Operating Systems Category - Page 711 of 1076 - CNX Software

December 21, 2015August 6, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

How to Upgrade Rockchip Firmware in Linux for RK3288, RK3328, RK3368, RK3399, etc..

I’ve been looking for ways to upgrade firmware on Rockchip RK3368 based GeekBox in a computer running Ubuntu 14.04, but while they’ve provided firmware update instructions for Windows, which remains basically the same as upgrading firmware on Rockchip RK3288, there’s no such information for Linux. However, I could remember than Radxa Rock supported upgrade_tool utility, but since the tool linked on Radxa website might be outdated, I instead searched for some RKtools repository on Geekboxzone Github account, and I was lucky enough to find one. Here’s what I did to flash Light Biz OS to GeekBox with my Linux computer: Get the tools, and make sure upgrade_tool is there.

git clone https://github.com/geekboxzone/lollipop_RKTools.git
cd lollipop_RKTools/linux/Linux_Upgrade_Tool
unzip Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.23.zip 
cd Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.23/
ls -l upgrade_tool 
-rw-rw-r-- 1 jaufranc jaufranc 3013546 Dec 17  2014 upgrade_tool

git clone https://github.com/geekboxzone/lollipop_RKTools.git

cd lollipop_RKTools/linux/Linux_Upgrade_Tool

unzip Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.23.zip

cd Linux_Upgrade_Tool_v1.23/

ls -l upgrade_tool

-rw-rw-r-- 1 jaufranc jaufranc 3013546 Dec 17 2014 upgrade_tool

Download and extract the firmware, e.g. Cross_Lollipop_BizOS_V151208.7z:

sudo apt-get install p7zip-full
7z x Cross_Lollipop_BizOS_V151208.7z

1 2	sudo apt-get install p7zip-full 7z x Cross_Lollipop_BizOS_V151208.7z

Now connect a USB cable to the USB OTG port of your device or board. In case of GeekBox that’s the micro USB port. Now as the board is powered on, keep […]

December 21, 2015December 21, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

GeekBox and Landingship Android Overview and Benchmarks

This week-end I checked out GeekBox TV box, and Landingship baseboard, explained how to connect the two together and install various optional accessories such as an RTC battery and a cooling fan. GeekBox comes pre-loaded with Android 5.1 + Ubuntu dual boot image, and as I’ve already reviewed other Rockchip RK3368 TV boxes, and GeekBox is also a development platform, I’ll simply run several benchmarks on GeekBox, as well as test SATA performance with an SSD connected to Landingship carrier board in Android, before checking out the Linux part a little latter. That’s no quite how you want to place the fan, but I wanted to show the USB to TTL debug board and other wires can be connected with the case closed. This allowed me to easily check whether the fan was spinning during testing, and it never did… According to one forum post, the temperature currently needs to […]

December 20, 2015December 20, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Texas Instruments Introduces Entry level Sitara AM3351 Cortex-A8 Processor

Texas Instruments Sitara AM335x processor are designed by industrial applications, and found in develompent board such as BeagleBone Black or BeagleBone Green, and the company has recently launched the new Sitara AM3351 Cortex A8 processor without 3D GPU, no PRU just like AM3352, but they’ve also canned the two CAN interfaces (sorry, I had to) in order to bring the cost lower, while keeping the processor software and pin-to-pin compatible with other AM335x processors available in 13×13 mm package. TI Sitara AM3351 CPU clock will also be limited to 300 MHz to 600 MHz with respectively AM3351BZCE30 and AM3351BZCE60 parts. It will only come with one Gigabit Ethernet port instead of up to two ports of other members of the family that are produced in 15x15mm package, and temperature range is limited to 0 to 90 C. Other features remain the same, and the processors will support TI-RTOS, Linux, Android, […]

December 19, 2015December 20, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 29 Comments

GeekBox TV Box Unboxing and Development Kit Assembly Guide

GeekBox is both an Android TV box based on Rockchip RK3368 octa-core processor, and a Linux development kit thanks to the CPU module inside the device, a baseboard and various accessories. The company has sent me a review sample, as well as the accessories currently available. So today, I’ll have a look at the box, and show how to connect everything together. GeekBox TV Box Unboxing I’ve received two carton boxes via DHL, one with GeekBox itself, and the other with some accessories. You could use GeeBox has a TV box, and forget about its development attributes, as the device comes with the usual accessories include a case, an HDMI cable, an infrared remote control, and a 5V/2A power supply. I was really surprised by how small it was compared to other 64-bit ARM TV boxes recently launched on the market, and looks very much like a small router with […]

