A project to build a highly hackable, open source computer has raised $700,000 through crowd funding, more than twice its original goal.
The Novena is designed for modders who want to tinker with both the software and hardware inside their machine.
The device ships with a 1.2GHz Freescale quad-core iMX6 Arm-based CPU coupled with a Xilinx Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and a high speed I/O expansion header.
All the documentation for the printed circuit boards is open and free to download, the entire OS is buildable from source, and it comes with a variety of features that facilitate rapid prototyping.
A Crowd Supply campaign to fund the building of the laptop closed on Sunday, with backers pledging $702,445.
The Novena was devised by xobs and Andrew ‘bunnie’ Huang, former hardware lead on the open source Chumby internet appliance, who last year described building a laptop as a “geek fantasy”.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
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 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: New Python Releases, an ESP32+MicroPython IDE and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
