Kicad 5.0.0 Open Source EDA Suite Released

Once upon a time, your only options to design schematics and layout PCBs were to purchase expensive software like OrCAD,  or install a pirated copy of the same software, which was the standard practice in the country were I worked (China). Later on, Cadsoft EAGLE made projects much more affordable since they had a free version for hobbyists albeit limited to smaller boards. But in recent years, a new open source project called KiCad changed the market again, as it is entirely free to use, the community can be involved, and there’s no limitation. The software has even become good enough for companies like Olimex to design their new boards. A week ago or so, the project hit a new milestone with the release of KiCad 5.0.0. Some notable new features include: Whole Project New libraries for symbols, footprints and 3D models based on KiCad Library Convention (KLC) New 3D […]

GPD Pocket 2 is a Mini Laptop Running Windows 10 (Crowdfunding)

GPD Pocket 2 UMPC

Last year, GPD introduced GPD Pocket, a portable computer with a 7″ display powered by an Atom x7-Z8750 Cherry Trail processor and offered with either Windows 10 or Ubuntu 16.04. The company is now back with GPD Pocket 2 model with various improvements including a significantly faster Intel Core m3-7y30 Kaby Lake processor, and offered only with Windows 10 64-bit this time around. GPD Pocket 2 specifications: SoC – Intel Core m3-7y30 dual core / quad thread Kaby Lake processor @ 1.00 GHz / 2.60 GHz (Turbo) with 4MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics 615 @ 300 MHz / 900 MHz (Turbo); 4.5W TDP System Memory – 4 or 8GB LPDDR3 Storage – 128GB internal storage, micro SDXC slot Display – 7″ 1920×1200 IPS panel with touchscreen, Gorilla Glass 4; 16:10 aspect ratio Audio – Built-in speakers and microphone, 3.5mm headphone & mic jack Connectivity – Dual band 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n […]

Faytech 15″ to 17″ Capacitive Touch PCs Ship with Ubuntu 16.04

Faytech Ubuntu Touch PC

Although many can support Ubuntu or other Linux distributions, most Intel based products ship with some version of Windows by default, and the end users may have to install Linux by themselves. While watching a Computex 2018 video on Armdevices.net, I found out FayTech, a company specializing in  the design, development, manufacturing and marketing of touchscreen monitors & PCs, showed a 15″ Touch PC powered by an Intel Celeron J1900 “Bay Trail” processor and running Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. So I had a look on the company website, and the 15″ capacitive touch PC (FT15J1900W4G64GCAP) showcased in the video – embedded at the end of this article – comes with the following key features and specifications: SoC – Intel Celeron J1900 quad core processor @ 2.0 / 2.4 GHz with Intel HD Graphics; 10W TDP System Memory – 4GB DDR3L-1333 via 1x SO-DIMM slot, expandable to 8GB Storage – Industrial 64GB […]

$400 UGEE UG-2150 21.5″ Drawing Monitor Comes with a 2048-Level Pressure Sensitivity Pen

UG-2150 Drawing Monitor

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a 7″ HDMI touchscreen display, and today when I first come across UGEE UG-2150 monitor, I thought I had found something similar but with a bigger display size. However, the 21.5″ monitor has a different target applications, and is specifically designed for drawing as it ships with a 2048-level pressure sensitivity stylus. UGEE UG-2150 monitor specifications: Display Resolution – 1920 x 1080 Colors – 16.7M Drawing / touch Pressure Sensitivity – 2048 levels Accuracy – 0.25 mm Report Rate – 220 reports/per second Response Time – 14ms Video Input – VGA, DVI, HDMI USB – 1x USB 2.0 port Power Supply – Yes… Dimensions Full device – 517x 321.89 x 30mm excluding the stand Active Area – 476.64 x 268.11mm The monitor ships with a P50S rechargeable pen, two pen holders, 8 different tips, a remove ring, a USB cable, a power adapter […]

