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Enlarge / GENTLEFOLK, BEHOLD! From left to right: the Pine64 welcome letter, a Dell XPS 13 DE provided for scale, and the Pinebook Pro (controversial lockblade knife not included). (credit: Jim Salter)

In early March of this year, I ordered one of the FOSS-driven Pine64 project's newest designs—the Pinebook Pro. The company's manufacturing efforts have taken an enormous hit due to the impact of COVID-19 on its Chinese manufacturing partners, which kept me from receiving my Pinebook Pro until last week.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 didn't merely slow down production. It also made QA impossible, which led to enough problems with my new laptop that it's going to need to be replaced. We'll talk about why that is in much greater detail later, but for right now, keep in mind that some parts of my experience aren't as-designed for the hardware.

You should also keep in mind that the Pinebook isn't exactly a consumer product—it's a device aimed squarely at hobbyists and tinkerers with offbeat plans and limited budget. Most people will not want to replace their standard consumer laptop or Chromebook with a Pinebook Pro—but it's a fascinating look at what's possible in inexpensive hardware design with an intense focus on privacy, open source design, and community.

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  SkySat image of Madrid taken from 450km. [credit: Planet ]

The California-based satellite company Planet is nearing its 10th anniversary, and over that time, it has launched about 300 small satellites, mostly CubeSats nicknamed "Doves." The company's goal is in its name: image the planet daily for commercial and government customers while monitoring changing trends.

As time has gone on, customers have begun to ask for higher-resolution imagery. So in recent years, the Planet acquired a small fleet of larger satellites known as SkySats, capable of taking pictures with a resolution of less than a meter. Fifteen SkySats are currently in space, and the company hopes to add six more over this summer.

SkySats offer a resolution of about 80cm, which is pretty good for commercially available imagery. However, some customers wanted even clearer images—particularly mapping companies trying to identify markers on the road and other features for autonomous driving technology.