Category: Linux

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Raspberry Pi Based Slice, and EzeeCube Quad Media Players Support Internal Hard Drives (Crowdfunding)

Raspberry Pi Based Slice, and EzeeCube Quad Media Players Support Internal Hard Drives (Crowdfunding)

Slice is a media player based on Raspberry Pi Compute Module, and EzeeCube Quad is media hub powered by Freescale i.MX6 Quad, and an upgrade to EzeeCube based on i.MX6 dual, which was successfully funded. The underlying hardware between Slice and EzeeCube is much different, but both devices have a lot in common. They are both media players currently being crowd-funded respectively in Kickstarter and Indiegogo, both comes with an internal hard drive, run XBMC, targets typical end-users (rather than tinkerers) and are somewhat pricey. Slice Media Player When I first saw Slice, all I could see was an Raspberry Pi module, put in a case with an internal hard drive bay, and lots of pretty RGB LEDs, and with an air mouse sold for an inflated price of 114 GBP ($190 US) without hard drive or 179 GBP ($300 US) with a 1TB drive, with admittedly some cheaper early […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on $79 STACK Box Home Automation / IoT Gateway Supports Wi-Fi, Ethernet, BLE, XBee, X10, Z-Wave and More (Crowdfunding)

$79 STACK Box Home Automation / IoT Gateway Supports Wi-Fi, Ethernet, BLE, XBee, X10, Z-Wave and More (Crowdfunding)

Cloud Media (Syabas) is better known for their Linux based “Popcorn Hour” media players, and last year I reviewed their FreeOTT streaming media player powered by a Cavium ARM11 processor. The company is now entering the home automation market with the STACK Box (aka XuanBox) also powered by a Cavium ARM11 processor, and supporting various connectivity options to interface with popular smart “things” such as Belkin Wemo and Philips Hue, as well as a Raspberry Pi Bus (26-pin header) to support add-ons. STACK Box specifications: Processor – Cavium ARM11 processor @ 640 MHz (possibly Cavium CELESTIAL CNC1800L. TBC) System Memory – 256MB DDR3 Storage – 512 MB flash + SD card slot Connectivity 10/100M Ethernet Wi-Fi 802.11n with WPS Bluetooth LE 4.0 (included) Z-Wave (included) Dust Networks (extra module required) XBee  (extra module required) X10 (extra module required) Insteon (extra module required) RF433/315 (coming soon) EnOcean (coming soon) ZigBee(coming soon) DCLink(coming […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments on AllWinner A31 Android & Linux SDKs, and Documentation Leaked

AllWinner A31 Android & Linux SDKs, and Documentation Leaked

AllWinner A31 software development kits (SDK) for Android 4.2 / 4.4 and Linux can now be downloaded, and relevant documentation has also been made available, including HummingBird A31 system brief and system manual. Part of the documentation is in English, but lots of it, is in Chinese only. Download links to AllWinner A31 SDKs for HummingBird A31 development board, but they may be useful for other hardware platforms based on AllWinner A31: Android 4.4 SDK (password: 5ck9) – a31_v4.5_hummingbird_kfb_ok.tar.gz (6.04 GB) Android 4.2 SDK (password: tz17) – a31_hummbingbird_V3.3_v2_kfb_0k.tar.gz (3.99 GB) Linux SDK (password: kdcw) – A31_MerriiLinux_V3.3_v1.tar.gz (1.17 GB) There are also links to firmware files specific to HummingBird: Android 4.4 firmware LCD output (password: w1s6) Android 4.2 firmware LCD output (password: b7de) Android 4.2 firmware VGA output (password: nfqw) Linux firmware (password: ibal) It takes a very long time to download the SDKs, so I haven’t checked the files, and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments on XBMC 13.2 Gotham Final Release

XBMC 13.2 Gotham Final Release

XBMC developers have just released XBMC 13.2, which could be one of the latest, if not the latest release, under the name XBMC, before Kodi 14 makes it debut. Since it’s only a minor release (13.x), there aren’t any new features, only bug fixes, and it should be safe to upgrade from older 13.x release on various supported operating systems and probably, except possibly in some Android TV boxes where you may have a custom version of Android specific to your hardware / SoC. List of changes against XBMC 13.1: Fix audio problems with pass-through on OSX Crash in Android if an app is favourite, then uninstalled from system. Fix crash in Android when entering programs menu in some skins Bitstream conversion fix for some BD mkv iso rips Fix labelcontrols with autowidth set were always marked as dirty (re-render) Update included PVR add-on Set “remote as keyboard” default to […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on XBMC / Kodi 14 Ported to Tizen 3.0 Wayland

