New web browser for the Raspberry Pi has been released

Eight months after it was first announced, Epiphany for the Pi has been released. This is a new web browser for the Pi, replacing the venerable but dated Midori, and comes with the following features:

  • Much-improved HTML5 support
  • A JavaScript JIT
  • Hardware-accelerated video decoding
  • ARMv6-optimized blitting functions
  • Better interactivity during page loading
  • Faster scrolling

You can catch Eben Upton’s full announcement about the new web browser over on the Raspberry Pi Foundation blog and you can see a working demo video at the start of this post.

HDMIPi screen for the Raspberry Pi nears shipping

Alex Eames has reported that the much-anticipated HDMIPi screens are now en-route from the manufacturers and will be ready for dispatch soon. If you haven’t updated your address yet, you must do so very soon to ensure there’s no delay sending your screen to you. If you don’t know how to do this, the easiest thing to do is to contact Alex on the official HDMIPi Twitter account and he’ll point you in the right direction.

Raspberry Pi for Artists workshop in New York

New York-based digital artist and developer Bruno Kruse is running a workshop in Brooklyn on 20th September from 12pm-7pm for artists who want to use the Raspberry Pi to develop installations. Here’s some info from the event page:

This workshop is perfect for artists, developers, educators or anyone interested in experimenting with the Raspberry Pi.

Learn how to setup and turn your Raspberry Pi into a standalone machine for installations from the ground up. Starting from a fresh Pi we’ll be learning how to install various flavors of linux, access basic networking and video playback. We’ll also dive into writing our first programs to wire LED’s, buttons and motors. Everything you need to know to get the Pi set up and running your own projects!

The workshop fee is from $80 (it’s a little more for non-students and a little more again if you want to buy the hardware as part of the course fee) and you can register for it here.

Reset a forgotten password on your Raspberry Pi

Matt Hawkins has worked out a way to reset a forgotten password on the Pi by editing a file on the boot partition of the SD card. So, all you need to do is to take the SD card, edit the file using your laptop or desktop PC and then put it back in the Pi. A few commands after booting the Pi and you’ll soon sort out your access problems. Find out how to reset your Pi’s password here.

Underwater ROV with a Raspberry Pi onboard

This is one of my personal ‘Holy Grails’ – an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle containing a Pi. Although it’s not controlled by the Pi, I think this one counts!

Tim Jagenberg and his son are currently attending the Maker Faire in Trondheim at the moment and they have taken their ROV with them. Here’s what Tim had to say about it:

[It is] based on a plumbing tube used for the housing and submersible electric pumps as motors. A Raspberry Pi with Camera Module will deliver the live video feed via ethernet cable. The remote control is managed via a serial link to a Teensy 3.1 with sensors and motor controllers. The communication will be implemented using MAVLink, which enables the use of the QGroundControl station.

You can read more about the build on Tim’s blog here and see a video interview with him at the Faire below: