm (and FPGA) modules

MNT Pocket Reform

MNT Pocket Reform is an open-source hardware mini laptop with a 7-inch Full HD display, an ortholinear mechanical keyboard, and trackball, that follows the path of its older and bigger sibling:  the MNT Reform 2 laptop initially launched with an NXP i.MX 8M quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 module. The new laptop will not only support a similar “NXP i.MX 8M Plus” module but also a range of other Arm modules namely an NXP Layerscape LS1028A module with up to 16GB RAM, the Raspberry Pi CM4 module via an adapter, Pine64 SOQuartz (RK3566, up to 8GB RAM), as well as based on AMD Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA for industrial use. MNT Pocket Reform specifications: Available system-on-modules Standard: NXP i.MX 8M Plus quad-core Arm Cortex-A53 @ 1.8GHz with 4 or 8 GB DDR4, Vivante GC7000UL GPU, 2.3 TOPS NPU NXP Layerscape LS1028A dual-core Arm Cortex-A72 with 8 or 16GB DDR4, Vivante GC7000UL GPU Raspberry […]

Quartz64 Model B SBC with 4GB RAM is now available for $59.99

buy Quartz64 Model B

While it may be hard to buy a Raspberry Pi these days, there are various alternatives with the Raspberry Pi 3/4 form factor, including Pine64’s Quartz64 Model B SBC powered by a Rockchip RK3566 processor that has just launched for $59.99 with 4GB RAM. The Quartz64 Model B is a smaller version of the Quartz64 Model A launched earlier this year, that comes with HDMI 2.0a and MIPI DSI display interfaces, a MIPI CSI camera interface, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0, as well as several USB 2.0/3.0 ports, and of course, a 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible GPIO header. Quartz64 Model B specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3566 quad-core Cortex-A55 processor up to 1.8 GHz with Arm Mali-G52 GPU supporting OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.1, 0.8 TOPS NPU for AI acceleration System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 Storage 128 Mbit SPI Flash optional eMMC module from 16GB up to […]

Arm SystemReady SR-certified Ampere Altra Developer Platform launched for $3,999

Ampere Altra Developer Platform

ADLINK has just announced the availability of the Arm SystemReady SR-certified Ampere Altra Developer Platform equipped with the company’s COM-HPC Ampere Altra module with 32 to 80 64-bit Arm Neoverse N1 cores, 32GB to 128GB RAM. An adaptation to the earlier AVA Developer Platform expected to sell for $5,450, the Ampere Altra Developer Platform got a price cut to $3,999 at launch for a system with a 32-core processor, and 32GB DDR4. The system targets software developers wanting to build cloud-to-edge applications using standardized Arm hardware. Ampere Altra Developer Platform specifications: SoM – COM-HPC Ampere Altra module with Ampere Altra 32 to 80-core 64-bit Arm Neoverse N1 processor up to 1.7/2.2/2.6 GHz (32/64/80 cores, TPD: 60W to 175W), 32 GB to 128GB DDR4 ECC memory Storage – 128 GB NVMe M.2 SSD Mainboard – COM-HPC Server Base carrier board Video – VGA port Audio – 3.5mm audio jack Networking 1x […]

VESA compatible mini PC is powered by Vortex86DX3 x86 processor

VESA-compatible Vortex86DX3 mini PC

ICOP EB-3362-I fanless mini PC powered by DM&P Vortex86DX3 x86 processor coupled with 2GB DDR3 of memory and designed to be mounted on the back of a VESA compatible display or monitor, a wall, or even a DIN rail through an adapter. The mini PC will be mostly useful for legacy x86 applications with features like VGA video output, multiple DB9 COM ports, as well as SATA storage.  The wide 8V to 24V input voltage and -20 to 70C  temperature range will also make it suitable for some industrial applications. ICOP EB-3362-I specfications: SoC – DM&P Vortex86DX3 dual-core x86 processor @ 1GHz System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – SATA interface, SD card socket Display Output – VGA up to 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz Networking 10/100M Ethernet RJ45 port Optional additional Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port Optional WiFi via USB 2.0 port, and external antenna USB – 3x USB […]

