https://www.pine64.org/?page_id=3707
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hybrxpc/ultra-slim-laptop-with-android-51-os-and-remix-os/updates
https://www.olimex.com/Products/DIY%20Laptop/
Maybe some of the hardware can get combined with the computer card.
In a post lkcl explained the difficulties about making pcbs. About the
pocketchip does it not make a difference in costs would you have all
schematics and software as open source? Because it is interesting I ask, what
are the options? For now there are not many options. No 7", no 10". I do
I'm pretty sure any attempt to modify an existing computer to use an EOMA68
computer card is completely pointless. As in, it's easier to just start from
scratch. Besides, why go through all that hard work to get one
EOMA68-compatible housing when you can do less work to get thousands of
Do not want to put the chip into a computer card. Instead I want to modify
the pocketchip to accept the a20 computer card.
Firstly, I'm no expert at this sort of stuff. Take this as a guide, but don't
quote me.
In terms of making a computer card from the PocketCHIP, I don't think you're
going to be able to reach EOMA68 compatibility. The devices use an Allwinner
R8 processor (see
About pocketchip
http://docs.getchip.com/pocketchip.html#welcome-to-pocketc-h-i-p data, there
is this link https://github.com/NextThingCo/PocketCHIP-PCB. Does it provide
required pieces of information to make a computer card pocketchip?
What about pocketchip source code?
This isn't the whole story. Android targets MIPS, ARM64, ARM, x86 and x86_64.
Therefore Replicant could in the future support these architectures too.
Replicant is designed for ARM systems. So if you used an ARM computer card
(like the A20 card) in a phone case, you should be able to use Replicant on
that.
If cell phones are made from EOMA68, will they be able to support replicant?
Thank you.
Yes, if the power supply cannot damage the computer card.
Just try most of them yourself by connecting the pins
To me it is not trivial questions.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31q-FMB0kzL.jpg.
Can I use the cable in combination with 5v pin from this power supply and
connect computer card and usb hub?
tonlee the answers to these questions are self-evident, so i'm not going to
give a detailed reply, particularly as there's just far too many of them and
you should be using common sense. cables are cables: you can't plug the
wrong thing into the wrong thing. linux is linux regardless of
On the 3 way usb otg host charger cable.
Which connector is for the power supply?
Can you power the computer card and usb devices with a 5v 2a power supply
connected to the 3 way usb otg host charger cable?
Do you have to connect devices and power supply
It's not that simple.
Several people are complaining about the keyboard on the pocketchip.
Could be the pocketchip is not a great option.
What I wanted to do, was buying a defective notebook. Fx the 7” asus eee.
Then modify it for a computer card. As you clarified, cannot be done.
Your list, maybe not the full list, is about
battery
screen
keyboard
touchpad
audio
On several locations you can buy a notebook 7 inch.
the standard helps take away some of the enormous cost (in time and money) so
that people can work on things for a long time then upgrade them later...
*WITHOUT* needing to throw away absolutely everything they've done because
it's now "too slow" if they did it as a Single-Board Computer.
In another post I turned down that phoning arm to get them to release
software would make arm do that. If a department in allwinner can release the
software and you got its phone number and email, people should contact it.
This hasn't been my understanding or impression, and I'm talking with two
other free software engineers who seem to think otherwise. If you know
something I don't I'd love to hear it. Particularly evidence if you can point
to it. There might be some evidence elsewhere of a device that was,
Regarding the BBB though, it isn't accurate to say it was designed without
freedom in mind. It has free designs and they used the TI chip because it was
the freest design available. It's certainly flawed (graphics), though for the
same reason that the Computer Card currently is.
Yea- I wasn't trying to say that there were no free software devices before
this. That would be utterly wrong. They weren't designed to be free maybe,
but I wasn't even trying to say that. The Beagle Bone Black is a bit less
complicated than a laptop, tablet, or cellular device and of these
I don't think the reason that free hardware was unsuccessful in the past was
because of a lack of standards. I think it was due to lack of demand for free
hardware from the mainstream. There's a reason that Intel is so popular, and
that is because it can run Windows and has been around for
The problem is that there is no standard. EOMA68 solves that problem. With
EOMA68 we have a standard that'll make creating new devices much much
simpler. However you do need to design the housings for them and that is
still not a trivial project. It's simply feasible now to move forward
I misconceived the difficulties. Thank you for the answer.
