Category: Linux

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on GreenBase GQ-3874 and CG-8148 TI ARM Cortex A8 QSeven Modules

GreenBase GQ-3874 and CG-8148 TI ARM Cortex A8 QSeven Modules

GreenBase Technology has unveiled the GQ-3874 and GQ-8148 Qseven modules based on Texas Instruments Cortex A8 processors. The GQ-3874/8148 features a PCI-e slot, SATA, four USB, four UART, dual CAN bus, ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor, and SGX530 3D graphics engine. The GQ-3874 – Qseven Module uses the following CPU and GPU: CPU – Texas Instruments  Sitara AM3874 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 MPU GPU – SGX530 3D Graphics Engine and the GQ-8148 – Qseven Module uses the following CPU, GPU, DSP and Video hardware accelerator: CPU – Texas Instruments DaVinci DM8148 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 MPU GPU – SGX530 3D Graphics Engine DSP – Integra C674 750MHz DSP HDVICP2 Video Encoder/Decoder hardware accelerator Both boards share the following specifications: Memory & Storage Onboard DDR3 Memory 512MB/1GB Onboard eMMC Flash 4GB/8GB Qseven 230 pin Edge Connector with: 2 x GbE 1 x PCIe 1 x SATA 1 x HDMI 4 x USB 2.0 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Wayland Library: X11 Display Server Replacement for Linux

Wayland Library: X11 Display Server Replacement for Linux

The X Window System has been implemented in Linux since the beginning and manages the graphical user interface of most Linux distributions, although some embedded systems do without X11 and use lightweight graphics libraries such as Nano-X, SDL, DirectFB etc… X11 is invisible to the end-user but does all the hard work needed to have Gnome, KDE and Unity user interfaces work properly and smoothly. However, in recent years, GNU/Linux desktop graphics has moved from having numerous rendering APIs talking to the X server which manages everything towards putting the Linux kernel in the middle with direct rending (e.g.  OpenGL, VDPAU/VAAPI) with window systems taking the backstage. This new architecture  provides a much-simplified graphics system offering more flexibility and better performance. The problem is that the X Window System is highly complex, a complexity that is not really needed with the newest version of the kernel. That’s where Wayland protocol comes […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Raspberry Pi Linux Distribution: Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix 14

Raspberry Pi Linux Distribution: Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix 14

Several operating systems will be able to run on the Raspberry Pi boards.  However, the Raspberry Foundation had announced that they were working with Red Hat to deliver a Fedora release optimized for the board and Broadcom BCM2835 processor (ARMv6 + hard-float support). It appears the full name of this distribution is “Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix 14” most probably based on Fedora 14 (as the name implies), and not the latest Fedora 16 release. This Linux distribution will officially be launched on the 22nd of February 2012 at the  Seneca Centre for the Development of Open Technology in Toronto, Canada during a 2-hour event (15:00-17:00) featuring: A hands-on opportunity to use a Raspberry Pi Live demonstrations of the Raspberry Pi Fedora Remix software Examples of the educational uses of the Raspberry Pi The 60-computer build farm used to build the Fedora ARM software on which the remix is based Information […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on armStoneA8: 49 Euros ARM Cortex-A8 Single Board Computer

armStoneA8: 49 Euros ARM Cortex-A8 Single Board Computer

F&S Elektronik Systeme GmbH, a German company,  has announced the armStoneA8 , a Single Board Computer (SBC) based on an ARM Cortex A8 that will be available by the first day of the Embedded World 2012 Conference.  The great part is that for a limited period (27 February 2012 to 4 March 2012) you’ll be able to buy the board for 49 Euros on their (yet to be launched) online shop. The board, that comes in PicoITX form factor (100 x 72mm), is powered by a Cortex A8 CPU running at 1GHz and the company provides support for Linux, WinCE 6.0 and Windows Embedded Compact 7. The company says the bootloader, SDK, BSP and kernels are already available with support for DirectX, OpenGL and hardware accelerated GStreamer. The company plans to release the detailed specifications before Embedded World 2012, but in the meantime, I found some PDF about the board […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Embedded World Conference 2012 Schedule

