Linaro Connect HK Greg Kroah-Hartman Keynote: “I Don’t Want Your Code!”

If you are a developer interested in getting your code into mainline, Greg KH keynote at Linaro Connect 2013 Hong Kong is probably worth a watch. In this presentation entitled “I Don’t Want Your Code! Linux Kernel Maintainers, why are they so grumpy?”, he first describes the large amount of patches they receive (7.28 patches per hour for kernel 3.8.0), gives some statistic about developers and companies involved with the kernel (about 20% is done by individuals), tells the audience they should submit the kernel code during SoC emulation/simulation stage, so that it’s accepted and ready to use when customers get the silicons (like Intel does), and quotes Intel and IBM executives saying “Working upstream saves time and money”. He then moves on what he does not want to see (and gets a lot): patch series with missing patches, email signature saying it’s confidential (since Linux development is done publicly, […]

$49.90 MarsBoard is Yet Another AllWinner A10 Development Board

After the tablet based Gooseberry and Hackberry boards, as well as Cubieboard and the upcoming A10-Olinuxino development boards, here’s another development board based on AllWinner A10 called the MarsBoard that looks very similar to the Cubieboard. Here are the key features of the board: SoC – AllWinner A10 Cortex A8 @ 1 GHz + Mali-400 GPU System Memory – 1GB DRAM Storage – 4GB Flash + 1x microSD card (up to 32GB) Video Output – HDMI Audio Output – 3.5mm stereo jack USB – 2x USB host port + 1x microUSB Connectivity – 10/100 M Ethernet SATA Connector Headers – 2x 2.0mm GPIO headers. (140 pins in total) Power Supply Requirements – 5V/2A Dimensions – 80mm x 55mm There’s also a 3.5mm jack but I’m not sure if it’s just for audio in or out, or for composite output. The website is still in construction (basically a modified copy of […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC

UNUIGA U28 Android 4.1 mini PC Powered by AllWinner A31

I wrote about AllWinner A20 mini PC and media players yesterday, but Gabe, a regular reader and commenter, informed me that at least one quad core Cortex A7 mini PC is now available. UNUIGA U28 HDMI TV dongle is powered by AllWinner A31 SoC, and comes with 2GB RAM, and 8GB flash, as well as U03 wireless keyboard. The device sells for $101 including shipping in a new (without any feedback) shop in Aliexpress. Here are the specifications of this AllWinner A31 HDMI TV dongle: SoC – AllWinner A31 quad core Cortex A7 + PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU System Memory – 2GB DDR3 RAM Storage – 8GB NAND Flash + microSD Connectivity – WiFi 802.11b/g/n + Bluetooth 2.1 USB – 1x USB 2.0 host port, 2x mini USB ports Video Output – HDMI Video Codecs – Mpeg1/2/4.H.264,VC-1,Divx,Xvid,RM8/9/10,VP6 Video Container Formats – MKV, TS, TP, M2TS, RM/RMVB, BD-ISO, AVI, MPG, VOB, DAT, ASF, […]

Cloudsto AllWinner A20 Android 4.2 mini PC and Set-top Boxes

AllWinner A20 is a dual core Cortex A7 processor destined to provide an easy pin-to-pin compatible upgrade for  AllWinner A10 devices, and the first devices start to appear on the market with several Cloudsto offerings running the latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean: A20 Media Stick – AllWinner A20 mini PC with 1GB RAM, 4GB Flash, HDMI output, 2x USB Ports and IR receiver. Price: 59.99 GBP ($90.88 US) A20 Media PC – AllWinner A20 set-top box with 1GB RAM, 4GB NAND Flash, onboard Ethernet, HDMI + RCA Video output, Optical output, and 2 x USB Ports. Price: 84.99 GBP ($128.77 US) Cloudsto Media PC PRO DRIVEDOCK – AllWinner A20 set-top box with 1GB RAM, 4 GB Flash, a 2.5″  SATA Hard Drive Bay, HDMI, VGA, and RCA video output and more. Price: 94.99 GBP ($143.92 US) The Media PC PRO DRIVESTOCK is the star of the show, and just looks […]

