You only really need two data wires to transfer a ton of data. Standards like UART, USB2, I2C, SPI, PS/2, CAN, RS232, SWD (an interface to program MCUs), RS485, DMX, and many others, all are a testament to that. In particular, I2C is such a powerful standard, it’s nigh omnipresent – if you were to […]
Every now and then, a commercial product aims to help you in your life journey, in a novel way, making your life better through its presence. Over the years, I’ve been disappointed by such products far more often than I have been reassured, seeing each one of them rendered unimaginative and purposeless sometimes even despite […]
To the extent that you have an opinion on something like high-frequency (HF) radio, you probably associate it with amateur radio operators, hunched over their gear late at night as they try to make contact with a random stranger across the globe to talk about the fact that they’re both doing the same thing at […]
A safe haven to preserve samples of biodiversity from climate change, habitat loss, natural disaster, and other threats is recognized as a worthwhile endeavor. Everyone knows good backup practice involves a copy of critical elements at a remote location, leading some to ask: why not the moon? Not even the Svalbard global seed vault is […]
Drive-throughs are a popular feature at fast-food places, where you can get some fast grub without even leaving your car. For the fast-food companies running them they are also a big focus of automation, with the ideal being a voice assistant that can take orders and pass them on to the (still human) staff. This […]
It’s a bit of bitter irony, when a security product gets used maliciously, to pull off the exact attack it was designed to prevent. Enter Proofpoint, and the EchoSpoofing attack. Proofpoint offers an email security product, filtering spam and malicious incoming emails, and also handling SPF, DKIM, and DMARC headers on outgoing email. How does […]
Here in the United States, we’re lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to shiny new passenger rail, despite being leaders in previous centuries. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has just released a story map of how the US could close the gap (a little). The Corridor Identification and Development (CID) Program […]
Angry Birds, flash mobs, Russell Brand, fidget spinners. All of these were virtually unavoidable in the previous decade, and yet, like so many popular trends, have now largely faded into obscurity. But in a recent announcement, the developers of LightBurn have brought back a relic of the past that we thought was all but buried […]
Most readers will be familiar with the ESP32, Espressif’s dual-core processor with integrated WiFi and Bluetooth. Few of us though will have explored all of its features, including its built-in encryption facilities and secure booting capability. With these, a developer can protect and secure their code, and keep their devices secure. That sense of security […]