We would like to extend a huge thank you to the good folks over at Voltivo and Cubicity for continuing to support our not only our website, but our 3D printing endeavors into 2015. We have long touted Voltivo's Excelfil as the best 3D printing filament we have ever used, and we still stand firm on that statement. In the past 4 months, I have been sampling and purchasing many of the low to medium priced PLA brands on the market as well as a few of the higher priced spools from well-known brands. I will admit that cheap Chinese filament quality has improved leaps and bounds over what it was even a year ago, but nothing I have used prints consistently, and retains its color like Excelfil. [node:read-more:link]

The new Raspberry Pi A+ is smaller, faster, and packs a punch

This morning the Raspberry Pi Foundation released its update to the Model A revision of the Raspberry Pi. The new Raspberry Pi Model A+ features the same BCM2835 processor, and 256MB of RAM that the previous Model A utilized, but the Model A+ differs in size, power consumption, and clutter. The Model A+ features a 40-pin GPIO connectort now which breaks out additional GPIO pins as well as conforms to the new HAT standard for better module board compatibility. [node:read-more:link]

FTDI Responds To Counterfeit Bricking Uproar

A few weeks ago the maker / tech consumer world was sent into an uproar when it was revealed that FTDI had snuck in an updated version of its FT232 drivers and included a feature that bricked any device using a counterfeit FT232 chip. This obviously caused a huge PR issue for FTDI in both the hobbyist community as well as the professional EE community as there is very little evidence if any at all as to which chip manufacturers were using in off-the-shelf devices. It appears that FTDI has back-peddled some and has removed the driver from the windows update, as well as issuing an official statement. The statement has been quoted in full at the bottom of this post. [node:read-more:link]

BeagleBone Black RSS News Reader Built With Drupal

In his latest posting on Element14.com, TMWB founder Charles Gant takes us into the world of Drupal as translated to the BeagleBone Black. Charles configures a traditional LAMP server on the BeagleBone Black as the stock lighhttpd configuration was proving to be troublesome. The tutorial coveres the entire process of building a desktop RSS News Reader from the ground up using  nothing but a BeagleBone Black, the BB View_70* Optional, and the Drupal CMS webframework. Charles covers the basics of getting started with Drupal as well and overall the tutorial is one of the most informative we have ever seen. Head over to Element14.com and check it out!   [node:read-more:link]

Counterfeit FTDI Chips Being Bricked By New Windows Update

Just a quick FYI for all of of our readers in the Maker and EE worlds, if you have an off-brand Arduino, 3D Printer running anything other than an official controller board with an official Arduino, or any other USB-based microcontroller that may run an FTDI FT232 chip, the latest Windows update installs a new FTDI driver that essentially bricks any USB device that is running a counterfeit FTFI chip. Basically the new driver reprograms the USB PID to 0 on the chip, which renders it "invisible" to any Windows, Linux, or OSX device. Keep reading to learn how to fix this issue.  [node:read-more:link]

PAPAGO! Launches GOLIFE Care Smart Band Fitness Tracker

PAPAGO! has just announced the launch of its latest forray into the fitness tracking world. The GOLIFE Care Smart Band is the latest addition to the ever-growing wearable fitness band market, and is looking to be one of the more affordable yet still feature ritch bands on the market. Continue reading after the jump for more information!  [node:read-more:link]