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Flow Browser, a Raspberry Pi optimized web browser for HMI

Most people will use Chromium on Raspberry Pi boards simply because it’s now the default browser in Raspberry Pi OS. But the performance may not be optimal, and UK-based Ekioh has developed the Flow Browser optimized for performance on Raspberry Pi with multi-thread support and 3D accelerated graphics. There’s a caveat though, as the Flow Browser has been developed from the ground up, i.e. not based on Webkit or Mozilla Engine, with human-machine interfaces (HMI) in mind, rather than individuals browsing the web, and that means that while performance will be better, site compatibility does suffer at this point in time. Key features in Flow Browser Before going into benchmarks and other tests, let’s check some of the key features listed for Flow Browser: HTML & CSS3CSS – Animations and Transitions, CSS Transforms (2D and 3D), CSS Flexbox, Bi-directional text layout Graphics – Web Fonts – Canvas, SVG & WebGL […]

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Onlogic industrial Raspberry Pi CM4 based mini PC to offer dual GbE, USB 3.1, M.2 SATA socket

Yesterday, we covered two Raspberry Pi CM4 carrier boards with dual Ethernet ports, including one from Seeed Studio with dual Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.1 ports, and another from MCUZone with Gigabit + Fast Ethernet ports, USB 2.0 ports, plus a 4G LTE modem. But Onlogic will soon add another option with a complete Raspberry Pi CM4 based industrial mini PC with dual Gigabit Ethernet, teased as “One Tough Pi”, as well as USB 3.2/2.0 ports, M.2 SATA storage, and more. Onlogic “One Tough Pi” mini PC preliminary specifications: SoM – Raspberry Pi CM4 module with  up to 8 GB LPDDR4 memory, 32 GB eMMC flash storage Storage –  M.2 2280 SATA SSD support Video & audio output – 1x Micro HDMI port up to 4Kp60 Connectivity – 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports USB – 3x USB ports include 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, and 2x USB 2.0 ports; 1x […]

Khadas Edge2 Arm mini PC
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Geniatech XPI-3288 Raspberry Pi lookalike features Rockchip RK3288 SoC

Geniatech XPI is a family of single board computers following Raspberry Pi 3 form factor. We first covered XPI-S905X SBC in 2018, which was followed by XPI 3128 board last year. The company has now launched another model with Geniatech XPI-3288 SBC powered by Rockchip RK3288 32-bit quad-core Cortex-A17 processor coupled with 2G RAM and 16GB eMMC flash. Geniatech XPI-3288 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3288 quad-core Cortex-A17 processor @ up to 1.6GHz with Arm Mali-T764 GPU System Memory – 2GB RAM Storage – 16GB eMMC flash (8/32GB optional), MicroSD card slot Video Output – HDMI up to 4Kp60 (may be limited to 4Kp30 on  some older 4K TVs) Video decoding H.264 up to HP level 5.1 @ 2160p24 (3840×2160) MPEG-1/-2/-4, AVS, VP8, MVC up to 1080p60 (1920×1080) VC-1 up to AP level 3 @ 1080p30 (1920×1080) H.263 @ 576p60 (720×576) Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet port Optional dual-band 802.11b/g/n/ac WiFi 5 and […]

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Raspberry Pi RP2040 boards are coming with… HDMI?

We’ve already seen Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU can support VGA output using the microcontroller’s programmable I/O blocks.  But yesterday, I saw two upcoming RP2040 boards with an HDMI connector. How is that supposed to work? The first one is Olimex RP2040-PICO-PC that’s indeed like a pico PC board with an HDMI connector for video, a micro SD card for storage, a standard 3.5mm audio jack for speaker or headphone, and a USB host for a keyboard. RP2040-PICO-PC teaser small PC with RP2040-PICO module. Video, Audio, SD-card, UEXT, I2C, Lipo battery, Reset, USB pwr, USB host for keyboard, Debug TxRx, SWD for JTAG debug #rp2040 #raspberrypi #circuitpython #retrogames pic.twitter.com/str79xsMkm — OLIMEX Ltd (@Olimex) March 1, 2021 There are some I/O headers for good measure, what looks like a 3-pin UART console header, a 2-pin header for LiPo battery, as well as a reset button. The second board, dcelectr DC2040, follows the […]

