We got an email from Jeff Loeliger about a very cool project he’s been working on recently.
“When you have several computers and lots of files around the house it is useful to have a NAS – network attached storage – device to share files, stream media with Plex, and back things up,” Jeff writes. “My current system is an old QNAP TS-251 and a very old, and unsupported, QNAP TS-110. I wanted something new and faster, which sounded like a project for the Raspberry Pi. It has a compact completely 3D-printed case with a custom pHAT interface board.”
The Xbox Games Showcase provided a fresh look at Avowed with its first story trailer.
Meet Giatta, one of the four companions you’ll encounter during your adventures.
Discover the Dreamscourge and its devastating impact on the region.
Take a peek at the factions at play and the choices you’ll face as you forge your destiny.
The last few months at Obsidian Entertainment have been fast-paced and exciting. Since we saw you at the Xbox Developer_Direct this past January, we’ve been busy with Avowed, getting it ready for release in 2024. Today, we’re thrilled to have revealed our first-ever story trailer at Xbox Games Showcase 2024, and to talk with you more about what we’ve shared.
In Avowed, as the envoy sent directly by the Aedyran emperor, your adventure kicks off in Paradis, the bustling port city at the heart of the Living Lands. This vibrant hub has been shaped and reshaped by generations of pioneers, each leaving their mark, often in blood, on the Living Lands. It’s also the epicenter of tension between Aedyran forces and the locals, who are suspicious of Aedyr’s growing presence.
Rumors and hysteria have also begun to bubble up in Paradis surrounding the Dreamscourge – a mysterious plague of the soul – as it afflicts people, animals, and even the land itself. No one knows how it spreads, but many have come to recognize and dread the symptoms: first, victims experience confusion, disorientation, and hallucinations. As it worsens, they become unpredictable and erratic in their behavior, as if trapped in a waking nightmare. In the final stage, they turn into violent “Dreamthralls,” their bodies twisted with fungal growths and their minds and souls overtaken by the plague.
Watching our newest trailer, you’ll hear three distinct voices speaking to you. First is your emperor, who believes the Dreamscourge could develop, if unchecked, into a dire threat to Aedyr. He sends you into this wild frontier to uncover the source of the plague and put an end to it. Inquisitor Lödwyn, the leader of the Steel Garrote – an extremist paladin order from Aedyr – believes there’s something more sinister at play and calls on you not only to eradicate the Dreamscourge, but also to bring the island’s unruly factions to heel. Meanwhile, your companion Giatta perceives a larger and more mysterious force at work in the land and urges you to embrace it in all of its awe and chaos. As a stranger to these shores, you’ll need to navigate your relationship with all three of these factions, work to uncover the source of the Dreamscourge and prevent it from plunging the Living Lands into madness.
Supporting you on your journey are four companions, including Giatta. A brilliant and outspoken animancer who studies soul energy, she has endured suspicion and ire for her work. But like you, she desperately seeks a solution to the Dreamscourge. She’s a vital ally who will help you understand the unique metaphysical ecosystem of the Living Lands.
But remember, the Dreamscourge is not the only thing you are up against. Tensions simmer between the locals and Aedyr, and the island itself seems to be rebelling against itself.
Every choice you make could tip the balance of fate toward one faction or the other. Who will you align with? Who will you destroy? And who will ultimately control the Living Lands?
Avowed will be released in 2024 for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam and cloud, or play it day one with Xbox Game Pass.
Each new region will come with its own biome, a reflection of the South’s wildly varied landscapes. All of those biomes are inspired by real-world locations – Sears won’t go into detail about the later game yet, but tells me that the section we see here is set as you’re about to exit the flood and enter Mississippi Delta-like countryside. However, the magical realist approach allows Compulsion to play with expectation as you travel through its world.
Locations will feel deeply rooted in what we know of the real world – in fact, to help create this section of the game, the developers took a trip to a real Mississippi ghost town, itself infested with alligators (only one of them braved the trek across amphibian territory to get into an abandoned church and take reference shots). But as we travel, we’ll see how these areas have become overtaken by the game’s mythical creatures, bringing twisted change with them.
‘The world Hazel comes from is inspired by the contemporary Deep South” says Clayton, “but as you dive deeper into the world, things become more mystical and surreal. We wanted the feeling that you’re being pulled into a folktale, rather than, say, crossing a barrier like in Alice in Wonderland.”
The Song of Tom
Of course, most folktales need antagonists and in the trailer we meet one of them. Two-Toed Tom is based on real-life campfire tales of ancient, giant, seemingly unkillable alligators, and he will – as Clayton puts it – “haunt” this chapter in Hazel’s tale. What we’ve seen are the very edges of his hunting grounds, but Tom will repeatedly reappear as you explore his region, eventually leading us to a showdown. It allows not just for a “boss fight” that effectively spans a whole section of the game, but also allows the team to turn each creature into a full-blown character, rather than a simple mechanism for conflict.
“Tom is the only mythical creature in the game who was not a human being before transforming,” explains Sears. “People transformed Tom – he was an alligator born with the will to live, and the will to eat, and those things seemed to work really well. Because, like a lot of reptiles, he will continue growing as long as he can eat. And because he has a traumatic backstory and has become a creature of folklore and urban legend, he’s going to persist and continue getting bigger and bigger.”
The idea, like everything else here, doesn’t seem to be that Hazel will kill the creatures standing in her way, more that she’ll be curing them, removing the hurt that turned them into monsters in the first place. And in perhaps the most starkly unexpected part of the trailer, we even hear the game’s music reflecting the story that made Tom what he is.
The release date for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess has been set for July 19, 2024, and pre-orders are available today.
In addition to Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC, the game will also be available on Xbox One.
The newly released trailer further explains the game’s unique fusion of action and strategy.
Kunitsu-gami: Path of the Goddess is a single player game that combines action and strategy in a unique Japanese-inspired setting. The latest trailer for the game was revealed today during Summer Game Fest, and the release date has been set for Friday, July 19, 2024!
In addition to the previously announced support for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, additional support for Xbox One has also been announced. Pre-orders for all platforms are available today, and Xbox Game Pass members will be able to play the game on day one on July 19, 2024.
A Dramatic Action Strategy with Dancing Swords and Strategic Commands
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a completely new title that combines the exhilarating action of “sword dance” with strategy. Set on a mountain that has been covered by defilement, the game repeats the cycle of preparing for battle during the day and protecting the Maiden Yoshiro from the evil spirits called the Seethe during the night. We hope players look forward to the action-strategy gameplay that allows each player to enjoy the freedom of strategizing in a unique Japanese aesthetic.
This screenshot shows an action scene featuring the protagonist Soh, a guardian who wields a sword and commands the villagers. In this game, players can enjoy exhilarating “sword dance” action, which combines sword slashes with dancing techniques based on real-life traditional Kagura ceremonies to purge the Seethe.
Before we get into the new information about what occurs during the night, let’s take a moment to review what happens during the day:
During the day, players will explore the mountain, prepare for battle, and lead the Maiden to the sealed Torii Gates. The mountain is covered in defilement, so you will have to purify the Torii Gates as you progress through, but there will also be villagers who can be rescued. The rescued villagers will be able to aid you during the battle at night by assigning them roles.
One thing that cannot be forgotten during the day is to position the villagers for the battle at nightfall. Players must carefully consider the characteristics of each role and position them accordingly.
During the night, you will have to fight against the horde of Seethe that emerge from the Torii Gates, coming for Yoshiro, the Maiden. The positioned villagers will be able to fight alongside Soh, and their roles and position can be changed during the battle in real-time, so make sure to keep an eye out on the battleground and strategize wisely to protect Yoshiro until sunrise.
Your key goal each night is to protect the Maiden Yoshiro – and it’s game over if you don’t – but even if Soh runs out of health, you can return to the frontline after being held in a “spirit state” for a set period of time. This is a tense moment in which the player must keep an eye on the ever-changing battlefield and make the most effective calls to survive the difficult situations you’re placed in.
In the trailer, you can also catch a glimpse of a battle against the more powerful Festering Seethe. The Festering Seethe alone are formidable, but they also call forth a swarm of other Seethe to aid them. How will you lead the villagers to protect the Maiden and purge the Festering Seethe? Players will be able to experience a unique combination of action and strategy to take them down
The Seethe and the Festering Seethe Strike
When the sun sets, the Seethe appear from the gate to another world. The creators’ detailed designs have been incorporated into each Seethe, who hunt down Soh and Yoshiro with a wide variety of attacks. Let us introduce some of the Seethe and Festering Seethe that symbolize the unique Japanese setting of this title.
Seethe: Rosokuro
The Rosokuro is an old man who was spirited away in the other world. His cursed flame can empower the surrounding Seethe.
