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Raspberry Pi Zero W is a $10 computer with WiFi and Bluetooth
Although major Raspberry Pi announcements are very few and far between, you know that when there is one, it's worth paying attention. Take for example the Raspberry Pi Zero -- the $5 (£4) board that apparently came out of nowhere in October 2015 and offered 40 percent more computing power than the original Pi. It's been a year since the last major unveiling, when we met the Raspberry Pi 3, but the Foundation is back today with a brand new product that nestles neatly between its credit-card sized computer and its flagship board. It's called the Raspberry Pi Zero W.
How an animated-GIF camera morphed into a nascent chip empire
Not many computers can thank GIFs for their existence. In 2013, Dave Rauchwerk worked on a San Francisco art installation that allowed people to record and project a GIF of themselves onto a building. It was popular and led to Rauchwerk joining with two friends to start a hardware company called Next Thing Co. Their aim? To create a camera that can capture GIFs for $100. After a long stay in China with the HAX Accelerator, Next Thing Co. launched OTTO, a $250 "hackable GIF camera" in 2014. It was the first product to integrate Raspberry Pi's Compute Module, and generated a lot of interest. Keen mathematicians may have noted the discrepancy in the intended and actual price -- $250 is many more dollars than $100 -- and the public did, too.
Raspberry Pi gives its PC-on-a-stick a big speed boost
Raspberry Pi has taken its latest computing board and squished it onto the stick-sized Compute Module 3, giving it about ten times the power of the original Compute Module. Unlike the Raspberry Pi 3 upon which it's based, however, the device is built for industrial applications, prototypers and advanced hobbyists, not students or casual users. It can now play that part a lot better, thanks to a 1.2GHz Broadcom processor, 1GB of RAM (double that of the original) and upgradeable storage.
Raspberry Pi releases an OS to breathe new life into old PCs
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released an experimental version of its Linux-based Pixel OS for Windows and Mac PCs. The OS, originally designed to run only on the Raspberry Pi hobby board, comes with the Chromium web browser and a suite of productivity and coding tools. "We asked ourselves one simple question: If we like Pixel so much, why ask people to buy Raspberry Pi hardware in order to run it?" founder Eben Upton wrote in a blog post.
2016's biggest privacy threat: Your phone
When it comes to handing malicious hackers' intimate details about our lives, right now Yahoo is leading the pack as one of the worst threats to privacy in recent history. Yet there's one thing that has Yahoo beat in both the amount and sensitivity of the data being leaked, as well as the frequency. And like IoT appliances, it's a well-known and massive problem among security professionals, but it doesn't garner a lot of attention from the public. I'm talking about your smartphone.
Google makes it easier to get Internet of Things devices online
It's relatively easy to build your own Internet of Things hardware, but the software is another story. How do you connect it to cloud services, push updates or just write code? Google might help. It's trotting out a developer preview of Android Things, a toolbox that theoretically makes connecting IoT devices as straightforward as writing an Android app. Think of it as a more mature, more accessible Project Brillo. You're not only using ordinary Android developer tools (Android Studio and the official SDK), but tapping into Google Play Services and Google Cloud Platform. In theory, most of the heavy lifting is done for you -- future versions in the months ahead will even grab regular updates (both from you and Google) and use Google's ad hoc Weave networking.
12 gifts for tireless tinkerers
They say the best gifts are the ones you make yourself. But that doesn't necessarily mean you, the gifter, needs to be doing the assembly. Sometimes the giftee will enjoy building their own present. Over the last several years the maker movement has really taken off. And whether you're shopping for an accomplished builder or someone just looking to get their toes wet, we've got a few suggestions. If there's someone in your life that's super into making everything themselves (and you love them enough to drop $1,000 on a gift for them) consider a 3D printer like the Replicator Mini+ from MakerBot. If a grand is a little extreme for you, consider a simple driver set, like 64-piece one from iFixIt. They'll be able to open up and (hopefully) put anything back together with it. If the creator in your life is more into coding than building, consider a tool like RPG Maker, or for the wee one in your life Ozobot's Evo is an excellent place to start teaching programming skills. For our full list of recommendations in all categories, don't forget to stop by our main Holiday Gift Guide hub.
Six gifts for your paranoid friends and family
It pays to be paranoid in a time of rampant breaches, social media account extortion, identity theft, fake security products, ransomware, and hack attacks on all. That's why we've put together a gift guide for those among us who don't want to find out they have a security issue the hard way. Typically that would include things like VPN subscriptions or password manager recommendations, but that's no fun when it comes time for everyone to open their presents. That's why we've selected six sweet gadgets that'll protect the privacy and security of those you care about. Carefully screened to keep out the "security snake oil" products flooding the gadget market, our picks have been selected with a keen eye on things that actually work to fight attacks that actually happen.
Raspberry Pi has now sold 10 million computers
There's no doubt about it: the Raspberry Pi has changed the game for tech hobbyists and tinkerers alike. In four and a half years, we've seen the company expand its line-up to cater for smaller budgets, incorporate more features into its computing boards and inspire kids all over the world to get into coding. In February 2015, Raspberry Pi Foundation CEO Eben Upton confirmed 5 million units had been sold -- today, he announced that figure has doubled. That's right, 10 million Raspberry Pis have been now shipped to customers all over the world.
Google AI builds a better cucumber farm
Artificial intelligence technology doesn't just have to solve grand challenges. Sometimes, it can tackle decidedly everyday problems -- like, say, improving a cucumber farm. Makoto Koike has built a cucumber sorter that uses Google's TensorFlow machine learning technology to save his farmer parents a lot of work. The system uses a camera-equipped Raspberry Pi 3 to snap photos of the veggies and send the shots to a small TensorFlow neural network, where they're identified as cucumbers. After that, it sends images to a larger network on a Linux server to classify the cucumbers by attributes like color, shape and size. An Arduino Micro uses that info to control the actual sorting, while a Windows PC trains the neural network with images.
