Installing Ubuntu 17.04 on CHUWI LapBook 14.1 Apollo Lake Laptop

[Update: The instructions below do not work with the newly manufactured models because CHUWI completely changed the hardware The company also disabled the Linux option in the BIOS (See comments in this post) So you may need to use rEFInd boot manager or isorepin.sh script to install Linux (and some drivers may still not work out of the box) ] Since I’ve completed the review of CHUWI LapBook 14.1 with Windows 10 last week-end, I’ve decided to give it a try with a Linux distribution, and I chose to go with a daily build of Ubuntu 17.04 since we’ve seen Apollo Lake platforms need a recent Linux kernel. While Ubuntu 17.04 will be officially release in April 2017, likely with Linux 4.10, the current (alpha) build comes with Linux 4.9. I had already quickly booted Ubuntu 17.04 on the Laptop from a USB drive flashed using Rufus right after the […]

GIGABYTE EL-30 Apollo Lake Fanless IoT Gateway Powered by Intel Pentium N4200 to Launch in Q2 2017

GIGABYTE will soon introduce their EL-30 “Intel Apollo Lake IoT Gateway Solution” powered by a quad core Intel Pentium N4200 with 32GB storage, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, dual HDMI ports, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as a mini PCIe slot for 3G module or mSATA storage, and an optional Zigbee module. GIGABYTE EL-30 specifications: SoC – Intel Pentium processor N4200 with 4 cores, 4 threads @ 1.10 – 2.50 GHz with 2MB L2 cache, 18EU Intel HD Graphics 505 (6W TDP) System Memory – 2x SO-DIMM slots for DDR3L 1600/1866MHz memory up to 8GB Storage -32GB eMMC flash + 1x SD card slot + optional mSATA module Video Output – 2x HDMI 1.4b ports up to 3840×2160@30 Hz Audio – Via HDMI ports, 3.5mm audio jack (headphone + mic), Realtek ALC255 audio codec Connectivity 2x GbE LAN ports (Realtek RTL8111HS) Pre-installed WiFi + Bluetooth module in half-size mini PCIe […]

e-con Systems Launches e-CAM130_CUTX1 Ultra HD Camera for Nvidia Jetson TX1 Development Board

e-con Systems, an embedded camera solution company, has just announced the launch of e-CAM130_CUTX1 MIPI camera board for NVIDIA Jetson Tegra X1 development kit. The 13MP camera is based on On Semiconductor AR1820 CMOS image sensor, connects to TX1 board via its 4-lane MIPI CSI-2 connector, and supporting up to 3840 x 2160 @ 30fps/ 13MP@ 20 fps video streaming in uncompressed YUV format. e-CAM130_CUTX1 4K camera board features & specifications: Sensor – 1/2.3″ Optical form factor AR1820HS sensor with on-board high performance ISP. Focus Type – Fixed focus Resolution: – 13MP on e-CAM130_CUTX1 (The sensor is capable of 18MP) Pixel size – 1.25μm pixel with Aptina / ON Semiconductor A-PixHS with BSI technology and advanced pixel architecture Sensor Active Area – 4912(H) x 3684(V) Responsivity – 0.62 V/lux-sec (545nm); SNR: 36.3 dB; Dynamic Range: 65.8 dB Output Format – Uncompressed YUV422 format and compressed MJPEG format. YUV422 resolutions: VGA @ […]

PINE64 Introduces SOPINE A64 Allwinner A64 SoM and SOPINE “Model A” Baseboard

SOPINE-A64-Model-A-Carrier-Board

Following yesterday’s Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3 launch, we have a new development board turned into system-on-module (SoM) today with PINE64 launching SOPINE A64 SO-DIMM module based on Allwinner A64 processor with 2GB RAM together with SOPINE “Model A” baseboard. SOPINE A64 CPU module specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB LPDDR3 Storage – 128 Mbit SPI flash, micro SD slot (on the back) I/Os via 204-pin SO-DIMM edge connector Video Output / Display – HDMI + CEC, MIPI DSI Audio – I2S, HP, headphone, microphone 2x USB 1x Gigabit Ethernet (RGMII) UART, I2C, PWM, GPIOs, etc… Power Supply – AXP803 PMIC Dimensions – 67.9 x 31.0 mm (DDR3 SO-DIMM form factor) SOPINE A64 will basically run the same firmware as used for PINE A64+ development board, except for some modifications for LPDDR3 RAM support. Support operating […]

