raspberry pi
Latest
Raspberry Pi will power ventilators for COVID-19 patients
Medical device manufacturers are turning to Raspberry Pi devices to serve as the brains for the ventilators that treat COVID-19 patients.
Time your handwashing with a do-it-yourself Spotify soap dispenser
Wash your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds -- that's the key advice from the World Health Organization during the coronavirus outbreak. This is commonly touted as the length of time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice, and while that's a helpful and accessible metric, it's gotten old real fast. Birthdays will never be the same again. Design technology company Deeplocal has come up with an alternative, though: a DIY musical soap dispenser that'll save your sanity and give you a project to tinker with while you're stuck indoors.
The $35 Raspberry Pi 4 now comes with double the RAM
Raspberry Pi is celebrating its eighth birthday, and it's come a long way in those eight years. Since launching its very first computer back in 2012, the company has sold more than 30 million units. Every year since has brought a newer version with higher specs and better processing power, with the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B arriving in 2019 with 40 times more speed than the humble original. Now, thanks to falling RAM prices, Raspberry Pi enthusiasts can get their hands on the 2GB device for $35 (around £35, depending on where you buy it) -- which is the same price as the very first version from eight years ago.
You can build the tiny XFM2 synth for under $100
Miniature electronics kits like the Raspberry Pi have ushered in a new generation of DIY tinkerers. And while most of these builds emulate classic gaming systems, there are plenty of other possibilities. Futur3soundz, for example, designed a synthesizer around an FPGA chip and an Adafruit digital-to-analog converter. The company says that the components can all be purchased for under $100. And while the synth has few on-board controls, it has an extensive MIDI integration, so musicians can control parameters from their keyboards, making it a viable piece of bedroom studio gear.
The PIS2 is a portable PS2 years in the making
The PlayStation 2 has been in the grave for over a decade, but that hasn't kept gamers from tinkering with Sony's iconic console. Reddit user darkwingmod has been working on and off for several years to perfect his vision of a portable PS2, the PIS2. The build features genuine PS2 hardware augmented with a Raspberry Pi 2, which loads game files over an ethernet-connected SMB server; no emulation is involved. Darkwingmod says that the games run close to full speed and FMVs play smoothly.
Organelle M is a portable and endlessly hackable music ‘computer’
Critter & Guitari has been pumping out interesting musical devices since at least 2008. But a few years ago the company streamlined its selection of instruments to focus on two products: the ETC video synthesizer and the Organelle music computer. What makes the latter unique is that it isn't a synthesizer or a sampler; it's both or neither or some combination of things. It is, at its heart, a computer running patches built in Pure Data, a visual programming language primarily used for creating and manipulating audio. Though, much of that is hidden, and you can just fire it up and start playing if you want. Since its introduction in 2016 the Organelle has received multiple software updates. But about two weeks ago, it got its first major hardware upgrade.
Raspberry Pi 4 doesn't work with some USB-C chargers
The Raspberry Pi 4 promises to be a boon for homebrew gadget makers, but it has flaw that could pose headaches for some users. Tyler Ward and others have discovered that the Pi 4 isn't using a properly designed USB-C port. Instead of giving two pins their own resistor, Raspberry Pi created a custom circuit that has them sharing a single resistor. As a result, some USB-C chargers (those with "e-marked" cables) will only recognize the Pi 4 as an audio accessory and won't charge it.
The new Organelle is a synth built around a Raspberry Pi
It's a niche company, but Critter and Guitari was a big name during the portable synth renaissance, and back in 2016 it released its flagship instrument, the Organelle. Now, it's had a pretty significant upgrade.
The new Raspberry Pi 4 is ready for 4K video
Like the Raspberry Pi but wish it had a little more oomph for your homebrew projects? The Pi Foundation might have what you need. The newly released Raspberry Pi 4 Model B mates the familiar tiny computer-on-a-board design with purportedly "ground-breaking" boosts to performance, particularly for media. Thanks to both a newer 1.5GHz quad-core Broadcom processor with H.265 decoding, two micro-HDMI ports and up to 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM (more on that in a bit), the Pi 4 can output 4K video at 60 frames per second. This could theoretically serve as a modern DIY media hub, and the Raspberry Pi Foundation even claims that it's fast enough to compete with "entry-level" x86 PCs.
