Open Hardware: Librem 14 Laptop and Arduino Projects
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Year-End Savings Start Now with $200 off on Librem 14 Laptop - Purism
PCMag has highlighted our Librem 14 as one of the top gifts in the tech space. The article 8 Techie Gifts for the Security Expert in Your Life highlights:
“All Linux computers aren’t created alike, though. Purism’s Librem 14 stands out from the pack in several ways. First, it runs PureOS, a security-focused Linux distro created by Purism that powers laptops and cell phones. The fact that it’s open-source means experts can comb through it and flag any flaws. It’s also (according to Purism) “designed chip-by-chip, line-by-line, to respect your rights to privacy, security, and freedom.”
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Huge LED globe becomes Halloween helmet | Arduino Blog
Some Halloween costumes are creepy, others are racy, and a few, like this one, are just plain cool. LEDs have been common since the 1960s, but they can still stand out when done well. As it turns out, one way to achieve that is by arranging 378 of them around a big globe and wearing that globe on your head like Redditor HGRDOG14 did for Halloween this year.
We’re hesitant to call this a “Halloween mask” because of its sheer size, but “enormous glowing Halloween helmet” doesn’t have the same ring to it. HGRDOG14’s creation started as a 24” beach ball. They then covered that in papier mâché to create a rigid shell and removed the original beach ball. After that, they covered the papier mâché sphere in strips of WS2812B individually addressable RGB LEDs. Those strips have 30cm spacing between LEDs and HGRDOG14 staggered each longitudinal strip in order to arrange the LEDs in the pattern you see.
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Making a puppet ride an RC tricycle | Arduino Blog
Inspired by a remote-controlled Radio Flyer tricycle in which Kermit pedaled around at Maker Faire New York 2018, Donald Bell wanted to create his own version that could bring similar magic to people who interact with it. It began with the same Radio Flyer tricycle as in the original video, except this one was modified a bit differently.
An overarching goal that Bell wanted to achieve was keeping the tricycle as stock as possible, which meant placing all of the electronics underneath the rear axle. Movement is provided by a single DC motor just below one of the wheels that connects via a timing belt for added safety. Meanwhile, the trike is able to steer thanks to a 24V high-torque servo motor that rotates to push a rod back and forth, thus turning the front fork to either side. Controlling all of these parts is an Arduino Uno that receives information from an RC receiver module.