The Official Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide, 5th Edition is now available, according to an announcement from Raspberry Pi. This fifth edition of the flagship book about the Raspberry Pi offers new coverage of the Raspberry Pi 5, Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, and the most recent version of Raspberry Pi OS. In addition, the author, Gareth Halfacree, has included a bonus chapter that covers Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico W.

The book features a new look, with an interior design from Sara Parodi. Nellie McKesson developed an HTML- and CSS-based layout engine to bring the design to life. The book also includes new graphics, including photography from Brian O Halloran, diagrams from Natalie Turner, and illustrations from Sam Alder. The process was overseen by Liz Upton, Jack Willis, and Brian Jepson.

The Official Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Guide, 5th Edition can be ordered from the Raspberry Pi Press Store. Raspberry Pi users running Raspberry Pi OS can expect it to appear in the Raspberry Pi Bookshelf application in a few days.

Olimex has released the RT1010-Py board, a small development board powered by a 500 MHz NXP i.MX RT1011 Cortex-M7 MCU. The board is designed to run MicroPython and is about four times faster than the Raspberry Pi Pico.

The RT1010-Py board features two 20-pin GPIO headers that expose various interfaces such as SPI and I2C. It also includes a microSD card slot for storage, two buttons, and a USB-C Type port for power and programming. Additionally, the board has a 12-pin fUEXT connector that allows users to connect Olimex’s UEXT modules via a flat cable.

In terms of specifications, the RT1010-Py board is equipped with an NXP iMX RT1011 crossover microcontroller, which features an Arm Cortex-M7 clocked at 500 MHz and 128KB SRAM/TCM. It has 2MB SPI Flash storage and a microSD card slot for additional storage. The board also has a USB 2.0 OTG Type-C port for connectivity.

Expansion options on the RT1010-Py board include two 20-pin headers with up to 15x GPIO, 3x UART, 2x SPI, 2x I2C, 1x I2S, 4x PWM, and 5x analog inputs. It also features an fUEXT connector with support for 3.3V, GND, I2C, SPI, and UART.

Other features of the RT1010-Py board include an RTC with a 32.768 kHz crystal, RESET and BOOT buttons, and power supply via a 5V USB-C port. The board has dimensions of 53.34 x 25.4 mm.

The NXP i.MX RT1010 board can run MicroPython with support for all hardware interfaces such as GPIO, I2C, and SPI. The user manual for the board is available in PDF format. The board also supports PlatformIO, although there are no board-specific documentation for it. The KiCAD and PDF schematics for the board are available on Olimex’s GitHub page.

For easier expansion, Olimex has designed the RT1010Py-DevKit as a carrier board for the RT1010-Py board. The devkit features support for the RT1010-Py board via 2x 20-pin headers. It also includes 2x 250VAC/10A relays, 2x UEXT connectors for expansion modules, a boot configuration slide switch, status LEDs, power and user buttons, and a USB-C power supply connector. The RT1010Py-DevKit has dimensions of 75 x 55 mm.

While the RT1010Py-DevKit is supposed to be open-source hardware, the schematics and user manual have not been released yet.

The RT1010-Py board is available for purchase from Olimex for 15 Euros, while the RT1010Py-DevKit is available for an additional 10 Euros. It is worth noting that Adafruit has previously launched a larger NXP i.MX RT1010 board called the Metro M7, which follows the Arduino UNO form factor and supports CircuitPython.

Source: CNX Software – Embedded Systems News.

Matrix Synapse, an open-source Matrix homeserver developed and maintained by the Matrix.org Foundation, has announced the first release candidate for version 1.96.0, marked as v1.96.0rc1. Synapse has been under development since 2014 and reached version 1.0.0 in 2019. The development of both Synapse and the Matrix protocol itself continues actively.

