CNX Software - Embedded Systems News

July 11, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Nuvoton NUC970 ARM9 Microprocessor Gets Mainline Linux Support

As I checked out the latest email on the ARM Linux kernel mailing list, one thread somehow caught my attention: “[PATCH v2 00/10] ARM: NUC900: Add NUC970 SoC support” with the following introduction: This patch series added Nuvoton new SoC NUC970 development board support, this nuc970 belongs to nuc900 series, but many features are not compatible with old nuc900 SoCs like nuc910, nuc920. I could not quite remember ever having heard about Nuvoton, and it turns out it’s a fairly recent Taiwan company, founded in 2008 as a spinoff and fully own subsidiary of the better known Winbond Electronics. Their website shows ARM Cortex M0/M4 & 8051 micro-controllers, as well as ARM7 and ARM9 micro-processors, and some other application specific audio and video SoCs. But when I checked for MUC970 I could not find anything on their website, even in NUC900 series page. But Google came to the rescue and […]

July 11, 2016July 11, 2016 by Karl Johnson - 11 Comments

Morefine M1+ Review – A Dual Boot Windows and Android TV Stick

Karl here and I will be reviewing the Morefine M1+. It is an Intel based stick PC with an Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor with 2GB RAM and 64 GB of storage. It dual boots Windows 10 Home 32 bit and Android 5.1. In this review, I won’t be doing many benchmarks because they have been done a lot in the past. Be careful when researching this product because there are 2 devices with same name with different specs. The other one has an Intel Atom z3735 and only 32GB storage and Android 4.4. The box came expertly wrapped and I have never seen a package delivered and protected so well. In the box was the stick, short HDMI extension, power cable, and instruction manual. No micro USB OTG cable is included. I didn’t find this an issue because I had several already. Specs OS Version: OS Windows 10 (Trial Version) […]

July 9, 2016July 10, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

ARNU Box Mach 10 64-bit Pure Linux TV Box Review

In part 1 of ARNU Box Mach 10 64-bit Pure Linux review, I listed the specifications, and took some pictures of the Amlogic S905 based TV box, and its board. I’ve now completed testing of this Kodi Linux media player, going though setup and add-ons, and see how it works compared to ARNU Box Mach 10 Pure Linux based on Amlogic S812 processor. Setup, Cloudword and Configuration The setup part is basically the same as on the previous model, but I’ll go through it again. Please ignore the vertical white line on the TV in the photos below, as it’s just due to my 18 months old LG 42UB820T 4K UHD television being partially broken, and out of warranty. The boot will typically take 30 seconds, but the first time, you’ll go through ARNU Box Setup Wizard. You could skip it in theory, but it’s still a good idea to […]

July 8, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Star Cloud PCG03U Bay Trail Ubuntu mini PC with 2GB RAM, 64GB Storage Sells for $90

Last year, I reviewed MeLE PCG03 mini PC with Windows 8.1. and later upgraded it to Windows 10, but the company has now started to launch Ubuntu based TV sticks and mini PCs, under their new Star Cloud brand, with for example Star Cloud PCG02U TV stick, and now they’ve just launched Star Cloud PCG03U running Ubuntu 14.04 for $89.59 shipped on Aliexpress. Star Cloud PCG03U specifications: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz / 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L Storage – 64 GB eMMC + SD card slot (up to 512 GB) Video Output – HDMI 1.4, and VGA Audio I/F – HDMI, 3.5mm earphone jack Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi up to 300 Mbps, and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 3x USB 2.0 host ports (The specs mention 1x USB 3.0 port, but it […]

July 8, 2016February 27, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

STMicro STM32 ARM Cortex M3 Boards List and Wiki

STMicro STM32 has popular Cortex-M micro-controller found in the $2 “Blue Pill” board, STMicro’s own Nucleo Board, as well as many other variants. Olavi Kamppari (OliviliK), working on hard real-time control with EmBitz IDE, has created a detailed Wiki for STMicro STM32 on Github with lots of information, including an interesting comparison table of various STM32 Cortex M3 boards (and one GD32 board). I’ve reproduced the table in his wiki below, made is sortable & filterable, and added links to Aliexpress store found in other parts of the wiki. You can find much more details about each board in the Wiki. Thanks to Zoobab for the tip.

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Samsung UFS micro SD Card Alternatives Promise High Sequential and Random I/O Performance

UFS (Universal Flash Storage) chips are now commonly found in premium smartphones, but the UFS standard has also been published for removable cards, and Samsung has just introduced their first cards based on UFS 1.0 Card Extension Standard* for use in high-resolution mobile shooting devices such as DSLRs, 3D VR cameras, action cams and drones, as a new alternative to micro SD cards. Before getting into more details about the Samsung card, let’s go through the main features defined by UFS card specifications: Based on the UFS 2.0 standard and compatible with the UFS HCI 2.0 standard Supports MIPI M-PHY HS-Gear3, HS-Gear2 (optional), and PWM-Gear1 A detailed mechanical definition is defined by the JEDEC MO-320 outline Features common to embedded UFS 2.0 devices: Support for multiple logical units, each with configurable characteristics Reliable write and background operations Secure operations such as purge and erase to enhance data security Includes write […]

July 7, 2016July 7, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

OpenCellular is Facebook’s (soon to be) Open Source Wireless Access Platform

A few months after Canonical and Lime Micro LimeSDR open source software defined radio aiming to be used as a development platform, but also as the base for low cost cellular or other wireless base stations, Facebook has announced their own open source wireless access platform with OpenCellular project whose goal is to lower the cost of Internet connectivity in remote areas where the infrastructure does not exist. This is how Marc Zuckerberg summarizes the project: We designed OpenCellular as an open system so anyone — from telecom operators to researchers to entrepreneurs — can build and operate wireless networks in remote places. It’s about the size of a shoe box and can support up to 1,500 people from as far as 10 kilometers away. Along with our solar-powered aircraft Aquila and high-bandwidth laser beams, OpenCellular is the next step on our journey to provide better, more affordable connectivity to […]

July 7, 2016July 8, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 93 Comments

Smaller & Faster than Raspberry Pi Zero: Meet NanoPi NEO ARM Linux Development Board

Raspberry Pi Zero has two noticeable attributes compared to other Raspberry Pi boards: it’s smaller and it’s cheaper. FriendlyARM has now designed another model for their NanoPi family, that about 12% smaller, although not quite as thin at all due to its Ethernet jack and USB connector, and much faster than Raspberry Pi Zero, with NanoPi NEO board powered by Allwinner H3 quad core processor. NanoPi NEO specifications: SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 @ 1.2 GHz with an ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU up to 600 MHz System Memory – 256 or 512 MB DDR3 Storage – micro SD card slot Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet USB – 1x USB 2.0 host ports, 1x micro USB OTG port, 2x USB via headers Expansion headers 24-pin header with I2C, 2x UART, SPI, PWM, and power signals 12-pin header with 2x USB, IR pin, microphone and Line OUT signals Debugging – 4-pin […]