Category: Operating Systems

Operating Systems used in Embedded Devices

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Mediatek MT6589 Linux Source Code, CyanogenMod 11 Image for Wiko Stairway Smartphone

Mediatek MT6589 Linux Source Code, CyanogenMod 11 Image for Wiko Stairway Smartphone

Mediatek and their customers have still not gotten into the habit of complying with the GPL license, and releasing the relevant source code such as the Linux kernel. There appears to be at least one smartphone, Wiko Stairway, where the Linux kernel has been released, and chrmhoffmann, a members of XDA developers forums, has even released on unofficial CyanogenMod 11 ROM (Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat) for the device. There are three source repositories for the Linux kernel, “android device“, and Android. I’ve only looked into the kernel which is version 3.4.5. Mediatek has apparently messed up the Linux kernel quite a bit, and you’ll have to do some funny things to build the kernel, and all Mediatek options in menuconfig are in a sub-section called “Mediatek Properitary Configuration” (sic.), and it’s not possible to simply go to System Type menu to change the processor type for instance. Let’s get the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Kontron SMARC-sXBTi is a SMARC Module Powered by Intel Atom E3800 Series SoC

Kontron SMARC-sXBTi is a SMARC Module Powered by Intel Atom E3800 Series SoC

Kontrol has unveiled a computers-on-module based on the SMARC standard, previously ULP-COM, based on Intel Atom E3800 “Bay Trail-I” SoCs with up to 8GB LPDD3 memory, up to 64GB SSD, and support for various interface. After having released SMARC modules based on TI, Freescale and Nvidia last year, the company claims their SMARC-xXBTi is the first ever x86 CoM compatible with SMARC. SMARC-sXBT(i) specifications: SoC – Intel Atom E3800 “Bay Trail-I” with Intel Gen 7 Graphics System Memory – Up to 8GB DDR3L-1067/1333 (1.35V) with optional ECC Storage – 2-32 GB eMMC (SLC), 4-64GB for (MLC), 1x or 2x SATA 3Gb/s, 2x SDIO interfaces Display HDMI 1.4 up to 2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz 18/24-bit single channel LVDS  up to 1366 x 768 (Optional eDP to have higher resolutions) Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (Intel Springville I210) USB – 1x USB 3.0 (via AFB), 2x USB 2.0, and optional USB OTG. […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on $120 Raspberry Pi Bundle with LCD Display, Expansion Boards, Cables, and Accessories

$120 Raspberry Pi Bundle with LCD Display, Expansion Boards, Cables, and Accessories

Yesterday, Element14 has announced Wolfson Audio Card for the Raspberry Pi which adds multiple audio inputs and outputs to the low cost ARM Linux board, as it has been widely reported in the blogosphere.  I’ve just mentioned it in case you missed it, as instead I’m going to write about a bundle with the Raspberry Pi Model B, lots of expansion boards, cables, and accessories  such as a power supply, or a remote control that can be purchased for $120. It may not be useful if you only have a specific project in mind, but if you want to play around and interface with lots of different hardware, or even offer electronics lessons, it could be interesting. The complete kit includes: Raspberry Pi Model B with 512 MB RAM. Acrylic Case for RPi  (not shown above) Expansions boards and modules: DVK511 Expansion Board with headers, jumpers, LEDs, and potentiometer 2.2″ […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments on Dedicated Hosting Services on ARM Development Boards (Cubieboard2, Raspberry Pi, ODROID…)

Dedicated Hosting Services on ARM Development Boards (Cubieboard2, Raspberry Pi, ODROID…)

At least two companies have recently launched hosting services using dedicated ARM servers based on low cost development boards: NanoXion with its NX-BOX service powered by PiBox (Raspberry Pi) and CubieBox (Cubieboard 2) microservers, and miniNodes with servers based on Cubieboard2 first, then ODROID development boards, and possibly AllWinner OptimusBoard once/if it becomes available. The PiBox will feature a Raspberry Pi Model B with 512 MB RAM, and 16GB Class 10 UHS-1 microSD card by Samsung, and the dual core Cubiebox comes with 1GB RAM and a Crucial M500 SATA III 120GB SSD. Both NX-BOXes run Linux Debian Server NX distribution, support instant remote reboot, with guaranteed 10 Mbps connectivity for IPv4 & IPv6, and unlimited bandwidth. The boards are all hosted in France. The company expects their ARM servers to be used as private cloud servers, backup servers, private chat servers, web servers, mail servers, DNS Servers, monitoring servers, and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on ITEAD Studio IBOX Powered by AllWinner A20 Features a 32-Pin Hacker-Friendly Connector (Crowdfunding)

ITEAD Studio IBOX Powered by AllWinner A20 Features a 32-Pin Hacker-Friendly Connector (Crowdfunding)

