A few weeks ago, an announcement was posted on the Arduino Forum mentioning new improvements on the software side of the Arduino/Genuino 101. With this release, the board–which was developed in collaboration with Intel–is reaching its full potential, with not only better code generation but unlocking useful features to make your sketches even more interactive as well.

You can easily upgrade the core using the Arduino IDE’s Board Manager (pictured below), while Arduino Create users will be automatically updated, so no action is required–the cool thing about the cloud!

In more detail:

• The GCC compiler has been updated to support hardware extensions to the ARC EM core in the Intel® Curie™ module. This provides significant improvements in floating point operations, bit shifting, and other operations to enhance Sketch performance.

• The Arduino/Genuino 101 platform offers 2MB Flash storage onboard, which is now enabled for user sketches.

• An experimental driver has been implemented to enable the I2S interface via the CurieI2S library. Connecting the I2S bus to an external DAC (digital to analog converter) allows users to play high-quality music (HiFi).

Other improvements and bug fixes:

• Motion Sensor: Several sample sketches, like MotionDetection, have been implemented to demonstrate the application of the IMU data
• Bluetooth LE: Several new examples for BLE peripheral library added
• IMU: Correct motion detection setting implemented
• Library CurieTimerOne APIs are now compatible with the TimerOne library

For comprehensive release notes refer to the Intel Open Source Technology Center on GitHub.

A big thanks to everyone who already submitted their projects, performances, and workshops for Maker Faire Rome. However, due to such an incredible demand, the  Call for Makers submission deadline has been extended to Thursday, June 30th. That means you have one more week to send your applications to participate in the 4th edition of Europe’s biggest innovation event, held October 14-16,2016 at Fiera di Roma.

Want to join us in celebrating Maker culture this fall? With more than 100,000 square meters of exhibition space available, the time to submit your project is now!

Prizes and contests
All the projects selected within the Call for Makers are automatically eligible for the following prizes and contests if they match the requirements specified in each regulation.

• R.O.M.E. Prize –  Rome Outstanding Maker of Europe – 100,000 euro!
• Make to Care – Projects about health and disability
• Startup Contest – Projects related to Internet of Things (IoT)

Congratulations to Geoff Seawright for the following photo showing a cute dog getting angry with four-legged Arduino spider. He’s the last winner of our MKR1000 giveaway, which kicked off back on Arduino Day! Thanks to all the participants sharing their pics and mentioning our new official Arduino Instagram account!

Dog getting angry with 4-legged arduino spider…possibly it will replace him #arduinoD16 @Arduino.cc

A photo posted by Geoff Seawright (@geoffseawright) on May 14, 2016 at 9:08pm PDT

There’s a new Genuino reseller in town! Everyone say hello to Cytron, who is excited to have a number of Genuino products available for its Malaysian customers.

We recently had the chance to sit down with Youn Koon Hong (pictured above holding a Genuino Uno) to learn more about his company: 

- Tell us a bit more about Cytron. 

We are the largest e-commerce store in Malaysia providing off-the-shelf electronics and mechanical parts to assist Makers, inventors, and engineers in experimenting with their ideas. You can easily turn your concept into a reality using our parts and our services.

- What’s your company’s super power?

We know how to support Makers and our experienced team can assist you along the way.

What’s your favorite Arduino or Genuino project?

We’ve been doing tons of projects using Arduino, especially since it’s an excellent platform for anyone, whether an amateur or pro, looking to build electronics. Here’s the link to our top 10 favorite projects.

Contacts

Cytron Store Website  – Facebook – Instagram – Youtube  – Google+

More than 10 years ago, we set out to simplify electronics with easy-to-use, open-source hardware. 10 years later, we’re looking to do the same for Internet of Things development with Arduino Create — an integrated online platform that enables Makers to write code, access content, configure boards, and share projects.

Traditionally speaking, going from an idea to a fully-functional IoT device has been a tedious process even for the most advanced engineers and developers. Until now, they would have to frequently switch back and forth between various tools and screens, from IDEs to cloud services. That’s why Arduino has set out to launch a one stop shop for the Maker experience, which will change the way you create, collaborate and communicate with your projects and the rapidly growing community.

