Good Kirkwood value on ebay

There is a current ebay listing for multiple GlobalScale DreamPlugs for $15 plus $16 shipping. These devices use the 1.2Ghz 88F6281 and 88W8688 for bg wifi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR w/512MB RAM, 2MB Flash for Uboot and either a 2GB or 4GB (depending on version) internal microSD for firmware, . External interfaces are 2 x USB 2.0, SDHC, eSATA, 3.5mm audio in, 3.5mm audio out, SPDIF out and 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports. This device is supported by Debian and was the hardware for which FreedomBox was originally targeted.

For a total of $31, I would rather get this 64-bit Octa Core RK3368 CSA90 Andriod 5.1 Smart TV Box and start hacking it to run Linux. If this 64-bit Octa Core RK3368 Z68 Smart Android 5.1 TV Box PC with 2G/16GB + 5G + Bluetooth is not a scam, then it will even be a better choice, i.e. get 2 units with some $$ to spare and hack 1 unit to run Linux while enjoying the other unit what it can offer, etc.

Dreamplug and those Rockchip are 2 different classes of devices, for different purposes.

-bodhi
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awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

I'm not in the US.

bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dreamplug and those Rockchip are 2 different
> classes of devices, for different purposes.
>
Bodhi, you are right. But, what I tried to point out is one can get an octa-core system with the same budget. Granted the octa-core system does not have a SATA port, but it has more RAM, an HDMI port, a bluetooth, etc. If one really wants a SATA port, then perhaps this POGO-P01 US $10.99 + Free S/H or even this POGO-BIZ02-US US $6.99 + S/H cost.

rayknight,

Thanks Ray. This is a really good value, it they are in working condition.

-bodhi
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Bodhi,

They appear to have never been used! I already snagged the last SheevaPlug and last SMILE Plug from the same seller (@the same price) and they appear to have never been out of the box.

Ray

rayknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Bodhi,
>
> They appear to have never been used! I already
> snagged the last SheevaPlug and last SMILE Plug
> from the same seller (@the same price) and they
> appear to have never been out of the box.
>
> Ray

Nice! you have downloaded GPL for this?

-bodhi
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bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rayknight Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Bodhi,
> >
> > They appear to have never been used! I already
> > snagged the last SheevaPlug and last SMILE Plug
> > from the same seller (@the same price) and they
> > appear to have never been out of the box.
> >
> > Ray
>
> Nice! you have downloaded GPL for this?

Still trying to locate the actual source. Firmware is supposed to be Arch Arm Linux. The SMILE Plug hasn't yet arrived so I'm hoping there is documentation with more information.

Ray

Well Ray I hope you get at least one GlobalScale DreamPlug because I remember -edit- someone fawning over that in the Pogoplug feeding frenzy a year or two ago.

What does that mean though if RAM is 512 MB 16-bit? It's really 256 MB if the OS is 32-bit? I don't get it. I know Linux does tricks, but...

That'd also be neat to find out what shipping on ten of them is. Send them to Habibie for distribution, for his Plug-of-the-Month subscription lol Each month we add another CPU core.

well I'm off to bed, as this ON100 stares its 5 green lights at me (continuously).

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2016 01:31PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

rayknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> bodhi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > rayknight Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Bodhi,
> > >
> > > They appear to have never been used! I
> already
> > > snagged the last SheevaPlug and last SMILE
> Plug
> > > from the same seller (@the same price) and
> they
> > > appear to have never been out of the box.
> > >
> > > Ray
> >
> > Nice! you have downloaded GPL for this?
>
> Still trying to locate the actual source.
> Firmware is supposed to be Arch Arm Linux. The
> SMILE Plug hasn't yet arrived so I'm hoping there
> is documentation with more information.
>
> Ray

This Dreamplug is going to be easy. U-boot and kernel are in mainline, albeit very old and basic uboot and a simple kernel DTS. We just need to make it more powerful.