ITEAD Studio IBOX is a mini computer powered by AllWinner A20 dual core Cortex A7 processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB Flash, a few USB connectors, Ethernet and video/audio connector. This mini pc can run both Android & Linux, and features a 32-pin connector that allows to connect expansion boards. Let’s have a look at the specifications: SoC- AllWinner A20 dual core ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1 GHz + ARM Mali 400 MP2 System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 4GB NAND Flash + microsd slot Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – HDMI, optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet USB – 3x USB 2.0 host port, 1x USB OTG port (full size) Expansion – 32-pin proprietary connector with TV OUT, USB, LCD, UART, IR, CSI, SPI, SATA, GPIOS and power signals. Misc – LED , IR sensor, and U-boot button (FEL mode?) Power – 5V/2A 9V/2A Dimensions – 145 x […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Huawei Kirin 920 Octa-core big.LITTLE ARM SoC Benchmarked

Huawei Kirin 920 Octa-core big.LITTLE ARM SoC Benchmarked

Huawei / Hisilicon Kirin 920 application processor has yet to be formally announced, but in the last few days, more details have surfaced. Huawei SoC will feature an octa-core processor with four ARM Cortex A7 and four Cortex A15 cores in big.LITTLE configuration, together with a Mali-628MP4 GPU and a 4G LTE modem. There’s also Kirin 910 with 4 cores @ 1.6 to 1.8 GHz and Mali-450MP4 GPU. The big.LITTLE processor will support DDR3 memory up to 800 MHz, cameras up to 32MP, screens up to WQXGA resolution (2560×1600), and be manufactured using 28nm process technology. According to AndroidPC.es it should be found in Huawei Ascend D3 smartphone to be released this September. A device called HUAWEI H300 has shown up in Antutu showing a score 37,363 with Kirin 920 SoC, just a few points shy of the score for hardware powered by Snapdragon 805 (37,780) with four Krait 450 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on PC Engines APU System Boards Feature AMD G-Series T40E APU, 3 Gigabit Ethernet Ports

PC Engines APU System Boards Feature AMD G-Series T40E APU, 3 Gigabit Ethernet Ports

Up to now there were basically two embedded board based on x86 architecture available to hobbyists: Gizmo Board (AMD T40E) and Minnowboard (Intel Atom). There’s now another solution with PC Engines system boards, namely APU.1C and APU.1C4, that comes with AMD G-Series T40E dual core APU, 2 to 4 GB RAM, 3 Gigabit Ethernet ports, an mSATA connector, and more. Contrary to the other two boards however, there’s no video output, and that makes these APU boards suitable for routers, firewalls, VOIP, dedicated servers, special purpose network plumbing, etc.. PC Engines APU boards specifications: APU – AMD G -Series T40E dual core APU @ 1 GHz with 64 bit support, 32K data + 32K instruction + 512KB L2 cache per core, with Radeon HD6250 GPU. System Memory APU.1C – 2 GB DDR3-1066 DRAM APU.1C4 – 4 GB DDR3-1066 DRAM Storage – SD card (connected through USB), m-SATA, and one SATA […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 42 Comments on Amlogic GPL Source Code Release – Kernel 3.10, U-Boot, and Drivers (Wi-Fi, NAND, TVIN, Mali GPU)

Amlogic GPL Source Code Release – Kernel 3.10, U-Boot, and Drivers (Wi-Fi, NAND, TVIN, Mali GPU)

Last month, I noticed Amlogic provided links to the Android SDK for S802 / M802 on their open source website, but the only way to get the source was to share your SSH public with Amlogic, so that they give you access. It did not happen, but the company has released the source for Linux 3.10.10, U-boot 2011.03, Realtek and Broadcom Wi-Fi drivers, NAND drivers, “TVIN”drivers, and kernel space GPU drivers for Mali-400 / 450 GPU. There are also some customer board files for Meson 6 only (AML8726-MX / M6) but they do not seem to match the kernel… If you want to build the kernel, including the drivers, you’ll need to download a bunch of files: wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/kernel/arm-src-kernel-2014-03-06-d5d0557b2b.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/wifi/rtk8192du-2014-03-06-7f70d95d29.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/wifi/rtk8192eu-2014-03-06-9766866350.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/wifi/rtk8192cu-2014-03-06-54bde7d73d.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/wifi/rtk8188eu-2014-03-06-2462231f02.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/wifi/brcmap6xxx-2014-03-06-302aca1a31.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/wifi/wifi-fw-2014-03-06-d3b2263640.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/modules/aml_tvin-2014-03-06-fb3ba6b1c8.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/modules/aml_nand-2014-03-06-39095c4296.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/customer/aml_customer-2014-03-06-76ce689191.tar.gz wget http://openlinux.amlogic.com:8000/download/ARM/gpu/gpu-2014-03-06-0425a1f681.tar.gz You’ll need to extract these tarballs in specific directories:

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