A rogue Raspberry Pi helped hackers access NASA JPL systems
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) suffers from multiple cybersecurity weaknesses despite the advances it has achieved in space technology, according to the agency's Office of Inspector General (PDF). Investigators looked into the research center's network security controls after an April 2018 security breach, wherein a Raspberry Pi that was not authorized to be linked to the JPL network was targeted by hackers. The attackers were able to steal 500 megabytes of data from one of its major mission systems, and they also used that chance to find a gateway that allowed them to go deeper into JPL's network.
Adorable internet-connected bunny Nabaztag is being resurrected
Robot pets have come a long way since the heady days of Tamagotchi -- we've got Sony's adorable Aibo that requires training and Groove X's fuzzy Lovot that follows you affectionately around the house. But none have quite captured the spirit of the delightful Nabaztag, the cute internet-connected robo-bunny released in 2005, which communicated information through color, motion and sound. Now, thanks to a crowdfunding endeavor, Nabaztag is hopping back into our lives.
How to turn a Raspberry Pi into a game console
By Thorin Klosowski This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full guide on how to turn a raspberry pi into a gaming console here. The Raspberry Pi is a $35 computer that can do a lot of things, but few projects are as popular as turning it into a retro-gaming console; imagine something the size of an NES or SNES Classic mini console with a few hundred games on it instead of a few dozen. With about half an hour of free time and some lightweight technical know-how, you can convert this card-deck–sized computer into a console capable of emulating nearly every classic video game system from the 1970s, '80s, and '90s.
RVR is a Sphero robot for budding tinkerers
Sphero's been amusing us with its collection of robotic balls, like its adorable BB-8, for eight years. But lately the company has been getting away from the toy aspect of its products and embracing its educational potential. It's had an app that can be used to program many of its current bots for a while now, but that's only for budding coders — what do kids interested in hardware have to tinker with? Indeed, Sphero is about to release its first robot specifically made to be physically modded, called the RVR.
Raspberry Pi Foundation opens its first physical store
Raspberry Pi might not have the clout of an Apple or Microsoft, but it does have its own store now. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has set up shop with its first brick and mortar location. The Raspberry Pi Store is now open in Cambridge, England and will offer a variety of the company's products and accessories for the popular single-board computers including its new Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+.
The rise of drone crime and how cops can stop it
It was supposed to be an easy $1,000 job. All 25-year-old Jorge Edwin Rivera had to do was pilot a drone carrying a lunchbox filled with 13 pounds of methamphetamine, from one side of the US-Mexico border to the other where an accomplice could retrieve the smuggled cargo. What he didn't count on was Border Patrol agents spotting the UAV in flight and tracking it back to his hiding spot, 2,000 yards from the national divide.
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.
The old Raspberry Pi gets an overdue price cut
If you've ever toyed with the idea of starting a DIY-computing project, chances are you will have considered (or bought) the Raspberry Pi. You're not alone: more than five million of the boards have now been sold. It's prompted companies like Intel and Imagination to try to match their features, while devices like the $9 CHIP are hoping to outdo them on price. With so many competitors snapping at its heels, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has decided to take action. It announced today that it's cutting the cost of its former flagship board by reducing the Model B+ to $25/£16.
BBC to give out one million 'Micro Bit' computers to get kids coding
It's the first year of a major new coding curriculum in the UK, and now the BBC wants to play its part in training the next generation of star programmers. The broadcaster is developing a spiritual successor to the BBC Micro, called the Micro Bit, which will give students a physical companion in their path to coding competence. It's going to be a small, standalone device with an LED display that children can carry around with them and plug into a computer to continue their work. The hardware will be basic, as the BBC calls it a "starting point" for "more complex" devices such as the Raspberry Pi and Kickstarter-funded Kano kits. The project is still in a prototype phase, but the BBC claims it'll be ready to give away one million of the new microcomputers to year 7 students this autumn.
Sound Off! Share what you're doing with a Raspberry Pi
Earlier this week, the Raspberry Pi Foundation surprised us with the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B, a new and improved board with some serious hardware upgrades under the hood. The original Raspberry Pi provided an easy and convenient platform for hardware enthusiasts to tinker with, and people have done some cool things with them. Have you done anything particularly interesting or unique with a Raspberry Pi? Head over to the Engadget forums and share your own projects! [Image: Photo by Gavin Roberts/PC Plus Magazine via Getty Images]
Daily Roundup: the best ads of the Super Bowl, Raspberry Pi gets an update and more!
In today's Daily Roundup we have a bargain price for a multi-million dollar maritime vessel, some serious upgrades for Raspberry Pi's latest board and it wouldn't be a post-Super Bowl Monday without at least one mention of our favorite ads. Read on for these stories and more!