Reading on http://elinux.org/Embedded_Open_Modular_Architecture/EOMA-68 did
not make me recognize how difficult it is. That is why the computer card
notebook got its price? You had to do these investigations? I thought if
voltage
Rather than being a donation-based thing its better to work toward a
self-sustaining business model around each 'thing' that is to be done. I
don't think we are there yet, but it's hopefully coming.
the breakout board is there for people to experiment with this kind of
concept, but please be under no illusion about the comprehensive nature of
the task that you're taking on.
firstly: you are likely to need to do some reverse-engineering of the
battery. this is potentially dangerous as
>cable kit
Is it for sale?
There are no compatibility obstacles about a notebook's display, keyboard,
touchpad, speakers, battery and powersupply?
Can I buy a pc card port and get it to work if I solder wires to the pc card
port?
No, it's a new standard, so you would need a housing that says "EOMA68
compatible", unless you are operating the computer card independently of any
housing, in which case you need the cable kit. Right now only two housings
are being manufactured. One is a desktop housing and one is a laptop
I have probably both said and asked more than enough, so I am probably better
off, keeping my mouth shut for a while.
Forgive me, I will try to say no more.
I think I might be way too impaitent about certain things... ;/
the (completely independent team) inside allwinner which has nothing to do
with any of the other teams, is stating "we want to maintain control over our
hardware, we [naively] believe that this is the best way to do it".
the fact that they're pissing *everybody* off and forcing people to
> Luke did say he was thinking of a 9 inch tablet yes?
> but why not a 2 in 1 tablet that is 11 inches?
because it's about justifying the cost (as in "will people buy it") as well
as the power budget and a whole stack of other factors. designing a 9in
tablet: $50k. designing an 11in
> They haven't even imagined somebody would want more than 2GB at this point.
correct. all these SoCs are targetted at tablets, tablets, tablets, tablets,
tablets aaand... tablets. why would you *ever* want to run more than one
program on... a tablet? that's the logic. any fabless semi
the iMX8 isn't quite ready yet (documentation-wise) although they do have
pre-production silicon. freescale works with big customers first (volumes of
1 million and above), then when they're ready (i.e. when they won't get
overloaded with questions because the documentation's fully
> Would I be able to get 8 hours web surfing with the design on the 15.6
inch?
with care (i.e. by ramping down the backlight on the LCD, which uses about
3.5 watts at full brightness just on its own)... that's more than likely.
> But also, won't 32 bit become obsolete someday?
when using
Can you put the computer card into a x86 notebook with no mainboard? Can you
connect display, keyboard, touchpad, speakers, battery and powersupply? How
do you connect the devices? Thank you.
The R40 is a Quad Core 32 bit AllWinner CPU. It's a pin for pin upgrade to
the A20 from what I understand. There is a 64 BIT CPU that might be an option
with more ram and everything. Though these all have Mali400 graphics. There
may be a possibility of a future CPU with all of this and free
Allwinner a64 the same as r40?
' 200 lines of code for libdram'.
Are they encrypted or why can they not be provided?
A20 and allwinner r40
It says r40 is an option for the computer card. About the free software, is
it then the same obstacle like x86? What you have of free software for one
computer card you cannot utilise on a newer computer card which has different
hardware?
The r40 has mali 400 mp2. If
Size of computer card
If there had been a much bigger sized card form factor already on the market,
would it had been preferable to utilise it instead?
I ask because in an adequate time frame I find it not likely that duo core
fast x86 computer cards can be made that small, same goes for the
It did. So did the Sega Master System, several arcade games, ColecoVision,
Game Gear, Gameboy Color, and Neo-Geo.
I'm sure that the original Game Boy had a Zilog Z80 inside.
> But also, won't 32 bit become obsolete someday?
Small word sizes don't become obsolete. In fact, there are computers that are
still made today with the 8-bit Z80 CPU, most notably graphing calculators
sold by Texas Instruments.
You might consider 32-bit ARM to be obsolete if there are no
Would I be able to get 8 hours web surfing with the design on the 15.6 inch?
But also, won't 32 bit become obsolete someday?
Luke was thinking about a smaller laptop and I think he did talk to me about
a 10" tablet (?) with a 4:3 ratio screen. Don't quote me on any of this.
There is a lot of information exchange... on a lot of different things. Not
all are all that relevant to me so I may not be recalling details
When we get a freedom-respecting ARM board that supports 64-bit computing I
imagine we might see a libre computer card for ARM64. Probably a Freescale
processor.
hmm, well what about an 11 inch 2 in 1 tablet? would that be a good idea?
