CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

March 31, 2011March 31, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Firefox 4 for Android and Firefox Mobile for Computer

Mozilla has just released Firefox 4 for Android or Nokia N900 (Maemo) which is available for download at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/mobile/download/ and on the Android Market. Have a look at the video below to see the main features of Firefox 4 Mobile such as multiple tabs, full screen browsing (no menu), panning and zooming, firefox sync to synchronize all your devices, spam filters, add-ons, personas and more. If you do not have an Android device or Nokia N900, you can still test if your mobile website works fine as Mozilla also provides Firefox for mobile to your desktop computer for Windows, MAC OS X and Linux. I’ve try it for Windows XP. There is no installer, after you download the file, simply extract the files in C:\Program Files for example, and then run C:\Program Files\fennec\fennec.exe to start Firefox 4 Mobile on your computer, it will open a 480×800 Window. Fennec is the […]

March 30, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

New Digital Media Processor: Conexant CX92755

Conexant announced a new single-chip media processor for multimedia display products such as digital signage, home automation/security and user interface control. The CX92755 is based on ARM™ Cortex-A8 processor and NEON™ single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) engine with Linux and Android development support. The highly integrated SoC also includes an advanced HD video codec and graphics processor, integrated L1 and L2 cache, a PCI Express™ interface and DDR3 memory, The CX92755 integrates peripheral functions including a Class-D amplifier with speaker and line-out, a microphone input, back-light regulator, power supply controller and touchscreen controller. The SoC also includes an embedded high-performance graphics processor, which supports display list processing, alpha blending, and color key control for advanced user interface operation and display effects. the CX92755 also support the major network connectivity standards such as Wi-Fi®, 3G, Bluetooth® and integrated Ethernet. The SoC also integrates Conexant’s HSSD/Smart DAA® (Direct Access Arrangement) interface, and […]

March 29, 2011March 29, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

AMD G-Series based Digital Signage: Ibase SI-18

Ibase announced a digital signage player – the Signature Book SI-18 – based on the dual-core AMD G-Series T56N running at 1.6 GHz. The IBase SI-18 is currently sold with 2GB RAM and a 160GB 2.5″ HDD, but it can support up to 4GB of RAM and 1TB of disk storage. It also features DVI output, gigabit Ethernet, two USB ports, an audio jack, a serial port and a Mini PCI slot for Wi-Fi or Bluetooth support. The device weights 800g and just measures 125.5mm (W) x 125.5mm (L) x 36 mm (H). IBase claims it is the smallest x86 digital signage player in the world. Ibase SI-18 Digital Signage Player Here are Ibase SI-18 specifications: System Mainboard EB900 CPU Type AMD G-Series Dual-Core APU (Accelerated Processing Unit): T56N=1.6GHz @ 18W TDP CPU Package 413-BGA Chipset AMD A55E Controller Hub Memory DDR3-1066 Graphics ATi Radeon HD6310 series graphics processing system […]

March 28, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Installing Linaro ARM Cross Toolchain on Ubuntu

You can easily install Linaro arm cross-compiler on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid), 10.10 (Maverick) and 11.04 (Natty) as follows: sudo apt-get install gcc-arm-linux-gnueabi This will install Linaro cross-toolchain version 4.4 on Ubuntu 10.04 and 10.10, and version 4.5 on Ubuntu 11.04. You can check the installation worked by checking the cross-compiler version jaufranc@CNX-TOWER:~$ arm-linux-gnueabi-gcc -v Using built-in specs. Target: arm-linux-gnueabi Configured with: ../src/configure -v –with-pkgversion=’Ubuntu/Linaro 4.4.4-14ubuntu4′ –with-bugurl=file:///usr/share/doc/gcc-4.4/README.Bugs –enable-languages=c,c++,fortran,objc,obj-c++ –prefix=/usr –program-suffix=-4.4 –enable-shared –enable-multiarch –enable-linker-build-id –with-system-zlib –libexecdir=/usr/lib –without-included-gettext –enable-threads=posix –with-gxx-include-dir=/usr/arm-linux-gnueabi/include/c++/4.4.5 –libdir=/usr/lib –enable-nls –enable-clocale=gnu –enable-libstdcxx-debug –enable-objc-gc –disable-sjlj-exceptions –with-arch=armv7-a –with-float=softfp –with-fpu=vfpv3-d16 –with-mode=thumb –disable-werror –enable-checking=release –program-prefix=arm-linux-gnueabi- –includedir=/usr/arm-linux-gnueabi/include –build=i686-linux-gnu –host=i686-linux-gnu –target=arm-linux-gnueabi –with-headers=/usr/arm-linux-gnueabi/include –with-libs=/usr/arm-linux-gnueabi/lib Thread model: posix gcc version 4.4.5 (Ubuntu/Linaro 4.4.4-14ubuntu4) You can also install the latest version 4.5 (recommended) on Lucid and Maverick: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linaro-maintainers/toolchain sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install gcc-4.5-arm-linux-gnueabi If you are using an ARM platform running Ubuntu 10.10 or higher, you could also use the native GCC compiler. sudo apt-get install […]

