Recently I’ve been programming some games using Pygame Zero. Pygame Zero is combination of libraries and other code that interfaces with Pygame to make it easier to program graphical games (or other applications). I’ve created two games so far one of which is designed for the Picade, Raspberry Pi based mini Arcade Machine and the […]

One of the things about creating a web site is having to keep it up-to-date as changes happen. In the case of my PenguinTutor web site that is the changes in Linux and the Raspberry Pi over the last few years. In particular a new release of Raspbian was created last year (based on Debian […]

Today is the weekend of the Raspberry Pi 6th Birthday. In the past the birthday has been celebrated with a large Raspberry Jam in Cambridge (organized by Mike Horne and Tim Richardson). I have been to the earlier birthday celebrations, supporting workshops run by others, giving presentations and running workshops. For 2018 the birthday celebrations […]

Today is World Book Day. For the last few years I’ve been supporting my local school by helping run their book sale. Last year I dressed up as The Wizard of Oz complete with Wearable Electronic flashing bow tie. This year I am a little more subtle as I won’t be wearing a full costume, […]

The ESA European Astro Pi Project – “Mission Zero”, involved school children creating code that actually ran on the International Space Station (ISS). My son joined with a friend (both aged 9 at the time it was submitted) to create a Python program that ran on the International Space station during February 2018. Here’s his […]

I’ve recently completed an online Master degree with Georgia Tech. This has been a huge commitment in terms of time, but I’ve learned a lot. “University Master Degree – same as on-campus but it’s online” As an online course the cost is only a fraction of on-campus classes, and in my case my employer covered […]

I have written previously about a school computing fair that I helped support. I went along again this year as a way to promote STEM and in particular computing. As I work for a telecommunications company then I wanted to promote computer networking as a career option. I didn’t want to just talk about computer […]

Google and MagPi (the official Raspberry Pi magazine) have released a project in the magazine using the Google API engine. This is known as AIY and was released with issue 57 of the magazine. The finished project is a cardboard box with a button switch on top. It includes a audio card and a microphone, […]

In the UK, Year 9 (age 13 to 14) is an important stage which can influence the student’s future career. It is during this year that the students first decide on what subjects to pursue, and in particular whether they will continue to study computer science. I recently attended a computing and IT careers fair […]

I have now got a 3D printer. I haven’t done much with it yet and it’s a steep learning curve but I’m looking forward to getting into 3D printing. Choosing a 3D printer The first decision was which 3D printer to buy. There are a lot of different choices starting from little over £100 and […]