news
Open Hardware, Linux Devices, and Linux Phones
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Open Hardware/Modding
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Hackaday ☛ Hacking The Mi Band 10 Smart Band And Its Bestechnic SoC
In the accompanying video we get some more details on this project, with the main challenge being that for this Mi Band 10 there’s no public SDK for its SoC. This was a major bummer until [Aaron] realized that the BEST1306 (BES2700IHC) is effectively the same SoC, but with a leaked SDK available via apparently audio-focused development kits. From there a BEST1503-compatible SDK could be assembled.
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Ruben Schade ☛ The (or my?) golden age for PC building
I will never miss the opportunity to wax lyrical about old and retro computers here! This also concerns a part of my own tech history I haven’t talked much about, but am realising was just as consequential to where I sit today than anything else I did in my childhood.
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Ricardo Gomes da Silva ☛ Generating NTSC signals cheaply
For reasons I cannot go into details publically, I got hold of an old DVR (digital video recorder) device capable of recording some analog and even IP (up to a point) security cameras, as well as some cables, adapters and even cameras themselves. By nature, there isn’t much you can do with devices like these besides.. well, either use them as a security system, or hack the DVR into something else (it’s an embedded machine afterall).
However, I always wondered if we could generate camera signals. You see, these cameras are NTSC (yes, analog!), and that’s what the DVR expects, so I can’t just connect an IP camera to it. That said, what if we could, somehow (and cheaply!), generate a valid signal it could sync to and record it - either generated by software (aka a fake video signal), or even an IP camera being converted.
Let’s find out.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ RealSense D585 Pro targets robotics with wide-field sensing and edge processing
The RealSense D585 Pro is a stereo depth camera for robotics and industrial vision applications that uses the company’s Gen 5 vision processor. The camera combines wide-field depth sensing, on-camera processing, IP65 protection, and support for software-defined perception features through the RealSense SDK.
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Linux Gizmos ☛ NVIDIA JetPack 7.2 expands support for NemoClaw, Yocto Project, and AGX Orin 32GB Super Mode
NVIDIA has announced JetPack 7.2 for Jetson edge Hey Hi (AI) platforms, adding new deployment tools for agentic Hey Hi (AI) workloads, official Yocto Project support, and performance updates for Jetson Orin and Jetson Thor systems. The release is aimed at robotics, industrial automation, vision AI, and other edge applications that rely on local Hey Hi (AI) processing.
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Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications
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Carl Svensson ☛ Phones and Phonies - Commodore Shenanigans Through The Ages
The Callback is a modern-ish phone in a retro-ish flip phone case, with the unique selling point that social media and web browsing are completely disabled at the system level. No more Facebook, Google and Instagram in your pocket: a "digital detox" device with modest specs and a tiny screen, but a rather hefty introductory price of $500. The reception has been mixed, to say the least - but to understand why, we must take a stroll down memory lane.
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RFERL ☛ Taliban Smashes Smartphones As Restrictions Deepen In Afghanistan
The Taliban has begun restricting the use of smartphones by government employees, although the order appears to be unevenly enforced across the country. In some areas, civilians' mobile devices have reportedly been targeted as well, sparking concern that the ban may eventually extend nationwide.
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