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Stem Player pocket-sized remixer adds unreleased J Dilla tracks
The oddball puck-shaped Kano Stem Player just added a slew of exclusive J Dilla tracks for remixing and rearranging. Additionally, they released a green slipcover for devices in honor of the legendary hip-hop producer. There are also talks of a forthcoming documentary about Dilla.
Maker of the Stem Player drops Ye, builds a portable projector
The makers of the Stem Player are back with a portable projector with a confusing premise and a high asking price.
I wish anyone other than Kanye had made the Stem Player
This fascinating pocket-sized remixer can be fun, but is clearly pushing the limits of its power.
Kanye West's new album 'Donda' arrives on a remix-it-yourself gadget
Kanye West has introduced a Stem Player music-making gadget that can mix the core ingredients of songs, including those from 'Donda.'
Kano’s first Windows PC is a step toward classroom supremacy
Kano's first Windows 10 machine is a $300 Surface-style tablet. The hardware is good enough, but the bundled learn-to-code software is excellent.
Kano's $300 DIY Windows 10 PC Kit is finally ready
A little more than a year ago, Kano unveiled a colorful build-it-yourself tablet running Windows 10. The Kano PC was sold, it turns out, but only to a small group of fans that were happy to act as unofficial beta testers. The Kano PC is a chunky tablet that you have to assemble with components wrapped in colourful plastic.
Kano's latest coding kit is a Star Wars-themed motion sensor
Back in January, Kano revealed that it was working with Disney on a Star Wars-themed coding kit. It's taken a while, but today we finally know what the company -- best known for its colorful Raspberry Pi computers -- has been cooking up: Star Wars The Force Coding Kit. The Bluetooth-enabled motion sensor includes a circular case, printed circuit board with nine LEDs, and two tops that contain Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire iconography. Once assembled, it can be used to control lightsabers, Porgs and other Star Wars paraphernalia in a companion app that's compatible with Windows 10 PCs, Macs, iPads and Amazon Fire HD 10 tablets.
Kano unveils its first build-it-yourself Windows 10 computer
Kano is graduating from Raspberry Pi boards. Today, the company is announcing a partnership with Microsoft and unveiling its first build-it-yourself computer that officially runs Windows 10. The aptly-named Kano PC is housed in a central unit that is visually similar to its 'complete' Computer Kit Touch. All of the components are different, however. The new machine has an 11.6-inch touchscreen with a yet-to-be-disclosed resolution. It's powered by a 1.44 GHz, quad core Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage, which is upgradeable through a microSD slot. In short, it's a proper computer.
The best coding kits for kids
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Part of the reason I write about technology for a living is that I couldn't cut it as a coder. It's not that I regret my career choice (I definitely don't), but I do regret having never really learned the art of programming. And it's not because I want to build apps or games or anything. It's because you pick up a lot of peripheral skills. This is the primary reason I want my kid to learn to code. I don't necessarily want him to become an engineer (though I certainly wouldn't be upset if he did). Instead, I see coding as a great teaching tool. It's a way to teach cause and effect and problem-solving skills. And mastering the logic behind simple routines can even make your kid a better and more convincing communicator.
Making magic with the Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit
Like so many Harry Potter fans, I've dreamed of attending Hogwarts and learning magic with a wand, cauldron and bulging bag full of quills, ink and parchment. In the absence of real witchcraft and wizardry, I've visited movie sets and played countless video games of varying quality. While fun, none of these experiences capture the thrill of actually understanding and performing magic. There's a thrill, of course, to summoning a Patronus with a DualShock 4 controller. These spells rarely feels earned, however, because they don't require much practice or knowledge to pull off in-game.
Kano adds a touchscreen to its complete DIY computer kit
Twelve months ago, Kano unveiled a complete build-it-yourself computer kit powered by Raspberry Pi. It looked the part but ignored the fact that most children love tablets, smartphones, and other devices with a touchscreen display. Now, the company is launching an updated version that swaps the standard 10.1-inch screen for a touch-friendly version. That means you can swipe around the company's custom operating system and take care of programming challenges with your finger. It's called, unsurprisingly, the Computer Kit Touch and is available today for $279.99 through Kano.me and a bunch of online and bricks-and-mortar retailers.
