arm-netbook

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1077 discussions

Why I think the Intel "Compute Card" will ultimately fail, and why it won't hurt this project
by James L 08 Jan '17

08 Jan '17

When I first heard of the Intel Compute Card, I was a little bit frustrated at how much media attention they were getting and how similar their marketing terms were (more on that later). What I realized was that neither of these thing will hurt the project in the long run, for a number of reasons. First off, I don't think Intel's product will actually succeed. Why? Corporations make money by selling the next product at the end of the life of the product. In this case, though, unless Intel is getting into the refrigerator business and every other business they plan to release every upgradeable product into, *every* company in the deal must be making money by selling the next product. Intel won't have a problem with this, as people will happily buy the "brains" upgrade, but the partner companies will not be able to sell upgrades without making significant improvements to their products (other than RAM, processor, etc.) which will make the products more expensive or increase their life cycle (both things making the partner company uncompetitive). So, if any company makes any kind of products, it will be a single more expensive one, with poor quality parts so that it will fail sooner rather than later. The similar marketing terms used may hurt this project in the very short term, because people who have heard of Intel's (failed) product will associate this project's terminology with a failed corporation's product. But in the long run, it won't even matter. Based on that assumption that they fail (or it turns out to be vaporware), it will not actually hurt the project's long term success, since the goal of this project is to reach mass volume (100 million+ units). CES does not reach most non-technical people, who are the ultimate target audience of this project. Even many technical people do not hear about every product that is announced at CES, so the project will not suffer from the similar marketing. These are just my initial thoughts, and I, for one, will not worry too much about this product. tldr; All the companies involved need to sell new products, this business model will only work for Intel (not their partners). CES does not reach this project's target audience (in mass volume), so it failing will not hurt this project's longest term goals.

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Intel at CES
by Alain Williams 08 Jan '17

08 Jan '17

I wonder where they got the idea from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38515472 http://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/compute-card/intel-compute-card.ht… -- Alain Williams Linux/GNU Consultant - Mail systems, Web sites, Networking, Programmer, IT Lecturer. +44 (0) 787 668 0256 http://www.phcomp.co.uk/ Parliament Hill Computers Ltd. Registration Information: http://www.phcomp.co.uk/contact.php #include <std_disclaimer.h>

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Adapteva Parallella: Thoughts?
by John Luke Gibson 29 Dec '16

29 Dec '16

Obviously it's been mentioned before, since it's on the <a href=http://rhombus-tech.net/adapteva/>wiki</a>. There isn't much information on the page however. The core doesn't work standalone, however it is completely open with an HDL and a schematic; it is in the direction that a puristic libre system would be if not "technically" all the way there. The board itself has both(I think?) an arm and a x86 on board, simply because adapteva is too new to have enough libraries ported for a full os (I think?). Now their boards are $99 which is a jump from $40, so my question would be was price differential the reason why it wasn't included or where there too many compatibility/tooling issues? Ultimately this thing would be nice to supplement the ARM in graphics computation if ever the right libraries where written to exploit the adapteva for that. Potentially could run graphics and ai programs better than a standard arm device. Just asking?

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OT: The U.S. Needs to Stop Lecturing the Rest of the World About Internet Values
by Alexander Ross 28 Dec '16