Embedded World Conference 2012 Schedule

The Embedded World Conference 2012 will taken place on the February 28 – March 1 in Nuremberg, Germany. There will be over 1,000 exhibitors for the tenth conference (it started in 2003) showcasing their new products and solutions for the embedded markets. Beyond the exhibition, there will also be 13 classes and 22 sessions during those 3 days. February 28th 2012 Classes: 09:30 – 15:30 – Modeling Behavior with UML: Interactions and Statecharts by Dr. Bruce Douglass, IBM 16:00 – 17:00 – Agile Systems Engineering by Dr. Bruce Douglass, IBM 09:30 – 18:00 – Introduction to Real-Time Operating Systems by Dr. David Kalinsky, D. Kalinsky Associates 09:30 – 18:00 – Hands-on-Workshop Safety Critical Linux – Automated debugging and code screening with formal methods by Prof. Nicholas Mc Guire, OSADL Safety Critical Linux Working Group and Andreas Platschek, OpenTech. 09:30 – 16:30 – Cryptography and embedded Security – The Workshop chaired […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Using Your Android Smartphone As A Desktop Computer

Using Your Android Smartphone As A Desktop Computer

I’ve already written some posts with videos showing the many things you could do with your smartphone thanks to MHL Technology. Christian Qantrell (YouTube User) uploaded a video on YouTube where he connected his smartphone to a monitor with a MHL cable showing how it could be used as a desktop computer. I really like his setup with a Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Android 4.0) smartphone  connected to a monitor with an MHL adapter (Micro-USB to HDMI) and Apple Bluetooth keyboard and (Magic) trackpad. He also mentioned external power, but this should not be needed if his monitor supported MHL. The Apple trackpad makes it very neat as it tracks the finger movements as it would if you used the smartphone touchscreen. He showed web browsing and music playback and said gmail works great. Thanks to the multi-touch trackpad, pinch and zoom also works.  Overall, the user experience feels pretty good. […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on ARM Mali-200 and Mali-400 GPU Open Source Driver Released

ARM Mali-200 and Mali-400 GPU Open Source Driver Released

There has been a lot of controversy around GPU drivers and open source, as GPU drivers usually come with a blob (a binary file). If you have been lurking in Raspberry Pi forums you’ll know what I mean. But this will change thanks to Lima. No, not the capital of Peru but the open source graphics driver for ARM Mali GPUs (Mali-200 and Mali-400) also called Lima whose goal is stated as follows: The aim of this driver is to finally bring all the advantages of open source software to ARM SoC graphics drivers. Currently, the sole availability of binary drivers is increasing development and maintenance overhead, while also reducing portability, compatibility and limiting choice. Anyone who has dealt with GPU support on ARM, be it for a Linux with a GNU stack, or for an Android, knows the pain of dealing with these binaries. Lima is going to solve […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Yocto Project Quick Start Guide for Ubuntu

Yocto Project Quick Start Guide for Ubuntu

Yocto is an embedded Linux build system used to create a Linux distribution for a specific application/board combination. I’ll describe 2 methods to get started: Building and running  a qemu image for x86 from scratch Using pre-built binaries to run the x86 image in qemu This is a shorter version of the longish Yocto Project’s Quick Start Guide. The official guide is more complete (explains all details) and give instructions for several distributions, whereas this guide simply lists each step and is focused on Ubuntu. So you could use this guide to start the build, and during the build (which will last a while), read the official guide to actually understand how it all works.   Prerequisites First, you need to use bash instead of dash in Ubuntu:

and select “No” to use bash. Then install the required packages with apt-get:

Building and running a qemu image for […]

EmbeddedTS embedded systems design