December 18, 2015December 18, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments

DietPi is Lightweight, Easy to Use Debian Based Distribution for Raspberry Pi, ODROID, and Orange Pi Boards

Raspberry Pi, Hardkernel ODROID, and Orange Pi are some of the most popular and cost effective development boards on the market today, and one British developer, going under Fourdee nickname, has released a lightweight distribution called DietPi working for all Rasbperry Pi boards, ODROID-C1(+), ODROID-XU3/XU4, and Orange Pi PC, with Orange Pi 2 and Orange Pi Plus support coming soon, as well as a VMWare virtual machine also available for evaluation. The compressed downloads are about 80 to 100MB depending on the target, the image that can be dump with dd or Win32DiskImager requires a 1GB or greater micro SD card as the image itself is about 500MB large, Internet access (Ethernet or Wifi), and optionally a USB Drive to allow installation on a USB drive for better performance, which of course does not apply if you have an eMMC module with your ODROID board. The image also contains some […]

December 17, 2015December 17, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Intrinsyc Introduces Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 Cortex-A72-Class Development Board, SoM and MDPs

While there’s already an healthy choice of ARMv8 development board such as LeMaker Hikey, or Qualcomm DragonBoard 410c, all those platforms are based on the lower end Cortex A53 64-bit ARM core, and ARM Cortex A57, let alone Cortex A72, boards are much more difficult to find, as they are much pricier and/or have limited availability. Intrinsyc may have released the first (somewhat) affordable and accessible Cortex-A72-class development board with Open-Q 820 development kit comprised of a SoM and a baseboard, as well as smartphone and tablet mobile development platforms (MDPs) based on Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad core Kryo processor. While Kryo is a custom ARMv8 designed by Qualcomm, and not exactly a Cortex A72 core, both have similar performance, as shown in Snapdragon 820 Antutu and Kirin 950 Antutu results. Open-Q 820 board specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad core Kryo cores with 2x cores @ up to […]

December 17, 2015May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

ADBoard 3G/4G Digital Signage Board is Powered by Allwinner A83T Octa-Core Processor

MQMaker officially launched their WiTi router board earlier this week, but the company has also introduced ADBoard, an octa-core board specifically designed for digital signage with a connector for LVDS display including backlight, an RTC with backup battery, and a mini PCIe connector for 3G/4G connectivity combined with a SIM card slot. ADBoard specifications: SoC – Allwinner A83T octa-core ARM Cortex-A7 @ 2.0 GHz with PowerVR SGX544MP GPU @ 700 MHz supporting OpenGL ES 2.0/1.1, OpenCL 1.1, and DX 9.3. System Memory – 1 GB DDR3 Storage – 16 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Display Interfaces / Video Output HDMI up to 1080p60 with HDCP 1.2 and CEC support connector LVDS connector, LCD backlight control header and capacitive touch panel header Audio – HDMI, 3.5mm audio output, speaker connector, microphone connector Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 1x […]

December 16, 2015December 18, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

SMA-Q e-Paper Smartwatch Unboxing and Details

When I first discovered SMA-Q smartwatch, I really found it interesting with its always-on color e-Paper display, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, heart rate monitor, and promise of 30-day battery life (standby) for just $56. GearBest send me one sample so that I can have a close look at this interesting smartwatch and fitness tracker. I’ll start by unboxing the watch, and checkout some details that were unclear in the specifications. I received it in a retail package that calls it SMA WATCH-Q instead of SMA-Q watch with a link to the official website. On one side we’ll get the specifications, all in Chinese, but even if you can read, it’s clear the watch supports Bluetooth 4.0 and Android 4.4+ IOS7.0+ as announced in the specs, and we also learned a 150mAh battery is included, and it’s compliant with IP65 ingrees protectin ratings meaning it’s “protected from total dust ingress and low […]