NotesThe concept is simple—get an e-ink display, and draw a dial on it using whatever graphics and scale you choose. Then, put it behind a traditional coil-driven analog dial in place of the more traditional paper scale. Now, you have an analog dial that can display any quantity you desire. Just update the screen to display a different scale as needed. Meanwhile, if you don’t need to change the display, the e-ink display will draw zero power and still display the same thing.FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesWhen I’m driving, it’s actually unsafe for my car to be operated in that way. It’s hard to generalize and say, buttons are always easy and good, and touchscreens are difficult and bad, or vice versa. Buttons tend to offer you a really limited range of possibilities in terms of what you can do. Maybe that simplicity of limiting our field of choices offers more safety in certain situations.FeedUnfurl
NotesThe WSJ has been on the button beat for a while. In a 2023 piece titled What Our Phones, Cars and Refrigerators Need: More Buttons, writer Nicole Nguyen detailed the challenges of touch screen interfaces being deployed in kitchen objects. After a pot of water boiled over on her induction stove, she was unable to turn down the burner because the touch screen has gotten wet. “I rage poked,” she wrote, “where a simple knob would have sufficed.”FeedUnfurl
NotesHaving decided the retro late-80s early-90s theme for JawnCon 0x1, the inspiration for the badge seemed almost immediately obvious: the iconic, venerable Hayes SmartModem oozes industrial design of the era and is instantly recognizable to any of us who grew up when computers had the decency to shriek like digital banshees to let us know when they were plotting against us. Unfurl
NotesGadgetbridge is a free and open source Android application that allows you to pair and manage various gadgets such as smart watches, bands, headphones, and more without the need for the vendor application. So in short, you can use Gadgetbridge instead of relying on your gadget's own proprietary app. Unfurl
NotesCan some chargers damage my device? Yes. Not all, but definitely some. The damage is caused by the RG35XX Plus mistakenly detecting that some USB C chargers are an external device (like a USB gamepad) that needs power, and trying to apply 5V to the charger itself. This can result in either or both the RG35XX Plus and the charger to heat up - sometimes just a bit, sometimes enough to damage components or the nearby battery. Read below for an explanation about how this happens.
If I want to be safe, what chargers are definitely going to be okay to use? Anything that uses a cable with USB A on one end, and USB C on the other. The voltage and current rating of the charger itself makes no difference. This doesn't mean that no other setups will work (for instance, most tethered USB C chargers, or non e-marked C<->C cables will), but using an A<->C cable is the only straightforward way for most people to be sure.
Is there a mod to enable charging on all USB C chargers? Yes, but you lose the ability to power other devices from the USB C port on the RG35XX Plus, and it involves soldering tiny SMD components.
Is this relevant to other RG35XX family devices? Probably, but I don't know - I've only had a look at the RG35XX Plus. Specifically, mine is marked as a "RG35XX Plus V6.0, 2024-01-09" inside on the PCB.
NotesThis is the BYOK, billed as a ‘distraction-free’ writing device for those who need pure focus in order to channel their productivity as effectively as possible. The procrastinating writer oftens torments themselves with the idea that there’s a simple and effective solution to their woes, usually one that involves buying something – the perfect notebook or pen – or some studious or trivial ritual that helps get the words flowing. It’s an approach that does little more than perpetuate the procrastination and kick the idea of getting something done even further down the road.FeedUnfurl
NotesDesigned for those who take their writing seriously, BYOK eliminates distractions, so that you can fully immerse yourself in your creative process—for a seamless and fully focused writing experience.
And best of all: you get to use your own keyboard.
