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September 1, 2015March 13, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 66 Comments

Getting Started with Orange Pi PC, Pi 2 and Pi Plus Development Boards

I’ve recently received a kit based on Orange Pi mini 2 development board powered by Allwinner H3 quad core processor, but contrary to most other devices or boards I reviewed, this one what sent to me by one of my reader (thanks Jon!) as for various reasons he did not need to get it shipped to him. Today, I’ll start by showing off the kit I received, before writing a quick start guide showing how to install a Debian, and build your own Linux image. The instructions will work for all Orange Pi Allwinner H3 boards, including Orange Pi 2, Orange Pi Plus, and the recently launched Orange Pi PC, which has been rather popular thanks to its low $15 price tag. Orange Pi mini 2 Board Kit and CSI Camera This is what I got in the package… The board with a regulatory compliance and safety information sheet, as […]

August 29, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Connect an Android Smartphone or Tablet to a Monitor, USB Keyboard and Mouse Easily with a DisplayLink Docking Station

Following my post featuring Zenfone 2 Deluxe Special Edition smartphone with 256GB internal storage and 4GB RAM, I had an interesting discussion about mobile and desktop convergence, and we had different views on how this may pan out and what the consumers want, but we all basically agreed this was still work in progress. Another reader pointed me to his various attempts to conveniently connect his Android smartphone and tablet to a large monitor together with keyboard and mouse. He basically considered – and in most cases tested – four choices: Wireless Display solution (Miracast, Chromecast, EZcast…) together with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse Micro USB port with MHL using a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse Slimport adapter based on MHL but with USB port for keyboard and mouse. Here’s on example of Slimport to HDMI adapter ($10). Displaylink docking station with HDMI and VGA, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0 Wireless display […]

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments

Windows 10 on MeLE PCG03, PCG01 and Other Intel Atom Z3735F Devices

For some reasons, after installing Ubuntu 15.04 on MeLE PCG03 a while ago, I had to re-install Windows 8.1 on the device. The backup I used with dd did not work, so I had to download the firmware from MeLE forums, and it worked OK. Right after the re-installation was complete, it asked me if I wanted to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, and I have given it a try, especially a few days ago somebody asked about Windows 10 on MeLE PCG01. So I’ll describe the update process on PCG03, show benchmarks results, and write about my experience with Kodi 15.0 in Windows 10. Upgrading to Windows 10 Once you are ready to update to Windows 10, the system will check for updates, and ask whether you want to download and install Windows 10. The download is over 2GB large, so it may take a while. It took […]

August 10, 2015August 10, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments

ps_mem Shows Programs RAM Usage in Linux

There are several ways to see how much RAM is used in a Linux system with tools like free, vmstat, top, etc…, but today I’ve come across ps_mem which displays the RAM used for each program in a neat way. The post on lintut.com explains how to install it on Centos / Fedora:

yum install ps_mem -y

1	yum install ps_mem -y

As a Ubuntu user, I immediately tried apt-get install ps_mem, but there isn’t such package. After running apt-file search, I found it in w3af-console package:

sudo apt-get install w3af-console
sudo chmod +x /usr/share/w3af/core/controllers/profiling/ps_mem.py
sudo ln -s /usr/share/w3af/core/controllers/profiling/ps_mem.py /usr/sbin/ps_mem

sudo apt-get install w3af-console

sudo chmod +x /usr/share/w3af/core/controllers/profiling/ps_mem.py

sudo ln -s /usr/share/w3af/core/controllers/profiling/ps_mem.py /usr/sbin/ps_mem

Another way to install the script is to simply get it from Github. Running the command without options will list of programs with RAM usage from the smallest to the largest:

sudo ps_mem
 Private  +   Shared  =  RAM used	Program 

  4.0 KiB +  33.0 KiB =  37.0 KiB	inetutils-inetd
  4.0 KiB +  35.0 KiB =  39.0 KiB	rpc.idmapd
  4.0 KiB +  39.5 KiB =  43.5 KiB	rpc.mountd
  4.0 KiB +  48.5 KiB =  52.5 KiB	rpc.statd
  8.0 KiB +  62.0 KiB =  70.0 KiB	atieventsd
 44.0 KiB +  46.5 KiB =  90.5 KiB	rtkit-daemon
 96.0 KiB +  18.5 KiB = 114.5 KiB	cat
............
150.5 MiB +   5.1 MiB = 155.6 MiB	gimp-2.8
186.5 MiB +   9.5 MiB = 196.0 MiB	plugin-container
270.8 MiB +  12.1 MiB = 282.9 MiB	compiz
348.5 MiB +  19.0 MiB = 367.5 MiB	nautilus
409.3 MiB +   3.4 MiB = 412.7 MiB	thunderbird
393.8 MiB +  28.0 MiB = 421.8 MiB	Xorg
  2.1 GiB +  11.0 MiB =   2.1 GiB	firefox
---------------------------------
                          5.0 GiB
=================================

sudo ps_mem

Private + Shared = RAM used Program

4.0 KiB + 33.0 KiB = 37.0 KiB inetutils-inetd

4.0 KiB + 35.0 KiB = 39.0 KiB rpc.idmapd

4.0 KiB + 39.5 KiB = 43.5 KiB rpc.mountd

4.0 KiB + 48.5 KiB = 52.5 KiB rpc.statd

8.0 KiB + 62.0 KiB = 70.0 KiB atieventsd

44.0 KiB + 46.5 KiB = 90.5 KiB rtkit-daemon

96.0 KiB + 18.5 KiB = 114.5 KiB cat

............

