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Sr. Content Developer at Microsoft, working remotely in PA, TechBash conference organizer, former Microsoft MVP, Husband, Dad and Geek.
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On Wednesday evening, OpenAI launched an App Directory to browse all the tools currently available and opened its SDK for developers to build new interactive experiences that operate within the bot's UI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said last month that "We are planning to build the obvious features that you would expect for a robust platform over time," and opening an app store is certainly a huge step in that direction.
Another change is that OpenAI has renamed the "connectors" that helped users pull data from other services (like Google Drive or Dropbox) into ChatGPT, and is now calling those apps too. As a support page explains, chat connector …
A new issue of Raspberry Pi Official Magazine has landed today! A wild guess led us to the conclusion that you would like this article about an Amstrad PPC 640’s Raspberry Pi makeover the best.
When faced with a broken Amstrad PPC 640, Mikey Damager had two choices: return the machine to its former glory or tear it apart and rebuild it using modern parts. He decided to do the latter, turning what was Amstrad’s first portable IBM PC compatible computer, released in 1987, into a cool-looking cyberdeck powered by Raspberry Pi 4. It produced a machine capable of running an interactive fiction project for Mikey’s master’s degree.
“I wanted to explore AI and machine learning to see if I could incorporate some of the tools into a creative workflow in a way that felt somewhat critical and not too detached,” he says. “I ended up making something that uses LLMs to explore what it’s like to be existentially brutalised by an evil corporation which has hidden access to pseudo-sentient technology. It’s supposed to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek and satirical.”
Mikey had considered repairing the original machine, but doing so would have entailed a huge amount of work. “The screen was completely smashed and the case was pretty dinged-up. A few bits of plastic had also snapped off.”
Deciding an upgrade was preferable, he opened the case and detached the screen and keyboard. “The chassis is basically a plastic suitcase with a screen and a keyboard attached,” Mikey says. “Once inside with a screwdriver, the motherboard practically leapt into my arms. I was left with a big empty box that I could fill up with new gadgets.”
The screen was replaced with an eight-inch 4:3 LCD panel connected to an HDMI driver board. Mikey used screen repair tape to fix this panel to a sheet of 2mm acrylic for protection, and he connected the display to Raspberry Pi 4 before wiring the PPC 640’s original LEDs and switches to the new hardware, allowing the system to be easily powered up.
Replacing the keyboard proved straightforward too. “One of the best things about the PPC is that it has a full-size keyboard, which means that if you just remove the little plastic tangs where the Fn key should be, you can grab pretty much any random full-size mechanical keyboard, de-glove it, and there’s a good chance that it will fit almost perfectly.”
The floppy disk drive was also retained, even though it was disconnected. “I wired the write-protect switch from the floppy drive to an Arduino to turn on a small screen when a disk is inserted, but it doesn’t read any data,” Mikey says.
The biggest challenge was the development of the front end. “I needed what’s running on the screen to look and feel suitably cyberdeck-y,” he explains. “The piece is built around a React app that’s styled to look like an OS. Raspberry Pi is running FullPageOS, so it’s just a kiosk that boots straight into a web page over Wi-Fi, with the back end running either from my laptop or in the cloud.”
It means the Raspberry Pi is just handling the display and user input, ensuring that the cyberdeck does the intended job. As a finishing touch, Mikey sprayed the grey computer black and added colour to some of the keys, but he’d like to go further. “There are a few cosmetic improvements I’d like to make, such as new badges and branding,” he says. “I’m also planning a better power solution, because currently it’s running from power banks that I’ve hidden inside, and I’d like something a bit more elegant.”
You can grab this issue from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, WHSmith, and other newsagents, including the Raspberry Pi Store in Cambridge. It’s also available from our online store, which ships around the world. And you can get a digital version via our app on Android or iOS.
You can also subscribe to the print version of our magazine. Not only do we deliver worldwide, but people who sign up to the six- or twelve-month print subscription get a FREE Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W!
The post Amstrad PPC 640 cyberdeck gets a Raspberry Pi makeover appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
This episode kicks off the Career Growth Accelerator series, focused on the specific hurdles faced by mid-to-senior level engineers, managers, and leaders who are looking to move to the next level. Before diving into specific strategies, I’m addressing the fundamental prerequisite for real growth: getting out of your own way. We often block our own progress because our ego conflates our self-worth with our career position, making it impossible to see the real problems or lessons we need to learn. In this episode, I share a vital mental exercise to help you disconnect your identity from your job title and begin diagnosing your career challenges honestly.
If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com.
If you want to be a part of a supportive community of engineers (non-engineers welcome!) working to improve their lives and careers, join us on the Developer Tea Discord community by visiting https://developertea.com/discord today!
If you're enjoying the show and want to support the content head over to iTunes and leave a review! It helps other developers discover the show and keep us focused on what matters to you.
1143. This week, we look at the 2025 words of the year with Jess Zafarris and Danny Hieber. We look at viral slang like "six seven" and cultural terms like "rage bait" and "fatigued." We also look at the dramatic rise of "slop" to describe low-quality AI content and how words like "parasocial" are changing function.
Find Jess Zafarris at UselessEtymology.com, or find her podcast Words Unravelled on YouTube.
Find Danny Hieber at LingusiticDiscovery.com or on his Substack.
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