Kano's next coding kit is a Harry Potter wand
Harry Potter fans have plenty of replica wands to choose from. Some are designed for children, with mystical sound effects and LED lights. Others hew closer to movie props with beautifully carved handles and tips. Few, however, replicate the art of learning and performing magic. Kano, a startup based in London, is hoping to change that with its new learn-to-code Harry Potter wand kit. Like the company's previous hardware, it comes with a companion app that teaches you programming through block-based logic. This time, though, the challenges produce spells that you control on screen with a build-it-yourself plastic wand.
Kano combines its coding kits for a DIY 'laptop'
Kano, the company behind a variety of build-it-yourself computer and coding kits, has unveiled a "laptop" today. A portable computer is probably more accurate. Whereas most laptops have a clamshell design, the new "Computer Kit Complete" keeps the screen and keyboard separate. All of the components are kept inside the display unit, and like a box of LEGO, there's an instruction booklet that teaches you how to put everything together. One of the parts is a Raspberry Pi 3 board, which runs custom software called Kano OS. It's packed with child-friendly programming activities and some basic apps including YouTube and WhatsApp.
Kano’s latest DIY kit turns motion into code
DIY computer company Kano has released another brightly-coloured addition to its learn-to-code arsenal: a motion sensor kit. The standalone product comes with the Kano App to teach would-be coders how to translate movement into data which can be applied to games, apps and music. The kit, which is available for $30/£30, includes a USB motion sensor which can connect to any Windows or Mac computer -- or the original Kano Computer kit -- and comes with an easy-to-follow storybook featuring beginner's coding challenges. Learn to code a hand-controlled version of the classic game Pong, for example, or make noise and mix tunes by "scratching" a DJ turntable.
Kano's Pixel Kit is a charming introduction to coding
We all know the importance of code. It's the backbone of computing, the internet and so much else we come into contact with on a daily basis. But learning to code is still a tricky and poorly defined pursuit. I've booted up Codecademy a few times, only to try a couple of courses and realise I have no idea what I'm doing. For people like me — of which I suspect there are many — what's the next step? How do you go about grappling with this seemingly foreign and impenetrable language? Maybe, just maybe, the answer is a colorful Kano Pixel Kit.
Learning and STEM toys we love
By Courtney Schley This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that supports its work. Read the full article here. We don't think there's a right or wrong way for kids to play. For this kid-oriented gift guide, we focused on open-ended games, kits, toys, and crafts that promote lifelong skills like critical thinking, problem solving, logic, and even coding. To choose from the hundreds of toys available, we spent more than 30 hours trying 35 recommendations from experts, educators, and parents, including a reporting trip to the Katherine Delmar Burke School's tinkering and technology lab in San Francisco. And, of course, we spent some time playing with our picks at home with our own kids.
Kano returns with camera, speaker and light board coding kits
Three brightly colored boxes sit in the middle of the table. Alex Klein, co-founder and CEO of Kano, takes the yellow one and pops open the lid, revealing an array of small plastic parts inside. They sit neatly in the foam, begging to be plucked out and examined. A transparent case. Lenses and a flash ring. Some have a Post-it note on top, the word "best" scribbled in biro. Klein chuckles, admitting that some of the parts "may be completely busted." I don't mind. At this point, Kano is still a few weeks out from its next Kickstarter campaign. It'll be a while before the kits are put into mass production. A camera, a speaker and a light board. Kano is pitching all three as a new, friendly way for children to learn about electronics and computing. Each pack comes with a booklet featuring step-by-step instructions, rather like a Lego set. You pull out the parts and clip them together, learning what each of them does and how they contribute to the final product. Once you've completed the build, you can hook up a laptop, tablet or smartphone and program its behavior. Kano's new web-based software includes a bunch of creative projects, all of which teach you to code along the way.
Raspberry Pi gets an official touchscreen display
Although it's pretty easy to hook up a Raspberry Pi to a screen using its HDMI port, it's not exactly the most portable of solutions (especially if there isn't a TV or monitor around). The Raspberry Pi Foundation recognized this, so it set about finding a "simple, embeddable display" capable of giving Pi owners a screen from which to work from, but that also embodies the DIY spirit of the board that it connects to. It's taken almost a year, but the official Raspberry Pi touch display has gone on sale today, offering tinkerers a 7-inch capacitive 800 x 480 touchscreen display that supports 10-finger touch.
