Ubuntu Category - Page 164 of 186 - CNX Software

November 24, 2014November 25, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Unboxing of Cloud Media Open Hour Chameleon Android Media Player

Cloud Media (previously Syabas) recently announced Open Hour Chameleon Android media player powered by Rockchip RK3288 processor. Compared to the many competing solutions based on Rockchip’s quad core Cortex A12/A17 processor, Open Hour comes with a metallic case to provide better casing, and instead of coming with internal NAND or eMMC flash, they provide a bootable SD card (Class 10) pre-loaded with Android 4.4.2, and they also have a preliminary Lubuntu image. They also recommend to use SPMC for video playback as “going forward, Rockchip will fully support SPMC instead of their custom Kodi”. Before writing the full review, I’ll show some pictures of the device, and take it apart to check out the hardware and their thermal dissipation solution. Open Hour Chameleon Unboxing I’ve received the box by Fedex in the following package. They list the key features on the top of the box namely RK3288, XBMC, Android Kitkat, […]

November 24, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Handbrake 0.10 Supports H.265 and VP8 Video Encoding

HandBrake is an open-source video transcoding tool that I use each time I upload a video on YouTube, simply because it will let me crop the beginning or end of a video as needed, can make web optimized videos, has an easy to use user interface, and greatly reduces the size of the video shot with my camera. HandBrake 0.10 has now been released, and it adds H.265 and VP8 encoding support via respectively x265 v1.4 and linbpx, as well as QuickSync video support, but the latter only in Windows. There are also various other changes include OpenCL accelerated scaling. Handbrake is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Ubuntu operating systems. It’s part of Ubuntu repository, but if you want the latest version, and support for MPEG-4 (m4v), you’ll need to install it from a PPA:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install handbrake-gtk

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install handbrake-gtk

I’ve tested with the video I shot yesterday, to see if I […]

November 19, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

CubieTruck Metal Case Unboxing and Disassembly

CubieTruck Metal Case is a kit comprised of CubieTruck (aka CubieBoard 3), a 128GB SSD, a 5,300 mAh battery, a power adapter, and various cables. In case you are not familiar with CubieTruck, it’s a development board by CubieTech, based on Allwinner A20 dual core ARM Cortex A7 processor with 2GB RAM, 8GB NAND flash, a SATA connector, HDMI & VGA outputs, Gigabit Ethernet, 2 USB host ports, and a mini USB OTG port. CubieTech decided to sent me a kit, as it was featured on CNX Software, and today, I’ll show what’s exactly is inside the kit since the product description is not 100% clear. I’ve been told it’s pre-installed with Lubuntu, so in a separate post next week, I’ll try Linux, report on the SSD performance, and check the battery UPS function, and possibly life on a charge. CubieTruck Metal Case Unboxing I’ve received the kit in a […]

November 17, 2014May 29, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

How-to Install Ubuntu on Allwinner A80 Powered pcDuino8 and A80 OptimusBoard

Last month, pcDuino released Android 4.4 and Ubuntu images for pcDuino8 board powered by Allwinner A80 octa core processor, and since it’s the same board layout as A80 OptimusBoard, I decided to try it out, but it failed as the update script would try to flash it to a partition that’s too small for the root file systems. But last week, Ian Morrison and Minidodes gave it another try, and successfully booted Ubuntu, or more exactly Lubuntu, on A80 OptimusBoard. Both their screenshot reports sun9i platform in /proc/cpuinfo, so that’s definitely Allwinner A80, but only one core is shown. I’m not sure if it’s because the other are idled and don’t show, or for some reasons, the kernel only supports one core at this stage. Anyway, here’s how they did to install Lubuntu: Flash the kernel (pcduino8_kernel_livesuit_20141008.img) with PhoenixCard or Livesuit first. See instructions to use Livesuit with A80 OptimusBoard. […]

