arm-netbook December 2016

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test 2 please ignore
by lkcl＠lkcl.net 16 Dec '16

16 Dec '16

2nd test sending indirect message to list, please ignore l.

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EOMA68 Type III thickness
by Benson Mitchell 14 Dec '16

14 Dec '16

While checking my data for that last email, I noticed the PCMCIA standard for Type III cards is 10.5mm thick, while the EOMA68 standard is 8mm. Luke, is this deliberate? It seems like thinner limits user-facing connectors, and makes fan-cooled card designs a bit harder. OTOH, it does permit devices to be 2.5mm thinner -- I'm not a big fan of thinner-is-better, but it undeniably sells. Benson Mitchell

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new development laptop needed, looking at dell xps 13 9350
by Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton 12 Dec '16

12 Dec '16

around 3 years ago i bought an apple macbook pro 13in because it was well-built, high spec'd and high-priced (translation: plenty of profit so that no corners need to be cut in manufacturing, which in turn means less chance of component failure). that was the theory, anyway. one design flaw, though: the PCIe SSD could be "spiked" by the lack of earthing of the power supply, resulting in resets of the SATA bus about twice per second. setting "min_power" on the SATA bus stopped this flood of entries in /var/log/syslog... but the setting was OVER-RIDDEN at the slightest opportunity. also, i had no idea that i would need more than 8GB of RAM (and the macbook pro is NOT UPGRADABLE - the RAM is soldered down). i've also just had my backup SSD (a 4 year old kingston 512mb SSD which is hardly used) totally fail after a non-intensive *READ*. not write: READ. with the macbook pro's internal SSD being difficult to get at, i'm feeling a leetle paranoid: this machine is a CRITICAL resource, now a single point of failure. my partner's machine only has 4GB of RAM and a 1600x1080 LCD. lovely machine but it would in no way cope with what i'm doing. also... i've literally worn holes in two of the keys (ctrl and S)... basically it's time to get a new laptop, and i need something that has particularly special high-end specifications in certain areas: * 2560x1600 or greater resolution LCD (CAD development) * 13in size (has to fit in my backpack) * below 1.5kg weight (carryable) * 16GB of RAM (i'm maxing out the 8GB) * 512GB SSD (i've maxed out the 256GB drive) * cooperative manufacturer that hasn't caved in to microsoft cartelling business practices actual processor and processor speed isn't actually relevant. battery life: also not really relevant. doesn't *particularly* need a dedicated GPU: intel shared graphics turns out to work well enough for the 3D CAD work that i do (even when the framerate is seconds per frame in openscad). i run mostly from mains, and processors are so insanely fast these days that speed is not really an issue. now, the machine i came up with is the Dell XPS 13, 9350: https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Dell/Dell_XPS_13_9350 i looked at the lenovo yoga 900: zowee, lenovo are unethical. they've locked the BIOS so that you can't switch the NVMe SSD out of RAID mode (so you can't even install windows from a windows CD), they've refused refunds to people who claim mis-selling, they're ACTIVELY working to release new BIOS updates that prevent and prohibit people from installing linux, and they're scrambling to constantly censor reports and complaints on their forum. i also looked at the asus zenbook: fantastic machine.... except the 13in variant peaks at 12GB of RAM. sony... have stopped doing laptops! that's the end of an era: i'm amazed... now, before i go spending $USD 1500 of crowd-funding money (which is easily justifiable as it's absolutely essential that i have a working machine and a half-decent backup) i'd like to double-check with people if they know of anything better than the XPS 9350, both in terms of specification as well as support for the linux community from the manufacturer. dell appear to be cooperating, releasing BIOS updates that *actively* help linux users (as opposed to lenovo who do the complete opposite and then try to hide the fact, generally being incredibly evasive and unethical). thoughts and suggestions appreciated for evaluation. the 9350's at the top of the list right now. l.

