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Raspberry Pi 5 FrankenPi 5 cobbled together by social media team
Now that the Raspberry Pi 5 has been out for a while, we’ve had a chance to get a closer look at the work that went into its creation. However, it’s the social media team that really takes the cake with their FrankenPi 5 board - a hilarious attempt to satisfy the demands of social media followers eager for news about the Raspberry Pi 5.
The project is entertaining from the start, beginning with a concept design that breaks down the components necessary to make everyone happy. It includes design elements like the full gamut of USB interface types, three RP 2040s, and every Python library. At the bottom, the team proposed adding Eben Upton’s phone number.
(Image credit: Raspberry Pi Foundation)
This concept art was shared with HackSpace magazine’s Ben who took the design and created an actual PCB. The final product is the FrankenPi 5, a monster of a board with a few key changes. First off, Eben Upton's phone number is not included on the final design. It also has a row of USB cables haphazardly attached to the end, a handful of Python libraries, some buttons, and a bat signal LED.
And if that wasn’t enough, Ben also showed some initiative by having a bottle opener punched into the final PCB. According to Ben, the idea was to give the social media team something they could use to celebrate their first hardware release. That said, we strongly advise against using a PCB as a bottle opener although it is a nice touch to an over-the-top project.
If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, check out the full blog post over at the official Raspberry Pi website. This hilarious creation marks the end of the year for Raspberry Pi as the team won’t be back until next year. Until then, we’ll just have to hope we’re lucky enough to get a Raspberry Pi 5 Social Media Edition in our stocking this year.
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Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.
Or - and I know this is going to sound completely crazy - instead of mocking all the feature requests they get, they could take a page out of Orange Pi's playbook and make a larger, high-end version that actually has more features!http://www.orangepi.org/html/hardWare/computerAndMicrocontrollers/details/Orange-Pi-5-plus.html
But, yeah, I'm sure it's a lot easier just to mock your loyal fan base and make them feel unreasonable and ashamed for having needs the Pi doesn't meet. Pure class.
