Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Board Features a 64-Bit ARM Processor, Adds WiFi and Bluetooth Connectivity

The Raspberry Pi foundation is working on yet another model of the popular Raspberry Pi boards, as the Raspberry Pi 3 model B board has showed up on the FCC website. The new board looks very similar to Raspberry Pi 2 model B, but adds on-board WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz only) and Bluetooth 4.0. Let’s play “spot the difference” with Raspberry Pi 2 at the top and Raspberry Pi 3 under. The processor looks the same as the BCM2836 quad core Cortex A7 SoC found on model 2 B, but one redditer claims it could be a 64-bit processor due to some MagPi ad. [Update: that’s the MagPi ad which confirms Raspberry Pi 3 will feature a 64-bit ARM processor @ 1.2 GHz. Thanks Gabe! ] We’ll find the WiFi/BT chip antenna on the top left corner, and two through holes on the right of the 40-pin connectors, likely the […]

Rho Board $35 Mstar MSO9280 Development Board Supports an Optional DTV Tuner (Crowdfunding)

Futarque A/S, a Danish company specializing in digital TV (tuners, IPTV), DVD and Blu-ray solutions, has developed the Rho Board powered by Mstar MSO9280 quad core ARM Cortex A7 processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB NAND flash, and featuring HDMI 2.0 output, a Raspberry Pi 2 compatible expansion header, and  a TV tuner connector for an optional DVB-T2/C tuner. Rho board specifications: SoC – Mstar MSO9280PBM quad core Cortex A7 processor with an hexacore (4+2) Mali-450MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3-1666 Storage – 4GB eMMC flash + micro SD slot up tp 128GB Video Output – HDMI 2.0 and AV ports Audio Output – HDMI, AV and optical S/PDIF Video Codec – MPEG 1/2, 4K @ 60 fps AVC and 4K @ 30 fps H.265 Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet USB – 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x micro USB port Expansion 40-pin “Raspberry Pi” header TV tuner connector SDIO expansion […]

Raspberry Pi Zero Board is Back in Stock at Pimoroni

Raspberry Pi Zero has been quite popular when it launched due to its $5 price tag, excluding shipping and taxes. It’s been too popular actually, as manufacturing could not keep pace with demand, and resellers soon had to show it as Out of Stock, or simply decided to complete pull out the product page such as Element 14. The supply tightness has lasted a few weeks, and recently I showed on GearBest for $19.10 including shipping, but it’s now out of stock, and the company expects to get more boards mid March… This also led to a website called whereismypizero.com which automatically tracks stock on some of the main distributors, namely Element14, Adafruit,  The PiHut, Pimoroni, and Raspberry Pi Swag. The good news is that it is back on Pimoroni, where you can get a Raspberry Pi Zero board for 4.25 GBP ($6), unless you live outside of Europe, and […]

Kodi 16 “Jarvis” Release

This morning, I saw Kodi installed from Google Play get an update in one of my Android device, and that means that Kodi 16.0 “Jarvis” has now been released. As usual it’s available for Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Android, and iOS, with specific Linux ports for Raspberry Pi boards, and several Freescale/NXP i.MX6 boards such as Wandboard or EzeeCube. You can get the full Changelog in the Wiki, but some of the main changes against Kodi 15 include: Various new features for Live TV and PVR (Personal Video Recorder) Added RDS Radio, FM radio, scheduling recordings of TV shows… Various improvements such as speeding up EPG database access. Added, updated, and improved PVR backend clients addons for all popular third-party external PVR backend platforms: FilmOn, HDHomeRun, Enigma 2, Tvheadend HTSP Client, and so on. Add-ons Framework, API, and Manager improvements Platform Independent Playback improvements : software DTS-HD decode with libdcadec, […]

Open Source Operating Systems News – Maru OS, Zephyr, ReactOS, Tizen 3.0, and Raspbian

