Azulle Byte3 Mini PC Review – Windows 10, Linux Support, Benchmarks, and Video Playback

Azulle Byte3

The Azulle Byte3 is a fanless Apollo Lake device featuring both M.2 slot and a SATA connector, as well as supporting HDMI and VGA. It includes USB (both 2.0 and 3.0 including a Type-C port) as well as Gigabit Ethernet:   It features an Apollo Lake N3450 SoC and comes with 32GB of storage plus an option of either 4GB or 8GB of RAM and a further option of either with or without Windows 10 Pro meaning Linux users can save around USD 20. Azulle provided me with a device for review and it came in a presentation box complete with a power adapter, and remote control together with a quick guide pamphlet. Whilst the power adapter includes an interchangeable plug it only came with one suitable for the US. Looking at the detail specifications:     it is important to realize that the Type-C USB is USB 3.0 which […]

Rockchip RK3288 To Be Phased Out Soon? GPD XD+ Android Console To Get Mediatek MT8176 SoC, 4GB RAM Upgrade

[Update: I have now seen an email exchange with ASUS replying that Rockchip RK3288 will still be in production for 5 years, so GPD claims that manufacturing will stop for RK3288 may be incorrect, or misunderstood Update 2: Rockchip has now confirmed RK3288 will not be phased out. So I’m guessing there may have been info lost in translation with GPD simply not manufacturing their own RK3288 board anymore] Rockchip RK3288 32-bit Arm processor was first spotted in a company presentation in the summer of 2013, before being announced – with some confusion (Cortex A12 vs A17) – at CES 2014 in January. The quad core Cortex A17 processor had then its moments of glory with inclusion in products such as Chromebooks (2015), and ASUS Tinker board SBC earlier this year. Another product based on the processor is GPD XD Android game console, but according to a report on reddit, […]

Meet the First Windows 10 Arm “Always Connected PCs” – HP Envy x2 (2017) and ASUS NovaGo TP370

Qualcomm and Microsoft showcased some Snapdragon 835 based Windows 10 “Mobile PCs” at Computex 2017 last June, and while the press was allowed film the demo, the device could only be operated by a Qualcomm employee. But both companies and their partners have made progress, and at the Snapdragon Technology Summit, Qualcomm announced “Always Connected PCs” which will run Windows 10, be always on and always connected at Gigabit LTE speeds, and support all-day battery life while keeping thin and fanless designs. all while incorporating Windows 10. HP and ASUS unveiled their very own “Always Connected PCs”, respectively Envy X2 and Novago TP370. What I used to call laptop or in this case 2-in-1 hybrid (laptop) is now apparently called “Always Connected PC”, but in any case let’s have a closer look at both devices. HP Envy x2 (2017) Specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile Processor @ 2.6GHz with Adreno […]

Sega Genesis Flashback Retro Game Console is Powered by “Monkey King 3.6” Processor, Runs Android

Retro gaming is cool again with products like Nintendo NES Classic / SNES Classic, DIY solutions based on firmware like RetrOrangePi, and the upcoming Atari console  among others. Another model is AtGames Sega Genesis Flashback, a smaller replica of Sega Model 1 Genesis with 85 pre-loaded games including the Sonic series, Mortal Kombat series, Phantasy Star series, and Shining Force series games.   The console ships with two wireless controllers, connect to your TV via HDMI with 720p resolution, and includes a cartridge slot that works with Sega Genesis and Mega Drive cartridges. The console has been out for several months, and it would be an understatement to say reviews are not very positive with titles / bylines such as “do not buy” (partially because the console requires a power adapter….), This Genesis does not do what Nintendoes, or “More like Trashback“. But what caught my eyes is ETA Prime’s Sega Genesis Flashback HD […]

Mozilla Adds HTML5 AV1 Video Support to Firefox 59 Nightly Builds

Last year, we wrote about AV1 royalty-free open source video codec managed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), a non-profit organization with members such as Amazon, Cisco, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla, and other companies. Eventually AV1 should be 25 to 35% more efficiency than H.265 or VP9, but encoding will be slower, and at the time, my AMD FX8350 based computer could encode CIF (352×288) video  at less than 0.5 fps, and I had to use command line tools to encode and decode/playback the videos. But thing are progressing nicely, and it’s now possible to stream AV1 video with HTML5 / in Firefox 59.0 (nightly) using Bitmovin Player. If you are using Ubuntu, you can also install Firefox nightly as follow:

Start it and visit the demo page to stream an AV1 MPEG-DASH/HLS stream in your web browser. It works from 360p @ 200 Kbps up to 720p […]

HDMI 2.1 Features Overview

HDMI 2.1 was announced last January with support for up to 10K @ 120 Hz while using Display Stream Compression (DSC) and new 48Gbps cables, as well as other improvements. The HDMI Forum has now released version 2.1 of the HDMI specifications. The detailed specifications are only available to HDMI adopters, but an overview of the specifications can be downloaded by simple mortals. From the table above, we can see HDMI 2.1 adds 7 new features compared to HDMI 2.0b: Dynamic HDR (HDR dynamic metadata) – HDR data (depth, detail, brightness, contrast, and color gamuts) can now be optimized on a scene-by-scene or even a frame-by-frame basis Enhanced audio return channel (eARC) – eARC supports high-bitrate home theater audio formats, object-based audio, uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1, and 32-channel uncompressed audio thanks to up to 37 Mbps audio bandwidth. Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) – Syncs up source and display with continually […]

Review of ITEAD Studio IP66 Waterproof Case for Sonoff Wireless Switches (and Other Boards)

ITEAD Studio recently launched a waterproof enclosure for $2.90 (now at still a decent $3.90), rated IP66, for their family of Sonoff wireless switches, so you can safely use them outdoors protected from rain and dust. The company sent me one sample together with Sonoff RF switch supporting WiFi and 433MHz RF connectivity so that I can test the case, and write a review describing my experience. I’ll focus on the waterproof since this is the main focus of this review, and beside Sonoff RF, you can also use Sonoff basic, various other Sonoff boards (POW, TH10/T16), and even other development boards as we’ll seen below. I’ll be using the stock firmware with eWelink app, but if you prefer alternative firmware like ESPurna or Sonoff-Tasmota, you may want to flash it to your Sonoff now. The waterproog case has two parts, a rubber cord, two waterproof PG7 connectors, and four […]

Cheap Evil Tech – WiFi Deauther V2.0 Board and Autonomous Mini Killer Drones

Most technological advances usually improve life of people, and with the costs coming down dramatically over the years, available to more people. But technology can be used for bad, for example by governments and some hackers. Today, I’ve come across two cheap hardware devices that could be considered evil. The first one is actually pretty harmless and can be use for education, but disconnects you from your WiFi, which may bring severe physiological trauma to some people, but should not be life threatening, while the other is downright scary with cheap targeted killing machines. WiFi Deauther V2.0 board Specifications for this naughty little board: Wireless Module based on ESP8266 WiSoC USB – 1x Micro USB type changed, more stable. Expansion – 17-pin header with 1x ADC, 10x GPIOs, power pins Misc – 1x power switch,  battery status LEDs Power Supply 5 to 12V via micro USB port Support for 18650 […]

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