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[…]
Today’s Inno Day 2020 event unveiled the Oppo X 2021 concept smartphone, which is all about its “continuously variable OLED display.” With a simple swipe on a button, the phone is able to transform between a regular 6.7-inch size and a tablet-like 7.4-inch size, and the software interface adapts accordingly for optimal experience — be Read more about Oppo’s X 2021 rollable concept phone expands in your hand[…]
In a year where it seems everything is both literally and figuratively on fire, it’s not surprising that we can now add Amazon’s Ring Video Doorbell to the list. Yes, it turns out that the device you purchased and installed for the purpose of making your home safer is itself a safety hazard. As a Read more about There’s a Massive Recall of Amazon Neighbourhood Spy Ring Doorbells – might explode in flames[…]
A team of researchers has demonstrated for the first time a single-molecule electret – a device that could be one of the keys to molecular computers. Smaller electronics are crucial to developing more advanced computers and other devices. This has led to a push in the field toward finding a way to replace silicon chips Read more about Researchers Create a Single-Molecule Switch – a Step Toward Ever-Smaller Electronics[…]
The UK’s Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) says Apple is still not answering questions relating to its record on the environmental sustainability and repairability of its iStuff. The EAC – a sounder of Members of Parliament that sit on the select committee in the House of Commons – asked the American company to get involved in Read more about Brit MPs to Apple CEO: Please stop ignoring our questions about repairability and the environment[…]
A new study using lasers suggests that face shields and masks outfitted with an exhaust valve aren’t particularly great at protecting others from tiny respiratory droplets containing contagious germs like the coronavirus that causes covid-19. These aerosols can spill through and around these types of face equipment, the study found, weakening their potential to keep Read more about How Face Shields and Valve Masks Fail to Stop Infectious Droplets, as Shown by Lasers[…]
Engineers at Purdue University have created a printing process by which you can coat paper or cardboard with “highly fluorinated molecules.” This then makes the coated paper dust, oil, and water-repellent, meaning you can then print multiple circuit layers onto the paper without smudging the ink. According to a paper the engineers published in Nano Read more about Engineers Have Figured Out How to Make Interactive Paper[…]
Wow, I really really hate that this is a possibility. You spent money on hardware – not some monthly subscription service – where it’s really nice that they add more than just security updates but then: BANG! They kill the hardware, rendering it little more than scrappable junk. Suddenly, it won’t do any of the Read more about Philips Hue Bridge updates actually kills your old Bridge[…]
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has invested in the development of technologies that allow the human brain to communicate directly with machines, including the development of implantable neural interfaces able to transfer data between the human brain and the digital world. This technology, known as brain-computer interface (BCI), may eventually be used to monitor Read more about Brain-Computer Interfaces: U.S. Military Applications and Implications, An Initial Assessment[…]
Widespread internet outages knocked down Cloudflare, the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Amazon, Hulu, and a slew of other sites on Sunday morning, and it’s apparently all because of a single internet service provider: CenturyLink. Given that Cloudflare’s online security services are designed to keep websites up and running, when it went down, so did dozens Read more about Cloudflare Blames CenturyLink for Sunday’s Internet Blackout – again[…]
Under-display cameras do a neat trick, allowing manufacturers to build all-screen phones without complex pop-up selfie cameras. Now, Xiaomi has unveiled its third-generation of under-display cameras and promised that the technology will be coming to the mass market “next year.” Cameras that live under the screen present two problems: creating a dark “hole” on the Read more about Xiaomi’s under display camera tech is coming to phones next year[…]
A review at the Android Police site calls Pine64’s new Linux-based PinePhone “the most interesting smartphone I’ve tried in years,” with 17 different operating systems available (including Fedora, Ubuntu Touch, SailfishOS, openSUSE, and Arch Linux ARM): There’s a replaceable battery, which is compatible with batteries designed for older Samsung Galaxy J7 phones. It’s good to Read more about Reviewer Calls Linux-based PinePhone ‘the Most Interesting Smartphone I’ve Tried in Years’ – only $150![…]
a researcher from Meiji University in Japan who’s invented what’s being described as a taste display that can artificially recreate any flavor by triggering the five different tastes on a user’s tongue. Years ago it was thought that the tongue had different regions for tasting sweet, sour, salty, and bitter flavors, where higher concentrations of Read more about ‘Taste Display’ Brings Fake Flavors to Your Tongue[…]
ThinkPad’s keyboards have a fiercely loyal following, and for $100 you can keep using the design that time forgot with this detached wireless version that will work any other laptop or computer. The ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II is now available on Lenovo’s website, and it looks like a piece of hardware that dates back over Read more about ThinkPad’s Iconic Nub and Keyboard Comes to Your Desktop – but not mechanical[…]
It seemed like a bit of a risk when Mazda decided to not offer a touchscreen in the new Mazda 3. But Mazda may have just been ahead of the trend, as Honda has also abandoned some reliance on the new Honda Jazz’s touch controls because they just aren’t “intuitive.” Despite nearly a decade of Read more about Yes! Honda Follows Mazda By Ditching Some Touchscreen Controls For Not Being ‘Intuitive’[…]
Scientists have crafted a tiny flexible electrical device capable of generating terahertz waves that can penetrate walls and microscopic cells, potentially paving the way for new imaging techniques – and fast switching in chips. Terahertz radiation lies in the electromagnetic spectrum where microwaves and infrared meet. These so-called T-waves, ranging from 0.3 to 3THz according Read more about cheap High-frequency, high-power and nanoscale semiconductors that can see through walls[…]