IDAS Type 4 filters for visual and infrared color imaging
Quite recently I got IDAS Type 4 BGR filters. Those filters aren't just plain RGB filters. Aside of imaging in visual light to get RGB images those filters also allow false color imaging in infrared. Each filters passes a band in visible and infrared light. Depending if they are stacked with IR blocking or passing filter they work in one of those two modes. Infrared false color imaging opens new possibilities for interesting imaging of deep space objects as well as planets like Jupiter.
Let me introduce those IDAS Type 4 filters and describe how they work.
Django-ckeditor-updated and django-ckeditor merge
I've released a new version of django-ckeditor-updated covering all latest changes (full ckeditor 4.4.4 package and some inline editor fixes). The django-ckeditor-updated-4.4.4 can be installed from pypi. Note that there is now a new required configuration variable - CKEDITOR_JQUERY_URL.
All outstanding commits have been pushed to django-ckeditor repository (from which I forked) and released as django-ckeditor-4.4.4 (4.4.5 for updated readme). If you are using the "updated" version you can now switch to the django-ckeditor as I plan to make changes there as I now can push pypi releases for it. django-ckeditor-updated is closed.
Chaussette and Circus as a new way to deploy your Django applications
Many Python web applications run on production with the help of gunicorn or uwsgi. There are however other solutions that may turn out to be even better than the currently popular solutions. One of alternatives is chaussette and circus. Chaussette is a WSGI server that can serve WSGI applications like your Django project. Circus is an application to control and monitor processes and sockets. It can manage chaussette, celery or other sockets and processes making it a manager of all project services.
Micro Python and pyboard - a Python running on a microcontroller scripts your electronics
MicroPython is a Python 3 implementation capable of working on microcontrollers with no operating system. PyBoard is the first microcontroller board running Micro Python. It can be scripted with Python code and can execute it, work without any connection to a PC. How does it work and what can we do with pyboard and Micro Python?
Remote programming of mini PC like Raspberry Pi or Beaglebone Black
Programming on mini PC like Raspberry Pi, or Beaglebone Black maybe bit annoying or hard due to lack of some more complex IDEs not available on ARM platform, or just to resource heavy to such computers. Sometimes you may also lack keyboard, mouse and a display to connect to them. In such cases remote access and remote programming may be a solution. All you need is a network connection and proper applications and protocols.
In this article I'll showcase how to use SSH, SSHFS, VNC/RDP protocols/solutions for remote access and programming of any (mini) PC. I'll also show how to configure PyCharm to use external Python interpreter (like that from Raspberry Pi).
New Raspberry Pi B+ brings fixes and few improvements
Accidentally (or not) a new revision of Raspberry Pi have leaked to the Matrix... web. The new revision is called Raspberry Pi B+ (the plus added). You get the same CPU, the same RAM, but 4 powered USB (as it requires 5V 2A power supply!), 40 GPIO pins (more!), and microSD instead of SD card slot.
Benchmarking Beaglebone Black single board computer
Beaglebone Black is a single board computer and a Raspberry Pi challenger made by the BeagleBoard.org foundation. It offers 95 3.3V GPIO and newer CPU with Android and Linux support. In this article I'll go and check it performance and capabilities.
Quick look and some benchmarks of Radxa Rock RK3188 single board computer
Radxa Rock is yet another single board computer. It's equipped with a quad core RK3188 processor and 2 GB of RAM. It supports Android 4.2/4.4 as well as classical Linux desktop. In this article I'll take a look at Radxa, benchmark it and compare to recently tested Measy U4A RK3188 dongle.
Picuntu and Linuxium Linux on Measy U4A Android dongle
Measy U4A is a typical Android HDMI dongle. This one and many more are made in China in great quantities and in low prices. Just check you local stores, ebay or Chinese shops like dx.com. Such dongles when attached to a HDMI TV or display and powered will run Android allowing you to watch videos, play music, browse the web and what not.
Android gives a lot of apps but it's not Linux. Makers/hackers/developers often want to use a small embedded PC for some other tasks and would really want to have plain Linux instead of Android. The dongle I've picked is one of dongles based on a quad core RK3188 SoC. This one is quite popular and there are various development tools for Rockchip based devices. There are also Linux distributions that can be installed on them (Picuntu) or booted from SD card (Linuxium). So in this article I'll give a quick look at the Measy U4A dongle with Android 4.4.2 and then I'll go to installing and testing Picuntu and Linuxium.
June planetary camera news in a flash
New Ximea cooled cameras, cooled iNova cases or the truth about Atik GP revealed! :)