Future Versions of Ubuntu To Feature Mir Display Server Compatible With Android Graphics Drivers

The X server is getting old, and many developers complain it’s not an optimal solution anymore due to its (over) complexity, which was why Wayland was developed. However, it turns out Ubuntu will not use Wayland, but instead their own display server called Mir which will be used in all form factors from phones to desktops. Phoronix has provided a quick summary about the key aspects of Mir: Mir is a new display server being developed at Canonical and it is not based on X.Org or Wayland. Android graphics drivers will be supported. Existing DRM/KMS/Mesa/GBM (the open-source Linux graphics drivers) will work. Canonical is pressuring the binary blob vendors to make their drivers compatible. There will be support for legacy X11 applications through an integrated root-less X.Org Server. Canonical will natively support GTK3 and Qt/QML toolkits with Mir. Mir will be used for all form factors from Ubuntu Phones to […]

Measy U2C Gets Finless ROM and PicUntu Support

A few weeks ago, I reviewed Measy U2C, a Rockchip RK3066 mini PC with a webcam using the stock Android firmware. Since then other people received the device, and started to work on improving it notably by releasing a Finless ROM and providing instructions to install PicUbuntu on the device. Bob Finless is Freaktab.com administrator., and he has released popular custom ROM for the most commonly RK3066 mini PCs, and this time it’s Measy U2C turn! Measy U2C Finless ROM This first custom ROM is based on the latest ROM released on Geekbuying (March 1st, 2013) that fixes the CPU frequency, and let the device now achieve 9200 Antutu score. The Finless ROM brings the following improvements: Fully rooted with the latest SU and SUperUser.apk. All Google apps updated to latest, except Google Search. Deleted unusable and junk apps. Cleaned up the file system with tune2fs. Increased “system” space for […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs

Dell Project Ophelia Rockchip RK3066 mini PC / Thin Client and PocketCloud Suite

As announced at CES 2013, Dell will be the first multinational company to enter the Android mini PC with Project Ophelia, a mini PC powered by Rockchip RK3066 with 1 GB RAM and 8 GB Flash, which would just be an American copy of Chinese products without support for MHL, and PocketCloud, a software suite to access your computers’ desktop remotely, create your own private cloud, and manage your devices remotely. The specifications have not been disclosed, but I could gather some specs mainly from CNET: SoC- Rockchip RK3066 Dual Core Cortex A9 @ 1.6Ghz System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 8GB Flash + micro SD Connectivity: Bluetooth Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (with push to connect button) Video Output – HDMI / MHL USB – microUSB Dimensions –  8.89cm x 3.81cm You can either power the device via MHL if you have a compatible television, or via USB like most […]

FXI Technologies Cotton Candy HDMI Stick To Fully Support Both Android and Ubuntu

FXI Technologies was the first company to ever show an HDMI TV dongle when they unveiled the Cotton Candy in November 2011. Since then, many Chinese companies started to provide similar products at lower cost, and the company further improved the Cotton Candy, which is still powered by Exynos 4210 (dual core Cortex A9), by making it even smaller, and getting rid of the internal flash in the process. As a memory refresher, here are the specifications of the Cotton Candy: SoC – Samsung Exynos 4210 dual core Cortex A9 + Mali-400MP4 System Memory – 1GB DRAM Storage – No flash, up to 64GB microSD Video Output – HDMI Connectibity Wifi 802.11b/g/n Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR USB – USB 2.0 male connector for power and connection to devices that supports USB mass storage + microUSB Video Codecs- 480p/720p/1080p Decode of MPEG4-SP/H.263/H.264 AVC/MPEG-2/VC1 Audio Codecs –  MP3, AAC, AAC+, Real Audio […]

Boardcon Rockchip and Allwinner SoM and SBC products