Seethe: Gotaimen
The Gotaimen have the appearance of upturned human faces. They drag themselves across the ground as they vomit defilement from a gaping maw.
Seethe: Shokera
The Shokera assaults humans from higher ground. Their sharp claws can easily slice through even the strongest armor.
Seethe: Gakinyudo
The ravenous Gakinyudo are born from the corpses of lecherous monks who fell to defilement from their debauchery while alive. They prefer to dig up their meals from graveyards.
Seethe: Tsurube-otoshi
The Tsurube-otoshi aims to relentlessly crush humans from above. Some say it looks like a tadpole, while others say it is a human mouth.
Festering Seethe: Batsu
This Festering Seethe holds the power of a curse powerful enough to dry up a mountain. They appear in front of Soh and Yoshiro and hinder the purification ritual.
In addition to the Seethe introduced here, there are many other unique Seethe and Festering Seethe awaiting you in the game, so please look forward to its release!
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Arrives on July 19 – Pre-orders Begin Today
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess will be available only in digital format, and those who pre-order will receive the Mazo Talisman “Walking Basket” and “Astral Projection,” equipment for Soh. You’ll also receive a digital art book “Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess – Artbook of Kunitsu-Gami” which contains concept art for the title.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess will be available on July 19 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows PC, and Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to play the game from day one. In addition, this title is compatible with Xbox Play Anywhere, allowing cross-play and transfer of saved data between Xbox and Windows 10/11.
The release date for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is finally set and is just around the corner. We will continue to release more information about this title, so please be sure to check our official X account (@Kunitsu_Gami).
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are becoming more easily accessible to learners and educators, and increasingly better at generating code solutions to programming tasks, code explanations, computing lesson plans, and other learning resources. This raises many questions for educators in terms of what and how we teach students about computing and AI, and AI’s impact on assessment, plagiarism, and learning objectives.
We were honoured to have Professor Brett Becker (University College Dublin) join us as part of our ‘Teaching programming (with or without AI)’ seminar series. He is uniquely placed to comment on teaching computing using AI tools, having been involved in many initiatives relevant to computing education at different levels, in Ireland and beyond.
Brett’s talk focused on what educators and education systems need to do to prepare all students — not just those studying Computing — so that they are equipped with sufficient knowledge about AI to make their way from primary school to secondary and beyond, whether it be university, technical qualifications, or work.
How do AI tools currently perform?
Brett began his talk by illustrating the increase in performance of large language models (LLMs) in solving first-year undergraduate programming exercises: he compared the findings from two recent studies he was involved in as part of an ITiCSE Working Group. In the first study — from 2021 — the results generated by GPT-3 were similar to those of students in the top quartile. By the second study in 2023, GPT-4’s performance matched that of a top student (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Student scores on Exam 1 and Exam 2, represented by circles. GPT-3’s 2021 score is represented by the blue ‘x’, and GPT-4’s 2023 score on the same questions is represented by the red ‘x’.
Brett also explained that the study found some models were capable of solving current undergraduate programming assessments almost error-free, and could solve the Irish Leaving Certificate and UK A level Computer Science exams.
What are challenges and opportunities for education?
This level of performance raises many questions for computing educators about what is taught and how to assess students’ learning. To address this, Brett referred to his 2023 paper, which included findings from a literature review and a survey on students’ and instructors’ attitudes towards using LLMs in computing education. This analysis has helped him identify several opportunities as well as the ethical challenges education systems face regarding generative AI.
The opportunities include:
The generation of unique content, lesson plans, programming tasks, or feedback to help educators with workload and productivity
More accessible content and tools generated by AI apps to make Computing more broadly accessible to more students
More engaging and meaningful student learning experiences, including using generative AI to enable creativity and using conversational agents to augment students’ learning
The impact on assessment practices, both in terms of automating the marking of current assessments as well as reconsidering what is assessed and how
Some of the challenges include:
The lack of reliability and accuracy of outputs from generative AI tools
The need to educate everyone about AI to create a baseline level of understanding
The legal and ethical implications of using AI in computing education and beyond
How to deal with questionable or even intentionally harmful uses of AI and mitigating the consequences of such uses
Programming as a basic skill for all subjects
Next, Brett talked about concrete actions that he thinks we need to take in response to these opportunities and challenges.
He also discussed the increased relevance of programming to all subjects, not only Computing, in a similar way to how reading and mathematics transcend the boundaries of their subjects, and the need he sees to adapt subjects and curricula to that effect.
As an example of how rapidly curricula may need to change with increasing AI use by students, Brett looked at the Irish Computer science specification for “senior cycle” (final two years of second-level, ages 16–18). This curriculum was developed in 2018 and remains a strong computing curriculum in Brett’s opinion. However, he pointed out that it only contains a single learning outcome on AI.
To help educators bridge this gap, in the book Brett wrote alongside Keith Quille to accompany the curriculum, they included two chapters dedicated to AI, machine learning, and ethics and computing. Brett believes these types of additional resources may be instrumental for teaching and learning about AI as resources are more adaptable and easier to update than curricula.
Generative AI in computing education
Taking the opportunity to use generative AI to reimagine new types of programming problems, Brett and colleagues have developed Promptly, a tool that allows students to practise prompting AI code generators. This tool provides a combined approach to learning about generative AI while learning programming with an AI tool.
Promptly is intended to help students learn how to write effective prompts. It encourages students to specify and decompose the programming problem they want to solve, read the code generated, compare it with test cases to discern why it is failing (if it is), and then update their prompt accordingly (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Example of a student’s use of Promptly.
Early undergraduate student feedback points to Promptly being a useful way to teach programming concepts and encourage metacognitive programming skills. The tool is further described in a paper, and whilst the initial evaluation was aimed at undergraduate students, Brett positioned it as a secondary school–level tool as well.
Brett hopes that by using generative AI tools like this, it will be possible to better equip a larger and more diverse pool of students to engage with computing.
Re-examining the concept of programming
Brett concluded his seminar by broadening the relevance of programming to all learners, while challenging us to expand our perspectives of what programming is. If we define programming as a way of prompting a machine to get an output, LLMs allow all of us to do so without the need for learning the syntax of traditional programming languages. Taking that view, Brett left us with a question to consider: “How do we prepare for this from an educational perspective?”
The focus of our ongoing seminar series is on teaching programming with or without AI.
For our next seminar on Tuesday 11 June at 17:00 to 18:30 GMT, we’re joined by Veronica Cucuiat (Raspberry Pi Foundation), who will talk about whether LLMs could be employed to help understand programming error messages, which can present a significant obstacle to anyone new to coding, especially young people.
To take part in the seminar, click the button below to sign up, and we will send you information about how to join. We hope to see you there.
Portland, Oregon-based Mark has an urban garden that needs to be irrigated each summer. Judging from the description of his irrigation system, the garden is a little larger than the 30-foot back lawns often attached to suburban UK homes. Commercially available timers provide reliable irrigation, but Mark found they don’t last: “If you forget to bring them in during the winter, they freeze and break. After a few years, the plastic valves wear out and they jam closed (bad for plants) or jam open (bad for water bills). They don’t adjust to rain or hot weather.” Pricier, more robust timers plus web connectivity to check the weather forecast work better but still fail. Mark had several Raspberry Pi boards at home, and decided to put them to good use. Having written extensively about Raspberry Pi as well as coding using R (see his blog at niemannross.com), the combination seemed obvious, although R is a less common choice of programming language. “My preferred language is R, which I can run from a Linux operating system, but not from MicroPython or C. Irrigation only happens once a day, so I don’t need speed. What I need is the most convenient way to express my logic to Raspberry Pi.” Using Raspberry Pi Zero WH as the controller “makes it easy to connect to the internet and the headers provide a convenient way to connect relays and buttons,” he explains.
Bits and pieces
Creating his irrigation system involved assembling lots of fairly standard components and a certain amount of planning. Prior knowledge of plumbing and electronics is helpful, Mark observes. The planning aspect required Mark to work out how much rainfall was likely to offset the total number of gallons of water his garden would need and how long the valves would need to be open at a time. He calculated the rate at which his house pipes could pump water to the irrigation valves (and the putative number of gallons per hour) as well as the voltage required for the relays to deliver it.
To see whether his idea would work Mark began by screwing irrigation valves, two servos and Raspberry Pi needed to power the system, as well as a Raspberry Pi Zero, on to a piece of wood. “There isn’t any water connected to the system at this point – I’m only trying to test the electronics and develop and test the code.”
After writing and testing the code on Raspberry Pi he “ran it with the relays for days without any valves connected, then tested the plumbing in a sink before I attached it to the board”.