-bodhi
===========================
Forum Wiki
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JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What does that mean though if RAM is 512 MB
> 16-bit? It's really 256 MB if the OS is 32-bit? I
> don't get it. I know Linux does tricks, but...
>
AFAICT, a 512 MB RAM is still a 512 MB RAM regardless if the CPU is 32 or 64 bit.

> That'd also be neat to find out what shipping on
> ten of them is. Send them to Habibie for
> distribution, for his Plug-of-the-Month
> subscription lol Each month we add another CPU
> core.
>
I certainly welcome that. Cheers.

Thanks Habibie!

Allow me one more, the eSata port: would that adapt to run a 3.5" hard drive? Or just 5 volts?

I clearly remember when it was mentioned a while back, and after being wowed by the E02, I too dreamed of the Dream plug lol $30 seems steep nowadays, but if it were $30 for two of them including shipping I'd snap two up as fast as I could borrow $30. But i have every manner of spare 3.5" here and no extra 2.5"s

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2016 04:13PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks Habibie!
>
> Allow me one more, the eSata port: would that
> adapt to run a 3.5" hard drive? Or just 5 volts?
>

eSATA has no power. The HDD needs separate power source, such as from an enclosure, or from a USB adapter cable (for 2.5" HDD only). But if the HDD is 3.5" then you need enclosure or some kind of adapter to have enough power (such as a "toaster").

-bodhi
===========================
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JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks Habibie!
>
> Allow me one more, the eSata port: would that
> adapt to run a 3.5" hard drive? Or just 5 volts?
>
> I clearly remember when it was mentioned a while
> back, and after being wowed by the E02, I too
> dreamed of the Dream plug lol $30 seems steep
> nowadays, but if it were $30 for two of them
> including shipping I'd snap two up as fast as I
> could borrow $30. But i have every manner of spare
> 3.5" here and no extra 2.5"s
>
Hello Joey,

As Bodhi had pointed out above, eSATA port ONLY provides data lines and no power line. OTOH, EO2 has no built-in SATA port, IIRC. If you and or some friends live in NY (near by an Adorama store), you can grab the POGO-BIZ02-US US $6.99 (+ S/H cost) and it has a built-in SATA port. That is less than US $7 a puck.

Thanks guys. Everyone has their own hacking journey. I of course am thinking about what can a device do for me, more than any kind of fun you guys have hacking them. I'm at a point where the extremely low powered Pogos like the Pro, those will stay put as replacements in the low power-consumption category. Those are my pilot lights! The Pogo E02 is pretty much always on, and it "begs" me to rig up a quad/octocore with 4-8 x the RAM, Gigabit LAN and HDMI (or any direct video to monitor out).

The GlobalScale DreamPlugs, the more I check out that URL, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's getting old now, the parts have been probably in Florida air, the rest of the items the guy sells seems like storage unit auction stuff, and were it not for insane shipping I'd snap up two.

But those links you have habibie, I agree that would be real nice to have one and a spare. My neighbors, a man who works at a University and his wife who is a student, they've hired me several times in the past to do their Windows machines, which I take as a great compliment. And EVERY time I've worked on their computers I've received one computer or another. A spare that ended-up being my quadcore one time, a Dell Inspiron laptop another time, all my Pogoplugs lol But, once I set them up, and it takes a while, they never have issues. I learned every trick in the Windows book (not Windows 10 though, nothing but the taming apps everyone else has).

So the lady's mother passed away and I've got 2 new laptops to go through and home network. I expect a little bit of change to get another computer, but even if I don't get paid enough, they've been real good to me.

So if the top link isn't a scam like you said, I'd like to shoot for two of them this week and cross the fingers.

I'll just say it one more time, I believe it's wise to get Asian parts and SOCs before the 2016 US election.

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-

bodhi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> This Dreamplug is going to be easy. U-boot and
> kernel are in mainline, albeit very old and basic
> uboot and a simple kernel DTS. We just need to
> make it more powerful.


This will be my third DreamPlug. I currently have a V9 with the internal 2GB microSD and a V12 with internal 4GB microSD. The problem I have with them is the UART out doesn't appear to work without the GlobalScale external JTAG module which I do not have. I'm contemplating ordering one now that I'll have 3 DreamPlugs and a SMILE Plug that could make use of it. It is $39 plus shipping from GlobalScale.

