Windows 8 Category - Page 10 of 25 - CNX Software

February 1, 2015October 5, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments

Connect Speakers to Any mini PCs with a $1 USB Sound Card

Last year, I made a poll to find out what kind of audio output people used with mini PCs, and one person commented “USB audio to av receiver”, but at the time I did not investigate. Recently somebody asked me for mini PCs with audio output for stereo speakers, and I recommended something like MINIX NEO X6 with a dedicated 3.5mm audio jack, but I’ve just discovered USB sound cards with stereo output and microphone input are incredibly cheap, even less than $1 shipped on Aliexpress, and just above $1 on Ebay. The features for the model above are listed as follows: Real USB Plug & Play Drive 2-channelsspeakers directly Support 3D positional sound and virtual 5.1 channels sound track Powered via USB port Digital Class-B power Amplifier inside Speaker Shifter – 5.1x earphone, 2 speaker virtual theater Software Value-added for Music: 27x Environmont Effects, 3x Environment sizes, 10-Band/Pre-set Equalizer […]

January 31, 2015August 24, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 41 Comments

Kodi 14 Video Playback on Intel Atom Z3735F Computers Running Windows 8.1

I’ve already written a short review of Mele PCG03 mini PC powered by Intel Atom Z3735F processor, with 2GB RAM, and 32GB eMMC flash, where I found out that almost it’s not the fastest device around, it’s still usable for most tasks, albeit you can quickly run out of space with only 32GB storage, so if you really plan to use it as an actual computer using applications such as email clients, web browser and office suites, an external USB hard drive, or connection to a NAS is probably a must, or you’ll probably have to run Disk Cleaner fairly often. Mele PCG03 also have a valid Windows 8.1 license, and a VGA port, both of which are often missing on many other Bay Trail-T mini PCs. I’ve now installed Kodi 14.1 – downloaded directly from xbmc.org – on this low cost and low power computer, in order to go […]

January 29, 2015March 24, 2022 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

MeLE PCG03 mini PC Review and Benchmarks with Windows 8.1 with Bing

MeLE PCG03 is an Intel Atom Z3735F mini PC with 2GB RAM, and 32GB eMMC. I’ve already posted some pictures of the device and board, and since Windows 8.1 with Bing NTE (with proper license) is installed, I’ll first test the device with Microsoft OS as a reference, before trying Ubuntu or/and Android. MeLE PCG03 Setup The computer comes only with a power adapter, so you’ll need to find an HDMI or/and VGA cable for your display(s), and a USB keyboard and mouse to get started. Optionally, you’ll also want an Ethernet cable, and since storage is limited an extra storage device be it a USB hard drive, flash drive, or SD card. Once all is connected you can press the power button on the left side to boot the device. The boot normally takes about 20 seconds, but the first time, you’ll go through the usual Windows 8.1 setup […]

January 26, 2015March 16, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

X29 Intel Celeron J1800 / J1900 mini PC Sells for $125 and Up

Today, somebody asked me to test 4K output on Intel Atom Z3735F, but I can’t do that since the platform only supports 1080p. As I just posted my unboxing of MeLE PCG03 mini PC, I noticed several ICs where added for extra functionalities, and people also started to complain about lack of Gigabit Ethernet, Fast Ethernet via a USB bridge, no USB 3.0, and no SATA. That’s what happens when you use a Tablet SoC in a mini PC, but if you’re ready to pay a little more, you could still get a mini PC with a proper desktop processor (Bay Trail-D) including SATA, USB 3.0, and Gigabit Ethernet (maybe) for about $125 (shipped) with X29-J1800 computer powered by Intel Celeron J1800 (10W TDP). That’s the price for the barebone system without RAM or storage, and if you want a complete system with 32GB eMMC and 4GB RAM the price […]

January 26, 2015February 9, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

MeLE PCG03 Windows 8.1 Fanless mini PC Unboxing

MeLE PCG03 was announced in October 2014 with an aggressive price tag of $49 for large orders for barebone systems, and was said to support Windows 8.1 or Android 4.4. MeLE is PCG03 now is now available with 2GB RAM, and 32GB eMMC, and with a properly licensed “Windows 8.1 with Bing NTE”, but no Android for $149 on Ebay, or Aliexpress, and it should eventually show up on MeLE Amazon store. The company sent me a sample for review, so I’ll start by listing the updated specifications, and taking pictures today, before running benchmarks, trying out Kodi, and trying Ubuntu in other posts. MeLE PCG03 Specifications The look of the device and available ports have slightly changed since the first prototype was revealed last year. SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Bust freq: 1.83 GHz) with Intel HD graphics System Memory – […]

January 20, 2015February 26, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

MINIX NEO Z64 Windows 8.1 / Android Intel mini PC Should Sell Soon for $148 and Up

MINIX NEO Z64 mini PC powered by Intel Atom Z3735F was unveiled in September 2014, but as other Windows 8.1 Intel based mini PCs hit the market in late December, early January, some people suggested NEO Z64 may end up being vaporware… Fortunately, it appears those people might be wrong, as I’ve been informed of a cached page on DX.com selling the computer for $148.07 with Android 4.4.4 pre-installed. MINIX NEO Z64 specifications remain mostly the same as the ones published in September: SoC – Intel Atom Z3735F “Bay Trail” quad core processor @ 1.33 GHz (Burst freq up to 1.83 GHz) and Intel HD Graphics System Memory – 2GB DDR3 Storage – 32GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n + Bluetooth 4.0 Video Output – HDMI 1.4 Audio Output – HDMI, 3.5mm stereo jack USB – 2x USB 2.0 Misc – Power […]

January 19, 2015January 19, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

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 […]

January 16, 2015January 21, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 53 Comments

Understanding Windows 8.1 Licenses with MeegoPad T01 (and Other Intel Atom Bay Trail mini PCs)

MeegoPad T01 was initially announced as a dual boot Windows 8.1 and Android 4.4 HDMI Stick, and it became quite popular. But as it has recently started shipping, Android is gone, and people who receive it only have Windows 8.1 to play with. Unfortunately, as the review embedded at the end of this post clearly indicates it’s running with a Windows 8.1 trial version that needs to be activated and with an invalid serial number, so it can only be used for 30 days… Normally, I would not be so interested in a Windows 8.1 only device, but since many people seem to have acquired one, it’s probably useful to look into what can be done about the license. So what could you do? There are several options: One person decided to buy a Windows 8.1 License. Cost? $119.99 + $7.20 for tax for a grand total of $127.19, or […]