The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates 28 million US homes have an automated watering system, and that households can reduce their water usage by roughly 7,600 gallons a year using a weather-based system to gauge requirements. Mark wanted to see whether he got realistic readings, and how well the system performed, before deciding to risk linking it up with his water meter for billing. He continues to tweak and update it and is delighted with just how well his $75 irrigation system is performing.
Hey friends, we’re really excited to see you all in just a few short days on June 9 for the Xbox Games Showcase followed by Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct! To whet your appetite for some more games, we have a collection of day one with Game Pass and new to Xbox games, a returning fan favorite and some surprise drops that are playable today!
Available Today
Octopath Traveler (Cloud, Console, and PC) Making a return to the Game Pass library today! Embark on an epic journey across the vast and wondrous world of Orsterra and discover the captivating stories of each of the eight travelers. Use each character’s distinctive abilities in and out of battle and make decisions to shape your path.
Octopath Traveler II (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) In this critically acclaimed second title in the Octopath Traveler series, eight new travelers venture forth into an exciting new era in the land of Solistia. Step into their shoes and explore the land as you see fit, using their unique talents to aid you along your journey in this role-playing adventure.
Coming Soon
Depersonalization (PC) – June 12 A tabletop role-playing game inspired by Call of Cthulhu with rich branching narratives. Depersonalization consists of multiple story modes, each of which has multiple endings and branching routes, striving to build a diverse, themed world.
Isonzo (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 13 Ferocious Alpine warfare will test your tactical skills in this authentic WWI first-person shooter. Fight high-altitude battles among the scenic peaks, rugged valleys and idyllic towns of Northern Italy. The Great War on the Italian Front is brought to life and elevated to unexpected heights!
The Callisto Protocol (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 13 Survive to escape the horrors of Callisto. Use a unique blend of shooting and brutal close-quarters melee combat to fight your way through the maximum-security Black Iron Prison. Battle evolving inhuman creatures, scavenge for new weapons and uncover the conspiracy lurking on Jupiter’s Dead Moon.
Still Wakes the Deep (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – June 18 Available on day one with Game Pass! From the award-winning developers at The Chinese Room comes a terrifying tale of isolation. You are trapped on an oil rig in the North Sea, running from an unknowable horror that has come aboard. With no escape and no way to fight back, all you can do is survive. Learn more about Still Wakes the Deep in Xbox Wire’s hands-on preview.
DLC / Game Updates
Minecraft 15 Year Anniversary – Available until June 22 The party isn’t over for Minecraft’s 15th Anniversary! Get Minecraft, Minecraft Dungeons, Minecraft Legends, and more for up to 50% off through June 22. And don’t forget to head to Minecraft Marketplace to pick up your free anniversary world, cape, and add-on! Learn more on Minecraft.net.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks
Sea of Thieves: Ebon Flintlock Pack – Available now Start your fights in style or share a drink with your crew! With the Ebon Flintlock Pistol, Obsidian Flag and Onyx Tankard, you’ll always look the perfectly piratical part.
Vigor: Heatwave Havoc Pack – Available now Leave the winter’s chill behind and come bask in the Norwegian sun with our Heatwave Havoc Pack! Enjoy new stylish accessories, crates full of loot, and loads of guns to keep the party going. Don’t forget the sunscreen!
MultiVersus: MVP Pack 1 – Available now MultiVersus is a free-to-play platform fighter that brings the depth of iconic WB stars to life across the nearly endless possibilities of play. The MultiVersus MVP Pack offers in-game content to further customize and boost your play for subscription members.
Leaving June 15
The following games are leaving the Game Pass library soon. Jump back in before they go or use your membership discount to save up to 20% off your purchase to keep them in your library!
Bramble: The Mountain King (Cloud, Console, and PC)
High on Life (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Rune Factory 4 Special (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Spacelines from the Far Out (Cloud, Console, and PC)
The Bookwalker (Cloud, Console, and PC)
As always, keep it tuned to @XboxGamePassPC and @XboxGamePass for what’s coming and when you can play. See you June 9!
At 1:19 AM on June 6, 1944, the first of 52 C-47 Skytrains of the 434th Troop Carrier Group began roaring into the sky in southern England. Launching from RAF Aldermaston, each Skytrain pulled a Waco CG-4A cargo glider behind a 350-foot-long towline. The 52 gliders were packed full of light artillery systems, anti-tank guns, ammunition, other weapons, a surgical team, and troops. Codenamed “Mission Chicago,” the gliders were bound for “LZ E,” a landing zone just to the west of the French commune Hiesville. Ten minutes later, 52 Skytrains of “Mission Detroit,” each towing a CG-4A, also lifted into the early morning sky.
The two groups were part of Operation Neptune, the initial assault phase of Operation Overlord, the Allied Invasion of Normandy. The first American paratroopers, dropped from low-flying C-47s, had landed on French soil just over an hour earlier, beginning ground operations of D-Day. The contributions of the gliders, far lesser known than other components of the invasion, would prove critical to the allied efforts in the subsequent hours.
THE COMBAT GLIDER:
The use of gliders for combat purposes was a concept first introduced by the German military early in World War II. On May 10, 1940, eleven German assault gliders were towed to an altitude of 8,500 feet by transports for a type of raid never before conducted. They detached from their tethers and flew silently for twenty miles, landing at precise locations just outside a key Belgian fort held by the Allies. The heavily defended fort was considered impregnable. The 78 troops onboard the gliders took control of the compound within just twenty minutes. The success was due almost entirely to the swift, surprise, and precise tactical positioning of troops that was enabled using gliders.
The American military took notice of the novel concept and its stunning success it engendered. Advantages of gliders included the large payload they could carry (roughly 4,000 pounds in the case of the CG-4A), silent operation prior to landing, and ability to land precisely where needed. American planners realized that these operational attributes would complement other forms of military maneuver practices, notably paratroop insertions. General Hap Arnold, the commander of the United States Army Air Forces, established a fresh command dedicated to creating and operating combat gliders in February of 1941. Industry participants submitted several designs that the American military extensively tested. The CG-4A, developed by American aviation firm Waco Aircraft Company, stood above all others in capability.
THE WACO CG-4A:
The CG-4A took its maiden flight in May of 1942 and was introduced into combat service in July of 1943. The CG-4A (CG stands for “Cargo Glider,” although it was often referenced as a “Combat Glider”) played critical roles in several battles. Nearly 14,000 CG-4A gliders were manufactured by over a dozen companies during the Second World War, including by the Ford Motor Company, the Waco Aircraft Company, and the Cessna Aircraft Company.
The high-wing monoplane design comprised a welded steel fuselage frame covered in canvas. Its wings, tail, and control surfaces were built of wood frames covered in fabric, and the glider’s floor was built of honeycombed plywood that could withstand heavy loads and rough landings.
Its nose, which held the cockpit, could swing upward for quick loading and unloading of the main cargo area. Crewed by two, it could carry up to 15 passengers with combat loads, although it typically carried a maximum of 13. With a cargo capacity of just over 4,000 pounds, it could also carry: a 75mm howitzer, 25 rounds of ammunition, and two artillerymen; a Jeep with driver and an assortment of personnel and cargo; a small bulldozer with operator; and several specialty loads including a field kitchen, field hospital, and repair facilities.
The CG-4A measured 48 feet, 8 inches in length, stood 15 feet, 4 inches tall, and had a wingspan of 83 feet, 8 inches. Primary controls consisted of a wheel for pitch and roll inputs, and rudder pedals for yaw. Its instruments included an airspeed indicator, an altimeter, a variometer, a compass, and a turn-and-bank indicator.
The CG-4A had a maximum speed of 150 miles per hour, but it typically “cruised” (towed behind the tug craft) between 110 and 130 mph. During its operational tenure, the CG-4A was towed primarily by the Douglas C-47 Skytrain.
THE DOUGLAS C-47D SKYTRAIN:
The C-47D Skytrain is a low-wing, twin-engine, piston-powered military transport airplane built by the Douglas Aircraft Company of the United States. The Skytrain, which took its maiden flight on December 23, 1941, was based on the company’s successful DC-3 airliner, which was developed and entered service in the 1930s. The Skytrain proved to be one of the most important aircraft for the Allies during World War II. One of its most important roles was as a tug aircraft for Waco CG-4A cargo gliders. The Skytrain could tow the CG-4A either from a standstill on the ground or by performing a “glider snatch pick-up,” snaring the glider’s tow line while flying just above ground level.