The release candidate, v1.96.0rc1, includes several new features, bug fixes, and improvements to the documentation and internal processes. Some of the notable features and bug fixes include:

Features:

• Experimental support for multiple workers to write to receipts stream
• Introduction of a new module API for controller presence
• Addition of a new module API callback to add extra fields to events’ unsigned section when sent to clients
• Performance improvements for claiming encryption keys

Bugfixes:

• Fixed a bug in the example Grafana dashboard that prevented it from finding the correct datasource
• Fixed a long-standing, rare edge case where the first event persisted by a new event persister worker might not be sent down /sync
• Fixed a bug where /sync incorrectly did not mark a room as limited in sync requests when there were missing remote events
• Fixed a bug introduced in Synapse 1.41 where HTTP(S) forward proxy authorization would fail when using basic HTTP authentication with a long username:password string
• Fixed a bug where /sync could tight loop after restart when using SQLite
• Fixed a bug where invited/knocking users would not leave during a room purge

Improvements to Documentation:

• Improved documentation of the presence router
• Added a sentence to the opentracing docs on using Jaeger in a different location than Synapse
• Corrected the description of unspecified rule lists in the alias_creation_rules and room_list_publication_rules config options and improved their descriptions
• Updated the recommended poetry version in the contributors’ guide
• Fixed a broken link to the client breakdown in the README

Internal Changes:

• Improved performance of delete device messages query
• Reduced memory allocations
• Enhanced replication performance when purging rooms
• Ran tests against Python 3.12
• Ran trial & integration tests in continuous integration when the .ci directory is modified
• Made various improvements to type hints and performance optimization

The release also includes updates to locked dependencies, with various packages being bumped to newer versions.

Matrix Synapse’s release candidate v1.96.0rc1 brings several new features, bug fixes, and improvements, making it an exciting update for users of the Matrix homeserver. The release demonstrates the commitment of the Matrix.org Foundation to continuously improve and enhance the Matrix protocol and its associated software.

ADATA has unveiled the ADATA SE920, a compact and high-speed external solid-state drive (SSD) that claims to be the first to support 40 Gbps USB4 connections. The SE920 offers read/write speeds of up to 3,800MB/s and 3,700MB/s respectively. However, due to its high speeds, the SSD generates more heat than most, necessitating active cooling. To address this, ADATA has incorporated a proprietary patented active dissipation design and a built-in micro fan. The SSD also features a telescoping case that expands when in use, allowing for better airflow circulation when the fan is active. By pressing down on the case, users can activate the fan, and retract it when not needed to save space.

Measuring 105 x 64.2 x 15.9mm when closed, or 122.56 x 64.2 x 15.9mm when extended, the portable SSD weighs 182 grams. The ADATA SE920 is backward-compatible with USB 3.2 and USB 2.0, although slower speeds should be expected when using these ports. ADATA will offer 1TB and 2TB versions of the SSD, and it is expected to be compatible with devices running Windows 10 or later, macOS 13 or later, Linux kernel 6 or later, or Android 13 or later. Pricing details have not been announced yet. See the press release for more information.

Source: Liliputing.

XCP-ng has released Xen Orchestra 5.88, packed with new features and improvements. In the backup area, there have been code improvements and bug fixes, as well as an optimization for full backups using S3. The Terraform provider has also seen updates, including support for XenServer/XCP-ng bonded networks and improvements to the XO internal API. XO Lite now allows for cloning and snapshotting of VMs, and a “Ctrl Alt Del” button has been added to the console view. Xen Orchestra 6 is also in the works, with a focus on backup management and a revamped user interface. Mockups of the new UI have been shared, showcasing a more streamlined and efficient backup view. XOSTOR, the hyperconverged storage solution, now has a simple UI for creating new storage. XCP-ng 8.3 features have been added to Xen Orchestra, including vTPM management in the web UI and a new optional argument for the host.evacuate method. Overall, Xen Orchestra 5.88 brings a range of enhancements and improvements to the platform.

Bcachefs, an open-source file system, has been surprisingly merged into Linux 6.7, less than 24 hours after its submission. This quick approval by Linus Torvalds comes as a surprise, considering the previous challenges in getting Bcachefs integrated. The file system spent the entire 6.6 cycle within Linux-Next before being merged. It was developed by Kent Overstreet and is initially regarded as an experimental file system.

Source: Phoronix.