There have been several news related to open source operating systems in the last couple of weeks including Maru OS to run Debian on Android, Zephyr Project real-time OS managed by the Linux Foundation, ReactOS an open source port of Windows XP, and Raspberry Pi boards are getting a Tizen 3.0 port, as well as a new Raspbian release. Maru OS – Mobile <-> Desktop  Convergence Maru OS mobile operating system is supposed to do what Ubuntu convergence promised: it runs in mobile mode on the go with Android Lollipop mobile OS, once you connect the phone to an HDMI screen, and pair Bluetooth keyboard and/or mouse, it will switch to desktop mode running Debian Linux. The downside is that so far it a single developer (Preetam D’Souza) worked on it, and the beta version only works on Nexus 5 smartphone. However, since the project went viral, dozen of other […]

NexDock is a 14″ Lapdock Alternative for mini PCs, Development Boards, Smartphones and Tablets (Crowdfunding)

Motorola once launched the Lapdock, a device that looks like a laptop with a 11.6″ screen and a keyboard, but without processor or memory since it was instead designed to connect to the company’s Atrix 4G smartphone. Motorola eventually pulled the plug on this concept, and maybe it was just ahead of its time, as a startup has now developed NexDock, a device similar to Lapdock with a 14″ display, built-in battery and Bluetooth keyboard. NexDock technical specifications: Display – 14.1″ TN screen; 1366×768 resolution; 16:9 display ratio Bluetooth 4.0 keyboard and touchpad Video input – mini HDMI port Audio Output – 3.5mm headphone port Storage – micro SD card slot USB – 2x USB ports Battery – 3.8V / 10000mAh Li-ion battery Power – 5V/2.5A via 3.5mm power barrel Dimensions – 351 mm x 233 mm x 20 mm Weight – 1490 grams NexDock is operating system agnostic and would […]

Crowdfunded Projects Use Raspberry Pi and ODROID Boards into Home Theater PCs and Retro Game Consoles

I’ve been tipped about two separate projects launched on Indiegogo and Kickstarter that integrate Raspberry Pi or ODROID boards into their products. indieGO! retro gaming console and distribution leverages Raspberry Pi 2, ODROID-C1+, or ODROID-XU4 to play older games, while Pi2Media HT1 relies on either Raspberry Pi2, and later the upcoming UP Board or ODROID-C2 boards in order to offer a Surround 7.1 Home Theater PC. indieGO! Retro Game Console Beside the development board, indieGo! also includes a DVD-RW drive, an SD card reader, a mini-ITX case, a 3D-Printed I/O-shield and ARM board holder, a USB joypad, and two USB ports. indieGO!-OS is also a Linux distribution based on AEROS running Exagear which means both ARM (native) and x86 (emulation) executables will run on the device. Pre-isntalled programs include Wine, Kodi, Moonlight, AmiCloud, and EmuLA. The many emulators installed allow support for games running Playstation, C64, Dreamcast, Game Boy, Atari, Sega, PC, […]

How to Use Your Old Laptop Screen with Raspberry Pi or Your Computer

After reading an article on Liliputing about using Raspberry Pi Zero with Motorola Lapdock, I decided to look for clones for the device since Motorola Lapdock is now hard to buy at a decent price, if at all, since the product has been discontinued for a while. I did not find anything similar, but instead I came across M.NT68676.2A LCD driver HDMI kit selling for $37.99 on eBay that allows you to re-use your old laptop screen with any development board or computer that comes with HDMI, DVI, or VGA output. The kit is comprised of a monitor control board (M.NT68676.2A), an “inverter” board which depends on your LCD panel model number, a keypad board, an LVDS cable, and a cable to connect all three boards together. M.NT68676.2A monitor control board specifications: Chipset –  NT68676 (UFG) Supported Panel – LED/LCD, Single/Dual LVDS (8bit) up to 2048×1152 resolution Video Input “PC-RGB […]

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