In the late 1930s, the United States Army Air Forces sought a transport aircraft that was more capacious, faster, and had a longer range than the military variants of the Douglas DC-2, the C-32, the C-33, and the C-34. In 1941, the command chose the DC-3 (developed from the DC-2) as the basis for their new primary transport aircraft, designating it the C-47 Skytrain. The all-metal DC-3 (Douglas Commercial 3), introduced as an airliner in 1936, proved efficient, reliable, fast, and was renowned for having great range.
The DC-3 required only a few modifications for the Army’s needs. These changes included the addition of a large cargo door, a strengthened floor in the fuselage, and glider tow hooks on its tail section that would be used for towing the Waco CG-4A.
The C-47 was crewed by three or four, depending on mission requirements, and could carry up to 28 fully equipped troops, 6,000 pounds of cargo, or some combination. A total of 10,000 Skytrains were produced by the end of World War II. The airframe served several roles other than glider towing, including general transport, paratroop delivery, medical evacuation, gunship, and reconnaissance.
All branches of the U.S. military used the Skytrain during World War II, as did every major Allied power. The British and Australians called it the Dakota (Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft).
The C-47 proved vital for the Allied victory. It operated in every major battle of the war, ensuring personnel, weapons, food, fuel, and other materiel arrived at the right places at the right times. This included delivering thousands of paratroops during the Battle of Normandy and flying the infamous “hump” over the Himalaya mountains from India to China, one of the most demanding, and dangerous, airlift missions in history. Post-World War II, the Skytrain played critical roles in the Berlin Air Lift, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Many, converted for civil use, continue to operate today around the world. Over 100 countries have used the C-47.
The C-47 measures 63 feet, 9 inches in length, has a wingspan of 95 feet, 6 inches, and stands 17 feet tall. It features a swept main wing, a standard tail unit, and a retractable traditional undercarriage. It is powered by two wing-mounted 14-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90C Twin Wasp radial engines that each produce up to 1,200 horsepower and turn 3-blade, constant-speed propellers. It has a maximum range of 3,800 miles, a normal range of 1,600 miles, climbs at 1,000 feet per minute, and has a service ceiling of 26,400 feet above sea level. The C-47 cruises at 160 miles per hour and has a maximum speed of 224 mph.
CG-4A AVIATORS AND THEIR MISSIONS:
“Every landing was a genuine do-or-die situation for the glider pilots. It was their awesome responsibility to repeatedly risk their lives by landing heavily laden aircraft containing combat soldiers and equipment in unfamiliar fields deep within enemy-held territory, often in total darkness. They were the only aviators during World War II who had no motors, no parachutes, and no second chances.” – United States Army General William Westmoreland, discussing the pilots of military cargo gliders.
After releasing the tow line from the C-47, the CG-4A pilot needed to navigate to a landing zone, keeping the aircraft above its stall speed of 49 miles per hour. The CG-4A could land in just 200 yards, granted it touched down at its ideal landing speed of 60 miles per hour. Once on the ground, the pilots helped unload the glider’s personnel and contents and then grabbed their weapons and joined the troops they carried into combat.
Landing the CG-4A was incredibly dangerous. Pilots had only one shot. Adding to the danger was a German innovation, “Rommelspargel,” the dreaded “Rommel’s Asparagus.” Devised by German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, these were wooden poles, some as tall as 16 feet, placed throughout open fields in Normandy. Intended to interdict American gliders and paratroopers, many of them were topped with explosives.
D-DAY VICTORY:
As the aircraft of Mission Chicago approached LZ E just before 4:00 AM on D-Day, German anti-aircraft fire erupted. One of the C-47s was shot down. The lead C-47, guided by a radio beacon placed by a pathfinder prior to their arrival, released its glider. The other Skytrains of Mission Chicago followed, then the Skytrains and CG-4As of Mission Detroit arrived. The pre-dawn glider missions, as well as those undertaken later in D-Day, were a resounding success. The gliders delivered critical supplies to Allied troops, helping secure a D-Day Victory.
RELIVE THE ADVENTURE IN MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR:
Both the Douglas C-47 and the Waco CG-4A have been expertly recreated for flight simulator aviators to experience.
The Waco CG-4A comes with one livery: Olive Drab. The Douglas C-47D Skytrain comes with two liveries: Olive Drab “M5” (Fictional) and U.S. Navy. Buy the aircraft bundle today for $14.99. For every purchase of the Famous Flyer 9 pack made between June 6, 2024 and July 5, 2024, Microsoft will donate 100% of each sale to the USO (https://www.uso.org/). More information about the USO is available by contacting them at info@uso.org. The sky is calling!
Microsoft Flight Simulator is available for Xbox Series X|S and PC with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows, and Steam, and on Xbox One and supported mobile phones, tablets, and lower-spec PCs via Xbox Cloud Gaming. For the latest information on Microsoft Flight Simulator, stay tuned to @MSFSOfficial on Twitter.
All versions of the CrowVi (from £92/$115) are able to be used out of the box with no extra set up – touchscreen models require you to use the USB-C port (not the power one) so the connected Raspberry Pi (or PC) can detect the inputs – but all models just need power and a HDMI connection.
There’s no battery installed in the CrowVi so you’ll have to provide external power, portably with a mobile battery or powered by the device you’re connecting it to at home if you don’t have a spare plug. To cut down on cables and power sources, CrowVi suggests daisy chaining power by using the USB-C data port on the display to power a Raspberry Pi while out and about. You won’t be able to get Raspberry Pi 5 up to full power this way, however it will run well enough.
As an aside, we understand the touchscreen is much like a standard touch display and is not sensitive enough for drawing, but does have the functions you’d otherwise expect from a smartphone or tablet.
Out and about
With unseasonable warmth during the review period, we were able to take the screen out and test it in the most extreme of conditions: direct sunlight. IPS displays do tend to have better visibility out in the sun and this screen performed fine, just as you’d expect any display to work. Make sure to crank up the brightness but find shade if you can.
As for power draw, a beefy power bank was able to keep everything running fine for a couple hours. Brightness levels and speaker use will affect this, so using external speakers or headphones will also change power draw.
The colours and responsiveness of the screen are great too. The image is sharp, and it was as good as any monitor we use at home. The cover is very stiff, and the magnets attaching it very strong, to make sure the display is held in place when propped up – it may be a touch too stiff at the bend and we weren’t always sure it was in standing position. Over time, though, it has loosened up enough.
The sturdy construction feels and looks great too – and as we’re home bodies we’re currently looking into how we can integrate it as a third screen in our set up, which is pretty high praise we think.
Verdict
8/10
A great monitor in its own right that performs well out of the house and well enough in direct sunlight
Specs
Display: 13.3-inch, 1920×1080 IPS LCD
Dimensions: 312mm × 198mm × 9mm
I/O: USB-C power, USB-C data, Mini HDMI in, 3.5mm audio jack
It’s almost time – this Sunday, June 9, we invite players from around the world to a huge double feature: the Xbox Games Showcase 2024, immediately followed by Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct. This will mark the first Xbox Showcase featuring games from our portfolio of studios across Activision, Blizzard, Bethesda and Xbox Game Studios, not to mention our incredible third-party partners. Plus, the Showcase will be immediately followed by a deep-dive into Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
It’s our biggest moment of the year to show you the future of gaming with Xbox, and we hope you can join us. With that in mind, here are all the details you need to know ahead of Sunday:
What time does Xbox Games Showcase begin? The Showcase will take place on Sunday, June 9, beginning at:
PT: June 9, 10am
ET: June 9, 1pm
BST: June 9, 6pm
CET: June 9, 7pm
JST: June 10, 2am
AEST: June 10, 3am
What time does Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct begin? Immediately following the Xbox Games Showcase.
How do I watch the Xbox Games Showcase and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct? The Xbox Games Showcase and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct will be streamed live on official Xbox, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard channels, including the below:
The show will also be streamed out simultaneously on regional Xbox and Bethesda channels around the globe.
Please note the /Xbox, /Bethesda and /ActivisionGames streams on YouTube will be in 4K at 60fps, while all other channels will be 1080p / 60fps.
Is the event available in languages other than English? We will be providing subtitle support in the following languages: Albanian, Arabic (MSA), Bangla, Bosnian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan), Chinese (Traditional, Hong Kong), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Filipino, French, French (Canadian), Gaelic (Irish), German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Māori, Norwegian, Persian (Farsi), Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese, Punjabi (Gurmukhi), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Mexican), Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Thai, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Welsh and Zulu. While we expect to have all languages available with the show’s live broadcast, it is possible that select languages may need to be added in the days following the broadcast if they have not finished translating.
The easiest way to find your preferred language is to go to your region’s Xbox page, or by viewing on the official Xbox YouTube channel at YouTube.com/Xbox and clicking the gear icon in the lower right corner.
