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Now get a tiny Linux Computer at just $6!!!

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Lichee Pi Zero, a new Linux module which is at its Indiegogo campaign, is one of the fascinating single board computers to gain popularity.

Costing only about $6 sans WiFi, and $8 with the addition of WiFi, Lichee Pi Zero is considered to be one of the cheapest tiny linux computers when compared to Arduino or the latest Raspberry Pi Zero.

Lichee Pi Zero has an ARM-based processor, an Allwinner V3S (ARM Cortex-A7 CPU, max 1.2GHz, 512Mbit DDR2 integrated) to be precise. You can boot it from on-board SPI Flash or TF card. Zero is clocked at 1GHz, and it consumes less than 0.1A.

Lichee Pi Zero is 44.6× 25.5mm in dimension and is also considered to be well designed when compared to its competitors which are little difficult to connect. It is also easily pluggable to a breadboard.

Some of the components to feature on the top side of the board are RGB LED, MPU, TF SLOT, LCD backlight circuit, andmicroUSB (OTG & Power). Touch Screen Controller, DCDC Power, on board SPI Flash, and FPC40 RGB Connector are found at the bottom side of the board.

As Lichee Pi Zero is shipped with the latest Linux kernel 4.10, you can easily create your own mini “ laptop” in less than 5 minutes with the help of a Lichee Pi Zero, a Li-Polymer battery, an LCD, a simple holder, and some tape.

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Frequently asked questions ( 5 )

Q

How do I add/load/install extensions?

A

For best results use the desktop application Appbrowser, it is available from the icon launch bar or the system menu.
Using Appbrowser will fetch the requested extension and all of its required dependencies. See: Downloads Howto

Q

Extensions disappear after booting. How do I keep my extensions?

A

To make your extensions persistent Tiny Core needs a directory to store them. Do the following:

Boot CD, at first boot prompt press f2. Notice the line "tce={hda1|sda1} Specify Restore TCE apps directory"
then at the boot prompt type: tinycore tce=xxyz where xxyz is your drive partition particulars.

Note: This tce= boot option is only needed one time! The System will autoscan for it upon each boot. However for faster booting, add the tce= boot option to your bootloader.

If you forget to boot with this option and are already at the desktop, then from the icon launch bar select Control or the system menu ControlPanel.
Select Set TCE Drive and you will be prompted to select your drive partition for the tce directory.

Q

How do I update my extensions?

A

The safe method to keeping your collection of extensions updated is to boot base norestore
and run tce-update from the command line. This will perform a batch update. Sometimes, you need a few extensions to access the net, an alternate batch update method is:
From the main system tools menu: ControlPanel->Update Apps.

When run in safe mode (booting with base norestore) you are
assured that no extension will be in use during the upgrade procedure and is therefore recommended. An alternate selective update method is:
AppsAudit->Updated->Check for Updates

Select an extension for update. The Results panel will update.
After updating your desired extensions, reboot.

After rebooting:

AppsAudit->Dependencies->Update .dep files-> (Note this step is optional, but will ensure that all your .dep files are up to date.)
->Build Reporting Database->Display All with Missing Dependencies.

If any extensions are displayed, use AppBrowser to Download + Load them.

Q

How to use pendrives and other removable devices with Tiny Core?

A

Installing Core to USB pendrives is easily accomplished with Core's tc-install extension which is provided on CorePlus.

Therefore it is highly recommended to use CorePlus, much work has gone into this to make an easy and effortless installations for both hard drive and USB pendrives with whatever window manager you prefer. See the video provided.

For those users coming from Windows there is now an installation tool just for you. Core2usb is a Windows native program that make it easy to install Core from downloaded iso file to bootable pendrive. Core2usb can be found on Sourceforge.

Note using other third party installation tools, such as, unetbootin is not and cannnot be automatic.

Q

How to resolve 'Failed to load firmware' error?

A

When booting Tiny Core 2.x an error like the following appears:
e100: eth0: e100_request_firmware: Failed to load firmware "e100/d102e_ucode.bin": -2
Boot continues very slowly after the message. Desktop appears but network access is disabled

To resolve many firmware issues see: firmware-2.6.29.1-tinycore.tcz extension.

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