Freescale i.MX processor, especially the recent i.MX6 Cortex A9 series, must be one the most Linux friendly ARM SoC available at this time. Freescale provides awesome documentation and the full source code, excluding the Vivante GPU drivers as they are prevented legally. But Etnaviv, a reverse-engineered open source driver for Vivante GPUs, has already made good progress and currently (Dec 2013) works with the lower end Vivante GPUs, but not quite yet with Vivante GC2000 3D GPU used in the quad core version of i.MX6. One of the first low cost platform based on Freescale i.MX6 Quad was HiApad Hi802, now more commonly known as Zealz GK802, an Android 4.0 HDMI TV dongle / mini PC. The device is quite nice to hack, as it has an easily replaceable internal micro SD card, making it unbrickable, and the availability of Freescale reference HDMI dongle source code. I’ve explained how to […]
Skimlinks test Over the years, I’ve written several Android how-tos and tutorials that may be interesting to both developers and users. I’ll list the most interesting with two sections: developers and users. Android Developers Tutorials The first tutorial, written in 2011, explains how to install the Android SDK in Windows XP, and how to write a Hello World application. This may become, or even already is, irrelevant as Windows XP support as by Microsoft has ended and most people have switched to Windows 7. At the time (July 2012), instructions to install the Android SDK in Ubuntu were not quite up-to-date, so I wrote a post entitled “Installing Android SDK on Ubuntu 12.04” to do just that. This year at Google I/O, the company announced Android Studio as an alternative to Eclipse for Android app development. Since I did not wake up in the middle of the night to attend […]
AllWinner was very successful with their AllWinner A10 single-core processor in 2012, but in 2013, they’ve been somewhat overtaken by Rockchip with dual and quad-core SoCs. Nevertheless, AllWinner is lucky to have one of the most active and dedicated developer’s communities for Chinese SoCs, and they should be followed closely especially with regards to Linux support. In 2012, due to the Raspberry Pi delays, I bought a Mele A1000 to hack on ARM platforms at home and wrote some instructions to run Linux on the platform. These may be somewhat dated, but should still be relevant. Linaro has some tools to generate images for their ARM platform involving rootfs (root file systems), and hardware packs that are comprised of platform-specific binaries. I did something similar with AllWinner A10 to make it easier to create a bootable Ubuntu image. I also created a script to build nightly images for AllWinner devices, […]
When you design hardware around Arduino or Raspberry Pi boards, most likely that not, the enclosures available on the market won’t be usable with your project, and you’ll have to design your own which may end up not quite looking as nice as you expected. Two Hornets, a startup based in the Netherlands, is trying to provide a solution with SliceCase, a modular and customizable casing system, that at first looks similar to some other enclosures like Pimoroni PiBow case. But there’s more than meets the eye, as SliceCase is composed of standard components, that allow you to build the casing around your hardware, and even order custom top covers and sides online. At first, they’ll focus on the most popular boards such as Arduino Standard and Mega boards, and the Raspberry Pi, but if this concept takes off more boards will be added. The enclosure system is composed of […]
Due to the end of year celebration, Linaro release is a little earlier at this time, and Linaro 13.12 has already been released with Linux Kernel 3.13-rc3 (baseline), Linux Kernel 3.10.24 (LSK), Android 4.4, and Ubuntu Linaro 13.12, which for the first time is based on Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander. Other interesting development include an initial arm64 Ubuntu saucy rootfs (that one?), work to support octa-core 4x Cortex A53, 4x Cortex A57 SoCs, an Android 4.4 KitKat LEB for the Galaxy Nexus, and ARMv8 LSK and Nexus7_2013-AOSP builds have been setup and Android can be now built using llvm-clang toolchain with the related patches submitted to upstream. On a related note, there are also some Midway and Highbank engineering build images for Calxeda server processors, which may not be that useful going forward, as unfortunately the company has just closed door after running out of cash. Here are the highlights of this […]
I’ve shown some unboxing pictures and video of Jynxbox Android M6 earlier this week, and today I’ll write a review of this AMLogic AML8726-M6 dual core Android media player. I’ll start with my first impressions, go through the different settings, test video playback, wi-fi performance, and reports about different miscalleous tests: Bluetooth, USB mass storage, USB webcam, etc… First Boot, Settings and First Impressions First, you’ll need to insert the provided AAA batteries in to the remote control. Opening the remote is a bit tricker than I would like as the cover does not come off that easily. Before powering up the device, I’ve connected the provided HDMI cable between the device and my HDTV, and an Ethernet cable to my hub. The first Ethernet cable would not click with in the device RJ45 connector, although it works with my laptop and other devices, but using another one worked just fine. Connecting […]
Fedora has been supporting ARM architecture for a while now, but it was only as a secondary architecture without official support. With the recent Fedora 20 release, nicknamed “Heisenbug”, the ARM architecture, more exactly ARMv7 hard float and greater, is promoted to a primary architecture meaning ARMv7 will have the same status as x86 and x86_64 architectures with packages officially build and supported by the Fedora community. What it does not mean however, due to the nature of ARM architecture, is that you can simply download an ISO to install on any ARM platforms, like you would do on an Intel or AMD computer. It’s a little more complicated than that, as it is platform specific, but instructions are available for the Beaglebone Black, Compulab Trimslice, the Wandboard, Calxeda Energycore Midway and Highbank, and Versatile Express in QEMU. You can download images with MATE, KDE, XFCE, LXDE, SOAS desktops, as […]
LG has put out a press release announcing the company will unveil the first-ever Chromebase, an all-in-one computer powered by Google Chrome OS, at CES 2014. So after the Chromebooks and Chromeboxes, we now have a new category of Chrome OS device: Chromebases. LG computer will come with an Intel Celeron CPU, but future Chromebase computers might also run on ARM platform. Technical specifications: Processor – Intel Celeron CPU System Memory – 2 GB Storage – 16GB iSSD Display: 21.5″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS monitor Video – HDMI-in USB – 3x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0 Connectivity – LAN Camera – 1.3MP 720p Audio – 5W speakers + microphone The computer will come with a keyboard, a mouse, and a cable organizer. LG will showcase their Chromebase in Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall #8204, during CES 2014, from Tuesday, January 7 through Friday, January 10. There’s no […]
