Raspberry Pi

While the Raspberry Pi is undoubtedly the darling of makers and tinkerers, it has always been envisioned for use in education. But in order to keep the single board computer (SBC) affordable and accessible, the Raspberry Pi had to remain what it is today: a bare bones board that, by itself, isn’t exactly useful. You need at least an external display, keyboard, and mouse, not to mention a compatible OS installed on a memory card. This simplicity it both a boon and a bane, the latter because of the nearly infinite amount of choices users, particularly educators, have to make. Fortunately, there are those like pi-top that build greatness on top of greatness. We take its flagship product, the pi-top, to build ourselves a laptop powered by the Raspberry Pi, with a bent towards educating and empowering the next generation.

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Who said going retro is only for games? Vinyl is back in fashion so why couldn’t other electronics be as well? That is probably the thought going through the mind of MisterM over at instructables when he started this “Google Pi Intercom” project. The name might be a bit misleading, because it is essential a makeshift Google Home that is activated by pressing a button. It’s not a two-way communication device, unless you consider talking to Google Assistant two-way communication.

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Smart, virtual assistants are the hot thing in tech these days but getting access to them isn’t that easy yet. You either need a specific device or settle for a less capable smartphone version. Or you could just get the new pi-topPULSE. This module designed for both the Raspberry Pi 3 and the pi-top platform combines lights and sounds to help sink their teeth deeper into tech. And it can also give you your own personal Alexa on a board.

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This week a competitor for Raspberry Pi has emerged with a tiny computer that runs Android. This isn't a tiny computer like an Android phone - but sort of a cross-breed between a miniature desktop computer and an Android smart box - and it looks a whole lot like Raspberry Pi. This is the Rock64 Media Board Computer from the folks at PINE64.

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Although initially intended to help teach kids and adults alike the workings of a computer, the Raspberry Pi has long shed off its educational roots. The single-board computer (SBC) is now the most popular cornerstone for all sorts of DIY projects, from gaming emulators to the new Internet of Things. Jumping on that bandwagon, Google has teamed up with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to build RPi-compatible kits that will take users on a journey of AI discovery, starting with a Voice Kit.

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Although it has long been in existence, the Nintendo Switch has caused a resurgence of interest in portable gaming handhelds. Particularly of the DIY kind. Naturally, the Raspberry Pi is the crowd-favorite when it comes to a single board computer (SBC) that will serve as the brains of such a project. With the launch of the Raspberry Pi Zero W, it was an auspicious time to make or remake such a project. And that is exactly what Warner Skoch, a.k.a. sudomod, did. Behold the mintyPi 2.0 in all its tiny, Atloid glory.

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One Chevy Volt owner has gotten creative with his car, using a variety of tech and a bit of know-how to turn the vehicle into a big, expensive controller for Mario Kart 64. The entire creation involves a Raspberry Pi connected to a laptop running an emulator, as well as to the car’s OBD-II port. Everything runs perfectly, though controlling the game involves using the windshield wipers and flashing the headlights.

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The Legend of Zelda is a hot topic these days, what with the latest title, Breath of the Wild, debuting alongside the Nintendo Switch this month. To showcase his love for the series, Allen Pan of the YouTube channel Sufficiently Advanced took to automating his home and making it all controllable via an ocarina, the small wind instrument at the center of the iconic N64 Zelda, Ocarina of Time.

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Watches are a personal thing and no one size fits all. Maybe that’s why smartwatches have had a hard time becoming as mainstream as smartphones. Not everyone might be satisfied with just having Android or watchOS on their wrists. Some might want an honest to goodness desktop OS they can wear. So 314rcreator, a.k.a. Lord_of_Bone on Reddit, whipped up a quick hack that put a Raspberry Pi A+ that ran Windows 98. Because, well, why not?

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It's the fifth birthday of the original Raspberry Pi, and what better way to celebrate than with a new release? Today Raspberry Pi Founder Eben Upton announced the Raspberry Pi Zero W, the next iteration of 2015's Raspberry Pi Zero. Not a whole lot is changing with this new release, save for a couple very important additions.

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Back in the analog days, the geekiest expression of creativity and engineering have been Lego blocks. These days, it’s the Raspberry Pi. Of course, LEGO has caught up with the times and you can even mix the two together for best results. That’s exactly what a certain Francesco Georg has done, combining the flexibility of Lego’s free-form blocks with the brains of a Raspberry Pi. The result? A homemade robot that can solve a Rubiks cube in less than two minutes.

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There's no denying that the Raspberry Pi has forever left a mark on computing history, making available a palm-sized computer board that, while no race horse, opened the doors to myriads of projects and devices, not to mention learning opportunities and inspiration for future inventions. The RPi has become so popular that it has no shortage of would-be rivals and clones. ASUS' silently launched Tinker Board, however, probably takes the cake for being almost an exact clone of the Raspberry Pi, I/O pin for I/O pin.

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