AMD Mullins Powered Compulab Fitlet mini PCs Run Linux Mint or Windows

Finally an alternative to the recent wave of Intel Bay Trail-T mini PCs and sticks thanks to Compulab Fitlet mini PCs powered by AMD Mullins APUs, namely AMD A4 Micro-6400T and E1 Micro-6200T, with Radeon graphics, supporting up to 8GB RAM, mSATA, up to two HDMI port, up to four Gigabit Ethernet ports, and more. There are three Fitlet models: Fitlet-i, Fitlet-X with four Gigabit Ethernet port, and Fitlet-B, the entry-level option. In Q2 2015, a MintBox mini model running Linux Mint will also be released. Fitlet-i specifications: SoC – AMD A4 Micro-6400T 64 bit quad-core processor up to 1.6 GHz with Radeon R3 Graphics (4.5W TDP) System Memory – Up to 8 GB DDR3-1333 (1x SODIMM) Storage –  mSATA up to 1 TB (SATA 3.0), power eSATA (5V), and micro-SD slot (SDXC support, rate 25 MB/s) Video Output – Dual HDMI 1.4a up to 1920×1200@60Hz Audio I/O – HDMI, S/PDIF […]

Downloading Files on Baidu, or via HTTP, Bittorrent or Metalink in Linux with BaiduExporter, Aria2 and YAAW

Most firmware files distributed by the manufacturers are uploaded to Baidu, but I’ve found the service not to be always reliable, especially for larger files. In Windows, people are recommended to use Baidu software (BaiduYunGuanjia), but there’s not such tool in Linux, so instead I investigate for command lines tools to download files from Baidu, and this lead me to two interesting tools called Aria2, a “lightweight multi-protocol & multi-source command-line download utility. It supports HTTP/HTTPS, FTP, BitTorrent and Metalink”, and YAAW “Yet Another Aria2 Web Frontend” with allow to start and monitor download locally or remotely. But let’s start with the first tool I found: pan-baidu-download, a Python script to download files from Baidu. To install it:

We also need to install some dependencies (assuming python 2.7.x is already installed):

and then you can start downloading files as follows:

But after posting a bug about password-protected […]

ArmSoM RK3588 AIModule7 NVIDIA Jetson Nano-compatible SOM

Review of BFS 4KH Media Player Powered by HiSilicon Hi3798M Processor

Buyforsure (BFS) 4KH is a low cost Android TV box powered by HiSilicon Hi3978M quad core Cortex A7 processor supporting 4K video output and decoding, HEVC/H.265 video decoding, and featuring a USB 3.0 port. I’ve already taken a few pictures of the device and board, so today I’ll reports about my findings after testing features and performance of this media player. First Boot, Settings and First Impressions The remote control included in the package does the job as long as you use the box user interface and play videos with the included player or XBMC, but I also switched to Mele F10 Deluxe air mouse when I need a pointer or to input text. I’ve connected an Ethernet cable, an HDMI cable, a USB 3.0 hard drive to the USB 3.0 port, and a USB hub to the USB 2.0 port including a USB webcam, two RF dongles for the […]

AV Receiver and 4K UHD TV Crowdfunding for Better Reviews on CNX Software

I’ve written a fair amount of reviews, mostly of Android mini PCs and development boards, and I intend to continue, but there are currently a few things I’m unable to test: S/PDIF and HDMI pass-through, and 4K video output, 3D videos, and HDMI-CEC.  The main reason is that the AV receiver and TVs required to test this are rather expensive, and these are not something I really need personally, since I seldom watch movies myself, I purchased a new Full HD TV last year, and I don’t expect to access 4K content for a few more years. Yet it would be interesting to prospective buyers to find out if advertized features such as audio pass-though of 5.1 & 7.1 codec does work, and whether 4K output (listed and real), HDMI-CEC, 3D videos and other features not supported by my current Panasonic can work properly. It would also be fun for […]

Patchsets for Nvidia Tegra K1 “Denver” Submitted to Linux Mainline

Some patchsets have been submitted for Nvidia Tegra 132 a few days ago to the Linux ARM Kernel mailing list. Tegra 132 is the codename for the 64-bit version of Tegra K1, and they’re also a mention of Norrin64 FFD board, that should be a Chromebook reference design.

