Last week I used every Raspberry Pi that I had to build a six-node HexaPi computing cluster. Since then I have been asked a number of times: what is it good for? So I'm going to take a look at the last bit of the Raspberry Pi Projects - Build an OctaPi, and add a simple example of my own as well. Oh, and I added one more Raspberry Pi server to the cluster, while still respecting my rule of 'no two servers alike', so it …

Getac's portfolio of rugged devices includes laptops, tablets and handhelds. The new Getac ZX70 is a fully rugged 7-inch Android tablet that's designed primarily for field-based professionals.The Getac ZX70's 7-inch screen sits in a bezel measuring 20mm on the short edges and 15mm on the long edges. Then there's a further orange-coloured frame that adds 4mm around the edges, topped off by an outer rubberised protective layer that wraps over onto the device's front, forms its four…

Dutch smartphone maker Fairphone has stopped supporting its first phone, the Fairphone 1, because it can't afford to buy more spare parts. Fairphone has attempted to buck the two-year smartphone replacement cycle by using conflict-free and fair-trade components that can easily be replaced. The company made 60,000 Fairphone 1 handsets after 20,000 fans pledged €325 a piece in a crowdfunding campaign, but less than four years after its debut it will no…

Facebook isn't a name that people associate with hardware, despite the company's successful Open Compute Project and spectacular failure with the HTC smartphone a few years ago. So, what's Facebook cooking up this time? See also: How to make sure your charger or power bank doesn't blow up your expensive smartphone Well, the patent application, which was originally filed back in January but not published until last week, is so broad and f…

"Focusing is about saying 'No.'" -- Steve JobsThe iPhone started out as a simple idea -- a device that reinvented the smartphone. All a buyer needed to do was decide how much storage capacity they needed -- 4, 8, or 16 gigabytes -- and they were an iPhone owner.Jump forward a decade and buyers are faced with choices galore, ranging from handset size to color.You can see a similar lack of focus when it comes to Macs. For example, if you're in the market for an Apple laptop you first have to choos…

The usual pattern that Apple has followed as of late is to unveil the new iPhone on the first or second Tuesday or Wednesday of September, and then ship the iPhone second Friday following the event, or, as was the case with the iPhone 6s in 2015, the third Friday.However, the current rumormill is suggesting that while the iPhone 8 will go on pre-order in September, it won't be ship until October or perhaps even November. This would allow Apple to not only get the regular and Plus iPhones out of …

Not everyone needs all of the protective features offered by a fully rugged laptop, but there are some situations where a greater degree of protection than is found on a standard laptop is welcome. According to Panasonic, field service engineers specialising in indoor maintenance and repairs is one use case. Panasonic's semi-rugged Toughbook CF-54, newly equipped with a 7th-generation (Kaby Lake) Intel Core i5 processor, replaces the Toughbook CF-53, which we reviewed way back…

LG's cleaning robot LG LG Electronics has deployed cleaning and guide robots at South Korea's Incheon International Airport as part of a trial service.The guide robots, which are powered by the firm's self-developed voice recognition platform, can understand Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese.They are also connected to the airport's main server. They can answer vi…

If you know anything about Linus Torvalds, you know he's the mastermind and overlord of Linux. If you know him at all well, you know he's also an enthusiastic scuba diver and author of SubSurface, a do-it-all dive log program. And, if you know him really well, you'd know, like many other developers, he loves gadgets. Now, he's starting his own gadget review site on Google+: Working Gadgets. The title says it all, but Torvalds explained: …

Apple's June WorldWide Developer Conference had more than its fair share of product announcements, including the forthcoming iMac Pro and HomePod smart-speaker. But perhaps a more important long-term development was Apple's belated discovery of virtual reality. If nothing else, the need to embrace VR has forced Apple to admit that Macs just don't cut it when it comes to the sort of 3D graphics performance required for this emerging technology.As a result, Apple's flagship 15-inch…