Make: Volume 74 (Annual Boards Guide 2020)

Welcome to Make:’s 2020 Guide to Boards! This year brings powerful new releases from Adafruit, Arduino, BeagleBoard, Google, Nvidia, Raspberry Pi, Teensy, and more. We’ve assembled the technical data for new boards and returning favorites (listing over 50% more than our previous guide!), along with highlighting options to consider for your next project. To further help your decision-making process, some of our favorite electronics experts explain how they pick the right board for their projects. But the real star of electronic prototyping in 2020 is the software: In our cover story, we look at how Python-powered boards make it easier than ever to code for hardware.

Plus, your favorite YouTube makers offer their tips and tricks for getting started making videos, how to grow your channel, and what you need to get a great shot (Hint: it’s probably in your pocket right now).

And don’t forget, Halloween is right around the corner! Learn to build an R/C roving pop-up zombie-in-a-trashcan to scare the daylights out of the neighborhood, make a light and cheap fog projection screen for your haunted house, and create a flaming window setup so realistic, you’ll have to warn the fire department about erroneous reports ahead of time.

Lastly, read the finale of Make:'s series on how our community can help avert catastrophic climate change.

Plus, over 43 projects including:

• Block ads across your entire home network with the Pi-hole ad blocker
• Use code to make beautiful topographical maps of the Moon, Mars, and more
• Create a swirling stormy snow globe with LED-lit rheoscopic fluid
• Build a DIY mobile handwashing station for your community
• Tips and builds for exercising your constitutional right to protest safely and effectively
• Macramé an adorable Bay Yoda from The Mandalorian
• And much more!