Tegra114 and Tegra124 are the codename for Tegra K1 32-bit processor with Tegra124 clocked at a higher frequency. Norrin64 board dts does not seem included in the patchsets, but it’s available from Chromium OS code, and shows it’s using 2GB RAM too. That also means Chrombooks like Acer Chromebook 13 (CB5) or  HP Chromebook 14 with the 32-bit version of the Tegra K1 might soon get an upgrade to the 64-bit version. Thanks to David for the tip.

PC Partner N258N1-F is a Linux mini PC Powered by Nvidia Tegra K1 Processor

Nvidia has done a great job porting Linux to their Tegra K1, and it’s one of the only ARM processor with a GPU supporting OpenGL, which helps a great deal with Unity for example. Nexus 9 supports Ubuntu (somewhat), and platforms like Jetson TK1 board are suitable to developers, but as I and others wondered why nobody ever made a Tegra K1 mini PC, I’ve been informed that such device existed already with PC Partner’s N258N1-F mini PC. N258N1-F technical specifications: SoC – Nvidia Tegra K1 quad-core ARM Cortex A15r3 processor with Kepler GPU System Memory – 2 GB RAM Storage – 16 GB eMMC + SD card slot Video Output – HDMI up to 3840×2160 @ 30Hz, 4096×2160 @ 24Hz or 3200×2000 @ 60 Hz Audio I/O – HDMI, headphone jack, and microphone jack Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi (with external antenna connector) USB – 2x USB 2.0 […]

Rockchip RK3568, RK3588 and Intel x86 SBCs and SoMs in 2025

Meet the First Nvidia Tegra X1 “Tablet”: Nabi Big Tab XL

Nvidia announced their latest Tegra X1 processor at CES 2015 earlier this week, and after showcasing it’s computing and power-saving capabilities, the company focus on its applications: automotive dashboard and driverless cars. Nothing about tablets, or gaming consoles, probably because these two are more cost sensitive than the automotive market. But finally, we’ll see at least one tablet powered by TX1: Nabi Big Tabs. I say “tablet”, but at 55″ to 65″, it’s more like a TV with a touchscreen… Fuhu actually announced four TV sized Big Tab XL tablets. The “small” ones with 32″ and 42″ FullHD displays come with a Tegra K1, while the larger ones (55″ and 65″ / 4K UHD) are powered by a Tegra X1 processor. Here are some of the specs for the tablets: SoC Nvidia Tegra K1 quad-core Cortex A15 processor @ 2.3GHz with 192-core Kepler GPU or Nvidia Tegra X1 octa-core Cortex […]

AllWinner A64 is a $5 Quad Core 64-bit ARM Cortex A53 SoC for Tablets

Allwinner already announced H64 octa-core Cortex A53 processor for OTT boxes together with Nobel64 development board in the last quarter of last year, and the Chinese silicon manufacturer has now introduced Allwinner A64 quad core Cortex A53 processor for entry-level tablets, as the processor will only cost $5 per unit in large quantities. As usual, Allwinner only provided a subset of information for their first announcement, and some technical details like the GPU are unknown. Key features listed for Allwinner A64: 64-bit Cortex-A53 architecture Supports H.265/H.264 video decoding in hardware, and supports HDMI 4K display Supports various DDR memory types, making the BOM cost more competitive Supports eMMC 5.0 for better IO performance and enhanced data throughput capacity Allwinner SmartColor display technology for more vivid and eye-pleasing visual experience Supports Trusted Firmware security architecture from ARM The company is finally moving to a device tree enabled kernel with Linux 3.10, and Allwinner 64-bit ARM tablets will also run Android 5.0 Lollipop. Hopefully, this processor implements proper H.265 hardware decoding, not GPU accelerated decoding as in Allwinner A80 processor. Interestingly neither Allwinner A64, nor Rockchip RK3368 announced recently, support VP9, despite it being the codec of […]

Boardcon CM3588 Rockchip RK3588 System-on-Module designed for AI and IoT applications