M5Stack Cardputer

 

On the other side of the cool hardware spectrum from the uConsole, is the M5Stack Cardputer. This is a neat little gadget, with some medicore bits of software. The Cardputer runs about $30, but if you buy it from the manufacturer it will be on a slow boat from China, literally. It is better to grab one off of ebay. I got mine for $45 shipped and had it in 3 days.

In 1985 if you had asked me what a computer would look like in 2025, this is probably what I would have described. Basically what we had back then, maybe slightly more powerful, but definitely smaller. This has a lot in common with the Commodore 64, limited RAM, can only run one program at a time, the main difference being you copy firmware onto the internal storage rather than swap cartridges and it requires a reboot to switch programs.

I do see some potential for this little device, but I struggle to find anything super useful to do with it. It does run Doom pretty well, but beyond that most of the programs pranks and low grade hacking tools. Even the Mp3 players available are not particularly good, mostly because of the under powered hardware. The best program I have found so far is the Pipboy Demo, which does actually have one or two useful features, like a web radio and note pad.

It does have four exposed GPIO pins, one for 3.3v power, one for ground and two for communication, again pretty limited when compared to something like the Rasperry Pi Pico or just about any Arduino.

In theory, this is a neat idea, but in practice, not terribly useful. I think someone needs to port Basic to it and make it easy to swap out programs without rebooting the bloody thing. Until it finds its niche, I suggest skipping this one.