Espruino Pixl.js is a Bluetooth LE Display Programmable with JavaScript, Compatible with Arduino Shields

Espruino is an open source firmware that allows you to control micro-controllers board with JavaScript, and used in hardware such as Wio LTE GPS tracker,  some STM32 Cellular IoT Discovery Kits, and other platforms. I have actually tried Espruino and JavaScript programming in an ESP32 board myself, and it worked reasonably well. But Espruino developers also provide hardware platforms for Espruino, which – as one should expect – are normally better supported than other third-party board. One of their latest platforms is Espruino Pixl.js a Bluetooth smart display powered by Nordic Semi nRF52832 WiSoC. Espruino Pixl.js specifications: WiSoC – Nordic Semi nRF52832 Arm Cortex-M4 @ 64MHz with 64kB RAM, 512kB Flash,  Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity (via a Raytac Corportation module) Display – 54mm diagonal, 128 x 64 sunlight readable monochrome display with white backlight Connectivity – Bluetooth LE and NFC tag I/Os 20x GPIO in Arduino footprint with PWM, SPI, […]

Extend VGA or HDMI Signals over “Ethernet” with VGA / HDMI Extender over Cat5/Cat6 Cables

Ethernet VGA Extender Kit

A host computer or media player may not always be in the same room as its display(s), for example for digital signage where you may want to have several displays controlled by one computer in different rooms, or if you want to add a display to one of your room without necessarily adding another TV box or set-top box. We’ve already seen solution to extend the video signals over a few hundred meters using a HDMI powerline extender or wireless AV transmitted / receiver kit. The former is rather expensive (~$250) and the latter only works with composite. Today, I’ve come across other video extender solutions relying on Cat5/Cat6 “Ethernet” cables, first with an Ethernet to VGA extender kit that sells for $12.99 shipped on Banggood, but there are also Ethernet to HDMI solutions for around $25 to $40 offering a range of up to 120 meters over Ethernet. Both […]

KidBright32 Board is Thailand’s BBC Micro:Bit Equivalent

BBC Micro:Bit board was first announced in July 2015. Designed for STEM education, the board was then offered to UK schools in March 2016, and a few months later UK store would start selling it worldwide. It’s now available pretty much anywhere, and you can likely find it in a local store or online. The Thai government must have seen this, and thought to themselves “If the British can do it, we can do it too!”, as the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) part of Thailand’s Ministry of Science and Technology designed KidBright32 board and courses to teach STEM to Thai students. The board is based on Espressif Systems ESP32-WROOM-32 WiFI and Bluetooth module, and comes with large holes for power (5V/GND) and 6 digital inputs/outputs,  smaller through holes for I2C and more I/Os, as well as an I2C header. We’ll also find some LEDs, two dot matrix […]

Renegade Elite (ROC-RK3399-PC) RK3399 Single Board Computer Launched for $99 on Indiegogo

ROC-RK3399-PC RK3399 Single Board Computer

Libre Computer and Firefly Team previously collaborated on Renegade (ROC-RK3328-CC) board powered by a Rockchip RK3328 quad core Cortex A53 processor and mostly following Raspberry Pi 3 form factor.  We already knew both companies worked again on another Rockchip RK3399 single board  computer, and were expected to launch it in July via a crowdfunding campaign. The good news is that Libre Computer has just launched Renegade Elite (aka ROC-RK3399-PC) SBC on Indiegogo. Renegade Elite board specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3399 hexa core processor with 2x Arm Cortex-A72 @ up to 2.0 GHz + 4 Arm Cortex-A53, Arm Mali-T860MP4 with OpenGL ES 1.1 / 1.2 / 2.0 / 3.1 / 3.2 and OpenCL 1.2 support System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 SDRAM Storage – eMMC 5.x interface for storage modules up to 128GB,  micro SD card slot, and 128Mbit SPI NOR flash Video Output / Display I/F HDMI 2.0 connector Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) […]

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