28 Dec '16

off topic: I’m finding this insightful as to why luke was treated the way he was by a number of allwinner :( people: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2016/11/the_u_s_shoul… bit in particular i just read: " Just as one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist, one country’s “soft power” is another’s weaponized values and existential threat. Because Americans see their values and interests as essentially benign, they completely miss how those abroad interpret what seem like harmless acts. (The Chinese and the Russians read Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics, too, and they’re on to you.) Furthermore, much of the Chinese and Russian political class believe the West’s insistence on democracy and human rights is not merely distasteful and unnecessary, but a concerted way to weaken and destabilize them. As it is, Chinese Communist Party cadres are instructed by party bosses to be vigilant against “American efforts to overthrow the communist system through ‘peaceful evolution’—that is, the spread of Western ideas and culture.” Now imagine what the turbo-freedom of America’s global internet looks like to them. Actually, you don’t have to imagine it. In 2011, two years after President Obama’s town hall meeting with future Chinese leaders in Shanghai, the state-run newspaper China People’s Daily editorialized about the United States’ deployment of shadow networks in authoritarian countries: “The US State Department has carefully framed its support of such projects as promoting free speech and human rights, but it is clear that the policy is aimed at destabilizing national governments.” It called Tor—software that helps people mask their location—“a weapon in a covert cyber war intended to maintain the US’ global dominance.” " LOL teaching to population that the tool that helps them is in fact the enemy, classic. the us funded tor cus a sub department needed such a tool too. while other departments hate it :) ...but yes the powers that be speak BS about freedom,etc when they them selfs are promoting the surveillance - the never forget state. it will be logged, it will be jugged. the citizens will be given a treat level to the state and status quo rating. or some other named way of categorisation.

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moved to taiwan, started passthrough card
by Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton 27 Dec '16

27 Dec '16

ok so much of this is in the upcoming update, we made a snap decision to go to taiwan because of the 30 limit on the china dual-entry visas. i'm staying with a friend who has a stack of equipment including IR oven, small pick-and-place machine, scope etc. so it's a much easier arrangement, i'm helping him out as well. the rk3288 board is going to first prototyping, we're getting quotations from PCB manufacturers. that leaves me free to move to the next PCB design, and i picked the passthrough card... which turns out to be much more complicated than i was expecting. i _could_ do a simple version (just a TFP401a) but it would have to have 2 USB ports and a break-out arrangement for the remaining pins.... i decided instead to wire them all to a STM32F072. now, the idea here is to pre-load a userspace USB-based DFU bootloader into the NAND flash, and to require firmware to be uploaded after it reports the contents of the EOMA68 EEPROM ID. the TFP401a's I2C will be connected to the STM32F072, it can emulate an EEPROM and can load EDID data which tells the TFP401a what the LCD's resolution is. normally the LCD resolution would be fixed... but here it is not possible to know what the LCD resolution is going to be.... also we have no idea in advance what the various functions are of the EOMA68 pins: maybe the SD/MMC pins are used for an SD card (in which case the STM32F072 can be programmed to be a USB mass-storage device), but maybe they are used as GPIO, or maybe they are used for a WIFI SIP module: we just don't know. hence the need to be flexible and for firmware to be uploaded on a per-boot basis. i would _like_ to use a more powerful EC but i haven't the time to learn a new EC... so the STM32F072 it is. l. --- crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68

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Re: [Arm-netbook] A question about VREFTTL
by Internet 27 Dec '16

27 Dec '16

Great! That really helps me. By the way: In the pinouts table on elinux.org <http://elinux.org/Embedded_Open_Modular_Architecture/EOMA68/Hardware> (http://elinux.org/Embedded_Open_Modular_Architecture/EOMA68/Hardware) there are duplicate signals on pins 27 and 28, I am pretty sure that pin 27 was meant to be SSRX- instead of SSTX-. On 27.12.2016 05:23, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton wrote: > --- > crowd-funded eco-conscious hardware: https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68 > > > On Mon, Dec 26, 2016 at 6:00 PM, Internet <internet(a)devpi.de> wrote: >> Hey, I am planning a custom project utilizing the EOMA68 standard > cool! > >> and I was wondering about VREFTTL. > ya. > >> What I have read so far (elinux.org) is that VREFTTL refers to the >> maximum voltage that can be applied to the GPIOs. My questions are >> though: Is VREFTTL always 3.3V > *NO* it's not. > >> or can it be lower? > between 1.8 and 3.3v, at the moment. anything lower will need to be > negotiated in a FUTURE standard (and the "default" range of 1.8v to > 3.3v will be respected, for older Housings. that means SoCs will need > to have variable voltage power domains, but that's actually becoming > quite common. > > >> What should I do, if >> some ICs require a certain supply voltage > please do NOT make the mistake of using VREFTTL as a *SUPPLY* > voltage. most (complex-function) ICs have a VDD (digital supply > voltage) and a VCCIO. the VCCIO is what you connect to the VREFTTL. > take a look at the SN75LVDS83b or the TFP401a for examples. > >> and VREFTTL does not meet the >> requirements? > find another IC that meets the variable-voltage 1.8 to 3.3v CMOS > reference voltage or do level conversion. > >> Would it be necessary do level shifting in advance (to be >> compatible with other voltages)? > yyep. there's a number of ways to do it, dozens of ICs and circuits: > the TXS0104 is great because it supports both open drain and > push-push, you can use a MOSFET, or in some cases a straight diode > will do (in a really counter-intuitive way, but it works). take a > look on the rk3288 schematic PDF, look for the HDMI page, you'll find > a suitable converter circuit using a MOSFET (and protection diode). > > http://hands.com/~lkcl/eoma/rockchip_rk3288/ > > l. > > > >> How much current can I draw out of the >> computing card? > up to around 300mA. do *not* go beyond that. > > _______________________________________________ > 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

