Open Hardware, Mobile, and More

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Nov 09, 2024

• Devices/Embedded

  • Jeff Geerling ☛ Why Raspberry Pi for an SBC guy

    If anyone asks why I prefer to work with Raspberry Pis when I want to tinker on a random project, consider: [...]

• Open Hardware/Modding

  • Hackaday ☛ A Tiny Chemistry Lab

    While advances in modern technology have allowed average people access to tremendous computing power as well as novel tools like 3D printers and laser cutters for a bare minimum cost, around here we tend to overlook some of the areas that have taken advantage of these trends as well. Specifically in the area of chemistry, the accessibility of these things have opened up a wide range of possibilities for those immersed in this world, and [Marb’s Lab] shows us how to build a glucose-detection lab in an incredibly small form factor.

  • Jonathan Pallant ☛ JP's Website · 2024-11-07 · Backwards Compatible

    I am presenting again at the Retro Computer Festival 2024, at the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge, England. The event is being held on the 9 and 10 of November, 2024.

    For my table at this event I have chosen the them "Backwards Compatible". My table offers a small exploration of what it means to be backwards compatible, what this has meant for computer systems in the past, and what this might mean for systems in the future.

    I am presenting three main machines (assuming they still work on arrival at the museum).

  • Olimex ☛ The new Open Source Hardware Dual core RISC-V ESP32-P4-DevKit prototypes are alive

    ESP32-P4 is the Espressif’s new dual core 400Mhz RISC-V processor with 768KB internal RAM, 16/32MB PSRAM.

    The ESP32-P4-DevKit was announced here and is our first board with this new microcontroller. It has these features: [...]

  • Arduino ☛ Arduino's Alvik Robot shortlisted for the Bett Awards 2025 in the AV, VR/AR, Robotics, and Digital Device category!

    We’re thrilled to announce that Arduino Education has been shortlisted for the Bett Awards 2025, this time in the AV, VR/AR, Robotics, or Digital Device category with our Alvik robot! This recognition highlights our dedication to innovation, inclusivity, and the advancement of practical STEM education.

    The Bett Awards celebrate leading-edge technology in education, with entries evaluated on key criteria such as innovation, curriculum suitability, online safety, research evidence, customer support and more.

  • Chris Aldrich ☛ Typewriter 101 on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood | Chris Aldrich

    If you’re working at getting the little ones started into typewriters (or just starting out yourself), Mr. Rogers covers some of the basics in episode 1083 of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood from February 25, 1970.

  • Jeff Geerling ☛ Home Assistant and CarPlay with the Pi Touch Display 2

    After a decade, Raspberry Pi finally upgraded their official Touch Display from 480p to 720p, while keeping the price and overall aesthetic the same.

  • Tedium ☛ Colmi R02 Review: Life With A Hackable Smart Ring

    Here’s why. Recently, a story blew up in Hacker News-land that helped to draw attention to a piece of mass-manufactured junk with a superpower. That superpower: It was smart, cheap, and easy to reverse-engineer.

    The Colmi R02 smart ring is capable of tracking things like blood oxygen, sleep habits, step count, and heart rate, but does so in a non-proprietary way. The secret to this Chinese-made ring is that it uses Bluetooth Low Energy connections, but more importantly, it uses a relatively common system-on-chip, the BlueX RF03. It’s capable of accepting over-the-air updates, and not just from Colmi’s own apps. If you speak the SoC’s language, you can talk to it.

  • Linux Gizmos ☛ (Updated) Banana Pi Showcases BPI-CanMV-K230D Zero with Canaan K230D Chip Design

    The Banana Pi BPI-CanMV-K230D-Zero is an upcoming single-board computer for AIoT applications, developed in collaboration with Canaan Technology. Featuring the Kendryte K230D chip, it provides local AI inference capabilities, making it useful for DIY projects and embedded systems.

  • CNX Software ☛ Portwell PJAI-100-ON rugged Edge Hey Hi (AI) embedded system features NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano for industrial quality control

    Portwell has launched the PJAI-100-ON, a rugged and compact embedded system powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano SOM and designed for demanding industrial environments. It operates reliably across a wide temperature range of -20°C to 60°C with a fanless, quiet design that requires minimal maintenance. Equipped with dual Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports and M.2 slots for wireless connectivity, the PJAI-100-ON is tailored for Edge Hey Hi (AI) applications.

  • CNX Software ☛ Renesas RA8E1 and RA8E2 entry-level Arm Cortex-M85 MCUs target cost-sensitive applications

    Renesas has expanded its Arm Cortex-M85-based RA8 series to include two new entry-level MCUs, RA8E1 and RA8E2. The new microcontrollers perform similarly to other Arm Cortex-M85-based microcontrollers and are offered at a lower price point thanks to a streamlined feature set to reduce costs. The RA8E1 and RA8E2 groups of microcontrollers will be useful for high-volume applications in industrial and home automation, healthcare, office equipment, and consumer products. We have previously covered other models in Renesas’ RA8 series, including the Renesas RA8T1, RA8D1, and the very first Cortex-M85 microcontroller, the Renesas RA8M1.

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Nico Cartron ☛ First look at the Jolla C2 Community Phone

    I ordered the C2, which is Jolla's new Community Phone for Sailfish OS.

    It's meant to be for the community, meaning not all bugs will be squashed.

  • PC World ☛ How often should you turn off your phone? Here's what the NSA advises

    Surprisingly, this includes a very basic task that many people never do: switching your phone off completely. According to security experts at the NSA, this alone helps to protect the device from some hacking attacks. It is now not only common to gain access to smartphones via malicious links, but also via so-called zero-click exploits.

  • MikroTik “Access point temporarily full” with Android Devices

    An issue with management protection. The Problem Android device disconnects from MikroTik access point with “access point temporarily full” error. Android device is running LineageOS v21 (Android 14) using WPA2 for compatibility reasons. MikroTik is running ROS v7.16.1.

  • Dedoimedo ☛ Samsung A54 smartphone review, a year later

    Mr. Grumpy reporting for duty. And there's a good reason, too! This be a review and report 6 of my Samsung A54 mid-range smartphone long-term usage, including overall impression after one year, new updates with separate focus on Android, Samsung and Surveillance Giant Google Play patches, Gemini Hey Hi (AI) nonsense in Messages, new privacy annoyances, search engine selection, tons of fresh bugs and usability problems, and more. Well, there you go, take a look.