NotesIn this video, we give you an in-depth look into one of our prototypes to help you better understand the BYOK as well as highlight some key benefits of the device when compared to other writing tools.EmbedUnfurl
NotesThe reason we don’t see exploding battery attacks more often is not because it’s technically hard, it’s because the erosion of public trust in everyday things isn’t worth it. The current discourse around the potential reach of such explosive devices is clouded by the assumption that it’s technically difficult to implement and thus unlikely to find its way to our front door.That assumption is wrong. It is both surprisingly easy to do, and could be nearly impossible to detect. After I read about the attack, it took half an hour to combine fairly common supply chain knowledge with Wikipedia queries to propose the mechanism detailed below.FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesRecently, I paid $12 at Mingtong Digital Mall for a complete phone, featuring quad-band GSM, Bluetooth, MP3 playback, and an OLED display plus keypad for the UI. Simple, but functional; nothing compared to a smartphone, but useful if you’re going out and worried about getting your primary phone wet or stolen. FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesFood lovers no longer have to salivate in vain at the delicious foods their favorite chefs make in immersion circulators for sous vide cooking. Now you can make 72 hour sweet and sticky ribs and Heston Blumenthal's scrambled eggs conveniently in your own kitchen.Unfurl
NotesIn the past two decades, the AR-15 has evolved into an open, modular gun platform that’s infinitely hackable and accessorizable. With only a few simple tools and no gunsmithing expertise, an AR-15 can be heavily modified, or even assembled from scratch, from widely available parts to suit the fancy and fantasy of each individual user. In this respect, the AR-15 is the world’s first “maker” gun, and this is why its appeal extends well beyond the military enthusiasts that many anti-gun types presume make up its core demographic.Unfurl
NotesWith Thunderbolt™ Express Dock, all your drives, networking, input and output devices connect to the 8 ports on the back. It in turn connects to your laptop through 1 Thunderbolt port. In short, eight cables become one cable.Unfurl
NotesToday, an American electronics company can only be exempt from China’s rare earth export quotas by manufacturing within China. So that’s what most companies, including Apple, are doing. The only other solution is for us to stop consuming so much—an option that people rarely find appealing. Not as appealing as a retina display, at least.FeedUnfurl
NotesThose brief stints in which we must turn off our machines—the few minutes between push back from the gate and the extinguishing of the seatbelt sign, and the corresponding blackout at landing time—are something almost unique in modern life. Those rare moments in which our entertainment must come from within, not without. This is a perfect time to reflect on the journey ahead or the trip just taken. An all-too infrequent opportunity to quietly contemplate the world we live in and our place in the universe. A brief calm juncture in our otherwise hectic lives.Unfurl
Notes If we had to imagine our dream DIY project chances are it would involve Arduino, Twitter and, of course, cats. How we'd combine those things we're not sure, but we'll admit to being big fans of Samuel Cox's eSleeper, which turns a hollowed-out eMac into a bed for his feline. Inside the shell is an Arduino Ethernet connected to an IR sensor, some LEDs and a sound shield. When the cat breaks the infrared beam it triggers the iconic Mac chime and turns on a series color-shifting LEDs for a little mood lighting. From there the clock starts ticking. When little Fluffy (Captain Whiskers? Matlock? Penny? Greg?) decides she's had enough napping and leaves the white plastic cocoon, tripping the IR sensor again, a random phrase is tweeted, along with the length of the cat's siesta. Check out the video after the break to see the eSleeper in all its adorable DIY glory. FeedUnfurl
NotesA little over a month ago, the revolutionary Lytro light-field camera became available for pre-order. But a few lucky pro photographers have been using the Lytro and its “living picture” technology for the last few months, and now we can see their stunning results. Unfurl