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A neat way to add a reset button to Raspberry Pi Pico

The Raspberry Pi Pico is a nice little board, but if you program in C language, you’d need to disconnect the micro USB cable each time you’d like to flash the UF2 firmware. That’s not convenient and could damage your board over time.  The Raspberry Pi Foundation even decided to write a blog post explaining how to add a reset button to your Raspberry Pi Pico using a breadboard circuit. Here’s what it looks like. That works but you may want to use that breadboard for another circuit, so the reset button takes space. Another solution is to program with a Raspberry Pi board and use SWD mode to upload code using the debug port, instead of using mass storage (BOOTSEL) mode. I’ve also found out that most baseboards for the Pico board will include a reset button. But this morning, I’ve come across another solution that looks pretty neat. […]

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Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 industrial carrier board supports M.2 NVMe SSD, 4G LTE modem

Since the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 launch last fall, we’ve seen several interesting carrier boards for the system-on-module including Wiretrustee to build a NAS with up to four SATA drives, the compact, Arduino-sized Piunora board that also include an M.2 socket, or Over:Board mini-ITX carrier board. Oratek brings another one specially designed for industrial use cases with TOFU Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 carrier board offering wide DC input, Gigabit Ethernet with PoE, M.2 NVMe SSD or 4G LTE modem support, among many other features. Specifications: Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 socket Storage NVMe SSD via M.2 2242 Key B socket (See Expansion section) MicroSD card slot Video Output HDMI 2.0 port up to 4Kp60 MIPI DSI connector for Raspberry Pi LCD display Camera – 1x MIPI CSI connector for Raspberry Pi camera Connectivity Gigabit Ethernet port with PoE Optional WiFI 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 on Raspberry Pi CM4 […]

Rockchip RK3568/RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs
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Ready! Model 100 is a retro computer shell for Raspberry Pi, SBCs, Nano/Pico-ITX boards (Crowdfunding)

We recently wrote about Devterm, a modular, retro-looking portable computer that looks like a typewriter with an extra-wide display, and takes Raspberry Pi CM3-series modules, or other compatible modules made by Clockwork based on Rockchip RK3399 or Allwinner H6. If you’re into this kind of device, but would like to use your own Raspberry Pi,  another SBC,  an Intel NUC motherboard, a Nano/Pico-ITX board, or even your smartphone, Ready! Model 100 single board computer expansion system may be worth looking into. Ready! Model 100 key features and specifications: Compatibility – Accommodates any hardware using 5V or 12V power input including smartphones, or arm or x86 SBCs such as Raspberry Pi 4, and compact motherboard following NUC, 4×4, 5×5, or Nano/Pico ITX form factors. Storage – Space for SSD Display – 8.8-inch 1920×480 “3xVGA” HDMI Touchscreen Video Output – HDMI (if dual HDMI supported on SBC) Audio – 10W stereo speaker […]

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PICO-PI-IMX7 NXP i.MX7 SBC offered for under $20 (Promo)

TechNexion PICO-Pi-IMX7 single board computer was introduced a few years ago with an NXP i.MX 7Solo or 7Dual Cortex-A7 Intel Edison compatible CPU module, in a form factor similar to Raspberry Pi 3, and supported by Android Things that was still a thing at the time… It looks like Arrow Electronics is trying to get rid of some stock, as the company is selling the Amazon version of the PICO-PI-IMX7 board for $19.58 including free shipping for ArrowPerks members, instead of the usual $120+ price tag. We had written about the PICO-iMX6 module and PICO-PI-iMX8 SBC previously, but never about the i.MX7 version, nor the PICO-PI-IMX7 board, so let’s have a closer look at what the board has to offer. PICO-Pi-IMX7 specifications: PICO-iMX7 system-on-module SoC – NXP i.MX 7Dual dual-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 1 GHz with Cortex-M4 real-time core System Memory – 512MB DDR3L Storage – 4GB eMMC flash Connectivity […]

Khadas VIM4 SBC