Microsoft Brings Bash on Ubuntu on Windows 10

Yes, you’ve read that right, and no, it’s not an April Fools’ Day prank, Microsoft and Canonical really cooperated to bring Ubuntu user space to Windows 10 allowing developers and others to run bash commands directly into Windows. All you’ll need to do is to install Ubuntu on Windows app, hit the Windows key, and type bash to get a terminal window. Once you are in bash, you can run any Ubuntu command line, including apt-get to install packages, just like if you were in a terminal in Ubuntu, and all binaries are the same as in Ubuntu, as Microsoft implemented new infrastructure within Windows called the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). That means Ubuntu runs without Linux, but instead the implementation is a conversion layer somewhat similar to Wine to run Windows programs in Ubuntu, or Libhybris to convert Linux calls to Android calls. Dustin Kirkland, in charge of […]

ECS Live Station Mini PC Includes a Wireless Charger for Your Smartphone

ECS Live Station would just be a standard Bay Trail-M mini PC with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage, and overall specifications somewhat similar to Liva X, if it did not also features a wireless charger at the top to charge your smartphone. ECS Live Station (LS-2-32-W10) specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron N2830 quad core processor @ 2.16/2.41 GHz with Intel HD graphics (7.5W TDP) System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L (SO-DIMM) Storage – 32 GB SATADOM module Video Output – 1x HDMI port Audio – 1x audio combo jack for microphone and headphone; Realtek ALC283 HD codec Connectivity – 1x Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8111G), 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 2x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0 Expansion – 1x mini PCIE slot used by wireless module (Wi-FI / BT) Misc – Qi charger on top, charging status LED, power button & LED. Power – 12V/3A Dimensions – […]

Intel Core m3 Skylake Compute Stick Benchmarked, Tested with Ubuntu 16.04 and Chromium OS

Intel unveiled five new Compute Sticks for 2016, with two Cherry Trail models, and three Skylake Core M models namely STK2M3W64CC and STK2MV64CC based on Intel Core m3-6Y30 processor, as well as STK2MV64CC with a more powerful Core m5-6Y57 vPRO processor. Ian Morrison (Linuxium) managed to get an early sample of STK2M3W64CC running Windows 10 on 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, and posted some benchmarks, as well as results of his experimentations with Ubuntu and Chrome OS in the Intel section of G+ MINI PCs community and his own website. He started by running some standard benchmarks in Windows 10 including CrystalDiskMark (storage performance), Passmark8, and 3DMark, and while the storage performance is underwhelming, the processor is clearly and noticeably faster than Braswell, and Cherry Trail processors in terms of CPU and GPU performance based on comparisons with  Tronsmart Ara X5 (x5-Z8300), Kangaroo Mobile Desktop (x5-Z8500), Voyo V3 (x7-Z8700), and […]

SolidRun Introduces Intel Braswell MicroSoMs, and SolidPC Q4 Carrier Board

SolidRun has been making ARM based MicroSoMs –  tiny system-on-module – for a while, and integrated them in many of their boards such as HummindBoard Edge or ClearFog Pro, and now the company has packed Intel Braswell processors into 52.8 x 40mm MicroSoMs that can be plugged into SolidPC Q4 carrier board. Two Braswell MicroSoM module have been designed so far: SoM IB8000 and SoM IB3710, which beside having different SoCs, and memory options share most of the same specifications: SoC SoM IB8000 – Intel Atom x5-E8000 quad core processor @ 1.04 / 2.0 GHz with 12EU Intel HD graphics @ 320/600 MHz (5W TDP) SoM IB3710 – Intel Pentium N3710 quad core processor @ 1.6 / 2.56 GHz with 16EU Intel HD graphics 405 @ 400/700 MHz (6W TDP) System Memory SoM IB8000 – 1GB (single channel), 2GB, 4GB or 8GB (dual channel) SoM IB3710 – Up to 8GB (default size) […]

K3 Wintel Windows 10 Keyboard PC Review

GeekBuying sent me K3 Wintel keyboard computer since I was interesting in testing a device in this form factor, and at the time I listed the specifications, and took a few pictures of the device and its internals. I’ve now completed the review, and found it to perform very well for a Bay Trail computer. K3 Wintel Key Computer Setup & System Info But the initial part of the review did not start so well, as I was asked for a license key for the device as went through the initial setup right after selecting my languages and regional settings. GeekBuying clearly states the mini computer comes with a “Licensed Windows 10”, and I could not find any on the device or the user’s guide, which appears to be a near-exact copy of a Windows 10 Lenovo tablet PC user’s guide… So I contacted GeekBuying, and after a few days, […]

Axiomtek ICO310 Din-rail Industrial IoT Gateway Supports Power over Ethernet (PoE)

Axiomtek ICO310 is a din-rail IIoT (Industrial IoT) embedded platform powered by Intel Celeron Braswell processors supporting up to 8GB RAM, PoE, and featuring two Gigabit LAN ports, RS-232/422/485 ports, USB 2.0 & USB 3.0 ports, one VGA port, and one DIO interface. It also support mSATA and SATA drives, and wireless module via mPCIe interfaces. Target applications include smart energy, smart factory automation, facility monitoring systems and more. Axiomtek ICO310 Specifications: SoC Intel Celeron N3060 dual core processor @ 1.6GHz / 2.48 GHz (Turbo) with Intel HD graphics 400 with 12EU @ 320/600 MHz OR Intel Celeron N3160 quad core processor @ 1.6GHz / 2.24 GHz (Turbo) with Intel HD graphics 400 with 12EU @ 320/640 MHz System Memory – 204-pin SO-DIMM DDR3L-1600 socket up to 8 GB Storage – 1 x mSATA,  1x SATA SSD (or HDD) Video Output – VGA Connectivity 2x 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet, including 1x PoE PD […]

Wintel Pro CX-W8 Cherry Trail mini PC Sells for $85

I reviewed Wintel W8 mini PC powered by an Intel Atom Z3735F last year, although since the model could dual boot Windows 8.1 and Android 4.4 I mostly focused my review on the Android part. There’s now an upgraded model running Windows 10 only, based on Intel Atom x5-Z8300 quad core Cherry Trail processor, and very much the same interfaces except one of the USB 2.0 ports has been upgraded to USB 3.0. Wintel Pro CX-W8 has very similar same specifications to other Cherry Trail mini PCs available on the market: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8300 “Cherry Trail” quad core processor @ 1.44 GHz (Bust freq: 1.84 GHz) with Intel Gen8 HD graphics (2W SDP) System Memory –  2 GB Storage – 32 GB eMMC + micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI Audio I/O – HDMI, 3.5mm microphone jack Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0 […]

Raspberry Pi 3, ODROID-C2 and Pine A64+ Development Boards Comparison

Raspberry Pi 3 and hardkernel ODROID-C2 launched the same day, and together with Pine A64/A64+, are the only ultra low cost (<$40) 64-bit ARM development boards available or soon-to-be available, so I’ve decided to make a comparison of the three boards the same way I did with ~$10 boards with a Raspberry Pi Zero, C.H.I.P, and Orange Pi One comparison. I’ve used features of Pine A64+ instead of Pine A64 since features and price are closer to the other two boards. Text highlighted in green means a board is clearly better than the other two for a given features, while a red highlight means it’s the weakest of the three. Raspberry Pi 3 ODROID-C2 Pine A64 Plus Processor Broadcom BCM2837 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 1.2 GHz(4x ~2760 DMIPS) Amlogic S905 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ 2.0 GHz(4x ~4600 DMIPS) Allwinner A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor @ […]

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