Self-hosted OpenGL ES Development on Ubuntu Touch

Blu wrote BQ Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition review – from a developer’s perspective – last year, and now is back with a new post explaining how to develop and deploy OpenGL ES applications directly on the Ubuntu Touch tablet. Ever since I started using a BQ M10 for console apps development on the go I’ve been wanting to get something, well, flashier going on that tablet. Since I’m a graphics developer by trade and by heart, GLES was the next step on the Ubuntu Touch for me. This article is about writing, building and deploying GLES code on Ubuntu Touch itself, sans a desktop PC. Keep that in mind if some procedure seems unrefined or straight primitive to you – for one, I’m a primitive person, but some tools available on the desktop are, in my opinion, impractical on the Touch itself. That means no QtCreator today, nor Qt, for […]

LicheePi One Allwinner A13 ARM Linux Board is Equipped with LCD Display and Camera Interfaces

Allwinner A13 – repackaged as Allwinner R8 – single core Cortex A8 processor is used in $9 C.H.I.P board with 512MB, 4GB storage, WiFi and Bluetooth, and I/Os. Now a Chinese company has created a new Allwinner A13 board called Lichee Pi that appears especially suited to drive LCD displays thanks to its 40-pin LCD RGB connector, but it also comes with WiFi & Bluetooth, a micro SD slot, and some I/Os. Lichee Pi One board (preliminary/tentative) specifications: SoC – Allwinner A13 ARM Cortex A8 processor @ 1.0 GHz with Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 512MB DDR3 RAM Storage – 2x micro SD slot Display Interface – 40-pin RGB LCD connector, with 8080 interface, VGA and LVDS supported via add-on board Camera – 24-pin CSI interface Audio – 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – Optional 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth via RTL8723BU module (Multiplexed with USB 2.0 host port) USB – […]

$25 NanoPi A64 is a Compact Yet Features Packed Allwinner A64 Development Board

FriendlyARM has had a very busy year with their NanoPi boards, and they are completing the year by launching NanoPi A64 development board based on Allwinner A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor with 1GB RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, USB ports and more. NanoPi A64 board specifications: SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 @ 648MHz to 1.152GHz with an ARM Mali400 MP2 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 1x micro SD slot Video Output / Display IF – HDMI 1.4 port,  30-pin MIPI DSI connector Audio – HDMI, 3.5mm audio jack Connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet port (RTL8211E), 802.11 b/g/n WiFi USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x micro USB port for power only Camera – 24-pin DVP camera interface Debugging – 4-pin debug UART header Expansion 40-pin mostly Raspberry Pi compatible header with UART, SPI, I2C, PWM, GPIOs, etc… 7-pin I2S header Misc – IR Receiver, 1x […]

How to Use Sonoff POW ESP8266 WiFi Power Switch with MQTT and ThingSpeak

ITEAD Studio’s Sonoff is a family of cheap home automation products based on ESP8266 WiSoC, and I’ve already tested Sonoff TH16 wireless switch with a humidity and temperature sensor using the stock firmware and eWelink app for Android or iOS. It works, but up to recently it required a registration to a cloud service (the company will now allow use from the local network), and the source code is closed. So for the second device under review, namely Sonoff POW wireless switch with a power consumption monitor, I decided to install ESPurna firmware working on ESP8266 Sonoff devices and NodeMCU, as it’s open source, supports Sonoff POW natively, includes a web interface to control the device from the LAN, and includes an MQTT client. MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is a lightweight publish/subscribe messaging protocol used to control IoT sensors and devices, and it’s a popular method to gather data […]