Is Xbox Games Showcase going to be Accessible to those with low/no hearing or low/no vision? There will be a version of the show with Audio Descriptions (AD) in English on the Xbox YouTube channel, American Sign Language (ASL) on Xbox’s YouTube channel and the /XboxASL Twitch channel, and British Sign Language (BSL) on Xbox On’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/XboxOn.
I’m not going to be able to watch, where can I find out what was announced? As announcements roll out during the broadcast, the Xbox Wire team will be publishing detailed blog posts for key announcements right here on Xbox Wire (with localized versions in Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, LATAM Spanish, and Japanese to follow). A full show recap will be published on Xbox Wire immediately following the end of Xbox Games Showcase, and a separate recap for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct will go live after that show ends. Plus, stay tuned to Xbox Wire in the days following the show for more exclusive articles.
Will Xbox be broadcasting post-show content? Starting from Monday, June 10 and running throughout that week, the Official Xbox Podcast will be airing a series of special episodes offering updates and deeper dives into titles featured during Xbox Games Showcase. These shows will be published daily on Xbox’s YouTube channel and podcast services, with accompanying articles on Xbox Wire. We look forward to sharing more details after the Showcase concludes.
Co-streamer and content creator notes for the Xbox Games Showcase and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct: We at Xbox greatly appreciate any co-stream efforts and aim to ensure you have a smooth experience if you choose to do so. However, due to forces beyond our control, we cannot guarantee that glitches or disruptions by bots and other automated software won’t interfere with your co-stream. For those planning to create post-show breakdowns of the Xbox Showcase in the form of Video on Demand (VOD) coverage, we recommend you do not use any audio containing copyrighted music to avoid any action by automated bots, and to also consult the terms of service for your service provider.
We can’t wait for you to join us for Xbox Games Showcase, followed by Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Direct on Sunday, June 9.
I’ve never had any real melancholy for summer ending – aside from, I suppose, having to go back to school when I was a kid – but while reading the game’s text I think I came close to understanding why people do.
I do like summer though; after months of cold and dreary rain, it’s lovely to have a bit of sun. It also helps that I live near the beach so I can go for sunny and beautiful walks. I’m also pretty good with a barbecue if I do say so myself.
At the time of writing this Final Word, the aurora borealis had appeared all over the UK thanks to Earth being in the path of a solar storm and… I missed it. I had no idea it was happening until I was snuggled up in bed on a Friday night and friends from Scotland and northern England started sharing photos. Good for them, I thought! It wasn’t until the morning I found out it had also reached my end of the country.
Suit your needs
I went out the following night to try and catch a glimpse but unfortunately for me – and the hoard of locals convening at a dark corner of the beach – there was nothing to see apart from some pretty stars.
People had been taking photos on smartphones with night shot features, and that made me realise that a long-exposure Raspberry Pi camera would have worked perfectly… just like in the many astrophotography features I’d written. Unfortunately it was too late for photography that night, but it got me thinking about other outdoor activities I do which could be improved with a Raspberry Pi, rather than forcing myself to do something new just to use the SBC.
Last year I decided on a near-whim to go hiking in the Peak District with some friends. It was a very wet August weekend so I’m glad I didn’t take a Raspberry Pi with me, but I understand there is a ton of geocaching you can do in the area. I’ve never played around with a geocache project, so if I revive the concept this year I might just have to make a Raspberry Pi-powered one.
Staying in
Unfortunately I also like staying home a lot. Maybe I need to invent a Raspberry Pi-powered air conditioner for myself as it is getting extremely roasty-toasty at home these days. I’m also always very interested in some minor gardening, whether it be herbs or some flowers, so perhaps this is the year I finally make an automated plant watering system.
Well, with all that planning out of the way, maybe I can start thinking about Autumnal projects. Those long months of sunshine and heat can get oppressive…
I won’t go into too much detail here for fear of spoilers – discovering the dungeons’ tricks is a huge part of the game’s charm – but you’ll quickly realize that each new test can be extremely varied. Some are combat gauntlets, others filled with mechanical puzzles, and some bring entire perspective shifts, briefly turning the game into a side-scroller or an isometric adventure. This variety is helped along by the game’s magic system – each biome offers new spells, but they can only be used in that biome, meaning you’re effectively relearning how to use your abilities in each new place, and allowing Microbird to create fresh experiences in each location. That each spell can be used for exploration and combat only adds to the pleasure.
Combat is snappy and action-oriented, offering you a variety of moves, unlockable abilities, and a precious dodge roll, and you’ll quickly help Luisa turn from a tourist into a bona fide slayer. Couple that with RPG-inspired gear systems, and a web of mechanics created and expanded in an order that you help choose, and you have a truly compulsive cocktail.
Following the huge success of last year’s Clubs Conference, we are delighted to announce that we will be hosting the second-ever Clubs Conference on Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December 2024 in Cambridge, UK.
This year, we’re bringing the conference home to our offices in the centre of Cambridge.
On Friday 29 November, you’ll have the opportunity to register early and attend an informal networking event with community members, including the Foundation team.
Saturday 30 November and Sunday 1 December will be filled with learning and development opportunities for you, including:
Thought-provoking talks and discussions
Hands-on, easy-to-follow workshops exploring a range of coding and digital making activities and related topics
Opportunities to connect with a diverse range of volunteers and educators
Join us to learn from your peers running clubs in various contexts, develop your digital making skills, and share your own insights. We look forward to learning with you.
Interested in attending or contributing to the Clubs Conference?
If you think you might want to attend the Clubs Conference, please fill in our form to express your interest. We will then get in touch when you can book your tickets. Tickets will be £5 for both days combined.
Part of what made last year’s Clubs Conference so special was the range of exciting activities led by community members. If you’d like to host or co-host an activity this year, please also indicate this in the expression of interest form. We’ll be in touch in a few weeks to ask you more about your plans.
If you’re not in the UK or Ireland and have any questions about travel, please send us a message through our contact page using the subject ‘Clubs Conference’.
If you have any suggestions about the Clubs Conference, we’d love to hear them. Let us know through the contact page, or on social with the tag #ClubsCon24.
Free your films, videos, and music with our ultimate SSD-powered Raspberry Pi media player. You get complete control over your movies, the ability to stream from all the big players, and access obscure services like public domain films and homebrew games. It’s a complete winner of a system.
How Raspberry Pi built a silicon design team
Raspberry Pi has built an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) team in Cambridge to design and produce custom silicon chips for its products for nearly ten years. This month we celebrate by chatting to the ASIC team at Raspberry Pi about how they build chips from scratch. It’s a fascinating deep dive into the world of silicon chip development.
Summer Projects
Take to the great outdoors with our guide to amazing projects for your garden, campsite, beach, or just when going on an adventure. Just because the sun is shining it doesn’t mean you have to put Raspberry Pi down for the day. Take it with you and see what you can do outside.
Mini Dexed
This great Mini Dexed project recreates a classic Yamaha DX7 synthesizer with Raspberry Pi and a DAC (digital analogue converter). The classic sound of this keyboard is behind lots of big music hits, and now it can be all yours.
Cat TV
This tiny telly built from a Raspberry Pi 5 and 5-inch display keeps a cat amused. Becky uses this project to show her cat streams of birds and squirrels. The full project is housed in a 3D-printed case that is easy to recreate.
Control a robot arm with a Wii remote
How cool is this? Wave a classic Wii remote around and your robot arm will follow suit. This industrial myCobot 280 Pi from Elephant Robotics is a detailed arm designed for an industrial setting. Last month we showed you how to set it up; this month we’ll show you how to wave it around.
Rescue your backups
This month, KG looks at rescuing hard-to-read media, from forensic disk imaging tools that attempt to recover data from your drive, bit by bit. They take a close look at recovering data from CDs and floppy disks, helpful physical and software tools, and even help you get equipped to recover data from Iomega’s Zip disk super-floppy formats.
“I met my husband and amazing friends through Minecraft and everything that has happened from that point has been the most exciting adventure.” — Razzleberries
“Minecraft gave me the opportunity to be featured in multiple official books through building, rendering and writing.” — Cookiie
“The command blocks in the game allow anyone, even those with virtually no coding experience, to start changing the world around them and create fun minigames.” — OwengeJuiceTV
“As a Marketplace Partner I can run a business from my home, doing what I love, working with people all over the world.” — Tomhmagic Creations
“Our vows included stories from our time at the conventions with the friends we made in survival and creative modes.” — AdaEnchilada
“Honestly, without Minecraft, I wouldn’t have thought about music how I currently do. The OST has such an influence on my creative workflow.” — XG
“I quit my day job to become a full-time developer on a platform I love.” — Jigarbov Productions
“Minecraft has turned into a form of creative expression that allows me to relax, breathe and take a break from everything else.” — fWhip
“Minecraft in the hands of creative people has endless possibilities to build and create everything we could imagine.” — Mazario Studios
Save 35% off the cover price with a subscription to The MagPi magazine. UK subscribers get three issues for just £10 and a FREE Raspberry Pi Pico W, then pay £30 every six issues. You’ll save money and get a regular supply of in-depth reviews, features, guides and other Raspberry Pi enthusiast goodness delivered directly to your door every month.
