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

How To Control Neopixels with BASIC on Raspberry Pi Pico

By Les Pounder published 17 May 22

In the 1980s, the home computer scene was dominated by BASIC, and now the $4 Raspberry Pi Pico gets a taste of the eighties.

Getting To Know the Linux Filesystem

By Les Pounder published 14 May 22

It may look intimidating, but the Linux filesystem isn’t a maze of dead ends. Here’s the map that you need to learn more about an OS that runs on computers big and small.

How To Play Steam Games on a Chromebook

By Les Pounder published 9 May 22

Using a low-cost Chromebook, the Android Steam Link client and a Bluetooth controller we can game in comfort.

How To Install Third-Party Linux Applications with Deb-Get

By Les Pounder published 8 May 22

Manage your third party applications as easily as software from the official repositories with deb-get.

How to Save Disk Space in Raspberry Pi OS and Purge Bloat

By Les Pounder published 3 May 22

Identify and remove the packages that bloat your Raspberry Pi OS installation. All you need are a few commands and a little Linux know-how.

Best Raspberry Pi HATs 2022: Expansion Boards for Every Project

By Les Pounder published 3 May 22

Raspberry Pi HATs let you add lights, motors, sensors and more.

The Best Raspberry Pi Cases 2022

By Les Pounder, Avram Piltch published 3 May 22

Find the right case for your Raspberry Pi.

Best RP2040 Boards 2022

By Les Pounder published 3 May 22

In such a short space of time, the RP2040 has disrupted the microcontroller community and we now have a smörgåsbord of RP2040 boards to choose from.

Pimoroni Servo 2040 Review: Control up to 18 Servos with RP2040

By Les Pounder published 24 April 22

The RP2040 is a jack-of-all-trades, and a master of all. Servo 2040 sees the chip controlling 18 servos, and reading six inputs all at once.

SB Components StackyPi Review: RP2040 Board Looks Like Pi Zero

By Les Pounder published 20 April 22

It may not be the first product to use the form factor, but StackyPi offers an interesting, if tricky way to use Raspberry Pi HATs with the RP2040 SoC.

How To Make a Raspberry Pi Pico Reaction Game With PicoZero

By Les Pounder published 17 April 22

Try out the latest Python library for the Raspberry Pi Pico, a library that simplifies building electronics projects with the $4 microcontroller.

Vizy Review: Raspberry Pi Computer Vision Made Simple

By Les Pounder published 16 April 22

Starting at $259, Vizy provides a fun introduction to AI, machine learning and computer vision wrapped up in a bright green case.

How to Run Linux on your Chromebook

By Les Pounder published 3 April 22

Running Linux on your Chromebook used to be fraught with hacks and complications, but now we can easily run a Linux virtual machine alongside Google’s cloud based OS.

Raspberry Pi Barcode Reader HAT Review

By Les Pounder published 3 April 22

The humble barcode is an amazing form of input, and the latest HAT from SB Components takes advantage of it for our Raspberry Pi projects.

Cyntech Raspberry Pi 4 Case and Heatsink Review

By Les Pounder published 27 March 22

A low cost case for your Raspberry Pi 4 which boasts an aluminum heatsink but sub par cooling performance.

Pimoroni Badger 2040 Review: A Wearable Screen

By Les Pounder published 20 March 22

The latest RP2040 board from Pimoroni is crowned by a gorgeous 2.9-inch e-paper display. But this is much more than just a geeky conference badge, this is a tiny, low power information console.

How To Write Bash Scripts in Linux

By Les Pounder published 19 March 22

Write your own scripts to automate the boring / complex tasks of your job.

Argon EON Review: Turns Raspberry Pi Into a NAS

By Les Pounder published 6 March 22

Resembling a sci-fi prop, Argon 40’s latest Raspberry Pi case is much more than a case. It is a full NAS solution powered by the mighty Raspberry Pi 4.

Raspberry Pi 4 and the rpilocator stock tracker

Raspberry Pi 4 in Short Supply, Being Scalped at 400% Markup (Updated)

By Les Pounder published 2 March 22

Immunity to the global supply shortage is not guaranteed and the Raspberry Pi as some resellers are charging four times the list price.

Using HATs with the Original Raspberry Pi

By Les Pounder published 27 February 22

Using a Raspberry Pi 1, the original from 2012 with different add-on boards in 2022

RP2040 Stamp Review: Condensed Pico Platform

By Les Pounder published 26 February 22

Powered by the RP2040, Solder Party’s RP2040 Stamp is designed to be the heart and soul of your next project. We get all of the GPIO pins, convenient LiPo support and a NeoPixel to sweeten the deal.

How To Monitor Your CPU and RAM in Linux

By Les Pounder published 20 February 22

Keeping an eye on system resources is a must, no matter if you are using a $35 Raspberry Pi or a multi-million dollar data center. We show you how to monitor your systems from the Linux command line.

No PC Needed: How to Install Raspberry Pi OS Over the Internet

By Les Pounder published 12 February 22

The latest beta bootloader from Raspberry Pi sees a curious tool which enables users to download and install the latest operating system without the need for a PC.