A few days ago, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) came out with a 5-0 unanimous vote on its position on right to repair. (PDF) It’s great news, in that they basically agree with us all: Restricting consumers and businesses from choosing how they repair products can substantially increase the total cost of repairs, generate Read more about US FTC Weighs in On Right To Repair[…]
iFixit co-founder and CEO Kyle Wiens has exposed how companies including Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft manipulate the design of their products and the supply chain to prevent consumers and third-party repairers from accessing necessary tools and parts to repair products such as smartphones and laptops. ZDNet Recommends The best old phones to buy Why last Read more about iFixit CEO names and shames tech giants for right to repair obstruction – not sustainable at all[…]
What are these terms and how do they work in terms of control schemes? In this world you generally get what you pay for – if it’s cheap, then it’s probably plasticky and nasty. If it’s expensive, then it’s probably high quality. Saitek and Logitech have equipment running from low to midrange. Thrustmaster from mid Read more about HOTAS, HOSAS, Dual Joysticks, Omnithrottle, Space and Flight sim controllers[…]
There’s a limit to what you can learn about cells from 2D pictures, but creating 3D images is a time-intensive process. Now, scientists from UT Southwestern have developed a new “simple and cost-effective” device capable of capturing multi-angle photos that can be retrofitted onto existing lab microscopes. The team say their solution — which involves Read more about Researchers retrofit microscopes to take 3D images of cells in real-time[…]
A British right to repair law comes into force today, requiring manufacturers to make spares available to both consumers and third-party repair companies. However, despite claiming to cover “televisions and other electronic displays,”‘ the law somehow excludes smartphones and laptops… The European Union introduced a right to repair law back in March, and the Read more about British right to repair law excludes smartphones and computers[…]
As you dive deeper into the world of electronics, a good oscilloscope quickly is an indispensable tool. However, for many use cases where you’re debugging low voltage, low speed circuits, that expensive oscilloscope is using only a fraction of its capabilities. As a minimalist alternative for these use cases [fhdm-dev] created Scoppy, a combination of Read more about Raspberry Pi Pico Oscilloscope[…]
[…] if you’re thinking of buying a new One SL, you ought to keep in mind that it’ll only work with the newer Sonos S2 app. This won’t be a problem for every Sonos owner, especially if you bought all your Sonos devices in the past year or two. It might be an issue, however, Read more about The New Sonos One SL Reminds Us That Smart Devices Have a Shelf Life, forces you to spying S2 update[…]
[…] The new technique uses a computer to convert attempted handwriting movements from brain activity into on-screen text. As part of their tests, the team worked with a 65-year-old participant (named T5 in the study) who was paralyzed from the neck down due to a spinal cord injury sustained in 2007. The researchers started by Read more about Brain implant lets people with paralysis write using their minds[…]
Combined with today’s massive flat panel displays, a nice surround sound system can provide an extremely immersive environment for watching movies or gaming. But a stumbling block many run into is speaker placement. The front speakers generally just go on either side of the TV, but finding a spot for the rear speakers that’s both Read more about Lamps Double As Secret Surround Sound Speakers[…]
Stock, the Casio W800-H wristwatch ships with dual time modes, multiple alarms, and a stopwatch – useful features for some. However, more is possible if you just know where to look. [Ian] decided to dive under the hood and enable a countdown timer feature hidden from the factory. The hack involves popping open the case Read more about Modding A Casio W800-H With A Countdown Timer – it’s a jumper setting[…]
With Galaxy Upcycling at Home, users can easily turn their old Galaxy devices² into smart home devices like a childcare monitor, a pet care solution and other tools that meet individual lifestyle needs. Make Any Home a Smart Home The Galaxy Upcycling at Home program provides enhanced sound and light-control features, by repurposing built-in sensors. Read more about Samsung Electronics Expands its Galaxy Upcycling Program to Enable Consumers to Repurpose Galaxy Smartphones into Smart Home Devices[…]
The Logitech Voice M380 wireless mouse looks and acts like a regular mouse but with a special button to initiate voice dictation. Baidu claimed recognition facilitates content creation at two to three times the speed of what one can type. The device supports dictation in Chinese, English, and Japanese, and can translate content to English, Read more about A keyboard? How quaint: Logitech and Baidu link arms to make an AI-enabled, voice-transcribing mouse[…]
