news
Devices, Modding, and GNU/Linux on Boards
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Devices
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Six Colors ☛ If the future of e-readers is getting weird, I’m here for it
The software was the real tragedy, though: It was really bad. Hard to navigate (so many buttons) and, tragically, just bad at being an e-reader. I couldn’t turn off forced justification, another deal-breaker for me. I tossed it on my desk and figured I wouldn’t write about it because why kick this little thing when it’s down? (I did say some unkind things about it on Upgrade, I’ll admit.)
And then a funny thing happened: Dan Moren sent me a message saying:
Finally got my Xteink ironically after hearing you slag it on Upgrade. So I flashed it with the community-made firmware, which by all accounts is better.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ MultiCM Flasher enables parallel programming of Raspberry Pi Compute Modules
The MultiCM Flasher is designed for programming up to seven Compute Modules in parallel, with support for mixed module generations using a single firmware image.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ BentoIO CMX0 IO-Carrier Board adds low-profile platform for Raspberry Pi CM5
The CMX0 supports both Compute Module 5 Lite and eMMC variants, with a microSD card socket provided for Lite modules. Compute Module 4 is not supported.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ ESP32-E22 debuts with tri-band Wi-Fi 6E and dual-mode Bluetooth
ESP32-E22 integrates tri-band Wi-Fi 6E support across the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, marking Espressif’s first product to enable operation in the 6 GHz spectrum.
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Open Hardware/Modding
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CNX Software ☛ WisMesh 1W Booster Starter Kit targets high-power Meshtastic solutions
RAKwireless WisMesh 1W Booster Starter Kit is a high-power Meshtastic solution based on Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 wireless SoC, Semtech SX1262 RF transceiver, and SKY66122 power amplifier for extended mesh range. It’s built from three modules from the WisBLock IoT ecosystem, and besides a power amplifier for longer Tx range and better penetration through walls, it also features an integrated RF filter for enhanced reception performance.
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CNX Software ☛ 2-channel GMSL camera adapter board supports Raspberry Pi 5 and NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano/NX
After phasing out the earlier MAX9296-GMSL-Camera-Board, Waveshare has now released the MAX9296-GMSL-DESER-MODULE 2-channel GMSL camera adapter board designed for high-speed, low-latency video transmission on the Raspberry Pi 5 and NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano/NX developer kits. The adapter is built around the MAX9296A deserializer, and supports two MATE-AX FAKRA Z coaxial inputs for long-distance video transmission and two 22-pin CSI outputs for connection to the host. It supports both GMSL1 and GMSL2 cameras (such as the Sony ISX031) via software configuration and is compatible with serializers like the MAX9295, MAX96717, and MAX96705. These features make it suitable for applications such as robotics, autonomous driving, surround-view systems, and more.
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Nicholas Tietz-Sokolsky ☛ 3D printing my laptop ergonomic setup
My setup stayed static for some time, but my most recent iteration ended up letting me down and I had to change it again. It gave me a lot of useful information and strongly shaped how I approached this iteration. This new one is closest to the first one I wrote about in 2024, but with some major improvements and reproducibility.
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CNX Software ☛ Raspberry Pi Hey Hi (AI) HAT+ 2 review – A 40 TOPS Hey Hi (AI) accelerator tested with Computer Vision, LLM, and VLM workloads
Raspberry Pi sent me a sample of their Hey Hi (AI) HAT+ 2 generative Hey Hi (AI) accelerator based on Hailo-10H for review. The 40 TOPS Hey Hi (AI) accelerator is advertised as being suitable for LLMs (Large Language Models) and VLM (Vision Language Models), while delivering about the same performance as the first-generation Hey Hi (AI) HAT+ (Hailo-8) for Hey Hi (AI) vision/computer vision models.
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CNX Software ☛ Waveshare ESP32-C6-GEEK – A USB flash drive-like ESP32-C6 development board
After releasing the RP2040-GEEK and RP2350-GEEK, Waveshare has now released the ESP32-C6-GEEK, another USB flash drive-like development board featuring an ESP32-C6 wireless MCU with support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth LE, and IEEE 802.15.4 for Zigbee and Thread connectivity, an onboard 1.14-inch 240 × 135 IPS color LCD, and a USB-A male connector. The board also includes a microSD card slot for external storage, an onboard ceramic antenna, a BOOT button, and UART, GPIO, and I²C connectors for expansion. These features make it suitable for IoT nodes, smart displays, wireless sensors, protocol experimentation, beginner firmware development, and compact embedded UI projects.
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CNX Software ☛ EnviroGo ESP32-S3 wearable environmental monitor features 7 sensors (Crowdfunding)
EnviroGo is an ESP32-S3-based wearable environmental monitor that tracks Organic Compounds (VOCs), UV index, temperature, humidity, air pressure, light, and motion via a 9-axis MEMS sensor. It is designed for indoor and outdoor use, and can be worn, clipped to a bag, or magnetically mounted, making it suitable for homes, offices, travel, labs, and daily use where real-time environmental data is needed.
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Hackaday ☛ Robot Sees Light With No CPU
If you ever built a line following robot, you’ll be nostalgic about [Jeremy’s] light-seeking robot. It is a very simple build since there is no CPU and, therefore, also no software.
The trick, of course, is a pair of photo-sensitive resistors. A pair of motors turns the robot until one of the sensors detects light, then moves it forward.
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Linux-Centric Hardware
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CNX Software ☛ Bedrock RAI300 fanless industrial PC is powered by an AMD Ryzen Hey Hi (AI) 9 HX 370 mobile Hey Hi (AI) SoC
SolidRun Bedrock RAI300 is the first industrial PC powered by a 12-core/24-thread AMD Ryzen Hey Hi (AI) 9 HX 370 mobile processor, typically used in premium consumer and commercial Hey Hi (AI) laptops. The fanless industrial computer supports up to 128GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory to run Hey Hi (AI) models on the 50 TOPS NPU (80 TOPS combined) of the AMD processor, up to three M.2 NVMe 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4 storage devices, up to four display through HDMI 2.1 and DP 2.1 video outputs, and features up to four 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports, a USB4 port, four USB 3.2 ports, and more.
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Liliputing ☛ This 2.6 pound laptop has a 2.8K 120 Hz display, 99 Wh battery, and Linux or Windows options
The Slimbook Executive is a thin and light laptop from Spanish PC company Slimbook that comes with a choice of Windows, Linux, or dual-boot options. Slimbook has been offering versions of the laptop for years, and now the company has introduced a new model for 2026.
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