I have been using MQTT for years in my IoT courses – it has proven to be a very versatile tool, and it is convenient that it is also supported over web sockets.
I use one of the small plug'n'play displays (well, nearly – you run a script) for my Pihole RPi to show stats and state. For mere interactive work, I have found that tablet displays packaged in a case from Aliexpress work nicely.
I think there is a wide consensus that Consider Phlebas, though first, is not the ideal starting point for Banks' Culture series. The plot is meandering, and compared to later books, it is clear that Banks had not yet quite found the form that would be so impressive later on.
I usually recommend The Player of Games, or alternatively, depending on the reader, Use of Weapons as starting points.
It is however a good idea, having read other Culture books, to read Consider Phlebas before beginning Look to Windward, as there is a connection between the two.
I was myself taught Computer Architecture in 1991 using the Tanenbaum SCO book, and many years later taught the Computer Architecture course for four years using the SCO book (a later edition, but still!). A true classic, and if anything, it is a wonder that Tanenbaum had not already received the award.
It was introduced a few years ago in Denmark with good results, too.
Companies that lease out cars complained a bit, but I suppose they have since learned to be more careful when issuing vehicles to punters. This, of course, also applies to people who just lend out their cars – you really want to ensure that it will be driven responsible.
Indeed, this is a pet peeve of mine as well. If the silly notion of Roko’s Basilisk has any merit, I wouldn’t want to be that guy.
Besides, transversing an unstable or uneven surface would seem to be a better test, anyway.
I do however find it amusing that it is also apparently a requirement for a humanoid robot to stand up in the most uncanny way possible.
Thirded – it is a stunning, haunting work. The author, Kate Beaton, was previously probably best known for her (also award winning) 'Hark! A Vagrant' web comic [1,2].
In Footfall, SF authors (including a clear cameo of Heinlein) were the advisors that enabled the US government to save the Earth from the aliens. So... yeah.