Ray

JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks guys. Everyone has their own hacking
> journey. I of course am thinking about what can a
> device do for me, more than any kind of fun you
> guys have hacking them. I'm at a point where the
> extremely low powered Pogos like the Pro, those
> will stay put as replacements in the low
> power-consumption category. Those are my pilot
> lights! The Pogo E02 is pretty much always on, and
> it "begs" me to rig up a quad/octocore with 4-8 x
> the RAM, Gigabit LAN and HDMI (or any direct video
> to monitor out).
>
Hello Joey,

It is not only 4-8 x the RAM, but the CPU is also 64-bit as opposed to 32-bit on a Marvell Kirkwood.

> But those links you have habibie, I agree that
> would be real nice to have one and a spare. My
> neighbors, a man who works at a University and his
> wife who is a student, they've hired me several
> times in the past to do their Windows machines,
> which I take as a great compliment. And EVERY time
> I've worked on their computers I've received one
> computer or another. A spare that ended-up being
> my quadcore one time, a Dell Inspiron laptop
> another time, all my Pogoplugs lol But, once I
> set them up, and it takes a while, they never have
> issues. I learned every trick in the Windows book
> (not Windows 10 though, nothing but the taming
> apps everyone else has).
>
Don't you notice a Windows OS will start crawling once more and more OS patches get applied?

> So the lady's mother passed away and I've got 2
> new laptops to go through and home network. I
> expect a little bit of change to get another
> computer, but even if I don't get paid enough,
> they've been real good to me.
>
You can sell them on eBay and use the money to buy those octa-core systems.

> So if the top link isn't a scam like you said, I'd
> like to shoot for two of them this week and cross
> the fingers.
>
I have been watching the CSA90 Andriod 5.1 Smart TV Box Octa Core for a good 2+ weeks and it is still there, i.e. no complains filed by any unhappy buyers, yet. This is a good sign mainly because the seller offers a Free ePacket delivery from China (which usually takes about 10 days to arrive, i.e. less than 2 weeks).

TBH, I would rather get this Zidoo X6 PRO 4K Android 5.1 RK3368 Octa Core 2G+16G Smart TV Box, but it's rather pricy, ATM. So, I would rather wait.

> I'll just say it one more time, I believe it's
> wise to get Asian parts and SOCs before the 2016
> US election.
>
I wouldn't worry about that regardless who wins.

habibie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Don't you notice a Windows OS will start crawling
> once more and more OS patches get applied?

I update it until performance is tops and then turn off Windows update. This has prevented all those machines from the Windows 10 nag. There's other ways of preventing the nag too...

Firewall: NetLimiter. Unbelievably cool firewall, well worth the paltry price. Domino effect, because some of the best Windows apps are already freeware (like Revo Uninstaller, CCleaner and LibreOffice, yet they phone home and nag a person).

Antivirus: Avast free: takes a long time to set it all good, but it actually works. Not nag-proof though, eventually it'll ask something.

The other tricks that are worth sharing, is to put anything browser bookmarks and things like that on the D drive, and once all the passwords are in, ghost the C drive, so when it's restored it's exactly like it was.
From bare metal to finished product it takes me 20 hours for what I call a hell of a nice PC. And I work fast and have been doing it since the 90's. I just never dealt with anything beyond basic networking because my clients were always students or home users, not so much businesses.

I think being from Windows-Land I've gotten my fill of uni-core computers - even routers are at least dual-core now.

* Those laptops aren't mine Habibie, her mom left her two laptops and an iPad (they brought these here from the other side of the US). She lacked a (either thunderbolt or USB-C)-to-USB connector) that I bought when I found an iPhone 5 last year before I turned it in to the police. So I "fixed" one of three, two to go, then two already there wouldn't hurt bi-yearly maintenance, hoping for a little loot for a couple OctaCores.

You get your money back from eBay if they scam you though right?

