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New
The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 4,808 posts.
Hardware & Electronics
Any year
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What is the best hard drive?
Check out the latest Hard Drive Stats. It was one year ago that I first blogged about the failure rates of specific models of hard drives, so now is a
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Laser-generated surface structures create extremely water-repellent metals
Scientists at the Institute of Optics have used lasers to transform metals into extremely water repellent, or super-hydrophobic, materials without the need for temporary coatings.
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IBM Launches Z13 Mainframe
Learn about IBM's performance and progress to become a more innovative and focused company.
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Audi Cruise Control Bug
I noticed a "bug" in the way Audi handles its Cruise Control options. Cruise control is only meant to be used once you drive "30 kilometers per hour or more". …
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What's New in CPUs Since the 80s and How Does It Affect Programmers?
My mental model of CPUs is stuck in the 1980s: basically boxes that do arithmetic, logic, bit twiddling and shifting, and loading and storing things in memory. I'm vaguely aware of various newer developments like vector instructions (SIMD) and the idea that newer CPUs have support for virtualization (though I have no…
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Can't you just turn up the volume?
When Alex and I were pitching SoundFocus as an app that helped people with hearing loss, this was often…
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Introducing Google Cast for audio
In 2014, many of you—millions, in fact—helped make Chromecast one of the most popular streaming media devices globally. It's been exciting t...
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Microcontrollers Not Allowed – Trolling a college instructor
If you attempt this project, your classmates will think you're a nerd. You'll likely wind up getting your head flushed and/or balls greased.
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New Solar Power Material Converts 90 Percent of Captured Light into Heat
A multidisciplinary engineering team at the University of California, San Diego developed a new nanoparticle-based material for concentrating solar power plants designed to absorb and convert to heat more than 90 percent of the sunlight it captures. The new material can also withstand temperatures greater than 700…
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Quake on an oscilloscope
A summary of some problems I faced when tinkering with Quake to get it play nicely on an oscilloscope.
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From Gongkai to Open Source
About a year and a half ago, I wrote about a $12 “Gongkai” cell phone (pictured above) that I stumbled across in the markets of Shenzhen, China. My most striking impression was that Chinese entrepreneurs had relatively unfettered access to cutting-edge technology, enabling start-ups to innovate while bootstrapping…
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Adventures in Piano Building
Turning a mouse house into a musical marvel.
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Why movies look weird at 48fps, and games are better at 60fps
Let’s end this debate once and for all. Humans can see frame rates greater than 24fps (although plenty of people will argue that they can’t on the internet). I’ll explain more in a future post if necessary, but let’s take that as read.
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High speed M&M sorting machine
M&M sorting machine using electro magnets to send the M&Ms down the correct chutes. Uses an Arduino with a Bluetooth module to control the magnets.
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UNSW researchers set record in solar energy efficiency
Solar engineers from UNSW's Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics have set a new world-record in solar energy efficiency, achieving an electricity conversion rate of over 40%.
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Our 6 TB Hard Drive Face-Off
Backblaze is transitioning from using 4 TB hard drives to using 6 TB hard drives in the Storage Pods we will be deploying over the coming months...
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24-Bit vs. 16-Bit Audio Test – Part II: Results and Conclusions
A blog for audiophiles about more objective topics. Measurements of audio gear. Reasonable, realistic, no snakeoil assessment of sound, and equipment.
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Zusie – My Relay Computer
The story behind Zusie begins in May 2008, when I went on vacation to Berlin for a few days with a friend. As is my habit, I looked for interesting technical or scientific sites to visit, and the main thing to visit was the Technische Museum. I think I spent a full day day there, to the expressed dismay of my friend…
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6 GHz frequency modulated radar
Making a cheap and simple radar with a range of about 100 meters.
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How speakers make sound
Check out Animagraffs on youtube > .