Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments on BusKill USB kill cord protects data on Linux, Windows, Mac OS devices

BusKill USB kill cord protects data on Linux, Windows, Mac OS devices

BusKill USB Kill cord

Data is can be extremely valuable, so Alt Shift designed the BusKill USB kill cord that will automatically execute a user-configurable trigger when your machine is physically separated from you. It can be especially useful to journalists and activists that may get their devices seized by the government, crypto traders, military personnel, or travelers with sensitive data. BusKill is basically just a USB cable attached to the computer via a magnetic breakaway and to the user, for instance to a belt loop, and that will trigger a configurable Python script if the cable is detached while BusKill software is armed. BusKill is made up of four hardware components with a custom magnetic breakaway, a standard USB extension cable, and a USB thumb drive attached to a carabiner via a keyring. I could not find a clear explanation for the USB thumb drive in this system, but I can only assume […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Qualcomm unveils third generation Snapdragon 8cx and 7c+ compute platforms

Qualcomm unveils third generation Snapdragon 8cx and 7c+ compute platforms

Snapdragon 8cx Gen3 features

Qualcomm has introduced the third generation of the Snapdragon 8cx and 7c compute platforms with the high-end 5nm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor offers up to 85% faster CPU and 60% faster GPU performance compared to Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, while the Snapdragon 7c+ Gen 3, designed for entry-level and mid-range laptops and Chromebooks, is said to gain up to 60% CPU performance and achieve up to 70% faster GPU performance uplift compared to the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2. Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx specifications: CPU – Qualcomm Kryo 64-bit CPU. Details based on Anandtech live blog from the Snapdragon Tech Summit: 4x 3.0 GHz Prime cores 4x 2.4 GHz Efficiency Cores 14MB Total Cache (8MB L3+6MB System cache) Performance: +40% for single-thread, +85% for multi-thread GPU – Unnamed Adreno GPU with DirectX 12 (DX12) API support DSP – Qualcomm Hexagon Processor, Qualcomm Sensing Hub AI – Qualcomm […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on Kano PC 11.6-inch Windows 10 Laptop for kids sold for $99.99 (Promo)

Kano PC 11.6-inch Windows 10 Laptop for kids sold for $99.99 (Promo)

Kano PC $100 laptop

Kano PC is a laptop designed for kids with an 11.6-inch touchscreen display, a Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor coupled with 4GB RAM, and 64GB eMMC flash, and running Windows 10. Nothing really special here, except for the price. Kano PC would normally sell for $299.99, but BestBuy offers it for just $99.99, which makes it an incredible deal, at least if you are based in the US, or you purchase through a forwarder. Let’s see what you could get for just under $100 with Kano PC specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N4000 dual-core Gemini Lake processor @ 1.10 GHz with Intel UHD graphics; 6W TDP System Memory – 4GB DDR3L RAM Storage – 64GB eMMC flash, MicroSD slot Display – 11.6″ touchscreen display with 1366 x 768 resolution Audio – 3.5mm headphone jack, 3.5mm speaker level jack, 1x microphone Video – 1x HDMI port Connectivity – Dual-band Wi-Fi […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Intel NUC P14E Laptop Element features Intel NUC 11 Compute Element

Intel NUC P14E Laptop Element features Intel NUC 11 Compute Element

Intel NUC Laptop NUC 11 Compute Element

Intel NUC P14E Laptop Element is a 13-9-inch modular laptop equipped with the same Intel NUC 11 Compute Element found in the Intel NUC 11 Enthusiast Phantom Canyon NUC11PHKi7C. The NUC 11 Compute Element “Elk Bay” is a U-Series Compute Element (95 x 65 x 6 mm) offered with a choice of Tiger Lake processors ranging from an Intel Celeron 6305 chip to a Core i7-1185G7 processor combined with up to 16GB RAM.  The card also includes a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 module, a Gigabit Ethernet transceiver, and supports PCIe x4 Gen 3 and Thunderbolt 4. Intel NUC P14E Laptop Element (CMCN1CC) specifications: Computer module – NUC 11 Compute Element with 11th generation Tiger Lake Celeron to Core-i7 processor 4 GB to 16 GB LPDDR4x 4266 MHz 256 Mbit Flash EEPROM with Intel Platform Innovation Framework for EFI Plug and Play Intel AX201 wireless module for WiFi 6 up […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Loongson’s first LoongArch processors – 3A5000 for computers, 3C5000L for servers