Luke did say he was thinking of a 9 inch tablet yes?
but why not a 2 in 1 tablet that is 11 inches?
Just a thought.
Also, yes 15.6 was no doubt a good way to start, but I guess, expand more?
Nevertheless, If this won't
I can already tell you that the reason Luke did the 15.6" design rather than
something smaller was because of popularity. He was wanting to do something
smaller and I talked him out of it [sort of, I just pointed out the numbers
didn't work well]. It comes down to demand. There is more
I am not completely sure what you mean by 240v ac into a 5V device, I am
assuming you mean plugging the usb into the wrong slot...
Usb devices that are meant to cause physical damage? never heard of that...
maybe I will look it up.
In all honesty, 13.3 inch laptop would also be a design
yes, i'm saying that it's a lot longer than just a year's wait. unless
someone else does it and they contract me to ensure that it's compliant with
the EOMA68 specification. remember, you're a list of "one person" - we now
need at least... 999 more to justify the development cost.
usb
hmm... Okay. But what your saying is its a 2 year wait probably yes?
there needs to be a justified business case *even before beginning* the 1
full-time year required to work on an 11in design. what is the business case
- how many projected units would be purchased? who would purchase it? what
reasons would they want to purchase it? how would it be marketed
Congrats on this success! I will certainly subscribe. Thank you. I also just
wanted to say that I think your prices are perfectly reasonable. I just
happen to live in an overwhelmingly poor area and most of the folks I'm close
to don't have a lot of money for extras. Just didn't want you to
will the 11 inch design be ready in a year? or is it the crowdfunding
beginning in a year?
just curious.
I am very much looking forward to it.
please remember there is no such thing as "an EOMA68". EOMA68 is a hardware
standard, not a physical object. you must be referring to the EOMA68-A20,
which is a physical item, particularly when referencing MALI which is the GPU
on the Allwinner A20.
yes, if the funding had progressed
We mean to work on support for this whole generation of Mali GPUs, which can
presumably form the foundation of support more generally in the future?
Certainly, we can use the EOMA68 as a target dev board for free software
development (like Beaglebone is sort of).
It would have been good to have factored in some money to go toward graphics
from the crowdfunding. Perhaps something similar to what was done Novena for
Novena: https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/novena/updates/1028
Since I understand that the campaign doesn't actually end once the
The person developing it has a life...
So has no time to develop, without funding from outside, or so I have heard.
Software costs money! :-P
I remember the Lima driver that was being developed. What happened to that?
yeah it's not like kickstarter / indiegogo, it doesn't switch off.
The good thing that I love of ARM, is TDP.
"so yes: of course performance of a 2ghz Intel 64-bit Core2 Duo is WAY faster
than that of a dual-core ARM Cortex A7 1ghz processor. but hoolllyy shit 65
watts TDP! the A20 maxes out at 2.5 if you really push it!"
No laptops has 65w of TDP.
113% and it's going up still. I think this is because you can "pre-order".
110% funded to those who said it was 101% it looks like it has gone even
further!
So happy this was funded. Here's to many more successes!
About discarding the computer card limitations. It was not a suggestion. It
was an off topic question. I wanted to know, if the mainboard could have any
size, how big and costly a task would it be to manufacture a mainboard with
several cpus?
If faster free software cpus are on the way and
157,460 buckaroonies !!!
yhaaaw
I'm very happy to see that the campaign was a success. I harshly could
believe it would be until the last few fays. So, congratulations to all
people that made it possible! And especially to the "core" "team" that put so
much energy in this project. You really deserve to see the campaign
Its success was unavoidable
Yep let's admit it, we knew it from the beginning but we needed to make drama
for the sake of thrill, I suppose.
Congratulations everyone for such outstanding victory, should we celebrate
this somehow?
101% funded!
Luke and Chris:
Congratulations, gentlemen, on a job well-done.
:) I'm so ecstatic. I'm so glad that some people have finally some
understanding of why I've been saying this project is so important. It's not
the specs that matter. It's the control it gives to the user and provides
solid ground to stand on for doing higher end 100% free systems down the
Yep its a good night.
The goal was just reached a couple minutes ago! Congratulations! :D
heya cryptobilly, no problem - down the road this will be lower-cost, plus do
bear in mind that there will be a 2nd-hand market pretty shortly (especially
when in 6-12 months or whenever it is) when we have newer EOMA68 Computer
Cards. subscribe to the arm-netbook mailing list for now and
> Will you be releasing every single part of your hardware design as free
software in the future?
