The MP3 file format was always encumbered with patents, but as of 2017, the last patent finally expired. Although the format became synonymous with the digital music revolution that started in the late 90s, as an audio compression format there is an argument to be made that it has long since been superseded by better […]
Generally speaking, writing your own games for retro consoles starts with C code. You’ll need to feed that through a console-specific tool-chain, and there’s certainly going to be some hoops to jump through, but if everything goes as expected, you should end up with a ROM file that can be run in an emulator or […]
In days gone by, a common retail hack used by some of the less honorable of our peers was the price tag switcheroo. You’d find some item that you wanted from a store but couldn’t afford, search around a bit for another item with a more reasonable price, and carefully swap the little paper price […]
Graphene always sounds exciting, although we aren’t sure what we want to do with it. One of the most promising features of the monolayer carbon structure is that under the right conditions, it can superconduct, and some research into how that works could have big impacts on practical superconductor technology. Past experiments have shown that […]
The many YouTube workshop channels make for compelling viewing. even if their hackiness from a Hackaday viewpoint is sometimes variable. But from time to time up pops something that merits a second look. A case in point is [BUM]’s go-kart made entirely from Harbor Freight parts, a complete but rudimentary vehicle for around 300 dollars. […]
[Jim Colabro] is a little underwhelmed with the experience of low-level debugging of Linux applications using traditional debuggers such as GDB and LLDB. These programs have been around for a long time, developing alongside Linux and other UNIX-like OSs, and are still solidly in the CLI domain. Fed up with the lack of data structure […]
Bear with us for a moment for a little background. The Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa is the world’s largest natural skating rink, providing nearly 8 km of pristine ice surface during the winter. But maintaining such a large ice surface is a challenge. A regular Zamboni can’t do it; the job is just too […]
As great as silicon is for semiconductor applications, it has one weakness in that using it for lasers isn’t very practical. Never say never though, as it turns out that you can now grow lasers directly on the silicon material. The most optimal material for solid-state lasers in photonics is gallium-arsenide (GaAs), but due to […]