Linux Devices and Open Hardware/Modding Leftovers

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Aug 12, 2026

• Devices/Embedded

  • Futurism ☛ BMW Suddenly Blasts Its Cars' Internal Screens With Aggressive Advertisements

    Starting last week, the German automaker started blasting a promotion for the new Spider-Man movie into its customers’ cars without warning — because nothing says riding in luxury like a full-vehicle pop-up ad. BMW, showing that it was about as in-touch as its drivers are familiar with turn signals, teased the promotion as a “special surprise.”

  • RTL-SDR ☛ Open Source Firmware for the DeepSDR 101

    Thank you to Esteban Benito (EA8DGL) for writing in and sharing news of a bare-metal open source firmware for the GD32F450-based DeepSDR 101. The firmware is a collaborative effort developed by Esteban Benito (EA8DGL), Alexandr (UA6YKK), and Blas (EA7GIB). The DeepSDR 101 is a popular low-cost hand-held SDR, covering 100 kHz to 149 MHz, with a bandwidth of 192 kHZ, and a 4.3-inch screen. Various clones of the DeepSDR 101 also appear on marketplaces.

  • Linux Gizmos ☛ 1.35-liter mini PC runs Core Ultra 200 with triple displays and 96GB DDR5

    Shuttle’s XPC slim DH810S is a 1.35-liter barebone PC supporting Intel Core Ultra 200 “Arrow Lake-S” processors with up to 24 cores and a 13 TOPS NPU. The system is intended for digital signage, POS/POI, healthcare, industrial, and edge AI applications.

  • STM32CubeProgrammer 2.23: From Linux CLI to new security features, it’s about doing more while eliminating friction

    STM32CubeProgrammer 2.23 is a significant release that implements 290 tickets, including 52 change requests and 238 fixes, in addition to 200 work packages. In practice, this translates into support for new security features on numerous STM32 MCUs, a unique Linux CLI package, and quality-of-life improvements to speed up workflows. We are also making our STM32 Sidekick more prominent so developers can find answers to some of the most common issues and get access to documentation and other technical information faster. In a nutshell, a lot of work went on behind the scenes so the STM32 Community could bring their products and applications to market faster and with fewer friction points.

• Open Hardware/Modding

  • It's FOSS ☛ Run Hermes on Raspberry Pi, Control It from Your Laptop

    The idea is to use Raspberry Pi as an always-on Hermes backend while using it from the computer(s).

  • Linux.org ☛ Arduino UNO Q: A Debian GNU/Linux Board for Headless Projects

    The Arduino UNO Q is a new board that runs Debian.

    Using the Arduino UNO Q allows you to run headless, no monitor, since it does not have an HDMI Port as most other Single Board computers (SBC), but it is a very useful board for learning.Technical Specs

  • CNX Software ☛ NXP FRDM-IMX95-PRO i.MX 95 board features 10GbE, faster 6400 MT/s LPDDR5 memory, dual M.2 expansion

    NXP has introduced the FRDM-IMX95-PRO, a compact development board based on the i.MX 95 application processor in the larger 19×19 mm package. It features a 10GbE interface, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4, and 802.15.4 tri-radio connectivity, and two M.2 Key-M slots for Hey Hi (AI) accelerator cards or SSDs.

  • Hackaday ☛ Is Manual Filament Tuning Still Worth It?

    Although the difference isn’t night and day, the tuned profile was faster due to less conservative settings and had better accuracy on the final print due to taking the target FDM printer’s performance into account. Even if not something that the average hobbyist would be interested in, if you’re doing something like production runs with FDM, this might be something you’d want to look at.

  • Hackaday ☛ Running DOOM On A Cheap 104-in-One Handheld

    Of those, the biggest were a clock speed of 62 MHz – instead of the typical 194 MHz – as well as a lack of sound. This latter issue might be fixable with a better understanding of what appears to be a quirky DMA-fed DAC. Beyond this you’re also dealing with limited memory and of course just 4 MB of flash, though the chip for this might be upgradable if the MCU can map more. You do get a 320×240 display and a lot of buttons, which is admittedly nice.

  • Ruben Schade ☛ I finally have an Apple IIɢꜱ! Kinda

    For the last few years I’ve been trying to source an IIɢꜱ, Apple’s last major hurrah for the Apple II platform, and the only 16-bit model in the lineup. I know I say this about every retrocomputer, but this was a fascinating machine.

    Here’s the motherboard for my 1986 ROM1 unit, in all its dusty glory: [...]

  • Hackaday ☛ A Keyboard With No Keys

    The “keyboard” starts off in a browser running on a standard smartphone. A user can input text into the browser, which then gets converted into a series of audible audio pulses that can be sent to the keyboard. The keyboard itself listens to those pulses, decodes them, and then sends the text through to the computer as a standard USB device thanks to an Arduino Micro at the center. Arduino Micros are excellent choices for keyboard controllers because they have a built-in USB chip.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ DIY modder creates 'heat engine computing device' powered by a Stirling engine, can run Tetris, Snake, and Pong — 80 MHz processor operates on just 150 milliwatts of power

    The custom machine uses an ESP32-C3, OLED display, and 16-key keypad while squeezing retro gaming into a tiny 150mW power budget.