Following the new Yún image, we are happy to announce two new features of the Arduino Yún.

• The first feature is a tutorial we’ve written that allows you to use a micro SD card as a replacement for the Yún’s internal flash memory. Using this, you can expand your Yún’s free disk space from the original 7 Megabytes to the Gigabytes of your SD card.

Having more disk space allows you to make more complex projects, like activating webcams and saving pictures taken with it. In addition, by using an external SD card you avoid using the internal flash memory, thus extending the life of your Yún.

To upgrade your Yún to gain these features, follow the steps of the tutorial and report back to the Arduino Yún forum if you have any issues or questions.

• The second new feature is the availability of Node.js as an installable package. In order to install Node.js on your Yún, use the Arduino IDE to upload the YúnSerialTerminal example or access your Yún via SSH.

Be sure your Yún has access to the internet, then type the following commands:

opkg update
opkg install node

And voilà! You’ve got Node.js on your Yún.

Try it out with the following command: 

node -e “console.log(‘Hello Yún’)”

If you are a Node.js fan, you probably want to use your favourite modules. Unfortunately, not every Node.js module is “pure javascript”, so some modules won’t work on the Yún. We are solving this by preparing packages for the most common native Node.js modules: we have already prepared node-serialport (opkg install node-serialport) and noble is on the way. If you miss your favourite one and want it added to the list, please consider joining us in developing the Yún.

Once again this year Arduino will make a donation ( for a total of 30,000 USD) to promote open source culture and innovation.
This year, Arduino is also soliciting suggestions: throughout 2014, we are asking our community to highlight the 10 organizations which would best benefit from Arduino support.

Arduino is based on the contribution of many other open source projects and wants to support these and other initiatives, sharing our approach and philosophy, through yearly donations.
We thought it could be a great idea to involve the community for selecting the projects to support by suggesting us how they could benefit from Arduino donations.

The Arduino community is invited to suggest beneficiaries – associations, foundations, institutions – according to one or more of the following cornerstones:
- it brings innovations in the open electronic and making ecosystem
- it’s an open source project
- it facilitates the exchange of knowledge
- it has an impact on open source ecosystem
- it is a non commercial project

The first call is open during May: anyone can fill this form to send a suggestion based on the cornerstones explained above by the 30th of May. At the end of June we’ll announce 5 finalists receiving a donation of $2000 each.

The second call for submissions will happen during September.
At Maker Faire Rome in October 2014, Arduino will announce the remaining 5 finalists receiving a donation of $2000 each.

The final selection will be at the discretion of the Arduino team.

Moreover, Arduino founders have already chosen their beneficiaries: Creative Commons, Free Software Foundation and Processing.

It’s time to start tinkering on new projects or pimp-up some old ones because MakerFaire Rome is calling!

Last year it was an overwhelming experience for all of us: more than 35.000 people from all over the world gathered for the first edition of the European edition of MakerFaire. Around 24o makers presented their projects ( 60% from Italy and 40% from the rest of the continent) and showed to a crowd of enthusiasts and newbies  the impact of open source community and DIY on our lives.

If you want to join us with your project in Rome from the 3rd to the 5th of October, take a look at the Call for Makers and fill it before the 25th of May:

The first step to participate in Maker Faire Rome as Maker is to submit an entry that tells us about yourself and your project. Entries can be submitted from individuals as well as from groups.
Please provide a description of what you make and what you would like to bring to Maker Faire, including links to photographs and/or videos of your project. We particularly encourage exhibits that are interactive and that highlight the process of making things. Continue >>

Here’s Arduino’s video from last year experience:

Organized by Science, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Network, a non for profit organization founded in 2011, The First Day of Tomorrow is a conference  bringing together the world’s top leaders in technology, research, startup investment, and entrepreneurship to highlight the hottest technologies and startups that are building our TOMORROW.

It’s taking place in Paris on the 18th of April and Massimo Banzi, CEO of Arduino, is giving a keynote together with other 40 cool speakers:

It’s been a couple of weeks since we celebrated with all of you the beginning of our tenth year. We’ve been receiving videos and pictures and want to share them in this post (Explore the tagboard of #ArduinoD14).

The first Arduino Day around the World was a huge success largely due to the dedication of each of the communities joining the party! We had more than 240 community events sharing with us this moment of celebration and we sincerely appreciate the efforts and thank you again for the support within the Arduino Open Source Community!

Once more we realised the importance of community by saying “Arduino is you.” Hardware, software, tutorials, and logistics aside, people enjoying time with Arduino are exemplary of the folks who make it fulfilling for us to continue with this adventure. Thank you!

Here’s some awesome visual reports we received:

• Antonius was at ITP in New York together with Massimo Banzi and Tom Igoe and made this video:
• David Cuartielles featured in this video from Arduino Day Zaragoza:
• Richard from Wevolver in Amsterdam organised a Show and Tell in collaboration with Ifabrica:
  

(take a look also at the video interview they did to Gael Langevin of Project Inmoov!)

•  Explore some nice pictures from: Wellington (New Zealand),  Mexico City (Mexico) Smart Project (Tunisia), Arduino Day Bangalore (India),  Dhaka (Bangladesh),  Tomar (Portugal), Arduino Day Roma (Italy), Arduino Day Fablab Torino- Toolbox Coworking  (Italy),  Arduino Day at WeMake Milano + video by Octopulse (Italy), Chennai + Video  (India) and more… (share the link to your pics in the comments).