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-

JoeyPogoPlugE02 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You get your money back from eBay if they scam you
> though right?
>
All of the scams I paid has been fully refunded by eBay. Just remember, the process takes time to complete, i.e. minimal about 4 days for the seller to respond once an ebay resolution ticket is filed and a few more days for the refunds to complete (all-in-all about 1 week).

Arr, the best laid plans of mice & men... as soon as I mention it they're having some flooring put in, so it's either delayed or something. For me to do 2 laptops (one Vista and one Windows 10) fresh and 2 maintenance as well as get iPad to their router is like building an electrical charge up to do the planning. When it gets delayed I just want to forget the whole thing.

But that's what happens when you volunteer for years and then "do favors". No price is mentioned and it could be anything as a reward, and anything for complications. I'd really like two Octas (reallier four though) and two Dream plugs and move on to buying storage (USB, SD and hard drives) rest of the year.

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2016 04:24PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

@Joey, I just sent you a PM unrelated to this thread.

habibie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @Joey, I just sent you a PM unrelated to this
> thread.


Thanks habibie - that's pretty much exactly the kind of unit I'd like 4 of someday. It'll happen.

Sadly I cancelled my neighbor's computer inventory/audit/configuration/implementation. Days ago it was an exciting possibility and today it's a stressful drag. I wish I had a job at Geek Squad, just hide out in the back, smoke -edited- and score deals on RAM and hard drives :-)

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2016 12:40PM by JoeyPogoPlugE02.

My DreamPlug from this sale arrived today. It is an unused old stock unit as it is the older V9. I already had a V12 unit and another V9. Haven't yet determined what exactly are the differences between V9 and V12. GlobalScale Technologies mentions differences between V9 and V10, but doesn't say anything about the V12 or other versions.

Ray

rayknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My DreamPlug from this sale arrived today. It is
> an unused old stock unit as it is the older V9. I
> already had a V12 unit and another V9. Haven't
> yet determined what exactly are the differences
> between V9 and V12.
> [url=ftp://downloads.globalscaletechnologies.com/D
> ownloads/DreamPlug/Uploaded_Mar2012/Readme%20FIRST
> %20about%20identifying%20V9R1%20or%20V10R1%20of%20
> Dreamplug.txt]GlobalScale Technologies[/url]
> mentions differences between V9 and V10, but
> doesn't say anything about the V12 or other
> versions.
>
> Ray


It's been said GlobalScale Technologies had a heat problems in earlier ventures but I'm not sure if it was any of the Dreamplugs. Differences between 9 and 12 may be NAND storage. One is double the other I think.

Fun stuff, for the right price I'd strongly consider. How is eSata performance? Anemic like Pogo can be? Or zippy?

=========
-= Cloud 9 =-

I assume you mean the Pogoplug V3 as the original Pogoplug doesn't have eSATA. I've not tried the SATA on a DreamPlug, but I expect it to perform comparable to the SATA on the Seagate GoFlex home which uses the same processor. The DreamPlug however has twice the RAM.

Ray

rayknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I assume you mean the Pogoplug V3 as the original
> Pogoplug doesn't have eSATA. I've not tried the
> SATA on a DreamPlug, but I expect it to perform
> comparable to the SATA on the Seagate GoFlex home
> which uses the same processor. The DreamPlug
> however has twice the RAM.
>
> Ray

4x the RAM. The Pogo v3 has only 128MB. This alone would provide significanly better NAS functions. Iirc, the heat problem was mainly with their wall plugs.

-bodhi
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I meant that the DreamPlug has twice the RAM of the Seagate GoFlex Home which has the same processor and also has a SATA port.

Ray

rayknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I meant that the DreamPlug has twice the RAM of
> the Seagate GoFlex Home which has the same
> processor and also has a SATA port.
>
> Ray

The GoFlex Home has only 128MB RAM, too.

-bodhi
===========================
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rayknight Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My DreamPlug from this sale arrived today. It is
> an unused old stock unit as it is the older V9. I
> already had a V12 unit and another V9. Haven't
> yet determined what exactly are the differences
> between V9 and V12.

Do you have bootlog?

-bodhi
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