Raspberry Pi Roundup - 2nd December 2015

Helicarrier

Andy wanted to do something special for his son. So, he took his inspiration from Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. and built a raised bed with a den underneath. He then filled the den with all manner of tech and Marvel stuff and then embedded a Raspberry Pi inside to control a missile launcher. The screen shows the picture from the Pi’s camera module (with torch for when it’s dark) allowing you to fire at will! The motorised door and keypad is controlled by an Arduino.

As a commenter on Hackaday said, he should get Galaga installed on the Pi! (Ref: The Avengers, in case you didn’t know!) Just a lovely idea and one which is sure to fill the minds of fathers everywhere with excitement and a certain amount of dread. Full build instructions and gallery are available on his blog.

Jessie Lite

In a surprise, though welcome, move, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has made available a slimmed-down version of the Raspbian operating system image. I haven’t tried it myself, but I imagine it does away with most, if not all, of the bundled software on the full version. The download is a svelte 375MB and expands to an image 1.3GB in size. It’s sure to be popular amongst those who just want a bare-bones installation for using the command line and those who have loads of 4GB SD cards lying about. Good move folks!

Download the new image from the Foundation’s download page.

Zero Power

As he does usually with new models of Raspberry Pi, Alex Eames has done a series of power usage measurements for the new Pi Zero. You can read his findings here.

Podcast & Zero Advice

The guys over at Pi Podcast have just published their latest edition, and it’s all about the Raspberry Pi Zero. Listen to it here.

Liz over at the Raspberry Pi Foundation has published some advice about how to get hold of a Zero. The magazine has “technically” sold out (meaning over 80% have sold… I know, logical, huh?) and stocks on resellers sites have just… gone. Read the advice here.