The distinctive Skyvan is a utilitarian workhorse in a class of its own.
A TOUGH, MULTI-ROLE MACHINE
Microsoft Flight Simulator today introduced the Local Legend 16: the SC.7 Skyvan aircraft that has earned a legendary reputation as a go-to for the world’s toughest air transport missions. The airframe, affectionately dubbed
by some as the “flying shoebox,” has a long and storied history of hauling people and cargo into and out of short, austere airstrips throughout the world. It was conceived, designed, and built to carry the largest loads possible in the most demanding environments. Its boxy fuselage optimizes freight stowage while its large rear cargo door and integrated ramp enable fast, efficient loading and unloading. The high aspect ratio main wing and powerful turboprop engines give it exceptional short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. Its rugged tricycle landing gear allows it to operate from all types of airfields, including grass, gravel, and improvised strips.
BORN OF PRACTICALITY
Short Brothers, based in Belfast, Ireland, began developing the Skyvan in the 1950s to create an aircraft that would prove eminently practical for the widest number of users. They carefully analyzed several cargo and STOL aircraft designs in use at the time and determined the base design would be an enduring standout: it melded a capacious, rectangular fuselage with a high-performance wing and powerful engines. The empennage consists
of a single horizontal stabilizer and two vertical stabilizers, one on each end of the horizontal stabilizer. The main wing is strut braced and houses two engines, one on each side.
The prototype of the Skyvan, powered by piston engines, took its maiden flight on January 17, 1963. Short Brothers then fitted the prototype with turboprop engines and flew it with the new powerplants for the first time in
October of 1963. The company manufactured a total of 149 aircraft (in several variants) until 1986, producing a total of 149.
GLOBAL USE
Over many decades, operators throughout the world have used the Skyvan for several purposes, including passenger service, general cargo, specialty cargo, geotechnical applications, skydiving, aerial photography, air
ambulance, search and rescue, and oilfield support. Notable missions include operations from high altitude airstrips in Nepal, exploration of interior Indonesia, and carrying an antenna for an Apollo mission (from
New Jersey to Florida’s Cape Kennedy, not all the way to the moon). Militaries from nearly two dozen nations have even used the Skyvan for logistical support and several of the airframes continue to fly today.
Crewed by one or two, the Skyvan can carry up to 19 passengers, 5,157 pounds of cargo, or some combination thereof. The SC.7 measures 40 feet, 1 inch in length, stands 15 feet, 1 inch tall, and has a wingspan of 64
feet, 11 inches. It is powered by two Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-2-201A turboprop engines that each produce up to 715 horsepower and each powerplant turns a Hartzell 3-blade, variable-pitch propeller. The Skyvan
has a range of 693 miles, a service ceiling of 20,000 feet above sea level, and climbs at 1,640 feet per minute. It requires 1,581 feet for take-off and it can land in 1,860 feet. It cruises at 173 mph, has a stall speed of 69 mph,
and has a top speed of 201 mph.
INFINITE POSSIBLITIES FOR ADVENTURE
The Skyvan has been expertly recreated in Microsoft Flight Simulator for simmers to enjoy throughout the digital twin of the world. Try your hand at landing on a remote beach in New Zealand, lifting into the sky from the side
of a mountain in Alaska or Borneo, or even exploring the Sahara Desert.
The Short SC.7 Skyvan comes with sixteen liveries including: Airliner – White, Military – Green, Military – Green Camouflage, Military – Grey, Skydive – White, Skydive – Clownfish, Skydive – Pink, Surveyor – White, and Surveyor – Red.
There are infinite possibilities for adventure and exploration awaiting in the Skyvan. It is available in Microsoft Flight Simulator today for $14.99. The sky is calling!
Microsoft Flight Simulator is available for Xbox Series X|S and PC with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows, and Steam, and on Xbox One and supported mobile phones, tablets, and lower-spec PCs via Xbox Cloud Gaming. For the latest information on Microsoft Flight Simulator, stay tuned to @MSFSOfficial on X (formerly Twitter).
A diverse and exciting selection of locations from throughout Europe awaits pilots with this latest release.
Microsoft Flight Simulator introduced City Update VII: European Cities II today which features notable locales throughout Europe: Sweden’s Stockholm, France’s Nice and neighboring Monaco, Portugal’s Porto, and Spain’s Barcelona and Madrid. This latest update to the vast and growing Microsoft Flight Simulator experience is certain to captivate and inspire.
The Microsoft Flight Simulator team and its partners captured these renowned cities in exquisite detail using recent high resolution aerial imagery, digital elevation data, and TIN (triangulated irregular network) surface modeling. This latest release invites simmers to choose their preferred aircraft to explore these vibrant locales, from the French Riviera to the skyscrapers of Stockholm.
Simmers will enjoy:
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm is Sweden’s capital and its most populous city, a national, regional, and global center of industry, education, finance, and culture. The city is built atop several low islands just inland of the Baltic Sea in the country’s southeast. Rich in heritage, the city boasts a vast array of architecture including Stockholm City Hall, the Scandic Victoria Tower, and Riddarholmen Church and surrounding Gamla stan (old town).
Nice, France
Nice is located in southeastern France in the heart of the Côte d’Azur (Azure Coast) near the Italian border. Also known as the French Riviera, this region is famous for the deep blue color of the sky and the matching Mediterranean water. Nice lies at the intersection of the rolling hills, low mountains and the sea. From above, the architecture of Nice presents a tapestry of color, notably earth tones and terracotta. Pilots will bask in broad vistas as well as individual facets of the city, including Nice Cathedral, Place Giuseppe Garibaldi, and Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas de Nice.
Monaco
Located seven miles to the northeast of Nice, Monaco is an independent sovereign city-state surrounded on land by France. It comprises less than a square mile of coastline nestled between mountains and the sea. It has one large beach, Plage du Larvotto, and two ports, Port Hercule and Port Fontvieille. Monaco is a showcase of architecture variety, from Medieval to modern. Notable locations include Fort Antoine Theater, the Prince’s Palace of
Monaco, and the Monte Carlo Casino.
Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s Catalonia, is celebrated as one of the world’s most beautiful cities and is located on the Mediterranean Sea, just south of the border with France. Numerous architectural masterpieces (from the classic to the ultra-modern) are scattered around Barcelona. The list includes Arc de Triomf, the entryway to the 1888 Barcelona World Fair; La Sagrada Família, a renowned cathedral; and Torre Glòries (Torre Agbar), one of the most distinctive works of modern architecture in the world.
Porto, Portugal
Located on the Atlantic coast of northern Portugal, Porto is the second most populous city in the country after the capital, Lisbon. The city originally sprung up during the Roman Empire as a vital trading port and has remained important through the centuries, both regionally and globally. The United Nations recognized Porto’s city center as a World Heritage Site and it, too, is known for its medley of architectural styles, including neoclassical, Baroque, and modernist. The sights from the air over Porto, most notably above “Old Town,” where the Douro River meets the Atlantic Ocean, are spectacular.
Madrid, Spain
Madrid is the capital of and most populous city in Spain, located near the center of the country in the middle portion of the Iberian Peninsula. It is a major global center of industry, finance, culture, and international governance, boasting some of the most spectacular architecture in the world, both classic and recently built. It is well-known for its myriad neighborhoods with narrow, winding streets as well as massive skyscrapers. The sights to explore in Madrid seem endless, but include the Royal Palace of Madrid, Cybele Palace, and the Cuatro Torres Business Area, a modern development comprising the four highest skyscrapers in Spain and four of the ten highest in the European Union.
City Update VII: European Cities II is available FREE to all owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator today. Ensure that your simulator is running version 1.37.18.0 (or a more recent version), download City Update VII, and explore Europe in all new ways. The sky is calling!
Microsoft Flight Simulator is available for Xbox Series X|S and PC with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows, and Steam, and on Xbox One and supported mobile phones, tablets, and lower-spec PCs via Xbox Cloud Gaming. For the latest information on Microsoft Flight Simulator, stay tuned to @MSFSOfficial on X (formerly Twitter).
