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 QNAP TS-216G 2-bay NAS features a quad-core Arm processor with NPU for image sorting and searching

QNAP TS-216G 2-bay NAS features a quad-core Arm processor with NPU for image sorting and searching

QNAP TS-216G

QNAP TS-216G 2-bay NAS features a quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor with an NPU for AI-powered photo management, 4GB RAM, 2.5GbE and GbE networking ports, two hot-swappable 3.5-inch SATA bay, and a few USB ports. It looks to be an update to the Rockchip RK3566-powered QNAP TS-133/TS-223 with more memory (4GB vs 2GB) and more advanced networking capability (2.5GbE+GbE vs GbE only), while still keeping the object and face recognition capabilities. QNAP TS-216G specifications: SoC – Unnamed but likely Rockchip RK3566 CPU – Quad-core Cortex-A55 clocked at up to 2.0 GHz GPU – Mali-G52 Neural Processing Unit (NPU) Hardware-accelerated Transcoding Encryption Engine System Memory – 4 GB RAM Storage 4 GB eMMC flash (dual boot OS protection) 2x 3.5-inch SATA III bay also supporting 2.5-inch SATA SSDs; hot-swappable Networking 2.5GbE RJ45 jack Gigabit Ethernet jack Wake-on-LAN (WoL) and Jumbo Frame support Number of Concurrent Connections (CIFS) – Up to 200 USB […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments on Azulle Access Pro Intel N100 PC stick ships with Windows 11, Linux, or Zoom

Azulle Access Pro Intel N100 PC stick ships with Windows 11, Linux, or Zoom

Azulle Access Pro Alder Lake PC Stick

Azulle Access Pro is a PC stick based on an Intel N100 quad-core Alder Lake” processor with up to 8GB RAM, 128GB eMMC flash, and a male HDMI port which is offered with Windows 11 Pro, Linux, or “Zoom” operating systems (more on that below). The mini PC also provides a microSD card slot, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 with an external antenna, USB 3.0 Type-A and Type-C ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack. We’ve written about pocket-sized mini PCs based on Alder Lake-N processors before, for instance, the MeLe PCG02 Pro N100 or the slightly wider MeLe Quieter4C, but the Azulle model is different since it comes with a male HDMI connector which would allow users to connect it directly into a TV or monitor without a cable. Azulle Access Pro specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on Pivistation 5 – A Raspberry Pi 5 Camera Kit to quickly get started with computer vision (Crowdfunding)

Pivistation 5 – A Raspberry Pi 5 Camera Kit to quickly get started with computer vision (Crowdfunding)

PitiStation 5 Raspberry Pi 5 camera kit

Arducam Pivistation 5 is an all-in-one Raspberry Pi 5 camera kit that aims to provide a turnkey hardware and software solution to quickly get started with computer vision applications and offered with a choice of camera sensors designed for various applications. The system looks like a Raspberry Pi 5 SBC housed in the official case fitted with a camera. Three models are available, namely the “Hawkeye” featuring a high-resolution 64MP autofocus camera, the “Darksee” with an 8MP camera sensor with ultra low-light sensitivity, and the “Klarity” with a 20MP camera with fixed focus and a large 1-inch sensor. Pivistation 5 specifications All the cameras above rely on a rolling shutter, but the company is also working on the upcoming Arducam Pivistation 5 Swift model that includes a global shutter for robotics applications. Besides the pre-assembled hardware, the Arducam Pivistation 5 family aims to quicken the development process with pre-installed software […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS “Noble Numbat” released with Linux 6.8, up to 12 years of support

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS “Noble Numbat” released with Linux 6.8, up to 12 years of support

Ubuntu 24.04 release

Canonical has just released Ubuntu 24.04 LTS “Noble Numbat” distribution a little over two years after Ubuntu 22.04 LTS “Jammy Jellyfish” was released. The new version of the operating system comes with the recent Linux 6.8 kernel, GNOME 46, and a range of updates and new features we’ll discuss in this post. As a long-term support release, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS gets a 12-year commitment for security maintenance and support, with five years of free security maintenance on the main Ubuntu repository, and Ubuntu Pro extending that commitment to 10 years on both the main and universe repositories (also free for individuals and small companies with up to 5 devices). This can be extended a further 2-year, or 12 years in total, for Ubuntu Pro subscribers who purchase the Legacy Support add-on. Canonical explains the Linux 6.8 kernel brings improved syscall performance, nested KVM support on ppc64el, and access to the […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Firefly AIBOX-1684X compact AI Box delivers 32 TOPS for large language models, image generation, video analytics, and more

Firefly AIBOX-1684X compact AI Box delivers 32 TOPS for large language models, image generation, video analytics, and more