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A question about VREFTTL
by Internet 27 Dec '16

27 Dec '16

Hey, I am planning a custom project utilizing the EOMA68 standard and I was wondering about VREFTTL. What I have read so far (elinux.org) is that VREFTTL refers to the maximum voltage that can be applied to the GPIOs. My questions are though: Is VREFTTL always 3.3V or can it be lower? What should I do, if some ICs require a certain supply voltage and VREFTTL does not meet the requirements? Would it be necessary do level shifting in advance (to be compatible with other voltages)? How much current can I draw out of the computing card? Thank you, Julius Lehmann

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EOMA68 and display upsampling
by Tor, the Marqueteur 23 Dec '16

23 Dec '16

I was reading through the recent archives, and the question of displays and upsampling caught my eye. On list it was noted that upsampling is an expensive operation (and it certainly is), but I'm not sure it has to be. As I recall, most LCDs when driven with a lower resolution than native, will simply repeat interspersed rows/columns as needed to fill the display. It looks dreadful, but it works. Alternatively, is there any reason a display for type I couldn't be set to recognize a type II 1366x768 and display it in the centre of the display to avoid artifacts? Or should such a display have a button to switch modes so that it can display full screen with anything? Tor -- Tor Chantara http://www.fineartmarquetry.com/ GPG Key: 2BE1 426E 34EA D253 D583 9DE4 B866 0375 134B 48FB *Be wary of unsigned emails* Stop spying: http://www.resetthenet.org/

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Laptop Housing Questions
by Jonathan Frederickson 21 Dec '16

21 Dec '16

Hey, I have a few questions about the laptop housing. - How does one connect it to power? Can it be powered over USB or does it require a specific AC adapter? I have a portable solar array with a battery pack that can charge portable devices over USB, and I'm trying to work out whether or not I'll be able to power the laptop from it. - What's the average power draw of the laptop housing with an EOMA68-A20 card? If my rough calculations are correct, I think it should be around 6.25-8.3 W? (Looking into CPU power specs has given me quite a bit of respect for Intel's engineers; it's amazing that modern laptops are able to do so much with so little power.)

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Warning about tablets/netbooks with detachable keyboards
by dumblob 19 Dec '16

19 Dec '16

Hi Luke, just a tiny note about your mentions of a "tablet/netbook" in https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop/updates/latest-from-shenzh… . In case you're planning to have the keyboard detachable (even worse if this detachable piece should have some connectors like USB), think of it twice as per experience of many users of different such tablets/netbooks (youtube is full of such reviews), the detachable connection is very fragile (because the detachable design requires a shallow or rather just "touching" connection in contrast to "sliding" deeper connectors like USB). Therefore there will be a need for advanced SW means (from Linux kernel through all daemons up to GUI) to cope with interrupted keyboard input, interrupted USB communication, etc.). I'm though not aware of any such comprehensive solutions, so this will most likely become very painful and will stay so forever if introduced. Keep going, -- Jan

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