Month: June 2022

Enlarge / The Raspberry Pi Pico W adds Wi-Fi to the $4 Pico board for an additional $2. (credit: Raspberry Pi Foundation)

The Raspberry Pi Zero series is the smallest version of the popular single-board computer that most people have experience with, but there's one Pi that's even smaller: the Raspberry Pi Pico. Launched in January of 2021 for just $4, the Pico's RP2040 microcontroller incorporates a pair of 133MHz Arm Cortex-M0+ CPU cores and 264 kilobytes (not megabytes) of memory. The low specs and low price make it well-suited for single-purpose devices that don't need much processing power instead of running general-purpose software like the larger Pi boards.

To help support companies who want to use the Pico as a basis for Internet-connected smart devices, the Raspberry Pi Foundation is introducing a few new variants of the Pico today. The most notable, the Raspberry Pi Pico W, adds built-in Wi-Fi connectivity to the board while increasing the price from $4 to $6.

Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton writes that the Infineon CYW43439 Wi-Fi chip being used for the Pi Pico uses the old 2.4GHz-only 802.11n (or Wi-Fi 4) protocol. That chipset also includes built-in Bluetooth support, like most other wireless Pi products, but Bluetooth support is currently disabled. Adding Bluetooth to devices typically requires another layer of FCC certification in the US, and other territories have their own rules, which could explain the omission. Upton says that Bluetooth support could be enabled "in the future."

Enlarge (credit: iFixit)

The iFixit and Google partnership that was announced in April is now live. iFixit says that genuine parts for Google smartphones are now for sale in "the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and European countries where Pixel is available."

It looks like iFixit is offering screens, batteries, and rear camera assemblies for most models of the Pixel phone, along with smaller odds and ends like adhesive and cooling graphite tape. Despite the official partnership with Google, we wouldn't call the iFixit Pixel store a comprehensive source of Pixel parts. For the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro—which are currently in production and should have tons of available parts—you can't buy replacement glass back panels, charging ports, front cameras, or any of the delicate cables you could accidentally rip while you're taking the phone apart. Just compare the official Pixel 6 Pro parts list, which has only six items, to any of the iPhone part lists, which have about 30 parts, and you can see there are a lot of missing items.

iFixit says it's just getting started, though, and that it will "continue to add more types of parts to our catalog" for the Pixel 2 and later. For the Pixel 6a, which comes out at the end of July, iFixit is promising "a full selection" of parts "as soon as possible."

Enlarge (credit: areeya_ann | iStock / Getty Images Plus)

With abortion access becoming more limited throughout the US, demand has spiked for emergency contraceptive pills that can help prevent pregnancy up to 72 hours after sex. This week, in an effort to maintain supply, Amazon joined retailers like CVS and Walmart by placing temporary limits on the number of “morning-after pills” that can be purchased.

CNBC reports that Amazon customers will be capped at a maximum purchase of three units each week of emergency contraceptive brands like Plan B, which is the most widely available option. However, if you shop around, you can find “varying quantity limits” for different brands. A generic option like My Choice can still be purchased in higher quantities, up to 30 units at once.

At CVS, temporary limits are no longer in place because demand dipped back down to normal levels. Walmart said that purchase limits can fluctuate with demand in its online stores, but the company has no policy to limit sales of emergency contraceptive pills.

Enlarge / You're unlikely to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, but you might encounter a Polestar 2. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

Polestar is riding pretty high right now. Now listed on the NASDAQ exchange, the company is preparing to introduce three new electric vehicles over the next three years: a large SUV in 2023, a smaller crossover in 2024, and a flagship (read: expensive) four-door coupe in 2025. In March, the company introduced a new variant of the Polestar 2 fastback sedan, the $48,400 Polestar 2 Long Range Single motor.

And after a few days of driving one, I think it's another data point in favor of the argument that less power sometimes means more fun when it comes to EVs. But I must confess I'm scratching my head about the "long range" part, given the useable capacity of the battery pack and the EV's energy efficiency.

As the name suggests, the biggest mechanical change compared to the dual-motor version we drove in 2020 is the loss of the rear motor. Polestar has also made some changes to the way it sources and makes components like the aluminum alloy wheels and the battery case; the company says these changes reduce the carbon footprint of the car's manufacturing by just under 3,000 lbs (1,350 kg).