It’s lastly the vacation season as soon as once more! Most of us have already decked the halls with boughs of holly, trolled the traditional Christmas carol, and completed up purchasing for items. Alright, so perhaps procuring isn’t fairly wrapped up but, however with most different chores out of the best way, and a while away from work, college, and different duties, you’ve in all probability obtained some additional time in your fingers.

Right here at Hackster, there is just one objectively appropriate reply to the query of what to do together with your free time — get hacking! Chances are high, you have already got an extended checklist of initiatives that you’ve got been ready for the fitting time to complete up. However you may not essentially wish to work on these initiatives, and hey, Christmas is correct across the nook, so why not do one thing a bit extra festive? If you don’t want to be a Grinch, Particle has a improvement board which may be simply what you’re searching for — their restricted version Vacation Snowflake.

As you would possibly count on from Particle, this ornament is way over simply a ornament. The white, snowflake-shaped PCB sports activities a Particle P2 module with an Arm Cortex-M33 CPU operating at 200 MHz, 3 MB of RAM, and a Wi-Fi transceiver. The PCB can also be lined with 36 RGB LEDs and comes outfitted with a microphone and speaker to assist unfold vacation cheer. Proper out of the field, the Vacation Snowflake comes pre-loaded with particular snowflake firmware, so you would energy it up and grasp it on the tree straightaway for a jolly previous time.

However the true enjoyable is available in programming the P2 module your self. Nearly any previous microcontroller can blink some lights and play a tune, however this module has the horsepower and connectivity to do some extra fascinating issues as effectively. Perhaps Synthetic Intelligence of Timber (AIoT) is your factor? You may construct an decoration that listens for the sound of a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, then sends your cellphone a message by way of Bluetooth so that you just don’t miss your likelihood to satisfy Previous Saint Nick. Or if discovering that coaching dataset is simply too difficult, perhaps you would make a ornament that performs completely different gentle reveals relying on the voice command given to it.

The probabilities are limitless, however the Vacation Snowflake is solely obtainable for a restricted time, so if it sounds fascinating to you, make sure you test it out quickly. It’s retailing for $34.95, however when you place an order of $75 or extra you will get one at no cost. When you occur to get one at no cost and provides it away as a stocking stuffer to your favourite hacker, don’t fear, we received’t inform anybody what you paid for it!