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GPD Win Windows 10 Portable Gaming Console Launched on Indiegogo for $299

We already knew that GPD HK was working on a Windows 10 handheld gaming console powered by an Intel Atom x5-Z8500 Cherry Trail processor, and the company has now decided to launch what they now call “GPD Win” on Indiegogo for $299, and advertise it as a “5.5” Game Handheld Laptop”.GPD Win specifications: SoC – Intel Atom x5-Z8500 quad-core Cherry Trail processor @ 1.44/2.24 GHz (Burst) with Intel HD Gen8 graphics @ up to 600MHz System Memory – 4GB LPDDR3-1600 Storage – 64GB eMMC 4.51 flash + micro SD slot up to 128GB Display – 5.5″ capacitive touch IPS screen; 1280×720 resolution; Corning Gorilla Glass 3; full lamination technology Video Output- mini HDMI Audio – mini HDMI, 3.5mm headset jack, microphone and speaker; Realtek ALC5645 audio codec Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 USB – 1x USB 3.0 port, 1x micro USB port HID – QWERTY keyboard with […]

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FOSDEM 2016 Schedule – Open Source Hardware and Software Event in Europe

FOSDEM (Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting) is a 2-day event that usually takes place on the first week-end of February in Brussels, but this year it will be on January 30-31. The event brings thousands of developers, hackers, and other person interested in open source technology who present their projects and share ideas. FOSDEM 2016 schedule is now available, and There will be 557 speakers, 612 events, and 50 tracks this year including 7 main tracks: Distros, Enterprise, Hardware, Communications, Miscellaneous, Office, Systems Administration, and Virtualization. So I’ve had a look at some of the talks, especially out of  “Embedded, Mobile and Automotive” and “IoT” devrooms, and prepared my own virtual schedule although I won’t be able to attend. Saturday 10:30 – 10:55 – MIPS, the other side of the embedded by Alexjan Carraturo For many years MIPS processors have been involved in the embedded market, particularly […]

ArmSoM CM5 Raspberry Pi CM4 alternative with Rockchip RK3576 SoC
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Remix OS 2.0 for PC Will Run on Most Intel and AMD Computers

Remix OS is a fork of Android developed by Jide and optimized for desktop use, in a similar way to what Rockchip is doing with Light Biz OS, except the developers do not limit themselves to one specific SoC vendor with the operating system found in Remix Mini (Allwinner A64), and Remix Ultra-tablet (Nvidia Tegra 4), as well as several firmware images for popular Android devices such as Nexus 9 & 10. Now the company is planning to release Remix OS 2.0 for Intel and AMD based computer including PCs and Macs. How do they achieved that? Technically same way as Console OS by forking Android-x86 project, except they did it with less contention, and instead Jide partnered with Android-x86 developers. Remix OS for PCs alpha is a version of Remix OS 2.0 based on Android 5.0 with the taskbar, multiple windows, better memory management (it will try not to […]

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Rikomagic MK36SLE (Linux Edition) Based on Intel Atom x5-Z8300 Processor Runs Ubuntu 15.04

When people think about Linux on Intel platform, they often believe it’s just as easy as flashing an Ubuntu ISO on a USB stick and install it on their computer. While that’s true for desktop or laptop processors, the low power Intel Atom processors for tablets such as Bay Trail-T or Cherry Trail are not well supported in Linux with various issues ranging from an incompatible UEFI binary to a complete lack of audio support. So far, most companies have not provided a decent version of Atom Z3735F or Atom x5-Z8x00 mini PCs with Linux, and all the work has been done by the community such as this Ubuntu 14.04 image for Atom Z3735F. But Rikomagic must have worked on a Cherry Trail Linux port, more exactly Ubuntu 15.04, for their MK36S Cherry Trail mini PC, and has now launched MK36SLE (Linux Edition). [Update: While most features are currently workings, […]

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Tronsmart Vega S95 Telos TV Box Unboxing and Teardown

Tronsmart Vega S95 Telos is an Android mini PC powered by Amlogic S905 quad core Cortex A53 processor, but contrary to the two other S905 device I previously reviewed, namely K1 Plus and MINI MX, it’s not been designed for the ultra low end, as it comes with 2GB RAM, 16 GB eMMC flash, 802.11ac WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, and a SATA port. GeekBuying sent me one sample for review, and I’ll start with some pictures of the package, device, and board, before running it through a full test procedure. Tronsmart Vega S95 Telos Unboxing I got the box via DHL in the following package with makes it clear it’s a 4K media player. The box comes with a simple IR remote control requiring two AAA batteries, an HDMI cable, a SATA cable for laptop drives, a 12V/2A power supply, and a user’s manual in English. The device looks somewhat like […]

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Quick Start Guide for LinkIt Smart 7688 (Duo) Board

Mediatek Labs has announced LinkIt Smart 7688 development boards powered by Mediatek MT7688 WiSoC earlier today, but I was selected for a close beta several weeks before the launch, and I’ve had time to play a little with the boards, so today I’ll report my experience getting started with LinkIt Smart 7688 amd 7688 Duo by writing a Quick Start Guide showing how to setup the boards, upgrade firmware, access the serial console, run “Blink LED” sample applications with Python and JavaScript, as well as the Arduino IDE, and connect to the Internet. Initial Setup You’ll only need a micro USB cable and a computer with WiFi and USB ports to get started with the board. The green LED (top) for the MCU will turn on immediately, while the red LED (bottom) for WiFI will blink once, and only turn on continuously after 5 seconds, and within 30 seconds after […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs abd SoMs
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DragonBoard 410c Development Board Quick Start Guide and Android Benchmarks

Linaro’s 96Boards initiative was announced in February with the introduction of Hikey board, and while progress has been rather slow, there are now two boards available for sale: Lemaker Hikey and Qualcomm Dragonboard 410c. The main advantage of these board is that 96Boards is not only an hardware specification, but also a software specifications that mandate most code to be open source, with recent versions of Linux and U-boot, and in the case of Dragonboard 410c work is being done with Freedreno open source GPU drivers. Now that I’ve got a board I’ll explain my experience with the purchasing process, take a few pictures, and show how to get started with Android, and install the latest version, before running a few benchmarks. Ordering DragonBoard 410c Development Board I normally don’t like purchasing from North American and European distributors, because of the potential documentation involved to comply with silly laws, high […]

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Nvidia Tegra X1 Development Board is Finally Available… for $599

When Nvidia introduced Nvidia Tegra X1 octa processor with a 256-core Maxwell GPU at the very beginning of the year, I was expecting Jetson TX1 is follow suit in the next few months, but instead the company launched Nvidia Shield Android TV box based on the processor. The company has now launched Jetson TX1 module and development board. Let’s check the module first and its main specifications and features: SoC – Nvidia Tegra X1 octa core processor with 4x ARM Cortex A57 cores, 4x ARM Cortex A53 cores, and a 256-core Maxwell GPU System Memory – 4GB LPDDR4 (25.6 gigabits/second) Storage – 16GB eMMC Connectivity – 802.11ac 2×2 Bluetooth ready, Gigabit Ethernet Video –  4K video encode and decode Camera – Support for 1400 megapixels/second Dimensions – 50mm x 87mm The module support Linux4Tegra operating system based on Ubuntu. Libraries and drivers to leverage the Maxwell GPU include cuDNN  CUDA-accelerated […]

Boardcon Rockchip RK3588S SBC with 8K, WiFI 6, 4G LTE, NVME SSD, HDMI 2.1...