Now and again you may have an SD card that just cannot be read anymore, with the unfortunate side-effect of possibly losing needed data forever... until now. Arduino enthusiast Severin Schol has created an interesting and unique method of getting data from these SD cards using simply an Arduino, an SD card shield and some basic code. Using the slower SPI bus access mode for the card reader, an Arduino sketch can send every "found" byte of data from the card back to PC in text or hexadecimal form, which can then be parsed with some python code to hopefully recover what you thought was gone for good.
So if you have a memory card that can no longer be read by normal devices, perhaps give Severin's solution a try. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
If you're new to Arduino and want to join the fun, the first step is a solid board for your projects - our Freetronics Eleven - the Arduino-Uno compatible with low-profile USB socket, onboard prototyping space and easy to view LEDs:
