For the May deadline, my current aim is a demonstration project - a vivid illustration of how someone could create a variety of different cool looking, functional projects, using the Makernet architecture. I am hoping to do this with a combination of videos and code examples.

Why something demo-able? I think it will make the idea of Makernet come alive much better.

This means I'll need a few different things:

• Some kind of controller board (e.g. where the user puts their code). Has to be Arduino IDE compatible and have the Makernet hardware support on the PCB.
• A common design for each Makernet peripheral, each ideally reprogrammable using the Arduino IDE, with as much consistency as possible in design.
• A variety of actual Makernet peripherals built on the common design standard. I am aiming for a rotary encoder, a D-pad, a 128x64 B/W OLED, 8x8 mini LED matrix, 8x8 large matrix, and a sound generating board.
• A good way to photograph and create videos of my work

Over the last few months I've been putting together all of the fundamentals needed for the demonstration project. Some key accomplishments between Jan-March:

- Interviews with a number of makers around the boston area to help learn what niches Makernet might address

- Leveling up my soldering skills to repeatably solder the 24-QFN and 1mm fine-pitch connectors needed in the project

- Creating a miniature SWD programming header (G/V/D/C) so that the ascetics of my boards will be as clean as possible

- Creating a simple programming jig with tiny pogo pins (1.27mm pitch, for the win!)

- Building out an Eagle library for the key parts I'll need so I can have standard looking resistors, capacitors, PTH connectors, logos, etc.

- Settling on JST-SH as the board-to-board connector standard and working out a temporary source for the cables I'll need. Digikey offers these cables, but they are 1-to-N not 1-to-1. (Booo!) I will have to manually reverse them. For those not aware, JST-SH is a 1mm pitch connector -- reversing these cables will require work using a SMT inspection scope.

- Building some test boards using the Atmel SAMD11 MCU to see if I can get the platform working on my build environment, and to evaluate the state of the Arduino Core for this platform. Turns out Justin Mattair has spent time porting the Arduino code to the SAMD11. These tests went very well, and I was able to get all of the basic things I need - analog, digital, PWM, in a fairly portable format. This allows me to feel confident in standardizing all of my Makernet peripherals around the ATSAMD11.

- Taking a deep tour through the ATSAMD11 Arduino Code to figure out how remap pins the way I want them. This will let me cut down on BOM and layout complexity for the peripherals.

- A massive adventure with the black magic of ARM clock configuration code to load factory calibration into the various internal oscillators. This will get me standalone ARM processor with very little external logic that will use a high accuracy internal clock.

- Creating a Makernet clone of the Adafruit Feather M0 (ATSAMD21G18-based MCU) which is one of the candidates for my controller boards.

- Creating a working Teensy 3.2 clone which is another candidate for the the central controller board design. The Kenisis MCU is much more featured than the SAMD21, with better instructions. Also, I'd argue that Paul supports it much better than any Arduino, and it has a clearly thriving community. I'd love the Teensy to be the central architecture given its excellent libraries and my admiration for the team that supports it.