It turns out I have a weakness for mini PCs that look like they were released decades ago, especially if they're open source. So, it felt like Christmas arrived early when I learned that the Pilet (which I covered back in August) is finally ready for its Kickstarter debut. And while it's not quite ready yet, you can still get a notification when it goes live so you don't miss it.

The Raspberry Pi 5-powered Pilet readies itself for funding

The Pilet is a special piece of kit because it combines open-source mentalities, modularity, and a sleek retro frame. And when we say "modularity," we mean it; you can use it as a tablet, stick a keyboard on it to get some programming done, or attach a controller board and use it as a retro console. As such, the Pilet really feels like a Swiss army knife for Raspberry Pi fans. As the company puts it:

Pilet is an open-source, modular, portable console for tinkerers, creatives, hackers, coders, and learners. Powered by the latest Raspberry Pi 5, it’s the first truly portable solution with a 7-hour battery life. Its modular design makes it easy to modify and hack—take your Raspberry Pi projects wherever you go!

The developers, Soulscircuit, state that there's a "special reward" for the first hundred backers of its Kickstarter campaign. If that interests you, the best course of action is to head over to its Kickstarter page and click the "Notify me on launch" button so you'll get an email the moment it goes live. Otherwise, if you want to learn more about this project before you fund it, check out the official Pilet website to see all the details.