There's something to be said for making something just for the sake of it. You can say that for learning as well. At some point in time, we all learn something for the pure enjoyment of learning. But let's flip the coin. On the other side is making or learning with an end goal in mind. Entrepreneurs are in this group; they make something to sell for profit. Other people learn something so they can do something; often times this boils down to winning a job, a contract, or be a member of the gig economy!
Learn as if you were to live forever.
A famous man once said, "Learn as if you were to live forever." I was reminded of this old saying when I was given a Minized development board to giveaway for "free" to someone on the element14 community.
A lightbulb illuminated above my head when it happened. I thought, "geez, this is a great opportunity to give a member the gift of learning."
Yes, I said...FREE.
So, what do you have to do to get a "free" Minized development board?
Enter in the comments section below how the Minized will help you learn and improve your skills. Tell me how receiving a Minized will challenge you and help you do something that you have been wanting to do for a long time. Tell me a little about your background and any experience you have with the technology that's packed into a Minized.
Are you new to the Minized? Well, here are the facts in a few sentences:
The MiniZed
is a single-core Zynq 7Z007S development board. This compact design features on-board connectivity through USB, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Peripherals can be plugged into dual Pmod-compatible connectors, the Arduino-compatible shield interface or the USB 2.0 host interface. JTAG circuitry is incorporated onto the MiniZed base board, so with a single micro- USB cable to your laptop you are already up and running. User LED’s, a button and a switch allow for a physical board interface.
Here's a few specs
- Xilinx Zynq XC7Z007S SoC
- Micron 512 MB DDR3L,128 Mb QSPI flash, 8GB eMMC
- Murata Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
- User button, switch, 2 x OSRAM bi-element LEDs
- On-board USB to JTAG and debug UART circuit
- Murata Bluetooth 4.1 plus EDR
- USB 2.0 host (Microchip PHY), 2 x Pmod, Arduino interface
- Dialog Semiconductor PMIC
- ST Micro Accelerometer & Temperature sensor
- ST Micro Digital MEMS microphone
Here's What You Get
- Micro USB cable
- MiniZed development board
- Voucher for SDSoC license from Xilinx
- TDM114 Camera Module, 1.26 Megapixel, Pmod, For ZED Development Kits