NotesLooking for another way to use that aging VGA CRT screen hogging space in the closet? Try making your own dedicated weather screen by mixing together Google's meteorological data stream and some Arduino magic. It looks like parsing that Google Weather data was a bit of a challenge on the miniscule 2KB of RAM, but a tinkerer going by the handle Zmashiah has managed to do it. He's even managed to cram in a few extra graphical flourishes, including icons and background themes that change depending on the temperature and time of day. The entirely PC-free device grabs the data through an Ethernet connection and flashes up all the weather goodness in stunning VGA. Any meteorological mavens reading this can grab the full shopping list and procedure at the Instructables link below.FeedUnfurl
NotesWe've seen monitors with touch input and displays powered only by USB, but combining both those features into a single unit would make for something truly unique. We've gotta hand it to Mimo Monitors for pulling it off -- the Magic Touch and Magic Touch Deluxe deliver 10.1 inches of capacitive interactivity using only a single USB 2.0 cable. The panel itself offers a resolution of 1024 x 600 for keeping video chats out of your way, displaying email or monitoring social networks. The Deluxe version also adds a two-port USB hub but, if you plan to charge your devices through it, you'll have to hook up the optional AC adapter. Sadly, while they can act as a secondary monitor regardless of OS, you'll need a Windows 7 machine to take advantage of the touch capabilities -- and even then it's single touch only (though, the panel itself is technically capable of four-point multitouch). Both models are available to pre-order now for $300 (Magic Touch) or $330 (Magic Touch Deluxe) with delivery expected before Christmas. Check out the complete PR after the break. FeedUnfurl
The lost secrets of webOS | The Verge
E-Ink Screen Combined With Analog Dial Is Epic Win | Hackaday
Tactile Controls: Why Buttons Are Making a Comeback - IEEE Spectrum
Tech companies are clamoring to re-buttonize their products
JawnCon0x1: The Modem Badge
Hacking a tiny Bluetooth Smart Ring - YouTube
Gadgetbridge
BYOK is a simple new writing tool designed to help perpetual procrastinators | Wallpaper
BYOK - A Deep Dive Into Our Distraction-Free Writing Tool - YouTube
Turning Everyday Gadgets into Bombs is a Bad Idea « bunnie's blog
The $12 Gongkai Phone « bunnie's blog
Why the iPad Has to be Made in China | iFixit
Opinion: Shutting down your gadgets at takeoff and landing: not such a bad idea
eSleeper combines cats, Arduino and Twitter in an eMac shell (video) -- Engadget
Arduino kit beams low-fi Google Weather to VGA screens -- Engadget
Mimo Magic Touch adds 10 inches of capacitive touchscreen to your PC using only USB -- Engadget
FXI's Cotton Candy could turn every screen you own into a cloud client -- Engadget
Buyer's Remorse Is Inevitable: How to Make Purchases You Really Won't Regret
Utamin: the adorable, Theremin-like toy that's a great gift for someone else's kids -- Engadget
Sony's new 0.7-inch OLED microdisplay packs 720p resolution, has EVFs in its sights -- Engadget
Kindle Fire tablet purportedly on tap for Wednesday, set to ship in November
Amazon Prime getting Fox content, adding the Bluth family to its streaming offerings
QReo is for cookie, that's good enough to scan (video)
AOC's 16-inch portable monitor sucks power, video from your USB port
RealVNC demos BIOS-based server at IDF 2011 (video)
Tetris played on 6-foot LED matrix, controlled by DDR mat
Nyko's $30 Zoom for Kinect now shipping to tiny-roomed gamers worldwide
Electrolux kitchen laptop concept disregards grease, common sense
Eyeborg filmmaker fires up eye-cam to document cutting edge prosthetics (video)
HP will 'discontinue operations for webOS devices', may spin off Personal Systems Group -- Engadget
Yahoo gets Android handset in Japan, renews hope for long-awaited AltaVista phone
Roland TR-808 flash drive takes synth style, leaves music to the pros (video)
German geniuses hit 800Mbps with light bulb WLAN
Guitar Hero to be resurrected, retooled, and launch reunion tour
Tennessee law bans 'distressing images,' opens your Facebook inbox
The Wii U controller, revealed! (video)
Apple unveils iMessage, its BBM competitor, at WWDC
Microsoft unveils Windows 8 (video)
Alaska Airlines ditches paper flight manuals for iPads -- Engadget
Android Market's most popular emulators disappear without a trace (update)