Operating systems

Dirty Cow Linux vulnerability affects the Raspberry Pi – here’s how to fix it

by  •  • 2 Comments

dirty-cow

There is a security vulnerability affecting Linux at the moment called “Dirty Cow”. It affects the copy-on-write mechanism (hence the name) and can be very dangerous as it allows malicious hackers to take control of your computer or device, including the Pi. Thanks to the engineers at Raspberry Pi, there is already a fix available for our single board computers. To install it, do the following at the command prompt:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install raspberrypi-kernel

Thanks to The MagPi for posting about this.

Accessories, Blinkies, Music

Keeping track of vinyl records with a Raspberry Pi and lots of blinkies

by  •  • 0 Comments

vinyl

The Raspberry Pi Foundation have just blogged this so I thought I’d share it with you.

Mike Smith has a lot of vinyl records and he has trouble keeping track of where they all are located on his shelves. So, he took a Raspberry Pi, lots of Neopixel strands and Adafruit’s FadeCandy board to control them. The Pi has a web interface and database of all the records and their locations. When you select the record, the Pi sends a signal to the FadeCandy which then flashes all the Neopixels in the individual cubby hole where the record resides, followed by a single flash of the Neopixel closest to the record. The whole system is also capable of putting on some impressive lighting effects, also controllable via the web interface. If you want to know more, Mike will be filling in details here and you can view the system in action in the video below:

Blinkies, Events, Maker Faire, Making, Robotics

Derby Mini Maker Faire 2016 – thoughts and a highlights video

by  •  • 2 Comments

Derby Mini Maker Faire 2016

Today, I attended my first Maker Faire at the Silk Mill in Derby. Took a couple of hours to get there, and I have to say it was worth every minute of travel. Raspberry Pi highlights included Steve Upton and his Wall of Enlightenment (huge strings of blinkies), Brian Corteil’s Micro Pi Noon and Derek Woodroffe’s Tesla Coils driven from a Raspberry Pi Zero. There was loads of stuff on show – bizarrely lots of micro:bit stuff – including plastics, wood, metal, textiles. Anything you can name under the broad heading of “things we make” was featured. There were around 100 maker stands and the setting was wonderful. Highly recommended for next year! I took some video footage of the day and cut it together into a 20-minute highlights reel which you can see below:

Accessories, Blinkies, Crowdfunding, GPIO boards, micro:bit

New Kickstarter – RGB LED Christmas decoration for the Raspberry Pi, micro:bit and CodeBug

by  •  • 1 Comment

christmastree

Andrew Gale previously ran a Kickstarter for a Christmas decoration powered by the Raspberry Pi. He has now re-spun his idea and has created a decoration using RGB LEDs. It plugs directly into the GPIO pins of the Pi. He has also created a version for the micro:bit and CodeBug that attaches using crocodile clips. Both boards are available in kit form for £5 (early-bird) £6 (regular). Take a look at the campaign here.

Competitions, Internet of things

Internet of Things competition from The MagPi, Initial State and MCM

by  •  • 0 Comments

iotcompetition

Initial State, The MagPi and MCM Electronics have teamed up to run a great competition, all based around The Internet of Things. The projects must use Initial State and a Raspberry Pi to be considered and you have until 31st October to submit your project. There are plenty of prizes and a chance to get your project published in The MagPi! Here are the full rules:

  • The deadline for applications is October 31st
  • No late applications will be considered
  • By submitting an application, you are giving us permission to publish your project, and how you created it.
  • Projects must use a Raspberry Pi and Initial State to be considered
  • We will never give away or sell your contact information to any outside party
  • Must be 18 years or older to apply
  • Projects must be original and not copied from any of MagPi or Initial State’s previous postings
  • Contest judging criteria is determined by contest operators and sponsors. The competition judges, a select group from Initial State and MagPi, have final say in what most creative, practical and awesome.

Projects are judged according to Creativity, Practicality and Awesomeness!

Take a look at the competition and enter here.