
$20, this small fry skimps on Wi-Fi and onboard
storage, but Libre’s tight free-open-source
software (FOSS) stack integration works reliably
with a wide range of OSes and software tools.
MCUs
Renesas, known for automotive and industrial
applications, was not a brand on the tip of
many makers’ tongues until last year’s 32-bit
Arduino Uno R4 debuted as a showcase for the
RA4M1 microcontroller. Other maker-focused
manufacturers are paying attention to Renesas
now too it seems, with SparkFun’s RA6M5 Thing
Plus leading the pack in terms of performance.
In addition to the titular 200MHz MCU, the board
features 16MB of flash beyond the chip’s 2MB, ...