Linux User & Developer, Issue 96

For this month’s issue, the second part of my Arduino programming trilogy alongside a double-page review of Kubuntu 10.10, the KDE-based Ubuntu variant.

Playing with Arduino – an open source rapid prototyping platform for microcontroller-based electronics – is fun, but can seem daunting for beginners. While my ongoing tutorial series won’t have anyone making any major breakthroughs, it’s hopefully serving as a friendly introduction to the concepts behind Arduino use.

The requirement to make it beginner-friendly, however, does mean that the functionality of the circuit isn’t exactly advanced; instead, I’m re-using the simple buzzer circuit from the first part with a new ‘sketch’ and back-end software.

Next month, things will get more interesting as the concluding part introduces a liquid-crystal display to spice things up a bit.

The review is the usual OS review fare: download, install into a testbed system, test to near-destruction – of either myself or the distro – and conclude. Taking on Kubuntu made things more interesting, however, thanks to its KDE base; my day-to-day OS uses GNOME, and it’s always fun to see how the other side lives.

More information is available on the Linux User & Developer website.

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