Apparently, if the GPS on your shiny new DJI FPV Drone detects that it’s not in the United States, it will turn down its transmitter power so as not to run afoul of the more restrictive radio limits elsewhere around the globe. So while all the countries that have put boots on the Moon get Read more about Unlock your DJI’s FPV Drone and Crank Up The Power[…]
A pair of good dice is a guilty pleasure for a tabletop RPG gamer. You can never have enough, but I can tell you this: None are going to be as flashy as Pixels. These dice have an ace up their sleeve that the rest of your dice don’t have, because they light up and Read more about Pixels Are Bluetooth Dice That Let You Play Online Games and Flash An internal LED[…]
Drag and Drop Farming Graphically design your farm by dragging and dropping plants into the map. The game-like interface is learned in just a few minutes so you’ll have the whole growing season planned in no time. Farm from Anywhere The FarmBot web app can be loaded on any computer, tablet, or smartphone with a Read more about FarmBot | Open-Source CNC Farming robot[…]
The sky is a fascinating place, but the real interesting stuff resides far beyond the thin atmosphere. The Universe, the Milky Way and our Solar System is where it’s at. To be able to peer far out through the sky and observe the galaxy and beyond, one needs a telescope. This Instructable follows my journey Read more about How to build your own digital telescope[…]
If you own a 2013 SmartThings hub (that’s the original) or a SmartThings Link for the Nvidia Shield TV, your hardware will stop working on June 30 of this year. The device depreciation is part of the announced exodus from manufacturing and supporting its own hardware and the Groovy IDE that Samsung Smartthings announced last Read more about SmartThings bricks all hardware (2013 – 2021) wtf?[…]
[Sebastian] needed a good set of of shortcuts for OBS and decided to make a macro keyboard to help out. By the time he was finished, [Sebastian] had macro’d all the things and built a beautiful and smart peripheral that anyone with a pulse would likely love to have gracing their desk. The design started Read more about Dynamic DIY Macro Keyboard Controls All The Things[…]
Since late January, most users running a pre-installed Lenovo image of Windows 10 has been bitten by a bug in Lenovo’s System Update Service (SUService.exe) causing it to constantly occupy a CPU thread. This was noticed by many ThinkPad and IdeaPad users as an unexpected increase in fan noise, but many desktop users might not Read more about A Bug in Lenovo System Update Service is Driving Up CPU Usage and Prompting Fan Noise in Laptops and Desktops, Customers Say[…]
A new company called Metalenz, which emerges from stealth mode today, is looking to disrupt smartphone cameras with a single, flat lens system that utilizes a technology called optical metasurfaces. A camera built around this new lens tech can produce an image of the same if not better quality as traditional lenses, collect more light Read more about Metalenz Wants to Jump-Start Phone Cameras Again With Better Lenses[…]
Researchers have made a smart school of robotic fish that swarm and swim just like the real deal, and they offer promising insights into how developers can improve decentralized, autonomous operations for other gizmos like self-driving vehicles and robotic space explorers. Also, they’re just pretty stinking cute. These seven 3D-printed robots, or Bluebots, can synchronize Read more about These 3D-Printed Fish Bots Can Swarm and School[…]
Can a pair of unique spectacles banish nearsightedness without surgical intervention? Japan’s Kubota Pharmaceutical Holdings says its wearable device can do just that, and it plans to start releasing the product in Asia, where many people grapple with myopia. The device, which the company calls Kubota Glasses or smart glasses, is still being tested. It Read more about Myopia correcting ‘smart glasses’ from Japan to be sold in Asia – Snake Oil or …?[…]
After three years of development, DARPA Subterranean (SubT) Challenge teams will get the chance to compete in the Final Event being held at the Louisville Mega Cavern in Louisville, Kentucky on September 21-23, 2021. The DARPA SubT Challenge aims to develop innovative technologies that can rapidly map, navigate, and search complex underground environments such as Read more about DARPA Announces Subterranean Challenge Finals: mapping out underground tunnels, caves, evil lairs by robot[…]
NextMind is the latest in a long line of companies trying to harness the brain as a means of controlling our digital world. At first, its take on things may seem familiar: Don a headset which places a sensor on the back of your head, and it’ll detect your brainwaves which can then be translated Read more about NextMind’s brain-computer interface is ready for developers[…]
You won’t have to wait much longer to buy the first phone with an under-display camera — if you live in the right country. ZTE now plans to release the Axon 20 5G in 11 countries and regions on December 21st, including the UK, European Union, Japan and South Korea. The company didn’t reveal pricing, Read more about The first phone with an under-display camera goes on sale December 21st[…]