Canonical wants you to run Ubuntu apps (snaps) for everything and on all types of devices, not only on your computer or smartphone. For example, base station apps (4G LTE, Bluetooth, LoRa…) will soon be able to run on LimeSDR board, the company is pushing for branded app stores, like the one for Orange Pi Boards, and now they have introduced the concept of App Logic Controllers (ALC) which are PLC devices running apps, thus bringing the concept of apps to the industrial world. Bosch Rexroth demonstrated the solution at Embedded World 2017 on their IndraControl XM22 PLC running Ubuntu Core. Let’s have a look at the hardware first with IndraControl XM22 specifications: Processor – Intel Atom E620 one core / two threads processor @ 600 / 1300 MHz (3.3W TDP) Memory – 512 MB RAM Storage – likely some flash + SD card slot Networking Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet […]
UP Core is a Low Cost & Compact Intel Maker Board Powered by an Atom x5-Z8350 SoC (Crowdfunding)
The UP community has already launched Intel Cherry Trail and Apollo Lake boards in the past with UP Board and UP2 (squared) boards, and they are now about to launch a cheaper and smaller board called UP Core powered by Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor with to 1 to 4GB memory, up to 64GB eMMC flash, HDMI, USB 3.0, … and I/O expansion connectors. UP Core specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8350 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz / 1.92 GHz (Burst frequency) with Intel HD 400 graphics @ 200 / 500 MHz System Memory – 1, 2 or 4 GB DDR3L-1600 (soldered on board) Storage – 16, 32, or 64 GB eMMC flash, SPI flash ROM Video Output / Display – HDMI 1.4 port, full eDP (embedded DisplayPort) connector Audio I/O – Via HDMI, and I2S Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi @ 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth 4.0 LE (AP614A) […]
$18.9 Orange Pi Zero Plus 2 Board: Allwinner H3, WiFi + Bluetooth LE, HDMI and 8GB eMMC Flash
When will they ever stop? Shenzhen Xunlong has launched yet another Allwinner H3 board called Orange Pi Zero Plus 2, that has not that much in common with Orange Pi Zero, since it uses a different processor (H3 vs H2+), adds HDMI, and implements WiFi and BLE via an Ampak AP6212 module.Orange Pi Zero Plus 2: SoC – Allwinner H3 quad core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Mali-400MP2 GPU @ 600 MHz System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 SDRAM Storage – 8GB eMMC flash + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI port with CEC support Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi + Bluetooth 4.0 LE (Ampak AP6212) with u.FL antenna connector and external antenna USB – 1x micro USB OTG port Camera – MIPI CSI port Expansion headers – Unpopulated 26-pin “Raspberry Pi B+” header + 13-pin header with headphone, 2x USB 2.0, TV out, microphone and […]
Dell Edge Gateway 3000 Series Are Powered by Intel Bay Trail-I SoCs for Automation, Transportation, and Digital Signage
Dell has recently introduced Edge Gateway 3000 series with three models powered by Intel Bay Trail-I processor, running Ubuntu Core 16 or Windows 10 IoT, with each model targeting respectively general-purpose automation, transportation & logistics, and digital signage and retail. The specifications for the three models can be found in the table below. Dell Edge Gateway 3001 Model for General-Purpose Automation Dell Edge Gateway 3002 Model for Transportation & Logistics Dell Edge Gateway 3003 Model for Media & Retail Kiosks SoC Intel Atom E3805 dual core processor @ 1.33 GHz (3W TDP) Intel Atom E3815 single core processor @ 1.46 GHz with GPU @ 400 MHz (5W TDP) System Memory 2 GB DDR3L-1066 Storage 8 or 32 GB eMMC flash Industrial-grade Micro-SD card: 8GB / 16GB / 32 GB / 64 GB Connectivity 1 x 10/100 Fast Ethernet (RJ-45) with PoE (15.4W) WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 4.0 LE Optional ZigBee […]
Google Releases Guetzli Open Source JPEG Encoder Generating 20 to 35% Smaller Files Compared to Libjpeg
Google has been working one several front to make data and images smaller, hence faster to load from the Internet, with project such as Zopfli algorithm producing smalled PNG & gzip files, or WebP image compression algorithm that provides better lossless compression compare to PNG, and better lossy compression compared to JPEG, but requires updated support from clients such as web browsers. Google has now released Guetzli algorithm that improve on the latter, as it can create JPEG files that are 20 to 35% smaller compared to libjpeg with similar quality, and still compatible with the JPEG format. The image above shows a close up on a phone line with the original picture, the JPEG picture compressed with libjpeg with the artifacts around the line, and a smaller JPEG picture compressed with Guetzli with less artifacts. You can find out more about the algorithm in the paper entitled “Guetzli: Perceptually […]
Shenzhen Xunlong Software & Canonical Launch Orange Pi App Store for Ubuntu Snaps
The maker of Orange Pi boards, Shenzhen Xunlong Software, has partnered with Canonical to launch Orange Pi app store, allowing developers to gain a simple mechanism to share their applications, projects and scripts with the Orange Pi community. The store relies on snaps instead of deb packages, with snaps allowing a secure distributions of apps bundled with all their dependencies, which according to Canonical can decreased the time for an half an hour installation process to just a few seconds. The community has already contributed hundreds of snaps in the Ubuntu snap store, including openHAB for home automation, Rocket.chat self-hosted chat platform, NextCloud for cloud storage, and wifi-ap for networking. You can get them from the App store, but installing a snap from the command line is easy, for example:
1 |
sudo snap install rocketchat-server |
However, I cannot find any Ubuntu Core image for Orange Pi Boards yet on Ubuntu Core Getting Started page. […]
ECDREAM EC-V26 is a Mini PC with a 8″ Touchscreen Display Powered by an Intel Celeron/Pentium Apollo Lake Processor
Mini PCs with a touchscreen display targeting consumer markets, and looking like very thick tablets started with PiPo X8, and later other companies joined the fray with products like GOLE 1, but the form factor appears to have become popular with even more manufacturers, as Shenzhen EC Technology has now launched ECDREAM EC-V26 powered by Intel Celeron or Pentium “Apollo Lake” processor, and equipped with an 8″ touchscreen display. ECDREAM EC-V26 mini PC specifications: SoC (one of the other) Intel Celeron N3350 dual core processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.4 GHz with a 12 EU Intel® HD Graphics 500; 6W TDP Intel Celeron N3450 quad core processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.2 GHz with a 12 EU Intel® HD Graphics 500; 6W TDP Intel Pentium N4200 quad core processor @ 1.1 GHz / 2.5 GHz with an 18 EU Intel HD Graphics 505; 6W TDP System Memory – 2GB on-board […]
NanoPi NEO2 Development Board Powered by Allwinner H5 64-bit ARM Processor Sells for $15
NanoPi NEO is a cool little board, and I’ve been using it with Armbian as a 24/7 MQTT + Domoticz server for several weeks without any issues so far. FriendlyElec has now an update with NanoPi NEO2 featuring Allwinner H5 quad core Cortex A53 processor instead of Allwinner H3 Cortex A7 processor, a faster Gigabit Ethernet connection, and a new audio header. NanoPi NEO2 specifications: SoC – Allwinner H5 quad core Cortex A53 processor with an ARM Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 512 MB DDR3 Storage – micro SD card slot Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet (via RTL8211E-VB-CG chip) 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, I2S 5-pin audio header with microphone and LINE out signals Debugging – 4-pin header for serial […]