About the Authors

Sean McManus is an expert technology and business author. His other books include Scratch Programming in Easy Steps, Microsoft Office for the Older and Wiser, Web Design in Easy Steps, and iPad for the Older and Wiser. His tutorials and articles have appeared in magazines including Internet Magazine, Internet Works, Business 2.0, Making Music, and Personal Computer World. He is also a Code Club volunteer, helping children at a local school to learn computer programming. Visit his website at www.sean.co.uk for bonus content from his books.

Mike Cook has been making electronic things since he was at school. A former lecturer in physics at Manchester Metropolitan University, he wrote more than 300 computing and electronics articles in the pages of computer magazines for 20 years starting in the 1980s. Leaving the University after 21 years when the physics department closed down, he got a series of proper jobs where he designed digital TV set-top boxes and access control systems. Now retired and freelancing, he spends his days surrounded by wires, patrolling the forums as Grumpy Mike.

Dedication

Thank you to my wife, Karen, for all her support throughout this project. —Sean

To my wife, Wendy, who always acts delighted whenever I show her yet another blinking LED. And also to the late Leicester Taylor, World War II radar researcher and inspirational supervisor of my post-graduate research at the University of Salford. —Mike

Author’s Acknowledgments

Thank you to my co-author, Mike, for bringing his electronics expertise and fantastic project ideas. Thank you to Craig Smith for commissioning us to write the first edition of this book; Katie Mohr, our acquisitions editor on this second edition; to Linda Morris for her editing support on both editions; and to Paul Hallett, our technical editor on the first edition, and Ryan Walmsley, the technical editor on the second edition. Olivier Engler, who translated the first edition into French, provided much-appreciated feedback. Thanks also to Lorna Mein and Natasha Lee in marketing, and to the … For Dummies team for making it all happen.

Many people helped with research or permissions requests, including Karen McManus, Liz and Eben Upton, Leo McHugh, Mark Turner, Peter Sayer, John Hartnup, Bill Kendrick, Simon Cox, Jon Williamson, Paul Beech, Peter de Rivaz, Michał Męciński, Ruairi Glynn, Stephen Revill, Lawrence James, Bram Stolk, Adam Kemeny, Will Jessop, and David Bryan. We wouldn’t have a book to write if it weren’t for the wonderful work of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, the manufacturers who took a gamble on it, and the many thousands of people who have contributed to the Raspberry Pi’s software. —Sean

I would like to thank Sean McManus for inviting me to contribute to this book and the staff at Wiley for making the process of producing this book as painless as possible. —Mike

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

Senior Acquisitions Editor: Katie Mohr

Project Editor: Linda Morris

Copy Editor: Linda Morris

Technical Editor: Ryan Walmsley

Editorial Assistant: Claire Johnson

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Project Coordinator: Melissa Cossell

Cover Image: © Mike Cook