Watching the board without a cable
Firmware 0.2.8 adds a live log: the board shows what it's doing on a web page on your home network, so testing no longer needs a USB cable.
Posts about board
7 posts from the TCG Marquee blog, newest first. All posts
Dimming at night, in your own time zone
Each account now has a time zone, and the board dims at night by its own clock, at your local time, even offline and across daylight saving changes.
Rollback, and the bug that put it to the test
New firmware now runs on probation and the board goes back to the old version if it keeps crashing. The first test found a real bug, which is now fixed.
From 90 seconds to 7: faster page downloads
Loading the first 40 pages took 90 seconds. One request per batch, and keeping Wi-Fi awake, cut it to 7.4 seconds, installed as the first wireless update.
Wi-Fi setup from a phone, and big collections
Firmware 0.2: set up Wi-Fi from your phone, collections of any size stream in batches, and new firmware installs over the air after a fingerprint check.
The board arrives: the first firmware
The MatrixPortal S3 arrived before the panel. The first firmware joins Wi-Fi, pairs with an account, and downloads the wall, all shown on a computer.
Picking the cheapest parts for a working prototype
The prototype uses an Adafruit MatrixPortal S3 instead of a Raspberry Pi: no SD card, less power, and a lower cost. Here's the parts list and why.