6x GbE Intel Tiger Lake network appliance supports pfSense

Tiger Lake pfSense Network Appliance

If you’re after a network appliance with a recent processor and supporting pfSense you may be in luck. HUNSN RS36a is a mini PC-like device that comes with six Gigabit Ethernet ports, and features an Intel Core i5-1135G7 Tiger Lake processor with support for up to 64GB RAM, 2.5-inch SATA and mSATA SSD that is sold on Amazon for $527.99 and up. The company says the system is compatible with many FreeBSD-based router systems, Linux distros, and Windows operating systems., and it has already been tested with pfSense, Untangle, OPNsense, and other open-source solutions for firewalls, VPN, network security, and so on. HUNSN RS36a specifications: SoC – Intel Core i5-1135G7 quad-core Tiger lake processor @ 2.50 GHz / 4.2 GHz (Turbo) with 8MB cache, 80EU Intel Iris Xe graphics; 15W TDP Syste Memory – 2x SODIMM DDR4-3200, up to 64GB RAM Storage – 1x mSATA SSD socket, 1x 2.5-inch SATA […]

OpenBSD 7.0 adds 64-bit RISC-V, improves Apple Arm silicon support

OpenBSD 7.0

OpenBSD 7.0, the 51st release of the UNIX-like operating system, was outed on October 14, 2021, with the introduction of 64-bit RISC-V support for HiFive Unmatched and PolarFire SoC Icicle Kit boards, as well as further improvements to ARM64 targets, notably for Apple Silicon Macs, although it’s not quite ready for general use yet. You’ll find the complete list of new features and updates on the OpenBSD website, but here are some of the highlights: New platforms – OpenBSD 7.0 add 64-bit RISC-V support Extended platforms arm64 Improvements to Apple Silicon Macs support USB 3, NVMe storage, GPIO driver, power management, etc… Enabled LEDs for the LAN7800 chip as found on the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+. Added Type-C PHY controller found on the Rockchip RK3399. Implemented multicast support to Marvell ARMADA chips Various other changes to mips64, amd64, armv7, powerpc64 Kernel improvements Enabled dynamic tracker (dt) for GENERIC kernels […]

LIVA Q1L Review – pfSense, Ubuntu 20.04, Windows 10 tested on a dual Ethernet “Ultra Tiny PC”

pfsense LIVA Q1L review

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) have a series of mini PCs called LIVA which includes the diminutive Q range from which the LIVA Q2 was previously reviewed. Now it is the turn of the LIVA Q1L which although announced over a year ago has just been received for review and the results from various testing are detailed below. Hardware Overview The Q1L physically consists of a 74 x 74 x 34.6 mm (2.91 x 2.91 x 1.36 inches) rectangular plastic case. It is an actively cooled mini PC that uses slightly older Apollo Lake processors and the review model came with an N4200 CPU which is a quad-core 4-thread 1.10 GHz processor boosting to 2.50 GHz with Intel’s HD Graphics 505. The front has a power button, two USB 3.2 Gen 1×1 ports, and one USB 2.0 port whilst the rear includes an HDMI port, two gigabit Ethernet ports, and the […]

RISC-V International to give away 1,000 RISC-V development boards

RISC-V development board giveaway

The best way for a new platform to get good software support is to bring hardware into the hands of developers. That’s exactly what RISC-V International is doing by inviting developers to sign up for a RISC-V developer board sponsored by RISC-V and contributing members. There are 1,000 boards on offer with 1GB to 16GB RAM depending on the target project from five companies and organizations namely Allwinner, Beagleboard.org, SiFive, Microchip Technology (previously Microsemi), and RIOS. Here are the stated goals of the giveaway: Spur innovation Enable new opportunities for the next generation of developers to work with the RISC-V ISA Provide a platform For testing To write programs that run on RISC-V Develop software Integrate existing software stacks Optimize ecosystem software Share feedback on the product such as ease to integrate software stacks, develop and test extensions, etc. The company did not provide an exact list of development board […]