Here’s this month’s MagPi – my favourite Manhattanite, LadyAda, is the cover girl!

The MagPi team, who are all independent, unpaid volunteers, had a month off over Christmas to run their KickStarter and to enjoy the holiday with their families. That KickStarter raised more than four times its target, and means that Team MagPi can now move to print with a safety net, and a guaranteed group of subscribers. (Even if you missed out on the KickStarter, you can still visit www.themagpi.com/shop/ to order a binder of the first year of magazines.)

This month’s issue is packed: there’s a competition where you can win a Gertboard, a review of Quick2Wire (an interfacing board we’re very impressed by), guides to RISC OS and Arch Linux, and a whole bagful of tutorials and programming guides. You’ll learn about Vala, and find out how to write a web controller using it; and this month’s Python Patch will teach you to control your Pi from your mobile phone.

The MagPi just gets better and better. As always, it’s available to download for free at www.themagpi.com or via the Pi Store. It’ll also be available in print soon. Watch this space!