Whereas many companies deliver IDEs, some offer clouds and others curate DIY projects, Arduino Create converges all of that under one roof for an entirely fragmented-free user experience. Designed to provide Makers with a continuous workflow, the new platform connects the dots between every part of a Maker’s journey from inspiration to installation. Ideally, you will now have the ability to manage every aspect of your project right from a single dashboard.

With Arduino Create, you can tap into the power of the community on the Arduino Project Hub by browsing a collection of projects and then making them your own. You can share your creations, along with step-by-step guides, schematics, references, and receive feedback from others.

Despite your skill level, Arduino Create features in-depth guided flows to help easily configure online services like the Web Editor and Cloud. There’ll even be an additional learning component via Arduino’s popular Creative Technologies in the Classroom (CTC) educational program in the near future that will spark collaboration between teachers and their students.

The Arduino Web Editor allows you to write code and upload sketches to any Arduino or Genuino board after installing a simple plug-in — your Sketchbook will be stored in the cloud and accessible from any device. You can even import your Sketchbook via a .zip file! What’s more, sharing a sketch is now as easy as sharing a link.

For Maker Faire Bay Area we are bumping up the number of beta testers for the Arduino Web Editor: the most active contributors will receive 10 invites each! If you’d like to contribute to the development as well, you can sign up on the waiting list to join more than a thousand testers.

It should also be noted that Arduino has partnered with Amazon Web Services to power the new Arduino Create ecosystem. “By adopting AWS IoT and AWS Lambda for our IoT Cloud infrastructure, we provide Arduino Cloud and Arduino Web Editor users with a secure, reliable, and highly scalable environment that will enable Makers to connect their projects to the Internet and manage them through the Cloud,” says Arduino co-founder Massimo Banzi.

Interested in learning more? Maker Faire goers can hear all about it from Massimo himself on Saturday, May 21 at 12:30pm in his annual “State of Arduino” address.

We’re excited to announce the winner of this week’s Instagram giveaway, who will be receiving an Arduino MKR1000 and an Arduino t-shirt for sharing this #ArduinoD16 picture. With Maker Faire Bay Area quickly approaching, it is only fitting to have a winner from San Francisco — congratulations to Amped Atelier!

We spent #arduinod16 #genuinod16 as part of a technology fashion show showcasing our mimic dresses powered by @arduino.cc

A photo posted by Amped Atelier (@amped_atelier) on Apr 21, 2016 at 8:37am PDT

Think your pic is a winner? You have one more week to submit it:

– Follow our official Arduino.cc account on Instagram

– Share your photos on your account on Instagram using the hashtag #ArduinoD16 and #GenuinoD16, and be sure to mention us at @arduino.cc

– Every Thursday, from April 7th to May 26th, we are going to choose one of your images (posted starting April 2nd) and announce the winner of an Arduino or a Genuino MKR1000, as well as one of our t-shirts or mugs right here on the blog.  That’s a total of of eight lucky people! Easy enough, right?

As many of you already noticed, we recently released a new “Linux ARM” version of the Arduino IDE available for download on our website together with the usual “Linux 32bit” and “Linux 64bit.”

This release enables you to run the Arduino Software (IDE) on many of the mini PC boards based on ARM6+ processors currently on the market, including Raspberry Pi, C.H.I.P., BeagleBone, UDOO… just to name a few.

The Linux ARM release has been strongly supported by our community and we would like to thank all the people that helped to make this happen: GitHub handles @CRImier, @NicoHood, @PaulStoffregen, @ShorTie8, and to everyone that patiently tested and reported problems.

If you are interested (and brave!), you can read the full story and explore the complete list of collaborators below:

https://github.com/arduino/Arduino/pull/3549
https://github.com/arduino/arduino-builder/issues/105
https://github.com/arduino/Arduino/pull/4457
https://github.com/arduino/Arduino/pull/4517

Disclaimer: The release is “experimental,” meaning that it mostly works but some boards do not work or may not produce the desired result… enjoy imperfection and give us feedback on Github!