98% of it's *already* available as libre-licensed designs. it says right on
the campaign page that i'll be releasing the remaining files when the money
is recouped.
> Also, Will you be
ah now that's a very interesting question. i forgot to add that onto the
future roadmap. i'll have to look at what interfaces they're using:
ironically it's conceivable that an adapter would be more than the cost of
the pocketchip!! so we just have to see. one thing i _can_ do because
> From where do you know this?
because as the guardian of the EOMA68 standard and the designer of the
various Computer Cards over the past 5 years (of which the EOMA68-A20 is the
first one to be publicly released), i say that i will do it, therefore it
shall be done. as you can see in the
Almost 145k! 5.1 to go! holy crap...
Well Luke, I wish you the best of luck and I hope you respond to my little
question about the 11 inch one. :)
28 hours left and 95%... I can smell the tension.
> I require a computer enables full hdd encryption or as a minimum home
folder encryption. Can the computer card manage that?
I don't see why it wouldn't. Encryption is not computationally expensive.
Will you be releasing every single part of your hardware design as free
software in the future?
Also, Will you be updating the speed of the processor in the future,
some people think libreboot x200 will be 2x faster than your hardware. I
talked to someone in the chat yesterday who
thought
>key point is you can upgrade later
From where do you know this? Why should more powerful cpus become free
software? To me it seems manufactures want to keep the software non free and
they are getting better at locking it down. Ask libreboot. Even if many
computer cards are sold, one cannot
If you modify the chip pocket https://getchip.com/pages/pocketchip, can you
use the computer card together with the chip pocket hardware? Thanks.
Yep, not much left to go!
The campaign jumped *4%* between 44 and 39 hours to go. If it can keep up
this rate of growth, It'll be done with 24 hours to go!
I don't want to jinx it, but...
FUTURE OF COMPUTING, HERE WE COME!
46 hours left and it's already at 128,160. I am optimistic that it will
succeed.
good thought! not really practical - the power budget is a hard limit of 5W,
you have to fit SoC *and* memory *and* boot storage *and* an interconnect...
onto a 43 x 75mm PCB. reaally challenging :) might as well just get a
samsung 8-core SoC instead :)
Thank you.
You cannot combine 2 computer cards. You could have several cpus on one
computer card?
I pledged for a Libre Tea Computer Card and a Micro Desktop Housing back in
June (didn't have an account on this forum then). I spread the word to my
friends and family but none of them really have any extra money.
Thank you for all the hard work you've done toward making a freer world.
There is still time for it to succeed. Don't forget, Richard Stallman
supported the Libre Tea Card so there is a phenomenal chance still.
I believe it can and will succeed through my lord.
120.000, 2 days left. What happens if you get say 135.000? The crowdfunding
will get extended for a few days, right? Anyway congratulations and good
luck, the sum you managed to collect is not a trivial achievement, well done!
First of all, thanks for the work and keep it up, it is important having 100%
free hardware, with 0 obsolescense and enviromental responsability. So,
really good job!
I have finally decided to back this project. I'd like to try it to substitute
my old-non free raspberry which I use as
thx RMK
On a side note, tonlee, you're probably not using anywhere near your current
CPU's capabilities most of the time, unless you're playing games. The A20
card should be "good enough" for basic tasks. Of course it won't be as fast
as typical x86 computers you can get today. It won't be anywhere
Count me in as a backer!
Good to see you fighting the good fight on other message-boards, Luke.
The A20's processor is not going to be as good as any x86 computer you have,
unless you're using really ancient stuff. But the key point is you can
upgrade later.
>multiple computer cards and speed up *desktop* applications
Can you elaborate about why you cannot get a faster notebook combining 2
computer cards? Does the hardware make it impossible or could software enable
it?
You will probably dislike this. To me you can put a computer card into a
you can download the CAD source *right now* - i will have to make some
modifications but it's all there.
https://www.youmagine.com/designs/libre-hardware-licensed-parametric-laptop-design
crowdsupply is slightly different, you'll be able to put in pledges after the
campaign ends, and it will
if you set up a beowulf cluster for example you'd do fine. or you set up a
data centre where each computer card was totally independent. or if you used
them as front-ends with DNS round-robin and set up an alternative NAS / SQL
distributed cluster... basically it's about software (and
Would it be possible to buy the pfy laptop housing kit a couple of weeks
after the campaign ends? If so, from where?
In a video lkcl says connecting several pc cards to achive a faster computer
is not an option. https://youtu.be/GspUDdNlsng?t=1316
Because of the hardware or because software is not available?
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