March 25, 2011March 25, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Temperature Data Logging with TI eZ430-Chronos Watch

I wanted to record 24-hour of temperature data with eZ430-Chronos devkit and draw the result in a spreadsheet to see how the temperature evolves during the day. Here are the instructions to do so. 1. Update firmware to Chronos Datalogger. In order to record temperature data in your eZ430-Chronos development kit, you’ll need to update the firmware to use Chronos Datalogger. First start the Chronos Control Center, click on the Wireless Update tab, click on browse to select the Chronos Datalogger firmware file matching your hardware. In my case, I selected C:\Program Files\Texas Instruments\eZ430-Chronos\Recovery\Chronos Watch\Applications\eZ430_Chronos_Datalogger_433MHz_1_5.txt. Then click on Update Chronos Watch. On the watch, press the # button several time to enter rFbSl mode and press the down button to start the wireless update. 2. Configure the watch for temperature logging. Now start Chronos Data Logger software, click on Start Access Point. On your watch, press the # button to […]

March 24, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Wysips Transparent solar charger built into displays

Wysips, a company based in the south of France, developed a thin transparent photovoltaic film that can be used to charge smartphones, e-book, tablet and even laptop. They were at CTIA 2011 and were interview by laptopmag. Their transparent photovoltaic strip is 100 micrometer thick and can be used with touchscreen and 3D displays. It can provide 250mW for smartphone by continuously charging the device (6 hours of outdoor light) and possibly removing the need for charger. The cost for smartphones would be 1 USD, which could potentially be offset by a smaller battery. They are currently working with handset manufacturer and expect products using their technology to hit the market within 12 months. The next version due in 2012 should provide enough power for 30 minutes of talk time after one hour of charging.

March 23, 2011April 6, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Archos Gen9 Tablets Coming in June 2011

During the investor conference on 18th March 2011, Archos announced they will release their Gen9 Android Tablets in June 2011 with 4 key differentiators compared to the competition: Plastic-overmolded stainless steel structure: Thinner, lighter and stronger tablet enclosure Better cost-effectiveness than competing solutions Patented techno used since Gen 7 in 2009 ARCHOS alone to use Hard Disks in tablets: Deep redesign of Android ARCHOS has a long experience in using HD’s for mobile devices Price: 250 GB HD = 32 GB Flash Memory ARCHOS 1st to use ARM Dual Core A9 @ 1.6 GHz Forefront competition limited to ARM Dual Core A9 @ 1GHz (iPad 2, Xoom All Gen 9 tablets targeted at 1.6 GHz All Gen 9 tablets targeted at 1.6 GHz New disruptive 3G modem solution for tablets Will allow ARCHOS to make headway into telcos Implemented in all Gen 9 tablets Patent pending Since Archos Gen8 were […]

March 22, 2011 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Texas Instruments eZ430-Chronos Wireless Watch Unboxing

I’ve just received the eZ430-Chronos development tool I ordered last week (after 2 working days) by Fedex. Today, I’ll just post some pictures of the kit and provide some descriptions. There is a woman jogging on the box because you can actually buy a chest strap to monitor your speed, heart beat and calories consumption. If you would like to purchase one (49 Euros), it is available at http://www.bm-innovations.com/index.php/shop_products.html. Apparently there are only 868MHz (EU) and 915MHz (USA) versions, and they do not sell the strap for the 433MHz (international) version as I have. The watch is normally turned off the first time you open the box, it’s just turned on on the picture because I used it before taking the pictures. The content of the box includes: eZ430-Chronos wireless watch eZ430 USB programming and debugging interface (Bottom left) CC1111 USB RF access point (Bottom right on top of the […]