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So here's a thing I'm not supposed to have, but I do, and I'm gonna make that everyone's problem.
It's a Facebook Gizmo! apparently it's a touch panel.
It's a Facebook Gizmo! apparently it's a touch panel.
So if you google for "facebook gizmo", you find an article from 2017 saying that there was a SNEAKY TIP that facebook was working on a "smart speaker" with a touchscreen. And then... nothing else. The story seems to end there.
that story seems to be based on this tweet: https://twitter.com/rquandt/status/878822714852741120
So Facebook Gizmo either got renamed or canceled or something. It never came out under that name, as far as I can tell.
But hey, I've got one. Thanks, junk stores.
But hey, I've got one. Thanks, junk stores.
So the first thing in the box is a rubber grommet that looks like a said robot panda.
oh look it's a screen.
It's got a tilted base so it can sit on a table and be usable from standing or sitting
And on the bottom, you've got a bunch of little ports in here.
PoE (power over ethernet), LAN (why both?), HDMI (in or out?), and two USB ports.
And yep, it's Facebook Gizmo. So this wasn't just some other thing in the wrong box.
PoE (power over ethernet), LAN (why both?), HDMI (in or out?), and two USB ports.
And yep, it's Facebook Gizmo. So this wasn't just some other thing in the wrong box.
So it has a LOT of info on here. It was designed by Facebook London, it's the FBG-1701 (STAR TREK?), and it requires 57 volts at 447mA. Huh.
FCC ID is HFS-QF7
FCC ID is HFS-QF7
It's got a SKU# of 32-002149, and mine has a serial number of CF78800560.
And yeah, the sad panda robot grommet fits in here, and the plus symbols are where you can stick screws or cables through.
And along the sides it's got grilles, either for fans or for speakers.
So now I have a choice:
It doesn't seem to have any power plug other than PoE, so do I plug it into a PoE network, or do I take it apart and see what's inside?
It doesn't seem to have any power plug other than PoE, so do I plug it into a PoE network, or do I take it apart and see what's inside?
Because I'm not sure I want it on my network... it might be full of viruses or it might phone home and go HEY FACEBOOK SOMEONE STOLE YOUR PROTOTYPE THING.
well, I can always find a PoE switch later and hook it up to power but not the network.
Let's take it apart!
Let's take it apart!
So I pulled up the sticker because I thought I felt a screw under there, but nope, it's just some weird cut-outs. Remember those, they'll show up later.
There we go! it's open. sorta. Gotta unplug all these ribbon cables
So here's the base-side.
We've got two main PCBs, some little stack of small PCBs on top (wifi, maybe?), and two big speakers on the sides.
We've got two main PCBs, some little stack of small PCBs on top (wifi, maybe?), and two big speakers on the sides.
So it turns out this thing which looks a lot like a mini-PCIe modem or something?
it's not! it's a DC-DC converter.
This is the power supply! It's gonna be converting the PoE voltages to whatever this thing needs.
it's not! it's a DC-DC converter.
This is the power supply! It's gonna be converting the PoE voltages to whatever this thing needs.
it looks like this does 5V out.
And now that I took it out and figured out what it is, I can see that actually it says right on the board what goes there.
it's the PoE Power.
or the Poe Power, meaning it's powered by Edgar Allan Poe.
it's the PoE Power.
or the Poe Power, meaning it's powered by Edgar Allan Poe.
I'm not gonna go chip-by-chip (because this would last FOREVER) but we can hit some big ones.
The obvious CPU-looking chip is this, an Altera 10M08SAU169C8G
The obvious CPU-looking chip is this, an Altera 10M08SAU169C8G
That's not a CPU, it's an FPGA from the Max10 series.
It's got 8000 cells, and about 400k of ram.
It's got 8000 cells, and about 400k of ram.
The only other vaguely big chip on the top is this one:
A WGI210AT. It's an ethernet chip.
A WGI210AT. It's an ethernet chip.
So that sounds like there's no CPU here.
which means it's time to remove it from the case (as I've clearly already done) and see what's on the other side.
which means it's time to remove it from the case (as I've clearly already done) and see what's on the other side.
Well I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that.
Huh.
So it appears it's got only a few components on this side, and some kind of CPU module!
Huh.
So it appears it's got only a few components on this side, and some kind of CPU module!
That one chip on the side is an Realtek audio chip, an ALC298.
So there's no name/numbers for these module on this side, but maybe there's one on the other side?
But first, I see something familiar:
Hey look, it's a WGI210AT! That's an ethernet controller... this thing has two ethernet controllers!
But first, I see something familiar:
Hey look, it's a WGI210AT! That's an ethernet controller... this thing has two ethernet controllers!
So, let's clean off that CPU and see if we can figure out what it is.
X806C550? Nothing.
H50621? Ahh, there we go!
X806C550? Nothing.
H50621? Ahh, there we go!
It's an Intel Pentium N3700, a quad-core from the Braswell series, with a base frequency of 1.6ghz.
So this is one of those rare embedded machines that's running on x86, but what's worse, it's running x86-64bit.
I wonder what they were doing in this thing that needed this much CPU power?
