Linux Format - UK (2019-12)

48 LXF257 December 2019 http://www.linuxformat.com

TUTORIAL Prey

CREDIT: ESA CREDIT: Raspberry Pi Foundation

veryone loves new releases of

software, new features, news tools

to play with, and of course new bugs!

So when Ubuntu 19.10 rolled off the compiler

onto the download servers everyone

scrambled to grab their new images and

install the update on their Raspberry

Pi 4 – only to discover they

couldn’t type in their

passwords...

Initially there

im Peak, the public face of the

Astro Pi challenge, has been

awarded a Royal Academy of

Engineering Rooke prize for public promotion

of engineering. He said “It is vital to inspire

and engage young people from all

backgrounds and encourage them to

consider a career in engineering”. Find out

more at: http://bit.ly/lxf257astro.

roducts don’t just happen and great

ones take time, effort, blood, sweat

and sometimes tears to produce. If

you want to learn just what goes into creating

a real physical product, the Pi Foundation has

an interesting write-up of the process that

went into creating the various official Pi

products – from cases to the Pi Store. Read

more at: http://bit.ly/lxf257design.

Ubuntu 19.10 Pi 4

release hit with bugs

Astro Prize Behind the design

USB and Bluetooth issues abound, with a firmware

update only helping out certain users.

Awards for engagement. Making a case.

E

T P

FIGHT CLUB

EPIPHANY

Retro-gaming is a passion of

mine. I love to reminisce about

old games, delve into their

history and learn more about the

game and the team behind it.

With the Raspberry Pi we can

experience retro-gaming from

two different viewpoints.

We can use an emulation

platform such as Lakka, reviewed

on page 49, and play the games

from the ‘golden years’ of gaming

• this is subjective, but for me it
  was the SNES/Mega Drive era –
  and experience the thrill of
  gaming with these classic
  machines. But with a Raspberry
  Pi we can also create our own
  ‘retro-style’ games using one of
  many coding tools.
  If you’re new to coding then
  Scratch is the place to start and
  you can follow one of the many
  tutorials to create your own
  simple video game in a couple of
  hours. If you are a confident
  programmer then using Python
  and PyGame is the way to go; in
  fact PyGame Zero is part of the
  Mu editor (https://codewith.
  mu), which is a great way to start
  making games.
  But if you are dedicated old-
  school retro-gamer/coder, try
  PICO-8, which is a game/demo
  development framework which
  provides the tools needed to
  create 8-bit style games. These
  can be saved as ‘cartridges’ and
  shared online.
  With the Raspberry Pi you can
  do anything; all you need is an
  idea and a little Google-fu to
  research and learn new skills to
  make your idea real.
  Of course when you are done
  coding, you can settle down to a
  little game time, and try to beat
  your favourite game.

Les Pounder

works with groups

such as the

Raspberry Pi

Foundation to help

boost people’s

maker skills.

were mixed reports that a Pi firmware update

fixing the issue, but it seemed this was only

for units with less than 4GB of memory. Users

with 4GB models could limit memory to less

than 3GB (or use the 32-bit build) and get

their USB ports back, but understandably this

is hardly ideal.

Bluetooth was also nobbled in 19.10 –

Canonical developer Dave Jones admitted

that Bluetooth wasn’t tested under Eoan,

with the priority being a stable serial

console server distro rather than out-

of-the-box Bluetooth support. Early

adopters beware, as always!

You can follow the discussion and

fixes on the forums at

http://bit.ly/lxf257pibug.

Pi USER

Being an early

adopter is a recipe

for disaster.

Tim Peake with Rocketry Challenge students. Discover the process behind great product design.

48 LXF257 December 2019 http://www.linuxformat.com

CREDIT:ESA CREDIT:RaspberryPiFoundation

veryonelovesnewreleasesof

software,newfeatures,newstools

toplaywith,andofcoursenewbugs!

SowhenUbuntu19.10rolledoffthecompiler

ontothedownloadserverseveryone

scrambledtograbtheirnewimagesand

installtheupdateontheirRaspberry

Pi4 – onlytodiscoverthey

couldn’ttypeintheir

passwords...

Initiallythere

imPeak,thepublicfaceofthe

AstroPichallenge,hasbeen

awardeda RoyalAcademyof

EngineeringRookeprizeforpublicpromotion

ofengineering.Hesaid“Itisvitaltoinspire

andengageyoungpeoplefromall

backgroundsandencouragethemto

considera careerinengineering”.Findout

moreat:http://bit.ly/lxf257astro.

roductsdon’tjusthappenandgreat

onestaketime,effort,blood,sweat

andsometimestearstoproduce.If

youwanttolearnjustwhatgoesintocreating

a realphysicalproduct,thePiFoundationhas

aninterestingwrite-upoftheprocessthat

wentintocreatingthevariousofficialPi

products– fromcasestothePiStore.Read

moreat:http://bit.ly/lxf257design.

Ubuntu 19.10 Pi 4

release hit with bugs

Astro Prize Behind the design

USBandBluetoothissuesabound,witha firmware

updateonlyhelpingoutcertainusers.

Awardsforengagement. Makinga case.

E

T P

FIGHTCLUB

EPIPHANY

Retro-gamingisa passionof
mine. I lovetoreminisceabout
old games,delveintotheir
history andlearnmoreaboutthe
game andtheteambehindit.
With theRaspberryPiwecan
experienceretro-gamingfrom
two differentviewpoints.
We canuseanemulation
platformsuchasLakka,reviewed
on page49,andplaythegames
from the‘goldenyears’ofgaming

• this issubjective,butformeit
  was theSNES/MegaDriveera–
  and experiencethethrillof
  gamingwiththeseclassic
  machines.Butwitha Raspberry
  Pi we canalsocreateourown
  ‘retro-style’gamesusingoneof
  many coding tools.
  If you’re new to coding then
  Scratch is the place to start and
  you can follow one of the many
  tutorials to create your own
  simple video game in a couple of
  hours. If you are a confident
  programmer then using Python
  and PyGame is the way to go; in
  fact PyGame Zero is part of the
  Mu editor (https://codewith.
  mu), which is a great way to start
  making games.
  But if you are dedicated old-
  school retro-gamer/coder, try
  PICO-8, which is a game/demo
  development framework which
  provides the tools needed to
  create 8-bit style games. These
  can be saved as ‘cartridges’ and
  shared online.
  With the Raspberry Pi you can
  do anything; all you need is an
  idea and a little Google-fu to
  research and learn new skills to
  make your idea real.
  Of course when you are done
  coding, you can settle down to a
  little game time, and try to beat
  your favourite game.

LesPounder

workswithgroups

suchasthe

RaspberryPi

Foundationtohelp

boostpeople’s

makerskills.

were mixed reports that a Pi firmware update

fixing the issue, but it seemed this was only

for units with less than 4GB of memory. Users

with 4GB models could limit memory to less

than 3GB (or use the 32-bit build) and get

their USB ports back, but understandably this

is hardly ideal.

Bluetooth was also nobbled in 19.10 –

Canonical developer Dave Jones admitted

that Bluetooth wasn’t tested under Eoan,

with the priority being a stable serial

console server distro rather than out-

of-the-box Bluetooth support. Early

adopters beware, as always!

You can follow the discussion and

fixes on the forums at

http://bit.ly/lxf257pibug.

Pi USER

Being an early

adopter is a recipe

for disaster.

Tim Peake with Rocketry Challenge students. Discover the process behind great product design.