As revealed last week, we will have a special Xbox Games Showcase followed by Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 Direct on June 9, 2024, at 10am PT, where we’ll share even more details on what’s coming in this all-new Call of Duty®. Get eyes on the first in-depth look at gameplay in this dark new chapter of the Black Ops series.
And, if you’re new to Game Pass – we’ve got a (figurative) mountain of games for you to check out and play while waiting for that pre-install button to light up for Black Ops 6. Check out the hundreds of games here: Xbox.com/Gamepass
On 22 May 2024, we announced that we are intending to list the Foundation’s commercial subsidiary, Raspberry Pi Ltd, on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. This is called an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
The IPO process is — quite rightly — highly regulated, and information about the company and the potential listing can be found on the Investor Portal on Raspberry Pi Ltd’s website. If that’s what you’re looking for, head there.
In this blog post, I want to explain what an IPO of Raspberry Pi Ltd would mean for the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
A tale of two Raspberry Pis
The Raspberry Pi Foundation was founded in 2008 as a UK-based educational charity. Our co-founders wanted to inspire more young people to explore the joys of coding and creating with technology, with the goal of increasing both the number and diversity of kids choosing to study computer science and engineering.
Their idea was to create a low-cost, programmable computer that could rekindle some of the excitement sparked in young minds at the start of the personal computing revolution by platforms like the BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum (incidentally also invented in Cambridge, UK).
Raspberry Pi Ltd was incorporated in 2012 as the commercial subsidiary of the Foundation and is responsible for all aspects of design, production, and distribution of Raspberry Pi computers and associated technologies. It has always been a commercial company, albeit one that was initially wholly owned by a charity.
It’s fairly common for UK charities to have subsidiaries that handle their commercial activities. Guidance from the regulator, the Charity Commission, explains that it helps protect the charity’s assets and ensures that the charity benefits from tax relief on profits that are generated from commercial activities and used to advance the charity’s objectives.
So Raspberry Pi has pretty much always been a tale of two organisations: the Foundation, which is a charity, and Raspberry Pi Ltd, which is a commercial company. While we are legally and practically separate organisations, we are united by a mission to democratise computing, and by a set of values that reflect the community of makers, engineers, and educators that have always been such a central part of the Raspberry Pi story.
Computing for everybody
In the years since the launch of the first Raspberry Pi computer in 2012, Raspberry Pi Ltd has continued to innovate and expand its range of products, evolving into a leading provider of high-performance, single-board computers and associated technologies for industrial and embedded uses, as well as for enthusiasts and educators, in markets worldwide. For more information on the company and all it has achieved, you should take a look at the Investor Portal.
For me, one of the most important things about a Raspberry Pi computer is that kids are learning to code on the same platform that is used by the world’s leading engineers and scientists. It’s not a toy, although it is a lot of fun.
Crucially, the commitment to low-cost computing that was at the heart of Raspberry Pi’s founding ethos remains unchanged and has been enshrined in a legally binding agreement between the Foundation and the company. This means that Raspberry Pi will always produce low-cost, general-purpose computers that can be used for teaching and learning.
Over that same period, the Foundation has innovated and expanded its educational products and learning experiences to the point where we are now widely recognised as one of the world’s leading contributors to the democratisation of computing education.
We create curricula and classroom resources that are used in schools all over the globe, covering everything from basic digital skills to computer science and AI literacy. We provide high-quality professional development for teachers and we build software tools that reduce barriers, save time, and improve learning outcomes. We also support the world’s largest network of free coding clubs and inspire young people to get creative with tech through showcases and challenges. All of this is completely free for teachers and students wherever they are in the world.
We are also advancing the field of computing education through undertaking original research and translating evidence of what works into practice.
Importantly, the Foundation is device- and platform-agnostic. That means that, while Raspberry Pi computers make a huge contribution to our educational mission, you don’t need to use a Raspberry Pi computer to engage with our learning experiences and resources.
The next stage of growth and impact
The proposed IPO is all about securing the next stage of growth and impact for both the Foundation and the commercial company.
To date, Raspberry Pi Ltd has donated nearly $50m from its profits to the Foundation, which we have used to advance our educational mission combined with over $60m in funding from philanthropy, sponsorship, and contracts for educational services.
As the company has continued to grow, it has needed working capital and funding to invest in innovation and product development. Over the past few years that has mainly come from retained profits. Listing Raspberry Pi Ltd on a public market will enable the company to raise additional capital through issuing new shares, which will lead to broader reach, greater impact, and ultimately more value being created for the benefit of all shareholders, including the Foundation.
From the Foundation’s perspective, an IPO provides us with the ability to sell some of our shares to raise money to finance a sustainable expansion of our educational activities. Put simply, instead of receiving a share of the company’s profits each year, we will convert some of our shareholding into an endowment that we will use to fund our educational programmes.
What happens after the IPO?
Assuming we proceed with the IPO, what is now Raspberry Pi Ltd will become a public company that trades its shares on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
The Foundation will remain a significant shareholder and we will continue to share the Raspberry Pi brand. We will be involved in decision making on the same basis as all other shareholders. Our goal will be to support the company to be as successful as possible in its mission to make computing accessible and affordable for everybody.
The Foundation will use any funds that we raise through the sale of shares at the IPO — or subsequently — to advance our ambitious global strategy to enable every young person to realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies.
Partnership will continue to be at the heart of our strategy and we will work closely with businesses, foundations, and governments to ensure that our work reaches as many teachers and young people as possible. Our ambition is that around 50% of our activities will be funded from the endowment and 50% through partnerships and donations, enabling us to reach many more teachers and students by combining our resources and expertise with those of the many partners who share our mission.
Creating a lasting legacy
Whatever happens with the IPO, Raspberry Pi has already had a huge impact on the world. It’s been an enormous privilege to be part of the journey so far, and I am hugely excited about the potential of this next phase.
I want to pay tribute to all of our co-founders for setting us off on this great adventure, and particularly to Jack Lang, who very sadly passed away earlier this month. Jack made an exceptional and unique contribution to the Raspberry Pi story, and he deserves to go down in history as one of the most significant figures in computing education in the UK. I know he would have shared my excitement about this next chapter in the Raspberry Pi story.
With the pace of technological advances in fields like AI, our mission has never been more vital. We have the potential to positively impact the lives of tens of millions of young people who might otherwise miss out on the opportunity to change the world for the better through technology.
On your PC, visit cdpstudio.com/getstarted and download the free non-commercial version for Windows or Linux. During installation, select the ‘ARMv8 64-bit (Debian 11)’ component under CDP Studio 4.12, along with the one already ticked for your host PC. You will then be able to deploy projects to the myCobot 280 Pi arm, which uses a 64-bit version of Ubuntu.
If you already have CDP Studio installed, make sure it’s updated to version 4.12, then go to Help > Package Manager and select ‘Add or remove CDP versions’ to add the ARMv8 64-bit (Debian 11) component.
02 Download the project
This is a complex project that would be time-consuming to build from scratch, so we’ll download it from CDP Studio’s GitHub repo. Go to magpi.cc/recordnplay, click the green Code button, and select Download ZIP. Unzip the file on your PC. Move the resulting myCobotRecordNPlay-main folder to the CDPStudioWorkspace/systems folder.
03 Download and build library
To deploy the project to the robot arm, you’ll also need the myCobotLib library. Go to the GitHub repo at magpi.cc/mycobotlib, click the Code button and Download ZIP. Extract it and then move the resulting myCobotLib-main folder to the CDPStudioWorkspace/libraries folder. Open the myCobotLib project file (with the .pro suffix) in CDPStudio, then right-click its name in the left panel and select Build.
04 Open the project
Now open the RecordNPlay CDP project file (.pro) in CDP Studio. If you click the arrow next to it in the left panel, you’ll note that it comprises two main applications. RecordNPlayUI runs the database logic for recording arm movement steps and shows a GUI on the PC to make programming the arm easier. It also has an ArmVisualizer pane that can be used to view the arm positions in 3D. This can be used even if you don’t have a real arm connected, so you can still run the project and see how recorded steps affect its movements.
The RecordNPlayIO application is the part of the project that’s deployed to the myCobot Pi arm over the network, once paired, enabling CDP Studio to communicate with it.
05 Prepare myCobot
The myCobot arm’s Ubuntu OS has a non-standard version of the OpenSSH server. So you’ll need to make a small change to a config file so CDP Studio can communicate with it over the network. SSH into the myCobot with the username ‘er’ at its IP address; the default password is ‘Elephant’. Then enter:
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Locate the line that sets the PubkeyAuthentication parameter and set it to yes (and make sure the line is not commented out). Press CTRL+X, then Y to exit and save. Then restart the OpenSSH server with:
sudo systemctl restart sshd
06 Pair the arm
Open the Deploy Configuration tab. Under Networks, press the Select button for ‘WiFi’. The ‘Devices – WiFi’ table below should start showing any devices available to pair with CDP Studio.
