Issue #99 — Mate

Hi all

Welcome to Issue #99 (wow – next week will be a milestone!)

This week brings plenty of news and other new things – the winners of the first phase of the Astro Pi competition have been announced; there’s a new Raspbian image with a neat WiFi dropdown and volume/audio config docked to the main taskbar; and an Ubuntu desktop image, in the form of Ubuntu MATE, has been added to the downloads page.

There are also some great projects below, and plenty of Jams.

Be sure to check out the second article from my opensource.com column – this month on Minecraft Pi.

Ben

Picture of the week

Since Raspberry Pi 2 contains an ARM v7 SoC, it’s supported by Ubuntu. MATE is a lightweight GNOME desktop that runs beautifully on Pi 2.

News

• Astro Pi: Mission Update 2 (raspberrypi.org)
  Competition winners announced for phase one, and updates about the mission
• Camera Board HDMI Extension (raspberrypi.org)
  Extend your camera module with an HDMI cable instead of a long ribbon cable
• Meet the Raspberry Pi Creative Technologists (raspberrypi.org)
  An introduction to the young people on the Creative Technologists programme
• Another Raspbian Desktop User Interface Update (raspberrypi.org)
  UX engineer Simon Long talks through the Raspbian GUI's new features
• New Raspbian & Ubuntu MATE (raspberrypi.org)
  An updated Raspbian image and a brand new Ubuntu desktop image introduced
• eyeOnPi (eyeonpi.com)
  Interesting new IoT platform for Pi - currently in beta
• Kano Upgrades to Raspberry Pi 2 (kano.me)
  Premium Raspberry Pi starter kit now includes Pi 2

Projects

• Website monitoring for nighttime alerts (itworld.com)
  Using Pibrella for nighttime alerts in website monitoring system
• 2-Factor Authentication Safe Deposit Box (resin.io)
  2-Factor authentication protecting your belongings in the real world
• Touch free Water Dispenser (scienceexposure.com)
  Using an ultrasonic sensor and a motor controller to pump water with a Pi
• IoT Python app with Bluemix (developer.ibm.com)
  Use SMS to control items in your home with Python, Pi and a web app
• PiTFT TouchPi Menu System (netofeverything.blogspot.co.uk)
  Making simple menu systems for a PiTFT touch screen
• Smart patient monitoring system (instructables.com)
  Build a smart patient monitoring system using Arduino or Raspberry Pi
• Train Disruption Indicator (unop.uk)
  Handy train/tube line disruption indicator LED strips
• Pi Case that Plugs Directly Into the Wall (instructables.com)
  Make a Raspberry Pi case that plugs directly into the wall

Articles & more

• Getting Started with Minecraft Pi (opensource.com)
  Summary of what you can do with Raspberry Pi's free version of Minecraft and its API
• SSH shenanigans (raspberrypi.org)
  Kid hacking Dad's computer from her Raspberry Pi
• 10 brilliant things you can do with a Raspberry Pi (trustedreviews.com)
  Pi in the Sky, Kodi, PiPhone, BrewPi, BeetBox, RetroPiE and more
• 5 of the most popular Raspberry Pi distros (techradar.com)
  A look at Raspbian, MusicBox, RetroPiE, OpenELEC and OpenMediaVault

Upcoming Events

• Raspberry Pi Build Night, Cambridge (UK) (11 May)
• Milwaukee Raspberry Jam, WI (US) (13 May)
• NLLGG Raspberry Jam (NL) (16 May)
• Raspberry Jam Silicon Valley (US) (16 May)
• Cache Valley Raspberry Jam, Utah (US) (19 May)
• Seattle Raspberry Jam (US) (20 May)
• KK Raspberry Jam (MY) (23 May)
• PyConAPAC Python Picamera workshop (TW) (31 May)
• CamJam, Cambridge (UK) (6 June)
• Media City UK Raspberry Jam (UK) (6 June)
• Preston Raspberry Jam (UK) (6 July)

Thanks to our sponsor

PaPiRus is a versatile ePaper display HAT for the Raspberry Pi with screens ranging from 1.44″ to 2.7″ in size. PaPiRus is currently funding on Kickstarter – http://kck.st/1KhPAB2

Pi Supply (www.pi-supply.com) are very excited to offer this interesting HAT compatible display breakout for hackers who want to start playing with small ePaper / eInk displays in their Raspberry Pi projects.

Contact & Submissions

This newsletter is curated by @ben_nuttall. Tweet links to @rpf_weekly or email weekly [at] raspberrypi.org