SOPHON BM1684X AI Box

Firefly AIBOX-1684X is a compact AI Box based on SOPHON BM1684X octa-core Arm Cortex-53 processor with a 32 TOPS AI accelerator suitable for large language models (LLM) such as Llama 2, Stable Diffusion image generation solution, and traditional CNN and RNN neural network architectures. Firefly had already released several designs based on the SOPHON BM1684X AI processor with the full-featured Firefly EC-A1684XJD4 FD Edge AI computer and the AIO-1684XQ motherboard, but the AIBOX-1684X AI Box offers the same level of performance, just without as many interfaces, in a compact enclosure measuring just 90.6 x 84.4 x 48.5 mm. AIBOX-1684X AI box specifications: SoC – SOPHGO SOPHON BM1684X CPU – Octa-core Arm Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 2.3 GHz TPU – Up to 32TOPS (INT8), 16 TFLOPS (FP16/BF16), 2 TFLOPS (FP32) VPU Up to 32-channel H.265/H.264 1080p25 video decoding Up to 32-channel 1080p25 HD video processing (decoding + AI analysis) Up […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on GEEKOM XT12 Pro review – Part 2: Windows 11 Pro tested on an Intel Core i9-12900H mini PC

GEEKOM XT12 Pro review – Part 2: Windows 11 Pro tested on an Intel Core i9-12900H mini PC

GEEKOM XT12 Pro mini PC Review windows 11

We’ve already checked out the specifications, and gone through an unboxing and a teardown of the GEEKOM XT12 Pro mini PC in the first part of the review, so we’ll now report our experience with the 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H mini PC with Windows 11 Pro operating system. In this second part of GEEKOM XT12 Pro, we’ll test the features of the Alder Lake mini PC in Windows 11 Pro, run benchmarks, test networking and storage, evaluate cooling performance, and finally provide some numbers for fan noise and power consumption. Software overview and features testing The System->About menu confirms that we have an XT12 Pro mini PC with a 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H processor clocked at 2.50 GHz (base frequency) and 32GB RAM that runs Windows 11 Pro operating system version 23H2. The system was tested with Windows 11 OS build 22631.3447. HWiNFO64 program provides more details about […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on IBASE ISR500 fanless Edge AI computer and digital signage player features MediaTek Genio 510 or 700 SoC

IBASE ISR500 fanless Edge AI computer and digital signage player features MediaTek Genio 510 or 700 SoC

Mediatek Genio 700 Edge AI computer

IBASE Technology ISR500 is a fanless digital signage player and Edge AI computer powered by either a MediaTek Genio 510 hexa-core Cortex-A78/A55 processor or Genio 720 octa-core Cortex-A78/A55 SoC with a real-time AI performance up to 3.2 TOPS. The system ships with 4GB RAM and 64GB eMMC flash, features two HDMI video outputs, a gigabit Ethernet port, a few USB ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, a COM port, and an M.2 socket for wireless expansion. IBASE ISR500 specifications: SoC (one or the other) MediaTek Genio 700 (MT8390) Octa-core CPU – Dual-core Cortex-A78 @ 2.2GHz with 256KB L2 cache, hexa-core Cortex-A55 @ 2.0GHz with 128KB L2 cache, shared 2MB L3 cache GPU – Arm Mali-G57 MC3 with support for OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.2, Vulkan 1.0/1.1, OpenCL 2.2 AI accelerator – Tensilica VP6 MediaTek APU 3.0 up to 3.2 TOPS VPU Video Encode – 4Kp30 H.265/H.264 Video Decode – 4Kp75, AV1, VP9, H.265/H.264 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on ASRock SBC-262M-WT 3.5-inch motherboard features up to Intel Atom X7433RE Amston Lake processor

ASRock SBC-262M-WT 3.5-inch motherboard features up to Intel Atom X7433RE Amston Lake processor

Amston Lake 3.5-inch motherboard

ASRock Industrial SBC-262M-WT is a 3.5-inch SBC motherboard powered by the latest Intel Atom x7433RE quad-core Amston Lake embedded processor with support for up to 48GB DDR5-4800 memory, triple 4K display outputs, two Ethernet ports, including one with 2.5Gbps Ethernet and Intel TSN/TCC. The motherboard also takes SATA 3.0 and M.2 Key M NVMe storage, offers multiple USB interfaces, supports WiFi and/or  4G LTE or 5G cellular connectivity via M.2 modules and SIM card socket, and provides industrial features such as a wide -40 to 85°C operating temperature range and a wide 9V to 36V DC voltage input range that make it suitable for smart retail, smart cities, and embedded industrial environments. ASRock Industrial SBC-262M-WT 3.5-inch motherboard specifications: SoC – Intel Amston Lake Processors up to Atom X7433RE quad-core processor clocked up to 3.4GHz with Intel UHD Graphics; 9W TDP System Memory – Up to 48GB single-channel DDR5 4800 MHz […]

UP 7000 x86 SBC