Click the Username field for your myCobot (based on its IP address) and enter ‘er’, then click the Pair button next to it. You will be prompted to enter the password – the default is ‘Elephant’.
Under Applications, change the Device for RecordNPlayIO application to your myCobot device name, then change the Toolkit to ARMv8 64-bit (Debian 11). When you run the RecordNPlay project, this will then be deployed over the network to the robot arm.
07 Run the project
Right-click RecordNPlay in the left panel and select Run & Connect. After a few moments, a new Arm Record‘n’Play window should appear, showing the GUI for recording arm movements. First, enter a name for the sequence and click Add. Then click Record to start recording steps. You can move the sliders, but it’s a lot easier to move the robot arm around and then click its LED panel button to add each position as a step. Recorded steps are shown in a list and can be updated or deleted individually using the buttons at the bottom right. The ‘Step duration’ bar sets the time for which an arm position is held.
Try recording some steps and then hit the top-left Play button to play the sequence. If you have a myCobot arm connected, it should follow the movements you recorded; if not, select ArmVisualizer in the project’s left panel, then the DHChain Visualizer tab to view a 3D representation of the arm with its six joints. As you move between two steps, the visualisation shows both and the movement of the arm’s head with a red line. The gripper status is indicated by a green (closed) or grey (open) dot.
08 Pick and place
Now, let’s get our arm to pick up an object and place it down in another location. We placed a pencil sharpener on top of a biscuit tin, high enough to give the arm plenty of space to pick it up without the bottom of the gripper hitting the table.
Move the arm between positions and press the LED panel button to record each step. You can also open and then close the gripper manually to program it. Make sure the arm is stationary, in the right position, before closing it. Then lift the arm up and move it round and down to where you want to place the object. After opening the gripper to drop it, move the arm straight up so you don’t bump into the item. You can adjust step positions in the GUI if needed. The steps are stored in an SQLite database too, so you could always edit that manually.
09 Kinematics
This project makes used of CDP Studio’s Kinematics framework, in the form of the DHChain component. The basic concept of kinematics is that if you input joint angles for a robot arm, or chain of links, the framework can calculate the end position in 3D space – as shown in our project’s ArmVisualizer pane, with the X/Y/Z coordinates shown in the Arm Record‘n’Play GUI.
The method can also be used in the reverse direction, to convert a desired 3D end position into the required joint angles; this is known as ‘inverse kinematics’.
Kinematics has many uses in the field of engineering, helping to calculate positions and velocities of moving parts such as those in an industrial robotic arm, or a bionic limb or exoskeleton. An example real-world case is the use of CDP Studio and kinematics is for controlling deck cranes on ships.
10 Exploring the project
You can click the Block Diagram tab to see how the project’s block-based components have been put together. At the highest level, there are two main blocks: for the RecordNPlayUI application for the GUI step recorder, and the RecordNPlayIO one for communicating with the myCobot arm. Here, the UI block’s DesiredStates port links to the IO block’s DesiredAngles port; it sends the angles set for the six joints, along with the gripper status, so that the arm will move accordingly. The ControlModes link is used to determine whether the arm should maintain a position or be allowed to move freely, for when you’re recording moves. CurrentStates is a feedback port from IO that’s used by UI to know what is the current position of the arm joints, gripper and LED button; this information is used by the recording process in UI.
Warhammer Skulls – the ultimate festive of Warhammer video games returned today, with a showcase hosted by Rahul Kohli.
It included a world premiere for Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2, and new content for a plethora of Xbox Warhammer games.
The celebration includes a week-long sale, with exclusive discounts on Warhammer games.
The ultimate Festive of Warhammer video games returned today – Warhammer Skulls just aired, bringing news for Xbox Warhammer games, and huge discounts.
Hosted by huge Warhammer fan, Rahul Kohli, returning for the second year in a row, the Skulls Showcase kicks off an exciting week of world premieres, as well as new announcements and content reveals for Xbox fans. Alongside this celebration, players can expect huge deals and discounts on the Xbox and Windows Store, with up to 80% off savings during the event.
Let’s take a closer look at the announcements, reveals, and updates included in the Warhammer Skulls Festival:
Xbox fans are no doubt delighted to hearWarhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2 has been announced following its World Premiere trailer at Skulls. It showcased an early look at the story, as well as revealed that both the Mechanicus and(!) the Necron factions will be playable this time around. Furthermore, critically acclaimed composer, Guillaume David returns once again, expertly bringing the setting to life with awe-inspiring music, while the gripping continuation of the Mechanicus saga is being handled by veteran author Ben Counter, best known for his Black Library novels. Mechanicus 2 promises to be everything the beloved original was and more.
That wasn’t all though, Focus Entertainment and Saber gave us our first look at Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s 3-player co-op campaign and online multiplayer elements. That came alongside the announcement that digital pre-orders are now live, giving fans a chance to secure their chosen edition right away ahead of its September 9 release.
In celebration, you can now pick up these great Xbox Design Lab Space Marine 2 controllers. Check out the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 design here, and the Xbox Wireless Controller design here.
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun also returned, announcing a new DLC expansion, Forges of Corruption. The indomitable Malum Caedo will be thrust back into action battling corruption in the forges of Graia. Fans can expect new levels, enemies and weapons, as well as a new Horde mode – all wrapped in its classic Boomer-shooter, retro style. Can’t wait to slay heretics? You can wishlist the new DLC now, and play the base game on Game Pass today.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is back after a great start with its first expansion, Void Shadows, set to release on August 8. Giving us our first glimpse at the secretive Genestealer Cult and the new Death Cult Assassin companion, Void Shadows is set to take fans even further into the darker side of the Imperium.
Also part of the showcase were trailers for Season 5 of Blood Bowl 3, which showed off the new Necromantic Horror faction (coming June 11), a huge teaser from Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector, letting us know that Astra Militarum and some new free units will soon be joining the fight, not to mention updates for Game Pass favourite Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, which announced a new free update, Secrets of the Machine God, arriving on June 25.
Additionally, World of Tanks: Modern Armor showed off its celebration of Warhammer 40,000 with the mighty Rogal Dorn tank coming to Xbox, while Call of Duty reminded us that it’s your last chance to get the Warhammer 40,000-themed Tracer packs. Over on Windows PC Total War: Warhammer 3gave us a glimpse at the free next Legendary Hero, Karanak.
The fun doesn’t stop there though – Game Pass subscribers can use Xbox Free Play Days to try out multiple Warhammer games between May 23-26, including Blood Bowl 3, Rogue Trader, Realms of Ruin and Vermintide 2.
Now, that’s a lot of Warhammer to get your teeth stuck into! And that’s just some highlights of the awesome Warhammer content coming soon. Don’t forget, you can check it all out, and grab some great deals, on the dedicated Warhammer Skulls Festival landing page. Thanks for reading!
Um dir ein optimales Erlebnis zu bieten, verwenden wir Technologien wie Cookies, um Geräteinformationen zu speichern und/oder darauf zuzugreifen. Wenn du diesen Technologien zustimmst, können wir Daten wie das Surfverhalten oder eindeutige IDs auf dieser Website verarbeiten. Wenn du deine Einwillligung nicht erteilst oder zurückziehst, können bestimmte Merkmale und Funktionen beeinträchtigt werden.
Funktional
Immer aktiv
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugang ist unbedingt erforderlich für den rechtmäßigen Zweck, die Nutzung eines bestimmten Dienstes zu ermöglichen, der vom Teilnehmer oder Nutzer ausdrücklich gewünscht wird, oder für den alleinigen Zweck, die Übertragung einer Nachricht über ein elektronisches Kommunikationsnetz durchzuführen.
Vorlieben
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff ist für den rechtmäßigen Zweck der Speicherung von Präferenzen erforderlich, die nicht vom Abonnenten oder Benutzer angefordert wurden.
Statistiken
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff, der ausschließlich zu statistischen Zwecken erfolgt.Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff, der ausschließlich zu anonymen statistischen Zwecken verwendet wird. Ohne eine Vorladung, die freiwillige Zustimmung deines Internetdienstanbieters oder zusätzliche Aufzeichnungen von Dritten können die zu diesem Zweck gespeicherten oder abgerufenen Informationen allein in der Regel nicht dazu verwendet werden, dich zu identifizieren.
Marketing
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff ist erforderlich, um Nutzerprofile zu erstellen, um Werbung zu versenden oder um den Nutzer auf einer Website oder über mehrere Websites hinweg zu ähnlichen Marketingzwecken zu verfolgen.