150.5 MiB + 5.1 MiB = 155.6 MiB gimp-2.8

186.5 MiB + 9.5 MiB = 196.0 MiB plugin-container

270.8 MiB + 12.1 MiB = 282.9 MiB compiz

348.5 MiB + 19.0 MiB = 367.5 MiB nautilus

409.3 MiB + 3.4 MiB = 412.7 MiB thunderbird

393.8 MiB + 28.0 MiB = 421.8 MiB Xorg

2.1 GiB + 11.0 MiB = 2.1 GiB firefox

---------------------------------

5.0 GiB

=================================

You can also check the full command line for the programs: sudo ps_mem -s Private + Shared = RAM used Program 4.0 KiB + 31.5 KiB = 35.5 KiB /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty5 4.0 KiB + 32.0 KiB […]

August 6, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

How to Install and Run Linux on Zidoo X1 TV Box

Now that I’ve completed Zidoo X1 review, I’ve decided to try out Ubuntu on the mini PC following a tip from one reader that Orange Pi 2 images can run on the platform since it’s based on the same Allwinner H3 processor, but with some limitations such as WiFi not working. There are three Linux firmware images for Orange Pi 2 on the download page: Lubuntu, Raspbian, and Debian server. I decided to go with Lubuntu image. First you need to download Lubuntu_1404_For_OrangePi2-mini2_v0_8_0_.img.xz image from Google Drive or Baidu, uncompress it, and then flash the image to a Class 10 micro SD card in Windows or Linux. I ran the following command line in a computer running Ubuntu 14.04:

sudo dd if=Lubuntu_1404_For_OrangePi2-mini2_v0_8_0_.img | pv | sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=16M

1	sudo dd if=Lubuntu_1404_For_OrangePi2-mini2_v0_8_0_.img \| pv \| sudo dd of=/dev/sdX bs=16M

Where X in sdX is the letter of your micro SD card, which you can find with lsblk. In some platforms, it might be /dev/mmcblkX instead of /dev/sdX. Once it’s […]

May 21, 2015March 27, 2016 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

How to Unbrick MeegoPad T01 (Intel Atom Z3735F) HDMI TV Stick

When you use one of the Intel Atom Z3735F mini PCs, there’s very little chance to brick it as long as you use the pre-installed operating systems. But if you play around with the BIOS, or use one of the recent dual boot firmware that re-flash the BIOS when you switch OS, there’s a real possibility to completely brick your device. Ian Morrison (Linuxium) and Deadhp1 posted separate instructions to flash the BIOS and recover their devices. Both bricked MeegoPad T01, and deadhp1 used CH341a USB programmer which only supports 3.3V/5V, while the SPI flash on T01 only support 1.8V. It worked for him, but it could potentially fry the flash. So it’s probably better to with Ian’s solution involving EZP_XPro USB Programmer and some SOIC8 Test Clips. Once you get the hardware, you’ll need to download on install EZP XPro Flash 1.4 on a Windows PC. Now follow the […]

April 29, 2015June 8, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 102 Comments

How to Install 64-bit BIOS on Sunchip CX-W8

Sunchip CX-W8 is an Intel Atom Z3735F TV box running Windows, but I’ve been informed that originally Sunchip designed it for WeTek in order to manufacture a Linux based mini PC. Unfortunately, they finally gave up once they discovered Intel had no intention to work on HDMI audio support in Linux for their Atom Z3700 series processor despite it working on Android… Intel Compute Stick will apparently use a separate DSP to handle that part (TBC). Nevertheless, when WeTek saw I had Wintel W8, they decided to share the 64-bit “BIOS” they had worked on for the Linux port. By the way, Wintel W8 and Sunchip CX-W8 allegedly come from two different factories / design houses, so although they look alike, the hardware might be different, and the UEFI firmware / BIOS, I’m about to share may or may not be compatible with Wintel W8, so you may brick it […]

April 26, 2015 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

Improve Mediatek MT6752 GPS Accuracy by Turning WiFi Off?

Mediatek smartphones used to have a terribly slow GPS fix, and it would often take over 10 minutes to get a fix if any, and one workaround was to enable Mediatek EPO. However, in my Iocean M6752 review, I found out GPS fix was not super fast even without Internet connection, but accuracy is quite a disaster as Nike+ Running screenshot below clearly shows. I’m running around a stadium so the shape should be elliptic…, but data point are all over the place. Since the review, I’ve kept using the smartphone with Nike+ Running, and each time it’s a disaster, and once the app even reported a 81 km for an actual 10 km run… I’ve also used Google Maps once or twice, and found accuracy to be poor as well. However, I usually leave Wi-Fi on, and for some reasons today, I decided to turn Wi-Fi off before driving […]