Usually, you think of bird decoys as being a tool to lure birds to an untimely encounter with a hunter. However, [Interesting Engineering] has a story about robotic bird decoys in Grand Teton National Park that are helping restore the dwindling number of sage grouse in the park. While some decoys are static, others are […]
Recently [Jeff Geerling] has been tinkering with FireWire in order to use some older gear, which includes the use of a Raspberry Pi HAT called the Firehat. This provides a 6-pin FireWire port courtesy of the VIA VT6315N PCIe-to-FireWire chipset. As is typical with USB gear today as well, some FireWire gear requires more power […]
Ever since it was called OpenBeOS, Haiku has targeted the x86 platform. That makes good sense: it’s hard enough maintaining a niche system on ubiquitous hardware. But x86 isn’t the only game in town anymore. Apple’s doing very well on ARM, Linux runs on oodles of ARM SBCs, and even Windows uh, exists, on that […]
MicroPython is a well-known and easy-to-use way to program microcontrollers in Python. If you’re using an Arduino Uno Q, though, you’re stuck without it. [Natasha] saves the day by bringing us a a subset reimplementation of machine for the Arduino Uno Q. In the past, microcontrollers were primarily programmed in C, but since MicroPython’s popularity […]
Home-fermented foods are great– they’re healthier, more flavourful, and cheaper than store-bought alternatives. What they aren’t is convenient: you need to prep a big batch of veggies, let it sit, and then you have to store the excess pickles. If you’re not careful, you end up with ancient, over-fermented pickles at the bottom of the […]
Many modern desktop 3D printers include the ability to print in multiple colors. However, this typically only works with a few colors at a time, and the more colors you can use, the higher the machine’s cost and complexity. However, a recent technique allows printers to mix new colors by overlaying thin sheets of different […]
There are some subjects as a writer in which you know they need to be written, but at the same time you feel it necessary to steel yourself for the inevitable barrage of criticism once your work reaches its audience. Of these the latest is AI, or more specifically the current enthusiasm for Large Language […]
Emulating a 6502 shouldn’t be that hard on a modern computer. Maybe that’s why [lasect] decided to make it a bit harder. The PG_6502 emulator uses PostgreSQL. All the CPU resources are database tables, and all opcodes are stored procedures. Huh. The database is pretty simple. The pg6502.cpu table has a single row that holds […]
When it comes to electronic gadgets, I’m a sucker for a good deal. If it’s got a circuit board on the inside and a low enough price tag on the outside, you can be pretty sure I’ll be taking it home with me. So a few years ago, when I saw USB external hard drives […]
The modern web is a major pain to use without a password manager app. However, using such a service requires you to entrust your precious secrets to a third party. They could also be compromised, then you really are in trouble. You could manage passwords with local software or even a notebook, but that adds […]