How to Run Ubuntu 16.04 Aarch64 (64-bit ARM) Cloud Images on Your Intel/AMD Linux Computer with QEMU

With the recent launch of several low cost Cortex A53 development boards, 64-bit ARM hardware is now pretty common and inexpensive, but if you want to run 64-bit ARM code on your x86 Linux computer, Riku Voipio, a software engineer working for Linaro, wrote some instructions to run Ubuntu 16.04 Aarch64 Cloud image in QEMU. Ubuntu cloud images are “the official Ubuntu images and are pre-installed disk images that have been customized by Ubuntu engineering to run on public clouds that provide Ubuntu Certified Images, Openstack, LXD, and more. ”  So the instructions are also useful if you want to easily try such packages on 64-bit ARM platform. I’ve tried those instructions myself on my Ubuntu 14.04 machine with and AMD FX8350 processor, and they worked pretty well, and the only things I had to find out by myself was to install a recent version of qemu. First, we’ll need […]

Orange Pi Lite Quad Core ARM Linux Development Board with WiFi is Now Available for $12

Shenzhen Xunlong Launched Orange Pi One Allwinner H3 board with Ethernet for $9.99 a couple of months ago, and the company has now started to sell Orange Pi Lite featuring a WiFi module, two full-size USB ports, an IR receiver, and an on-board microphone for $12 + shipping. Orange Pi Lite specifications: SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU up to 600 MHz System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 Storage – micro SD card slot up to 64GB Video & Audio Output – HDMI with CEC support Audio Input – Built-in microphone (not part of the listed specs, but clearly on the board) Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi via Realtek WiFi module with u.FL connector USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port Camera – CSI Interface Expansions – 40-pin Raspberry Pi compatible header Debugging – 3-pin […]

Xiaomi Yi 4K Action Camera 2 Offers an Alternative to GoPro HERO4 Black Camera

[Update: While Xiaomi is a minority investor of YI in China, and YI products are sold in Xiaomi stores, Xiaomi does not own YI Technology nor does it own, produce or design any of its products. Therefore any mentions of Xiaomi in the article should be read instead as “YI Technology.”] Xiaomi is about to launch a new 4K sports camera with Xiaomi Yi 4K powered by Ambarella A9SE dual core Cortex A9 processor and supporting video recording up to 4K @ 30 fps. The specs of the new camera is actually pretty similar to what you’ve got on GoPro HERO4 Black camera, plus some improvements as the comparison table below shows. I found the data on GeekBuying blog, so it could not be entirely unbiased, but it still gives an idea. Yi 4K Action Camera GoPro HERO4 Black Processor Ambarella A9SE Ambarella A9 Image Sensor Sony IMX377 12MP ½ […]

Qualcomm DragonBoard 600c 96Boards Development Board Includes Ethernet and SATA

A few weeks ago, I was informed that some code about DB600c board powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor (APQ8064T) was making it into mainline Linux, and more recently I found a website listing DragonBoard 600c with a low resolution picture of the board. While we don’t have the complete specifications yet, the form factor of the board is quite interesting, as we’ll find the typical 96Boards CE form factor on the right, and some extra interfaces on the left with Ethernet and SATA. It turns out, as we’ll see below, it’s perfectly compliant (hardware wise) with 96Boards CE “Extended Version” specifications. Preliminary specifications of DragonBoard 600c board: SoC- Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 (APQ8064 Fusion 3) quad-core Krait processor  @ 1.7 GHz with Adreno 320 GPU @ 400MHz System Memory – 1GB or more RAM (TBD) Storage – eMMC Flash + micro SD slot + SATA port Video Output – HDMI […]

Debian on DragonBoard 410c Development Board

I purchased Qualcomm DragonBoard 410c development board last year, and first tested it and run some benchmark on the 96Boards compliant hardware with Android. I found that it was still work-in-progress, and decided to wait before trying Debian on the board. I’ve now done so, and will report by experience installing Debian Linux, playing with the board, and running Phoronix benchmarks to compare it to other ARM Linux boards. Installing Debian on DragonBoard 410c The first challenge is to navigate through the documentation that is not always clear or up-to-date. I eventually ended up on DragonBoard 410c Wiki on Github. You then have to decided which image you want. While there are two official operating systems with Android and Debian, you can three “entities” releasiong their own images. For Debian specifically, you have the Linaro image, and Reference Platform Build (RPB) image. I could not find any changelog or known […]

Num Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock Keyboard Indicator for Ubuntu

My old USB keyboard recently started to miss keypresses, and some keys were even barely working, and cleaning up would not do, so I decided to buy a wireless keyboard and mouse combo with decent reviews namely Logitech MK270. It’s working well, but for some reasons, Logitech decided it was a good idea to make a keyboard without Num Lock indicator, and all I get is a Caps Lock indicator. I find this really annoying, as I never know in which mode the keypad is. I don’t have an hardware hack for this, but I discovered that you could install a Numlock, Caplocks and Scroll Lock indicator in Ubuntu:

When you press capslock, numlock or scroll lock, you’ll get a notification of the change on the upper right corner of the desktop. You can also get a permanent indicator on the top bar for one of the keys: Caps […]

BeagleBone Air is a BeagleBone Black & Green Compatible Development Board with WiFi, Bluetooth LE, and Zigbee Connectivity

So far, if you wanted to add wireless connectivity to BeagleBone Black or BeagleBone Green, you’d either use a USB dongle, or a wireless CAPE, but Neuromeka, a Korean company  has recently launched BeagleBone Air “IoT gateway” board, fully compatible with the two aforementioned boards (minus HDMI output), but adding on-board WiFi, Bluetooth LE, and Zigbee connectivity. BeagleBone Air specifications: SoC – Texas Instruments Sitara AM3358BZCZ100 Cortex A8 @ 1 GHz with NEON + PowerVR SGX530 GPU System Memory – 512 MB DDR3L @ 800 MHz Storage – 4GB eMMC + micro SD slot USB HS USB 2.0 client port (micro USB) HS USB 2.0 host poty (USB type -A) HS USB 2.0 host port on expansion header Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet (RJ45) WiFi 802.11 b/g/n via Realtek RTL8188US with SMA connector for antenna Bluetooth 4.0 LE via TI CC2541 with SMA connector for antenna Zigbee via TI CC2531 with SMA […]

PocketCHIP Hackable & Portable Linux Game Console Can Be Pre-ordered for $49

If you are interested in portable game consoles to run emulator, but can’t quite justify paying hundreds of dollars for device like Pyra or GPD Win, and Android game consoles don’t exactly fit your needs or match your expectations, PocketC.H.I.P based on the $9 C.H.I.P board, and part of the original Kickstarter campaign could be an interesting option, as it is now available for pre-order for $49. PocketCHIP specifications: SoC – Allwinner R8 Cortex A8 processor @ 1 GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – 4GB NAND flash Display – 420 x 272 LED backlit display Keyboard – QWERTY keyboard Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.0 Video Output – 3.5mm jack for composite video and audio (HDMI and VGA available via adapters) USB – 1x USB host port, 1x micro USB OTG port Expansion – Through holes on the top giving access to […]