Author: Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Archos 70 Internet Tablet Video Review

Archos 70 Internet Tablet Video Review

Archos as just released a new 7″ Android Tablet. This device costs around 275 USD (249 Euros), which is a pretty good price for a device based on an ARM Cortex A8 at 1 GHz running Android 2.2, a capacitive touch screen (800×480), HDMI output (Up to 720p), built-in wifi (802.11n) and bluetooth 2.1 as well as a front facing camera. Bear in mind that you won’t be able to take pictures or videos with this device since there is no camera on the back of the device. Go to Archos website to get the full technical specs of Archos 70. Here are two videos of the device by Charbax. The first video shows web browser, video playback, google app market place, video playback on TV thru HDMI and facebook. The second video shows the dolphin web browser used with a bluetooth keyboard, video chat with fring (still have some […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on How to check open files for a process

How to check open files for a process

While debugging your program, you may encounter the message “Too many open files”. One way to fix the issue could be to review your code and check open, fopen, socket and pipe calls are matched with close and fclose calls, but with large projects this may be cumbersome. A better way is to list the open files using the proc filesystem. I’ll use VirtualBox program as an example since this is running in our server. First, locate the process ID (PID): pgrep VirtualBox 3901 3950 Then list the file descriptor opened for process 3901 sudo ls -l /proc/3901/fd total 0 lrwx—— 1 root root 64 2010-10-05 14:52 0 -> /dev/pts/1 lrwx—— 1 root root 64 2010-10-05 14:52 1 -> /dev/pts/1 lr-x—— 1 root root 64 2010-10-05 14:52 10 -> pipe:[15825] l-wx—— 1 root root 64 2010-10-05 14:52 11 -> pipe:[15825] lr-x—— 1 root root 64 2010-10-05 14:52 12 -> pipe:[15829] […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Netgem Set-top-box N5000 – Toshiba Places

Netgem Set-top-box N5000 – Toshiba Places

Mid-september, Netgem showcased their new set-top box at IBC 2010: the Netbox N5000 Internet/TV Adaptor. A modified version of this Set-top box will be used by Toshiba (Toshiba places) and be available for purchase for 99 Euros starting in October 2010 in France and later in 2011 in some other Europeans countries. [ad#Google Adsense – Wide Banner] First let’s have a look at the casing (Not the one used by Toshiba places). The front panel has the Power LED, a USB port and the remote sensor. They’ll either provide Infrared or RF remotes depending on the end customer requirements. The back of the set-top box features TV In/Out, Digital Audio (S/PDIF) output, HDMI output, an Ethernet port and the power jack (+12V). Their product brief also mentions a USB port on the rear as an option and Wifi support (802.11n). The Netbox N5000 hardware is based on Sigma Designs SMP8655 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Resources for Telechips TCC890x: TCC8900 & TCC8902

Resources for Telechips TCC890x: TCC8900 & TCC8902

Telechips TCC 890x is now widely used in low cost Android Tablets among other applications (automotive, portable media player..). Here’s the description provided by Telechips: The TCC890x is a system LSI for digital multimedia applications based on ARM1176JZF-S, an ARM’s proprietary RISC CPU core. It is designed for high-end multimedia entertainment devices such as car AVN, portable multimedia player and home entertainment. The TCC890x supports decoding and encoding various types of video and audio standards with software and dedicated hardware codecs including JPEG / MPEG1 / MPEG2 / MPEG4 / H.264 / VC-1 up to Full HD (1080p) and MP3 / WMA / EAAC+ / AC3, etc. In addition, TCC890x offers a hardwired 3D graphic accelerator to enrich next generation GUI and other graphical applications. Although, Telechips claims to support WinCE, Embedded Linux and Android, they now fully focus on Android development giving other OSes a lower priority. However, the development board […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on D-link Boxee Box available for pre-order

D-link Boxee Box available for pre-order

D-link Boxee set-top-box is available for  pre-order on amazon for 199 USD. It can only be pre-ordered to addresses in the US for now and shipments should start in November. D-Link disclosed that its device is based on an Intel Atom processor CE4100 (Sodaville), not an ARM or MIPS processor as many other STBs do. It is running on embedded Linux. Key features listed by D-Link for the device (beside its weird shape) are basically those of the Boxee media-streaming software on which it’s based: Enjoy thousands of shows available for free from your favorite networks, ready to watch at any time Check-out free movies from the web & watch new releases in stunning HD from premium movie services Play videos, songs, or pictures from your computer or home network Plays any non-DRM video, music, and photos and media from anywhere on the Internet The device features the following input/output and […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on List the dynamic libraries used by a program

List the dynamic libraries used by a program

In order to know which dynamic libraries a particular binary is using, just type ldd. For example with busybox: sh-3.00# ldd /bin/busybox /bin/busybox: is setuid libcrypt.so.0 => /lib/libcrypt.so.0 (0x2aaed000) libm.so.0 => /lib/libm.so.0 (0x2ab41000) libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x2ab9c000) libc.so.0 => /lib/libc.so.0 (0x2abeb000) ld-uClibc.so.0 => /lib/ld-uClibc.so.0 (0x2aaa8000) Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Internet TVs at IFA Berlin

Internet TVs at IFA Berlin

Even though Android tablets were widely hyped, IFA also had other interesting devices on display. Among them, internet TV is starting to take off. I would have expected some Android set-top box to be shown off, but some manufacturers may prefer to attend IBC 2010 10-14 September 2010. Interestingly the 2 videos below only provide integrated internet Tvs, i.e. without external set-top box. Philips demo’ed an improved version of Net TV, a standard for internet television. Here’s the LG’s Smart TV system for Web-TV and apps on High Definition Television. They have a really cool “magic” remote. (Wii-like remote). This is still a prototype but it looks promising. Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011. www.cnx-software.com

UP 7000 x86 SBC