Loongson’s first LoongArch processors – 3A5000 for computers, 3C5000L for servers

Loongson 3A5000

Loongson has officially launched the first processors based on LoongArch CPU instruction set architecture designed for made-in-China SoCs without the need to license technology made outside of China. Loongsoon LS3C5000L  (3C5000L) 16-core server processor clocked at up to 2.5 GHz is now official and is apparently comprised of four LS3A5000 (3A5000) LoongArch processors designed for desktop computers and laptops. Loongson 3A5000 CnTechPost reports Loongson 3A5000 quad-core 64-bit GS464V processor runs at 2.3GHz-2.5GHz. GS464V microarchitecture comes with four fixed-point units, two 256-bit vector operations units, and two access memory units. The processor also includes two 64-bit DDR4-3200 controllers with ECC checksum support, as well as four HyperTransport 3.0 controllers with multi-processor data consistency support. Performance-wise, Loongson 3A5000 is said to achieve 26+ points in the single-core and floating-point SPEC CPU2006 benchmarks, and over 80 in the multi-core version of the benchmarks. That’s about 50 percent higher performance than the previous pin-compatible […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on Intel Alder Lake hybrid mobile processor family to range from 5W to 55W TDP (leak)

Intel Alder Lake hybrid mobile processor family to range from 5W to 55W TDP (leak)

Intel Alder Lake Mobile Hybrid Processors

Intel’s first foray into hybrid processors using Foveros 3D stacking technology did not end well with the company just announcing the end of the life for Lakefield hybrid processors. But the company is not giving up on hybrid technology, and a recent leak shows the Intel Alder Lake family comprised of more powerful mobile hybrid processors will be offered for a wide range of applications from tablets with 5-7W M5 processors and up to “muscle laptops” or mobile workstations (MWS) with H55 processor at 45-55W TDP. Alder Lake hybrid processors will be comprised of high-performance CPU “Golden Cove” cores and energy-efficient Atom-based “Gracemont” CPU cores, in a way that’s similar to Arm’s Cortex-A7x big cores and Cortex-A5x LITTLE cores with big.LITTLE or DynamIQ processing with the goal of optimizing power consumption. The Intel Alder Lake Mobile SKU stack includes processors for 6 market segments including three “new” segments/TDP ranges according […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Linux 5.13 Release – Notable changes, Arm, MIPS and RISC-V architectures

Linux 5.13 Release – Notable changes, Arm, MIPS and RISC-V architectures

Linux 5.13 release

Linus Torvalds has just announced the release of Linux 5.13: So we had quite the calm week since rc7, and I see no reason to delay 5.13. The shortlog for the week is tiny, with just 88 non-merge commits (and a few of those are just reverts). It’s a fairly random mix of fixes, and being so small I’d just suggest people scan the appended shortlog for what happened. Of course, if the last week was small and calm, 5.13 overall is actually fairly large. In fact, it’s one of the bigger 5.x releases, with over 16k commits (over 17k if you count merges), from over 2k developers. But it’s a “big all over” kind of thing, not something particular that stands out as particularly unusual. Some of the extra size might just be because 5.12 had that extra rc week. And with 5.13 out the door, that obviously means […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Topton L4 mini laptop comes with a 7-inch 1024 x 600 display

Topton L4 mini laptop comes with a 7-inch 1024 x 600 display

7-inch touch screen mini laptop

I remember many years ago, I had an Acer Aspire One D255E netbook with a 10.1-inch display with 1024 x 600 resolution. I liked its portability, but the performance was rather poor and I got headaches with the 600-pixel vertical resolution, and some badly designed programs, such as USB firmware flashing tools, would not show fully on the display and be unusable. Well almost ten years later, I’m happy to report you too can experience the same pain, with Topton L4 mini laptop equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen display offering a 1024 x 600 resolution. On the plus side, it comes with an Intel Celeron J3455 processor, 8GB RAM, and up to 1TB SSD storage, as well as a webcam and Lenovo TrackPoint-like pointing stick both of which are pretty rare on 7-inch laptops. Topton L4 mini laptop specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J3455 quad-core Apollo Lake processor @  1.50 […]