XBMC / Kodi 14 Ported to Tizen 3.0 Wayland

XBMC, soon to become Kodi with version 14, is now supported in Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, Android, and iOS. But Kodi 14 may soon support Tizen, as Phil C., a Tizen developer, ported the alpha version of Kodi 14 to Tizen 3.0, and showcased it on an Intel “Bay Trail” NUC powered by Intel Atom E3815 single core processor. Intel 3815 NUC is officially supported by Tizen and an image is available for download, so most of the work was to build Kodi 14 Alpha, install required packages, and configure some scripts. The video below shows XBMC/Kodi 14 UI running on Tizen 3.0, and a video played from YouTube, and after about 3 minutes, he explains how to modify the BIOS to have the system boot and work properly for the rest of the video. If you happen to own an Intel E3815 NUC, but it could also work […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 22 Comments on Unboxing of WeTek Play DVB-S2 Android / Linux STB

Unboxing of WeTek Play DVB-S2 Android / Linux STB

WeTek Electronics, a company based in Hong Kong, has sent me an Android TV powered by Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core Cortex A9 processor. Nothing new here, but I was very very interested in reviewing it because it includes a DVB-S2 tuner, and on top of their stock Android firmware, the company provides various Android and Linux firmware files such as CyanogenMod, ParanoidAndroid, OpenELEC, Linux with Enlightenment desktop environment, Lubuntu 14.04 and so on. Today, I’ll list the hardware specifications of the device, show some unboxing pictures and video, and as usual, open the device to see what’s inside. I’ll provide a full review in one or two more posts. WeTek Play Specifications Apart from the DVB-S2 tuner are the serial port, the hardware specifications sound familiar: SoC – Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core Cortex A9 @ 1.5GHz with Mali-400MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4 GB NAND flash […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on Waveshare DVK512 Kits For Raspberry Pi Model B+ Include RTC, Sensors, LCD Display, and More

Waveshare DVK512 Kits For Raspberry Pi Model B+ Include RTC, Sensors, LCD Display, and More

Beaglebone (Black) expansion boards are called capes, Minnowboard ones are lures, and Raspberry Pi model B+ add-on boards can be HATs (HArdware on Top). When I found a kit for the Raspberry Pi model B+ on DealExtreme, based on Waveshare DVK512 add-ons board I thought it might have found a Chinese HAT, but unfortunately it is not compliant with HAT board specifications as it misses an EEPROM,and the dimensions are not the correct one either. Nevertheless, the kit, as well as extra accessories such as a 3.2″ LCD display, can still be interesting. The kit on DX comes with the following items: DVK512 expansion board that connects to the 40-pin Raspberry Pi B+ header and features PCF8563 RTC chip with battery, an on-board USB to TTL chip for debugging via micro USB, a character LCD interface, connectors for modules connected via UART, SPIO, I2C or GPIO, various jumpers and user […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on MYIR ARM9 Linux Development Boards & Computer-on-Modules Powered by Freescale i.MX28 Processor

MYIR ARM9 Linux Development Boards & Computer-on-Modules Powered by Freescale i.MX28 Processor

MYIR MYD-IMX28X development boards and MYC-IMX28X CPU modules had been announced in May 2014, but I’ve just found out about them via the company’s newsletter. The CoMs are powered by Freescale i.MX28 ARM9 processors (i.MX283 or i.MX287), feature 128 MB RAM, 256 MB Flash, and connect to a baseboard to make the development boards. Target applications include smart gateways, human-machine interfaces (HMIs), handheld devices, scanners, portable medical, experimental education as well as other industrial applications. MYC-IMX28X CoMs MYC-IMX28X computer-on-module specifications: Processor – Freescale i.MX283 or i.MX287 ARM926EJ-STM processor up to 454MHz with 128KB SRAM, 128KB ROM, 1280 bits of OCOTP ROM, 16KB/32KB I and D Cache System Memory – 128MB DDR2 SDRAM Storage – 256MB NAND flash, 128KB SPI flash Connectivity – On-board Ethernet PHY Connectors – 2x 1.27mm pitch 2 x 40-pin SMT male expansion connectors with access to Ethernet – Up to 2 Ethernet (two for i.MX287, one for i.MX283) USB […]

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