Les Pounder

Les Pounder

Les Pounder is a creative technologist and for seven years has created projects to educate and inspire minds both young and old. He has worked with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to write and deliver their teacher training programme "Picademy".

Articles by: Les Pounder

Windows 11

How to get Windows 11 for free (or less than $15) — Get the latest Microsoft OS for less than the price of Windows 10's ESU

By Avram Piltch last updated

Need an OS for your PC build? Microsoft charges a whopping $139 for Windows 11 Home. Here's how to get Windows free or at least cheap.

The A1200 from Retro Games Ltd

Full-size Amiga A1200 retro gaming system comes armed with modern HDMI port, 25 classic games — pre-orders and launch date announced

By Les Pounder published

Retro Games Ltd has lifted the curtain on the upcoming A1200 remake, and pre-orders will be open from November 10. Units will be launching from June 2026

PortableApps

Carry your favorite apps wherever you go with PortableApps

By Les Pounder published

The family IT support season is upon us, and this project will have all the tools that you need to solve family IT problems, communicate with loved ones, and get some work done.

Fanttik T1 Max

Fanttik T1 Max Soldering Iron Review: Simplicity to the Max

By Les Pounder published

Fanttik’s T1 Max soldering iron drops the OLED display from smart soldering irons, but it doesn’t drop the ball when it comes to simplicity.

File Transfer

How to transfer and share files over a network without a USB flash drive — and with just one line of code

By Les Pounder last updated

You can share your files across the network with just one line of code, handy for when you need to get lots of files out to a group or you’re missing your trusty USB flash drive.

Fax

Fax to the Future — How to send and receive a fax in the 21st Century

By Les Pounder last updated

Send and receive a fax from the comfort of your computer, no fax modem required.

Windows 10 to 11

How to update to Windows 11 — make your upgrade as painless as possible now windows 10 support has ended

By Les Pounder last updated

All it took was 75 minutes for a painless migration

Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen

Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Review: The Next Generation

By Les Pounder published

The next generation of Titan Evo range sees a new leatherette fabric and supportive padding to keep you gaming and working in relative comfort.

Bypass Windows 11 TPM

How to Bypass Windows 11's TPM, CPU and RAM Requirements

By Avram Piltch, Les Pounder last updated

Use simple utilities to install or upgrade Windows 11 on any PC, regardless of its TPM status or hardware.

Raspberry Pi 500+

Raspberry Pi 500+ Review: RGB clicky keys and NVMe storage, but with a $200 price tag

By Les Pounder published

Raspberry Pi has released an updated version of the Raspberry Pi 500 and this time the omitted NVMe storage is present, as is an RGB mechanical keyboard.

Ubuntu

I've been using Linux for a quarter of a century, so why do I keep coming back to Ubuntu?

By Les Pounder published

Ubuntu Linux has formed a large part of my Linux journey, and I think it is the best Linux for all levels of users.

Smol Windows

Here's how I installed Windows 11 using a nano-sized 2.4GB ISO — final install weighed in at a mere 8.36GB, two-thirds the size of a normal Windows install, courtesy of Nano11 Builder

By Les Pounder published

Using some custom scripts and a base Windows 11 ISO install image, just how much can you remove and keep a functional operating system?

Flyoobe

Ditching Windows 10? Here's how I installed Windows 11, removed AI, and stripped out unnecessary features using Flyoobe

By Les Pounder published

Install Windows 11 on anything

BASIC 2025

Hack to the Future — here's how you can write BASIC code on a modern-day PC

By Les Pounder published

BASIC was the Python of its day and it inspired many bedroom coders to spend hours in their room, hacking around to make games and tools. Now you can do the same in the 21st century.

Windows Tools

These are the top free Windows tools that I use on a daily basis to boost my productivity

By Les Pounder published

You don’t need to spend any money nor commit piracy to get great software, and here is the proof!

Tmux

Here's how I multi-task in the Linux terminal with Tmux

By Les Pounder published

Terminal Multiplexers are powerful tools for every Linux user’s toolkit, and Tmux is the king that reigns supreme when it comes to productivity and versatility.

Easygui

How to make graphical Python apps the EasyGUI way

By Les Pounder published

Amidst a forest of GUI framework choices, EasyGUI takes its name to heart and provides an exceptionally straightforward means to create your own graphical Python applications.

Noctua case with 3D printer side panel.

Noctua's 3D printable side panel quiets Framework's Desktop — drop 5-7 decibels using this freely available mod

By Jon Martindale published

The Framework Desktop is plenty quiet already, but with a Noctua 3D printed side panel, duct, and fan, it can run even quieter.

AMD Wraith series bundled stock coolers

AMD downgrades certain Ryzen CPUs to lesser stock coolers — Wraith Prism and Spire quietly retired, replaced with Wraith Stealth

By Hassam Nasir published

Some CPUs will now no longer have a bundled cooler

A hacker holding Tux the Penguin

Arch Linux continues to feel the force of a DDoS attack after two brutal weeks — attackers yet to be identified as project struggles to restore full service

By Les Pounder published

The Arch Linux project team are working to mitigate the impact, while keeping details of who, why and how close to its chest

Creality K2 Pro

Creality announces the $1,200 K2 Pro 3D printer — complete with dual AI cameras, smart bed leveling and support for up to 16 filaments via a CFS

By Ash Hill published

Creality has unveiled the K2 Pro with preorders available on the Creality website and plans to launch the new printer on August 25th.

The new five-inch Raspberry Pi Touch Display 2

Raspberry Pi releases smaller five-inch Touch Display 2 — lower in price, same resolution as larger model

By Les Pounder published

Raspberry Pi releases a smaller model of its updated touch display. This time with $20 off the price but the same display as the larger model.

3D Printed Server

I 3D printed an entire server case with the Elegoo Centauri Carbon – this is what happened and how much it cost

By Les Pounder published

I spent a week 3D printing a PC server case using Elegoo’s first Core XY 3D printer and plenty of PETG filament.

The parts to build a 3D printed server

I'm building a media server out of leftover PC parts and a 3D printed case

By Les Pounder last updated

Why buy a PC server when you can build one using spare parts and a 3D printer?

Bento3D

I'm organizing my life with a 3D printer and Bento3D — here's how you can build your own organizer

By Les Pounder published

With a few measurements, an idea and a 3D printer, you can organize (most) of your life.

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