November 14, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 3 Comments

Avionic Design to Introduce Embedded Nvidia Tegra K1 Processor Module

Avionic Design, a German company specializing in the development and production of electronic components for the embedded, avionics, and healthcare market, has been working on an Nvidia Tegra K1 system-on-module (SoM) , using the quad core version of the processor, with 2GB RAM, and 16GB eMMC, putting most features found in Jetson TK1 development board into a 70×50 mm module. Nvidia Tegra K1 CPU module specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 quad core Cortex A15 processor up to 2.2 GHz with Nvidia Kepler GPU with 192 cores up to 450 MHz System Memory – 2 GB DDR3 (1833 MHz) Storage – 16GB eMMC + SATA & SD/MMC via SoM connectors Interfaces: Video In – 2x 4-lane CSI Video Out – HDMI 1.4b, eDP, two 4-lane DSI Audio – 2x I2S, S/PDIF In and Out High Speed I/O PCIe 2.0 1x, PCIe 2.0 4x 2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0 host, […]

November 14, 2014November 14, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Variscite VAR-SOM-SOLO is a Tiny System-on-Module Based on Freescale i.MX6 Solo Processor

Freescale will soon announce i.MX6 SoloX dual core processor with ARM Cortex A9 and M4 cores, and dual-port gigabit Ethernet, but companies still design and manufacture new Freescale i.MX6 Solo/Dual/Quad based hardware for their mostly industrial customers. Variscite has recently launched a smaller version of their VAR-SOM-MX6 system-on-module called VAR-SOM-SOLO powerd by Freescale i.MX6 Solo processor with up to 1GB RAM, up to 512MB NAND flash for boot code, up to 64GB eMMC flash for storage, and TI WiLink8 module with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Smart. Variscite VAR-SOM-SOLO technical specifications: SoC – Freescale i.MX6 single core ARM Cortex-A9 core @ 1.0GHz with Vivante GC 880 + Vivante GC 320 GPU, and VPU supporting 1080p30 H.264 encode and decode. System Memory – 256MB to 1GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 128MB to 512MB NAND flash for boot code, 4GB to 64GB eMMC flash, and SD/MMC via edge connector Video Output / Display Interfaces: […]

November 13, 2014February 2, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Zsun SD111 Wireless USB Flash Drive Review

Zsun SD111, SD112 and SD113 are Wi-Fi / USB flash drives with respectively 8GB, 16 GB and 32GB storage. GearBest sent me the 8GB version (SD111) for review, as it could be an interesting platform to hack. I’ve take picture of the device, take it apart to check the board, review quickly the standard features with Android and Ubuntu, and try to access the board from the network. Zsun SD111 Unboxing I received the device in the following package. The flash drive comes with a micro USB to USB cable for charging and accessing the device from a computer, and a user’s manual in Chinese. You’ll probably prefer using a soft copy user manual in English… Zsun SD111 Board and Battery To open the stick, insert a sharp and thin object in the hole for the neck strap, and push upwards to lift the top cover a little, and finish […]

November 12, 2014 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 23 Comments

Unboxing of ODROID-XU3 Lite Exynos 5422 Development Board

Hardkernel recently unveiled a low cost version of ODROID-XU3 board powered by Exynos 5422 SoC, and selling for $99 instead of $179 with the original version that adds a DisplayPort connector, current and voltage sensors, as well as a faster CPU frequency (2+ GHz vs 1.8 GHz). The company sent me a sample for evaluation, so today I’ll take some pictures of the ODROID-XU3 Lite kit, and I also planned to show a Linux demo, but unfortunately my board appears to have an hardware glitch with HDMI output not working, so I’ll still show some info from the first boot, but that’s just an headless system. Anyway, I’ll soon receive a replacement unit, and I’ll be able to test Lubuntu and Android in more details later. ODROID-XU3 Lite Unboxing Hardkernel sent the parcel on Thursday by UPS, and I received the board on Monday in an ODROID branded cardboard box. […]