As the Maker Movement continues to grow, do you ever find yourself wondering which platforms are used the most? Which programming languages are developers’ favorites? Which online tools do beginners frequent? Which boards do hobbyists prefer? Rather than second guessing, Hackster.io has partnered with today’s top hardware and community leaders, including Arduino, to collect, analyze and share real data with the largest Maker survey on Earth.

This is your opportunity to have your voice heard, so we as a whole can build better products, smarter services and fitting events for people like you. Whether you’re a seasoned engineer or just starting out, a lifelong hobbyist or a parent, the survey’s questions will help support the global community we all call home.

Take the survey now! (And you could also win one of 100+ free boards!)

Jerome Calvo, who took this sweet pic during Arduino Day in Berkeley, is this week’s winner of our Instagram giveaway. He’ll be taking home an Arduino MKR1000 and an Arduino t-shirt!

Starting at a young age with @arduino.cc #arduinod16 #genuinod16

A photo posted by Jerome Calvo (@caljer) on Apr 11, 2016 at 9:24pm PDT

There’s still a few weeks left to share your pics for a chance to win. Here’s how:

– Follow our official Arduino.cc account on Instagram

– Share your images on your account on Instagram using hashtag #ArduinoD16 and #GenuinoD16 and mention us with the tag @Arduino.cc

– Every Thursday, from April 7th to May 26th, we are going to choose one of your pics (posted starting April 2nd) and announce the winner of an Arduino or a Genuino MKR1000 and one of our t-shirt or mug  on the blog. That’s a total of of eight lucky people! Easy enough, right?

Maker Faire is a three-day, family-friendly event that has been celebrating the DIY Movement for the last 10 years. The ‘Greatest Show & Tell on Earth’ is designed for creative, innovative people of all ages and backgrounds, who like to tinker and love to make things.

In just a few days, the Arduino team will be in attendance for the 11th annual Maker Faire Bay Area as a Goldsmith Sponsor. Those heading to the San Mateo on May 20th-22nd will want to swing by our booth (#2321) and join us for some inspiring talks, especially the highly-anticipated State of Arduino by Massimo Banzi on Saturday at 12:30pm.

We’ve been preparing a series of demos to showcase the family of Arduino tools for the Internet of Things through our Arduino Create platform. Those who come by our booth will have the chance to experience the following firsthand:

• Cloud Sensor Station | “Make Sense of Your Data”
  The Cloud Sensor Station is equipped with four different sensors: gas detection, light intensity, motion detection (infrared) and temperature/humidity. These four sensors send values to the Arduino Cloud so that you can see real-time results of the collected data from everywhere.
• Yún Camera | “Lights! Camera! Facebook!”
  The Yún Camera captures photos at the press of a button and then automatically uploads them onto Facebook. (We’re sensing plenty of selfies in our near future!)
• Yún Message | “Leave a Message and I’ll Show It Back”
  The Yún Message is a smart desk, developed in collaboration with Opendesk, that displays custom messages on an LED matrix. This piece of smart furniture lets users share a reminder or note through a webpage. Come and leave a note or… do it online!
• Twitter Printer | “The IoTweet!”
  This connected thermal printer running on MKR1000 will automatically print tweets from all over the world with the #PrintArduino hashtag. (Look forward to seeing what you come up with!)

Additionally, we’ll be showcasing our Creative Technologies in the Classroom (CTC) program, which is a collaborative learning curriculum designed for schools that wish to incorporate emerging technologies into their existing technology classes.

Whether you’re a teacher or student, come and discover how to explore electronics through a series of hands-on coding projects that’ll provide you with the foundations of programming, electronics and mechanics.

Aside from some of our latest products and projects, we’ll also play host to several members of our growing open-source ecosystem and partners like Intel, ARM and Atmel, to name just a few.

Have a question about Arduino? Looking to get started but don’t know how? Beginners, or even experienced users, will have the chance to get their questions answered inside our booth. We’ve set aside an area where you can speak to our team of experts, from your recent invention to one of our boards. What’s more, you’ll even be able to take home an assortment of Arduino SWAG: stickers, pins and other cool giveaways!

Can’t wait to see everyone soon! In the meantime, stay tuned as we’ll be posting a confirmed agenda of scheduled talks in the next few days. For everything else, check out Maker Faire’s official site!