Engadget giveaway: Win a LattePanda DIY kit courtesy of DFRobot!
A caffeinated bear with coffee bean eyes is a catchy brand concept, and you'll no doubt want to grab a cup 'o joe for a long dig into this week's LattePanda giveaway package. DFRobot, your online home for expandable electronics and robotics kits, has provided us with these Windows 10-based computers along with a pile of expansion components. This includes two of the 1.8GHz quad-core LattePanda board computers in both 4G RAM/64G ROM and 2G RAM/32G ROM sizes, plus a series of items to get your next big electronics project off the ground, including an IPS display and capacitive touch overlay. LattePanda also packs integrated WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI and USB 3 interfaces, along with an Arduino compatible processor. If you fine you need more components, DFRobot's selection will help you reach your goal. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this DIY eletcronics kit. Winner: Congratulations to Denis H. of Belmont, CA!
Google UK's 'Summer Squad' offers kids free coding lessons
As a parent, nothing brings more joy than the start of the summer holidays. Time spent at the park, visits to the local swimming pool and trips to the zoo often figure on many family's six-week agenda, but activities laid on by Google are probably the last thing any mum, dad or grandparent expects to budget for. In a bid to help kids learn how to code, the search giant has launched "Summer Squad," a free eight-week series of tech-focused classes for kids aged between 8 and 13.
Kodi jumps into hardware with a Raspberry Pi case
As the app formerly known as XBMC prepares to launch version 17, the folks at Kodi are diving into something completely new: hardware. It's not a smart TV box on its own however, instead the project has teamed up with Flirc on a custom case for the Raspberry Pi 3, 2 and B+. It has an aluminum core to help keep your Pi cool while running the media streaming software, and sports the official Kodi logo to let everyone know your box is legit. It's available for about $20 from Flirc in the US and The Pi Hut in the UK, so you can get it in time to load up the Krypton alpha when it's released July 1st.
Microsoft wants you to share your 3D printer over your network
Sure, you can use your old-school paper printer from virtually any device in your home. But what if you want to use your 3D printer in the den while you're lounging in the living room? Microsoft might just come to your aid. It recently released a Windows 10 IoT Core app (currently only for the Raspberry Pi) that lets you access a 3D printer from any Windows PC on your local network, whether it's through Ethernet or WiFi. Once it's running, it acts like any other networked gadget -- you don't have to be picky about the apps you use.
Raspberry Pi Zero gains camera support, keeps the $5 price
When the Raspberry Pi Foundation launched the credit-card sized Zero, it stressed that the DIY computing board would not be as capable as the rest of the Pi family. But if there's one thing we've learned about the Raspberry Pi, it's that there's always room for improvement. Today, the Zero has received its first major hardware upgrade since its hugely successful launch in November: a camera connector. The new addition works very nicely with the two new Sony imaging modules announced last month and the board retains its $5 (£4) price.
Play 'Doom II' on a Raspberry Pi-powered Painsaw
For a game as extreme as Doom II, you need an equally extreme piece of tech to play it on. Sure, you could fire up DOSBox to go a few rounds, or you could nab a Raspberry Pi Zero and get the game running on a toy chainsaw. But it's not just any toy chainsaw anymore. It's the Painsaw now.
Raspberry Pi gets an 8-megapixel Sony camera upgrade
Although the Raspberry Pi has undergone numerous refreshes since it launched three years ago, its first official accessory -- a 5-megapixel Omnivision camera module -- has remained the same. That's mostly due to the Raspberry Pi Foundation and its partners buying a huge amount of sensors, which not only kept the price low, but also enabled it to have plenty of stock for years to come. According to CEO Eben Upton, those reserves are now running very low, so it's time to show off the new merchandise: two new $25 (£19) cameras powered a Sony IMX219 8-megapixel sensor.
Game Boy mod plays nearly any classic Nintendo game
It's trivial to play vintage Nintendo games if you're not picky about what devices you use. But what if you miss the look and feel of the original Game Boy? Wermy has an answer: build a Game Boy that does it all. His Game Boy Zero modification uses a Raspberry Pi Zero, a modified game cartridge and a whole lot of drilling to emulate classic NES, SNES and Game Boy titles (up to the Game Boy Advance) while preserving most of Nintendo's original look and feel. On the outside, the only concessions to modernity are the 3.5-inch color display and the stealthily integrated buttons needed to play some newer titles.
WD's PiDrive gives your Raspberry Pi 314GB of storage
Sure, you can already add storage to your Raspberry Pi, but it's usually an exercise in trade-offs: SD cards don't hold much data, and USB drives (even the portable ones) tend to be too big and power-hungry for a mini PC. WD doesn't think you should have to compromise, though. It's shipping a new PiDrive that stuffs 314GB into a slim design that won't overwhelm the Pi's power system, but is fast enough to make full use of the USB connection. It even has a special version of BerryBoot (a multi-operating system tool) to help you load your platform of choice and fill that abundant space with apps.
Raspberry Pi 3 has a 64-bit processor and built-in WiFi
It's hard to believe, but it's been four years since the Raspberry Pi Foundation gave the DIY computing scene a huge kick in the right direction with the launch of the Model B. To celebrate the milestone and 8 million units sold, the charity is hosting another Big Birthday Bash, but more importantly, there's also some new hardware for tinkerers to get their hands on. Introducing the Raspberry Pi 3: the Foundation's first 64-bit computing board that also comes with WiFi and Bluetooth built in for the same $35/£30 price.