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aorus x3 plus v6
by Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton 12 Dec '16

12 Dec '16

well, i have a new development laptop, one that i'm actually happy will last several years and be up to the challenge of being absolutely hammered without even coming close to going beyond its design spec. it's an 8 core 3.2ghz i7 which can be overclocked to 4ghz. RAM maxes out at 32 GB of 2400mhz DDR4 RAM. it can take *two* PCIe NVMe SSDs, which i've confirmed can run at 485 MEGABYTES per second write speed and a whopping 2100 MB / sec read speed. who designs this stuff?? it's so bonkers i'm having a hard time getting my head round the specs... which continue with a hybrid graphics setup: the Intel skylake HD 5500 normally controls the LCD, but there's a headless co-processor (using "optimus" or "primus" - apt-get install bumblebeed) in the form of a GTX 1060 with SIX gigabytes of DDR5 RAM. 3200 x 1800 14in LCD just tops off the list of insane specs. oh, and as long as you use the 4.7.8 linux kernel under debian, *all* the hardware works. there's a few niggles but i can sort those out as things progress and become more confident with it. full report's at http://lkcl.net/reports/aorus_x3_plus_v6.html and yes, i used angband.pl "nosystemd" packages. i considered it to be better to be using debian with all dependence on systemd and libsystemd removed than it would be to try to convert to devuan, where they've clearly established themselves as a "Reaction Against" systemd yet their charter says "we are inclusive of all init services". i can't endorse or live with that kind of lack of integrity, despite loving everything else that they're doing and achieving (warts and all: thank you phil for sending privately that evaluation report you did of their work). the only real niggle about using this machine: god is it way too recent hardware. 4.8.* kernels don't work fully, 3.16 kernels don't work fully, i had to go with the 4.7.8 kernel and compile it up myself from source. i also haven't had to actually use debian/sid in a long, *long* time. have to keep an eye on that.... l.

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laptop battery lessons...
by Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton 10 Dec '16

10 Dec '16

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/16/12/05/2032203/engineers-explain-why-the-… whoops. *sigh*.... so i'll be increasing the laptop's height by 1mm. argh. that's a big redesign... l.

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Opensouce TPM
by mike.valk＠gmail.com 10 Dec '16

10 Dec '16

Interesting: http://phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Google-Building-OSS-TPM2

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Failed upstream port on the "Hercules eCAFE Slim HD"
by Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli 07 Dec '16

07 Dec '16

Hi, Yesterday I bought a "Hercules eCAFE Slim HD", which is a small netbook with: - An IMX51 SOC and 512M of RAM (probably the maximum supported by that SOC) - A 1024x600 glossy display (sic[1][2]). - a 8G eMMC with the system - 2xSD slots - A switch that is under a trap that switches the SOC boot modes. Flipping that switch permits to boot from an external SD card (for recovery or for booting the system) It could be used as a computer that is impossible to persistently compromise assuming that the switch is always set to boot on an external SD card or that the internal eMMC is destroyed or removed. It was also interesting for me as I'm familiar with the I.MX SOCs, and that I was looking for a device to port parabola to. This would have been a fast port. Unfortunately the device bought was already opened, and the keyboard connector was dammaged. I failed to notice that. So I prepared a dts for it and compiled a kenrel to test, but the keyboard wasn't working properly since the last time I opened it, so I decided to fix that first. Unfortunately I broke it while messing with the broken keyboard connector. Probably a short circuit. The SOC doesn't enumerate anymore on USB and the device doesn't react when I press the power button. The DTS is pretty minimal and was intended to get a shell on it trough g_serial. It was produced by looking at the differences with the "imx51-babbage" board on the vendor provided kernel, and re-applying the lack of differences in a DTS. So I publish it in case someone wants to test or to continue the port. As I have a hard time finding such devices in France, the port will probably be abandoned. References: ----------- [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossy_display#Disadvantages [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossy_display#Adverse_health_effects Denis.

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t-firefly RK3399 in crowdfunding
by Mike Leimon 05 Dec '16

05 Dec '16

Since as I understand it, the people at t-firefly have been pretty helpful towards getting the RK3288 EOMA board put together, I figured I would point out that they have just launched a crowdfunding campaign to build a RK3399 development board. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1771382379/firefly-rk3399-six-core-64-… I'm not sure if that rk3399 processor would be able to work for a future EOMA68 design however, if it did, it would bring some cool advantages. It looks like it supports USB 3.0, it is a 64-bit processor, and like the RK3288, it can support 4 GB of memory.