Have a look at this wonderfully handcrafted 20-min webumentary about Arduino, made by Opificio Ciclope and produced by Wired Italia.

Nice format and nice look: good job.

The core of our story is the life of Massimo Banzi, and the region in which he was born: the Canavese area. In particular, the city of Ivrea, a veritable Mecca of Italian informatics, where Olivetti had its headquarters. The more we discovered their world, the more it became clear that this story was not only about silicon and circuits: it was about their shared excitement and their curiosity, like kids playing with their favorite toy.

(BTW, Massimo is not from Ivrea, but I guess Ivrea’s Mayor is going to give him and the Arduino Team the honorary citizenship)

via [Wired Italia]

Ever wished for a really geeky end of the year? Wondering where to get all the latest awesomeness in the hardware world and get to see the people behind it? Reach out for Exceptionally Hard and Soft Meeting (EHSM) 2012 in the beautiful city of Berlin.

Here is a list of confirmed speakers to give you an insight into why you must attend:

The keynote speaker is Will Jack a 17 year old who apart from building a nuclear fusion reactor, recently built a writing pen for himself because he wanted one.

ICs are really small and badass but you can learn the technique of Reverse engineering it from John McMaster. His work can be seen on siliconpr0n.org.

Wires are the veins of an electrical circuit and Adrian Lelong would teach you wire characterization and diagnosis using various methods which is essential for the critical applications.

What new can be innovated in the technology behind music? Kaspar Emanuel would share his experiences behind a startup AlphaSphere doing the exact same job. AlphaSphere is a new musical instrument designed exclusively for electronic music. He would talk about the approach of open Innovation behind it.

If film deposition, plasma etching, linear particle accelerator, electron beam microscope, electron beam welding, molecular beam epitaxy are your favorite words, then you would surely enjoy the talk by Sylvain Radix and David Rochelet where they describe their success and failures in electrolab while building high-end vacuum systems the step 1 for various purposes stated above.

Coding and debugging without Java? Yes, using the web browser, also you would learn to tweak the CPU with Yann Guidon and Laura Bécognée and demoing YASEP.

A talk by by Stefan Sydow and Sebastian Koch would be on software defined radio with aircraft radio transponders head to metafly to see its live application.

Don’t have a complete idea on all the above technologies? Want your child over 7 years of age to start with her first tech at the conference? Your beloved arduino might be there too, to take a workshop on ‘Getting started with arduino’ for children and beginners.

Head over here to read about more amazing people or wait for part 2 for more announcements on the speakers.

Heard enough already? Head here to book tickets now!

Read the full article on MAKE

For Maker Camp, our virtual summer camp for teens, most of the materials for the projects use common household items, others, such as the Compressed Air Rocket Kit in the picture, can be purchased in the Maker Shed.

To celebrate the launch of Maker Camp, the Maker Shed is offering free shipping on all orders over $50! Just use coupon code MAKERCAMP upon checkout to get the deal. It’s the perfect way to stock up on camp supplies or to take your new found skills to the next level. With everything from Arduino, to guitar kits, to tools, the Maker Shed has something for every maker.

Want to attend Maker Camp? It’s easy and free, just follow MAKE on Google+!

We had a small stock of Arduino Leonardos in the Maker Shed for their announcement at Maker Faire but they sold nearly as fast as we could put them out. We finally got them back in stock so you can buy one right now in the Maker Shed (while they last!)

At first glance, the Arduino Leonardo looks just like an SMD version of the Arduino Uno with a micro USB port. It’s blue, has the same foot print, same pin-out, and the same layout as its brother. The internals are also very similar. It features nearly the same RAM, flash, and clock speed as the ATmega328 processor found in the Uno. So why is the Leonardo different? Because it uses the ATmega32u4. This processor has built in USB communication which eliminates the need for a secondary USB to serial converter. The ATmega32u4 creates a virtual (CDC) COM port on your computer every time it runs its bootloader. Since it’s virtual, it can also behave like an HID (Human Interface Device) meaning the Leonardo can “act” like a keyboard or mouse, opening it up to a whole new range of projects. This processor also has additional I/O capabilities, allowing pins 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 12 to be used as analog inputs (12 total vs. the UNO’s 6). In addition, the Leonardo has one additional PWM pin (13) and all 20 I/O pins can be used as digital pins.

Of course, this new functionality doesn’t come without a price (although the price is only $20!) Since the Leonardo uses a virtual COM port, it can make certain tasks a bit more complicated (see the Getting Started Guide.) For this reason, we recommend this board to makers with some Arduino experience. Also, some of the pin assignments are slightly different so while the Leonardo is compatible with most shields, it may not be compatible with all. Advanced shields that use I2C or SPI (such as Ethernet shields) will work so long as they were updated to match the new Arduino Uno layout that was released last year. For full shield compatibility and ease of use, see the tried and true Arduino Uno.

Features

• Microcontroller ATmega32u4
• Operating Voltage 5V
• Input Voltage (recommended) 7-12V
• Input Voltage (limits) 6-20V
• Digital I/O Pins 20
• PWM Channels 7
• Analog Input Channels 12
• DC Current per I/O Pin 40 mA
• DC Current for 3.3V Pin 50 mA
• Flash Memory 32 KB (ATmega32u4) of which 4 KB used by bootloader
• SRAM 2.5 KB (ATmega32u4)
• EEPROM 1 KB (ATmega32u4)
• Clock Speed 16 MHz