Product: 1449345379

Matt Richardson a prominent Maker who also wrote the excellent Getting Started manual on Raspberry Pi and is a Masters student at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program has prepared an excellent handbook on the powerful Beaglebone (and Beaglebone Black). The Beaglebone most recently released for $45 in the Beaglebone Black model has several advantages over both existing Arduino models and the Raspberry Pi. Like the Pi the Beaglebone runs the powerful Linux operating system on a faster and more powerful processor. Like the Arduino the I/O capabilities of this compact processor card include Analog I/O with a built in Analog to Digital Converter and several PWM outputs (this is unlike the Raspberry Pi which has no built-in ADC and only a single PWM output). In addition, the Beaglebone has a Javascript-based I/O control in the Bonescript Language and a Web-Hosted IDE for developing Bonescript Code known as Cloud9.

Mr. Richardson certainly includes a full description of all one needs to get started with the Beaglebone include hardware gozinta’s, software setup and use of the IDE as well as Python interfaces; but he also goes well beyond other getting started books in this compact 127 page edition. Projects include a networked outlet timer, use of Python and Bonescript and the Linux Shell to control the board and interfaces, and use of the Xively Internet of Things service (formerly known as COSM or Pachube).

I highly recommend this Getting Started++ guide to the powerful and extensible Beaglebone architecture to both those new to Linux embedded systems and hardware enthusiasts.

–Ira Laefsky MS Engineering/MBA IT & HCI Consultant & Researcher
formerly on the Senior Consulting Staff of Arthur D. Little, Inc. and Digital Equipment Corporation
Rating: 5
1449345379
Count: 5