I wonder what they were doing in this thing that needed this much CPU power?
So let's yoink it out and flip it over.
And now we've got a bunch of numbers! We can search them all and find... nothing.
Damn it.
And now we've got a bunch of numbers! We can search them all and find... nothing.
Damn it.
This looks like a ram chip, but sadly none of these numbers seem to bring anything up.
did they custom make everything in this fucker?
did they custom make everything in this fucker?
No components under the CPU module.
so what else do we have?
well, the IO board.
This is the one with two ethernets, HDMI, and USBs.
well, the IO board.
This is the one with two ethernets, HDMI, and USBs.
and under the main CPU PCB there is this heat sink thing, which attaches to those indentations on the case.
I told you it would come back! they're part of the heat sink stuff, because this thing has no fans.
I told you it would come back! they're part of the heat sink stuff, because this thing has no fans.
So over to the display half.
There's a big metal piece that stuff mounts onto
There's a big metal piece that stuff mounts onto
And on the other side, you've got the display, a touch screen controller on top, and two odd PCBs on the left and right.
This is the touch screen PCB.
That chip is an FT7511EEZ, which is a component that does... things. I can find places that'll sell me one but none that'll explain what it does.
That chip is an FT7511EEZ, which is a component that does... things. I can find places that'll sell me one but none that'll explain what it does.
the screen is apparently made by Optronics, in the 18th month of 2021.
Ahh, no wonder why I can't find info, it's from the future.
Ahh, no wonder why I can't find info, it's from the future.
And it turns out those two odd PCBs are hooked up to arrays of LEDs.
24 on each side.
24 on each side.
Oddly the LED ribbon is also apparently the Wifi/bluetooth/whatever ribbon? I don't know what kind of wireless it has.
So, what do we know and what do we not know?
well, we don't know how much storage/RAM this thing has.
It's got at least ethernet, and possibly wifi.
It's got speakers and a bunch of LEDs around the edges.
It's got USB ports, and it's got HDMI (in or out?)
well, we don't know how much storage/RAM this thing has.
It's got at least ethernet, and possibly wifi.
It's got speakers and a bunch of LEDs around the edges.
It's got USB ports, and it's got HDMI (in or out?)
so the next step towards finding out anything about it is probably to power it up, right? unless searching through all the other chips would help.
BTW I did notice some unpopulated headers here, which may be for some kind of debugging interface.
Also this here is an MXIC MX 25l8006E which is an 1 megabyte flash chip, and it looks like someone burnt it with a soldering iron.
So the mystery of what this is has been solved:
It's internal facebook HQ hardware: it's used to handle meeting rooms.
You can see one here: https://engineering.fb.com/core-data/instrumenting-meetings-at-facebook/
It's internal facebook HQ hardware: it's used to handle meeting rooms.
You can see one here: https://engineering.fb.com/core-data/instrumenting-meetings-at-facebook/
or maybe not. someone said those are just android tablets now. Weird.
So apparently the actual answer is that the Gizmo is the new version, the android tablets were the old version.
(I'm not sure if I should @ people to thank them, in case they get into any trouble with Facebook)
(I'm not sure if I should @ people to thank them, in case they get into any trouble with Facebook)
and @attiegrande found some more info: https://twitter.com/attiegrande/status/1310395522583269378
and apparently they get used for other stuff too, which may explain why they're so powerful: https://twitter.com/culturestate/status/1310396421804236801
my roommate delivered a PoE switch to me and right now I'm trying to put the Gizmo back together so I can power it up.
These ribbon cables are tricky.
These ribbon cables are tricky.
We got lights!
nothing on screen yet.
nothing on screen yet.
WHERE'S MY KEYBOARD
and now it ends up here.
it looks like it's trying to netboot. there's no network, so that's not happening.
it looks like it's trying to netboot. there's no network, so that's not happening.
And we're into the bios!
It's got 4gb of ram.
And apparently no on-board storage? at least none the BIOS can see. No wonder it's netbooting.
It's got 4gb of ram.
And apparently no on-board storage? at least none the BIOS can see. No wonder it's netbooting.
Let's make a bootable USB drive.
my USB drive was too big
not in storage, but in physical size. I couldn't wedge it into the case.
not in storage, but in physical size. I couldn't wedge it into the case.
Found one that fits properly, but there's a problem: it is no longer powering on!
the LEDs come on, but then nothing else happens. The screen never shows anything, the keyboard I've got plugged in never powers up.
the LEDs come on, but then nothing else happens. The screen never shows anything, the keyboard I've got plugged in never powers up.
so, either:
1. I fried something trying to shove that USB in
2. the CPU is now overheating because I how I damaged the thermal paste, and it won't power on because of that?
3. saving CMOS settings broke it
1. I fried something trying to shove that USB in
2. the CPU is now overheating because I how I damaged the thermal paste, and it won't power on because of that?
3. saving CMOS settings broke it
#2 is easy to fix through the power of waiting
#3... I'm not sure where the CMOS on this thing even is, let alone how to clear it.
#3... I'm not sure where the CMOS on this thing even is, let alone how to clear it.
maybe I can find that out here
