I've updated my review of Visual Studio Code, with three new extensions:

• Visual Studio IntelliCode by Microsoft brings AI to the already excellent Intellisense
• Cortex Debug by marus25 replaces Native Debug by webfreak
• Shortcut Menu Bar by Jerrygoyal brings a much awaited solution for a toolbar.

Even with the new set of extensions, the roadmap for Visual Studio Code still remains unclear for me. Microsoft seems to be over-reliant on the community for bringing improvements to the GUI and the integration with external tools, and doesn't realise the true potential of Visual Studio Code.

Read the updated review.

No surprise, I am a big fan of Node-RED.

Until now, using it required two separate applications:

• first, a Terminal window to launch the server in command-line mode;
  
• then, a browser to access the IDE GUI.

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Now, the Node-RED Desktop application combines both, and is available for Windows and macOS.

Read the updated section of my review of Node-RED.

Pervasive Displays has launched new e-paper screens featuring three colours black-white-yellow instead of black-white-red with the same diagonals.

The black-white-yellow screens behave like the black-white-red ones and use the same Pervasive Displays e-Paper EPD Extension Kit Gen 2.

​The only differences are they require more power and take more time to refresh, about 20 s longer.

Read the review.

The new fonts bring more flexibility in size, more compact files and ultimately a better readability.

All the fonts were generated from same DejaVu font family: Monospaced, Sans Serif and Serif (pictured right), size from 12 to 64, standard and bold. The 1 MB Flash manages to pack all the 48 fonts!

The Pervasive Displays iTC 12.2" BWR screen really excels with its 103 dpi resolution!

​Read the updated project.

After facing and fixing unexpected issues with larger screens, the FRAM-based E-Paper Screen Controller now drives the iTC 7.4" BWR and iTC 12.2" BWR screens successfully.

The connection between the main MCU and the screen controller only requires 4 cables for SPI, and optionally 3 for additional features.

Discover the updated project.

Although not a new board, the BBC micro:bit caught my attention when an interface to control the models built with fischertechnik was released at the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2019.

​Packed with sensors and even a hardware debugger, the board is built around a NRF51822 Cortex-M0+ with BLE radio. 

A wide range of tools and languages, and extensive training, are available.

Read the full review.

I really like the e-paper screens, especially those from Pervasive Displays, ideal for low-power IoT applications.
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However, they raise two challenges:

• Almost all the pins of a standard LaunchPad are used,
• A large memory is required as frame-buffer.​

Why not using a low-power MCU as a screen controller, and leveraging advanced FRAM for persistent frame-buffer?

Discover the project.

All the iTC BWR provide resolution superior to 110dpi.

​The smallest iTC 1.54 BWR tops with 140dpi, perfect for QR-code.

Read the full review.

Haptic feedback is everywhere now, made popular by smartphones. So I decided to include a haptic controller to improve the user experience on the capacitive touch screen.

​I tested three haptic motors on the DRV2605L controller: one ERM and two LRA, one of which branded as a genuine replacement Taptic Engine for iPhone 6s.

Read the full story at I²C Haptic Controller.