Itanium was once meant to be the next step in computing, to compete with the likes of IBM, Sun and DEC, but also for Intel to have an architecture that …read more
In the ages before convenient global positioning satellites to query for one’s current location military aircraft required dedicated navigators in order to not get lost. This changed with increasing automation, …read more
LED candles are neat, but they’re very suboptimal for wish-making: you can’t blow them out. Unless you take the circuit from [Andrea Console]’s latest project that lets you do just …read more
Distraction free writing tools are a reaction to the bells and whistles of the modern desktop computer, allowing the user to simply pick up the device and write. The etyper …read more
There are plenty of electronic components out there, but the one we tend to forget is the most basic: wire. Sure, PC boards have largely replaced wire with copper traces, …read more
If you’ve got a modern car, truck, or tractor, it’s probably got a CAN bus or three that is bouncing data all around the vehicle. Listening in on these transmissions …read more
Once the microcomputer era got going in earnest, the floppy disk quickly supplanted the tape as the portable storage method of choice. They were never particularly large, but they were …read more
APRs is an amateur radio protocol allowing the exchange of short packets of data. It’s commonly used to transmit a GPS position, though it can find other applications. The Flipper …read more
Once a pioneer in videocards, S3’s legacy is today mostly found in details like texture compression as well as the strong presence of S3-branded videocards in the retro-computing world. There’s …read more
Cyberdecks are typically reminiscent of weird computers in futuristic sci-fi films, moreso than the computers of today. The cool thing about cyberdecks, though, is you get to build them however …read more
Having molten aluminium interact with atmospheric water forms a source of hydrogen which can be rather problematic if you’re trying to cast aluminium parts. As the molten metal cools down, …read more
Throughout the centuries the art of lock-making and lock-picking have been trapped in a constant struggle, with basic lock designs being replaced by ever more complex ones that seek to …read more
Perhaps at this point, getting NetBSD running on an obscure piece of hardware is a dog-bites-man story, and not worth reporting– their motto, after all, is “Of course it runs …read more
One of the more interesting categories of our ongoing Green Power Challenge is “anything but PV” — and since the radiated power of Near Field Communication is decidedly not photovoltaic, …read more
You’re probably not going to hang out around Chernobyl any time soon. Still, knowing the conditions there can both satisfy your curiosity and provide scientific value. To that end, [Yury …read more
Rare earth materials are a hot button topic these days. They’re important for everything from electric vehicles to defence hardware, they’re valuable, and everyone wishes they had some to dig …read more
We’ve always been interested in fluidic computers, a technique that uses moving fluids to perform logic operations. Now, Spectrum reports that researchers have developed an electronics-free contact lens that monitors …read more
Nuclear batteries are pretty simple devices that are conceptually rather similar to photovoltaic (PV) solar, just using the radiation from a radioisotope rather than solar radiation. It’s also possible to …read more
We wouldn’t be surprised if you’d never seen the Spira before. The lightweight three-wheel vehicle is closer to a go-kart than a traditional car, and that’s before you even get …read more
Most makers find themselves in need of a benchtop power supply at some point or another. Basic models can be had relatively cheaply, but as your current demands go higher, …read more