Hi ! Many thanks to everyone involved, for me being here now !

This project started a few years ago with a very real need, but I couldn't imagine it could eventually bring me into space... I put it here just with hopes to collect some feedback about it, have some fun, and nothing more. Today, here I am. That's truly amazing, I don't have the words to express the feeling...

I've read every comments in the 50 SemiFinalists article, some people there are very wrong, and very negative : I'm alone on this project, from start. There's no team behind me, no money. Just many ideas and a strong desire to build the things that populate my brain. Sure, some people help me in many ways, but I don't even have a 3D printer or a laser cutter around. So, being in semi-finals with a one-man garage project was very possible. I'm sure other selected projects are the same.

For sure, being here right now is an immense motivation for me. I worked on this project long before the contest, would have worked on it months after, but being there is an opportunity I won't miss. :)

Now, about the updates. I want to talk about the incoming new evolutions. First, 2 major versions, Raspberry Pi based, were planned and are about to come :

• A new, major hardware upgrade is in the works, thanks to the PiModules UPiS. This excellent piece of hardware allows this new version to be trully autonomous. No more external USB battery, except to charge the unit itself. 2600mAh should be enough for a few hours of juice, and 10000mAh external should charge the unit a few times. Plus it allows "electrical hotplug", so no more need to power off the Pi to change powering method. It also has a onboard RTC, very handy for networking stuff (TOR needs the current hour/date to start correctly, for an example). Unfortunately, the UPiS HAT for the new Raspberry Pi B+ is not out yet, so I will have to wait a few weeks for it. No problem, code is compatible across the boards, so I will have one more prototype to work with.

• So, another major upgrade will include the Raspberry Pi B+ and the new UPiS+ not out yet. The 4 ports USB and the new powering circuit are very nice updates to the Raspberry Pi and very handy in this project.

There's also something else I'm working on : if you visit hardware-libre.fr weblog, you now I love Raspberry Pi, but I also fell in love with another board : the Banana Pi. I know many people criticize this board and the people behind it, but I know them "a little" now. They are some very nice people, and their Banana Pi design is very smart. I will develop this later for sure.

With that in mind, I want this project to remain compatible with Raspberry AND Banana in the end (fruits are good for health). The final user will be free to choose which board he prefers, the two different versions will be buildable using the same sources. Raspberry Pi version would be smaller and mobile, but less powerfull. Banana Pi based would be far more powerful, but bigger and less autonomous with its SATA hard disk (think about a desktop device with a bigger screen). 

I'd be very interested to know what you all think about this idea...

Now, some picture of this last (very busy) day :

UPiS, displays, Raspberries, Bananas.... this is a fruity desktop :)

With time and the right tools, I don't really need a CNC or 3D printer.... Well, forget that.... I really need one :D

No more cable !!! Yeepee !!!

Enough hardware for today, now is time for some software... UPiS module offers many nice features I want to add to my software...