How important do you think it is that there are now so many companies making real money with open-source hardware?
Doctorow: It’s crucial. There are lots of reasons that people do things, but one of the big ones is money. A culture or practice that only includes noncommercial ventures is lopsided and impoverished. I think that the DIY movement is turning into a full-fledged ecosystem with organisms that fill every niche, from giant companies to garage start-ups to hobbyists to pirates to innovators to fools and scam-artists. In other words, it’s maturing.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
