Canonical has announced a version of Ubuntu specifically designed for IoT devices running Linux, with a low hardware requirements, and a new package manager called snappy, replacing apt-get for this version of Ubuntu, which provides simpler, faster, and more reliable updates, stronger security, and allows roll-backs in case something goes wrong. Easy firmware updates are something missing in most connected device, which means they are more vulnerable to potential hackers, but with snappy security updates should be able to make it regularly, so that if something like heartbleed occurs again, you know your router, home automation gateway, connected washing machine, or robot will be soon patched automatically. Let’s go through the hardware requirements first: Processor – 600 MHz processor (ARMv7 or greater, or x86) System Memory – 128 MB RAM or greater (The system itself uses 40 MB RAM) Storage – 4GB flash / storage for factory reset and system […]
Install Ubuntu 14.10 on MeegoPad T01 with a Live ISO Image
MeegoPad T01 has recently been shown to boot Ubuntu and Android, but no installation disk had been provided so far. But thanks to deadhp1, there’s now a “beta” Ubuntu 14.10 image with MATE desktop environment available for download in order to try or install Ubuntu on MeegoPad T01, and other Intel Atom Bay Trail-T devices. Before you decide to try or install the image, be aware that audio and Bluetooth are not working for now, but everything else should work, including hardware video decoding in Kodi. If your device is not using a Realtek rtl8723bs module, Wi-Fi won’t work, and you may need to use a USB Ethernet dongle to get IP connectivity. The instructions will keep your Windows 8.1 installation too, albeit I suppose you could also wipe out the Windows 8.1 partition completely and run Ubuntu only on the device. If the instructions are not followed carefully, you […]
Downloading Files on Baidu, or via HTTP, Bittorrent or Metalink in Linux with BaiduExporter, Aria2 and YAAW
Most firmware files distributed by the manufacturers are uploaded to Baidu, but I’ve found the service not to be always reliable, especially for larger files. In Windows, people are recommended to use Baidu software (BaiduYunGuanjia), but there’s not such tool in Linux, so instead I investigate for command lines tools to download files from Baidu, and this lead me to two interesting tools called Aria2, a “lightweight multi-protocol & multi-source command-line download utility. It supports HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, BitTorrent and Metalink”, and YAAW “Yet Another Aria2 Web Frontend” with allow to start and monitor download locally or remotely. But let’s start with the first tool I found: pan-baidu-download, a Python script to download files from Baidu. To install it:
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git clone https://github.com/banbanchs/pan-baidu-download.git cd pan-baidu-download |
We also need to install some dependencies (assuming python 2.7.x is already installed):
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sudo apt-get install python-pip aria2 |
and then you can start downloading files as follows:
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python bddown_cli.py download http://pan.baidu.com/s/somerandomcharacters |
But after posting a bug about password-protected […]
$60 MarsBoard Rockchip PX2 Development Board Runs Ubuntu, Debian, openSUSE, or Android 4.4
Haoyu Electronics has made a new board similar to their MarsBoard RK3066, but instead of using a CPU module with Rockchip RK3066, they’ve used the industrial version of the chip called Rockchip PX2 dual core Cortex A9 processor. The board is also comprised of a baseboard and CPU module (CM-PX2), and based on the name of the pictures it’s using the exact same PCB: CM-RK3066 SoM, and SOM-RK3066 baseboard, but they simply replaced RK3066 by PX2, and increased the NAND flash capacity to 8GB. CM-PX2 Computer-on-Module: SoC – Rockchip PX2 dual core ARM Cortex A9 @ 1.4 GHz + Mali-400MP4 GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8 GB NAND Power Management Unit – TPS659102 Misc – TX indicator LED use for debug, Power Indicator LED 10/100M Ethernet PHY – LAN8720A Connectors – 2x 100- pin for baseboard connection, 40-pin connector (unsoldered) Dimensions – 70 x 58 mm SOM-RK3066 […]
PC Partner N258N1-F is a Linux mini PC Powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 Processor
Nvidia has done a great job porting Linux to their Tegra K1, and it’s one of the only ARM processor with a GPU supporting OpenGL, which helps a great deal with Unity for example. Nexus 9 supports Ubuntu (somewhat), and platforms like Jetson TK1 board are suitable to developers, but as I and others wondered why nobody ever made a Tegra K1 mini PC, I’ve been informed that such device existed already with PC Partner’s N258N1-F mini PC. N258N1-F technical specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 quad-core ARM Cortex A15r3 processor with Kepler GPU System Memory – 2 GB RAM Storage – 16 GB eMMC + SD card slot Video Output – HDMI up to 3840×2160 @ 30Hz, 4096×2160 @ 24Hz or 3200×2000 @ 60 Hz Audio I/O – HDMI, headphone jack, and microphone jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi (with external antenna connector) USB – 2x USB 2.0 […]
Intel Compute Stick HDMI TV Dongle Runs Windows or Ubuntu for as Low as $89
People got really interested in low cost small factor Intel devices at the end of the year, and one of my article about MeegoPad T01, an HDMI TV Stick powered by an Intel Atom Z3735F processor, even made it to the top 10 posts of 2014 on this blog. But instead of simply relying on partners, Intel had decided to enter the fray with Intel Compute Stick that will run Windows or Ubuntu on an Atom Bay Trail processor. There will actually be two versions of the hardware one for Windows 8.1 with Bing with 2GB RAM, and 32GB storage, and one for Linux with 1GB RAM, and 8G Storage. Intel Compute Stick preliminary specifications: SoC – Unnamed Intel Atom “Bay Trail” processor System Memory – 2 GB RAM (Windows) or 1 GB RAM (Linux) Storage – 32 GB eMMC (Windows) or 8 GB eMMC (Linux) + micro SD slot […]
ECS LIVA X Bay Trail Mini PCs Support Up to 4GB RAM, Windows and Linux OS
ECS LIVA was on of the first Bay Trail mini PC available on the market, and included both memory and storage. Elitegroup Computer System (ECS) has now officially announced an upgrade at CES 2015 with ECS LIVA X, another Bay Trail-M/I mini PC with up to 4GB, and 64GB storage. LIVA X specifications: SoC – Intel Bay Trail-M / I SoC up to 2.25 GHz. The M version is most probably featuring a dual core Celeron N2808 processor. System Memory – 2 or 4GB DDR3L Storage – 32 or 64GB eMMC + mSATA for SSD. 64Mb SPI Flash ROM with AMI BIOS. Video Output – 1x HDMI, 1x VGA. Dual independent displays supported. Audio – 1x audio combo jack (LIne In and Mic IN); Realtek ALC283 HD codec Connectivity 1x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8111G) 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0 […]
How to Take Screenshots and Record Videos in Android mini PCs without Root Access
I’ve started to test BFS 4KH Android TB box featuring HiSilicon HI3798M processor. I’m also the first things I normally do is to check for built-in screenshot support, and if not, I simply install a screenshot app like Screenshot Ultimate. This normally works pretty well, but the firmware is not rooted, and the usual root method for HiSilicon devices does not work, as it fails at the adb root stage with the message: “aabd cannot run as root in production builds”. So I was out of luck, and people who sent the sample for review do not seem to check / answer their email in a timely manner. ScreenShot Ultimate provides “No Capture Method Help“, but I found the instructions long, and it required me to install download and install something extra. So instead I check if I could do something with adb instead. adb can connect via USB or […]