14 DAY TRIAL // It's the year of GNU/Linux in your pocket! That's the motto developer Ashish Gulhati put for its new Noodle Pi project, which now has a Kickstarter page and promises to let you create your own, integrated Raspberry Pi pocket computer.
"Wouldn't it be awesome to have a full Raspberry Pi based computer in your pocket?" says Ashish Gulhati. Well, Raspberry Pi is already a computer, more specifically a single-board computer or SBC for short, which you can transform into a full-featured desktop PC if you attach various peripherals like an LCD, a keyboard, and mouse.
But what developer Ashish Gulhati wants you to do with a Raspberry Pi, and a few other components, such as a high-resolution multi-touch screen, a power management system, a battery, and a camera, is a mini PC that you can put in your pocket and use it on-the-go, like a tablet or a smartphone, but running a GNU/Linux distribution of your choice and be always ready for hacking on your own projects.
"Unlike iOS and Android devices, which force you to develop apps in only specific programming languages in a restrictive environment, a Noodle Pi is a full GNU/Linux computer. So you can write apps for it in any language you like," explains Ashish Gulhati. "That's the reason I got started on creating Noodle Pi in the first place."
Noodle Pi integrates with Raspberry Pi Zero
What makes Noodle Pi unique, allowing it to be a tiny computer that you can always have in your pocket ready to hack, is that it integrates with the small Raspberry Pi Zero single-board computer. Together with six other electronic components and some connecting wires, you'll be able to create your own Raspberry Pi-based full GNU/Linux pocket computer in a couple of hours.
But wait, Noodle Pi is also compatible with the more powerful Raspberry Pi Zero W single-board computer, which comes built-in with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, making the project even more versatile. However, when integrated with an old Raspberry Pi Zero, Noodle Pi becomes "Noodle Unsnoopable," which means that the tiny computer is immune to snooping or attacks over the Internet.
Of course, that's mainly because it can't be connected to any network, except if you attach some wireless adapter to it, but it's also because you're running a Linux-based operating system on it that you install, configure and secure just the way you like with a powerful firewall and other great open-source tools that protect your privacy and keep your data safe from any hackers.
An early bird Noodle Pi kit costs only CA$ 44 ($35 USD), and you'll receive a 3D printed shell and other parts to put together your own Noodle Pi pocket computer, though you will have to purchase the rest of the electronic components separately. Noodle Pi ships everywhere in the world and the estimated delivery date September 2017, but only if it reaches its Kickstarter goal.