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Nvidia jetson tx1
by James L 05 Dec '16

05 Dec '16

>https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/downloads#?tx=$product,jetson_tx1$har… > >ooooooooo! includes hardware design fiiiles. at laaast, nvidia is Getting It. > Nice, need to make an account with them first, then it works fine. Looks like the SoM is too much power to be an EOMA68 card though. Is it possible to get it down to 5 watts? >and it looks like according to this >https://nouveau.freedesktop.org/wiki/FeatureMatrix/ that the X1, which >is a NV110 (maxwell family) should be supported by noveau. NV12B >(GM20B) Tegra X1 > >ooooo, that's reaally excitiiing... > >l.

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Re: [Arm-netbook] arm-netbook Digest, Vol 77, Issue 5
by Mike Leimon 05 Dec '16

05 Dec '16

> Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2016 19:07:32 +0000 > From: Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton <lkcl(a)lkcl.net> > To: Linux on small ARM machines <arm-netbook(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk> > Subject: Re: [Arm-netbook] new development laptop needed, looking at > dell xps 13 9350 > Message-ID: > <CAPweEDx3abbKtx46=hO24BJPepaSqg8_K+mz7pUMBTY3sVR6sw@mail. > gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 > > On 12/4/16, Andrew Mike <andrew(a)logomancy.net> wrote: > > You could get a Gigabyte Aero 14: > > http://www.xoticpc.com/gigabyte-aero-14.html > > > > 2560x1440 14-inch screen, 1.9 kg, but has everything else you wanted at > > your price point. > > dang. up to 32gb DDR4 RAM. in a laptop. i'm very very tempted... > the only thing is: although the current screen i'm using is 2560x1600, > i just know damn well i'll miss the ... *goes to run python as a > calculator*... 160 pixels. it makes the difference between being able > to run 2 80x56 xterms one above the other. > > > There's also the AORUS X3 Plus PC3K4D: > > http://www.xoticpc.com/aorus-x3-plus-v6-pc3k4d.html > > > > Still misses the weight budget, and is $2000, but it has a smaller > > higher-res screen and meets all your other expectations. > > *splutter* http://www.aorus.com/Product/Spec/X3%20Plus%20v6 > overclocking to 4ghz, up to 32gb DDR4 2400mhz RAM, *dual* PCIe SSDs, > supports nvidia graphics cards up to *6* GB, 150 watt power supply, > does it _really_ take dual batteries? wtf this is a _monster_!! > > ... i love it. > > the fiscally-responsible thing to do would be to get a dell xps 13 > 9350. given that it's a path that's been trail-blazed already and > there are software libre developers out there who've bought it, gone > to the trouble of poking dell's support team with a stick, found out > how to disable the (Reference-Design-by-default) RAID setting on the > NVMe drives in the BIOS, and so on, it would be a lot less hassle. > > *however*.... thinking it through... the only reason i said "16GB > RAM" is because i didn't expect there to be *laptops* out there which > could take up to 32GB RAM. i made the mistake of getting not enough > memory once already. > > tell you what i'll do: i'm going to register on their forums and make > some enquiries. > > > > Sadly, you'll have to pay the Windows tax on either. :/ > > *grumbles*... > > > _______________________________________________ > > arm-netbook mailing list arm-netbook(a)lists.phcomp.co.uk > > http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/arm-netbook > > Send large attachments to arm-netbook(a)files.phcomp.co.uk > > Actually, you don't have to pay the windows Tax on an XPS 13 or XPS 15. http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd?3x_nav=OS_BRAND%3DU… Try searching for Dell XPS developer edition, those are sold running Ubuntu instead of Windows. Here is a version of the XPS 13 with 16 GB of memory: http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-9360-laptop/pd?oc=cax13ubuntuh5133…

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arm-netbook December 2016