4381
A look at IBM S/360 core memory: In the 1960s, 128 kilobytes weighed 610 pounds
I recently received a vintage core memory array, part of an IBM System/360 mainframe computer. These arrays were used in a 128-kilobyte core...
Top posts
Every blog post that took off on Hacker News, ranked by the votes of its best submission. 4,807 posts.
Hardware & Electronics
Any year
4382
DIY Nitrogen TEA Laser (2020)
Abstract : in the cover image the homebuilt TEA nitrogen laser in use at PhyscsOpenLab. The entire l
4383
Sony News Portable Workstation NWS-1250 (2020)
We do not see many vintage Japanese workstations in the West. We also do not see many portable workstations (of any make). So, what we really rarely see, are Japanese portable workstations. I feel …
4384
The Apple-1's unusual MOS clock driver chip
Apple's first product was the Apple-1 computer, introduced in 1976. This early microcomputer used an unusual type of storage for its disp...
4385
8-bit 64K 1802 computer with front panel and serial port in an Altoids tin
Once upon a time, microcomputers were simple and easy to understand. So simple in fact that a kid like me, with no computer experience whatsoever, could actually understand them, build them, program them, and put them to work in his very own projects!
4386
UDP transmitter implemented with PIO and DMA on the RP2040
The objective for this project was to implement a UDP transmitter for use on the RP2040 that would consume zero CPU time. The system described on this webpage is implemented with 3 PIO state machines, 12 DMA channels, and 1 PWM channel. It generates an NLP, performs packet checksum calculations, and performs packet…
4387
4388
4389
4390
A History of Hard Drives
2016 marks the 60th anniversary of the hard drive. Let's look back at how the tech has changed over the years.
4391
Apple Vision Pro – Why It May Be Lousy for Watching Movies on a Plane
Introduction Part 1 and Part 2 of this series on the Apple Vision Pro (AVP) primarily covered the hardware. Over the next several articles, I plan to discuss the applications Apple (and others) sug…
4392
Classic 50mm “Normal” Lens
So, there you are, the proud parents of a beautiful new baby, and you can hardly contain your excitement as you unwrap that new 35mm camera kit you bought to document your child’s early years. Although you’ve had a point-and-shoot camera for a while, you wanted to step up to a “real” camera for the kind of quality…
4393
AI-Powered Nvidia RTX Video HDR Transforms Standard Video into HDR Video
RTX Video HDR — first announced at CES — is now available for download through the January Studio Driver.
4394
How Boom uses software to accelerate hardware development
How Boom Supersonic uses software to accelerate hardware development
4395
The Liberty Phone
Purism makes premium phones, laptops, mini PCs and servers running free software on PureOS. Purism products respect people's privacy and freedom while protecting their security.
4396
ESP32-C61: Delivering Affordable Wi-Fi 6 Connectivity
ESP32-C61 marks Espressif's response to a significant demand for Wi-Fi 6 technology, offering optimized peripherals, improved connectivity, and increased memory options.
4397
Passive radiative cooling ceramic with high solar reflectivity
A significant breakthrough in developing a passive radiative cooling (PRC) material has been announced by researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) . The findings have just been published in the prestigious scientific journal Science titled “ Hierarchically structured passive radiative cooling ceramic with…
4398
iPhone 15 Pro facts and estimates
A couple of things I learned and one reasonable guess.
4399
4400
Instructions per cycle: AMD Zen 2 versus Intel
The performance of a processor is determined by several factors. For example, processors with a higher frequency tend to do more work per unit of time. Physics makes it difficult to produce processors that have higher frequency. Modern processors can execute many instructions per cycle. Thus a 3.4GHz processor has 3.4…
4401
The Parallel Port
A few days ago, on a certain orange website, I came across an article about an improvised parallel printer capture device . This contains the line:
4402
4403
How to Write Safe Verilog: Become a PL Troll
Troll? That's how people write Verilog 1 . At my old company, we had a team of formal methods PhD's who wrote a linter that typechecked our code, based on our naming convention. For our chip (which was small for a CPU), building a model (compiling) took about five minutes, running a single short test took ten to…
4404
Perfect colors, captured with one ultra-thin lens
No need for color correction—Harvard physicists’ flat optics, using nanotechnology, gets it right the first time
4405
4406
ZX Spectrum: Experimenting with 1-Bit Sound
As part of the ZX Spectrum tour, I implemented some routines that would let you play simple tones out of the 1-bit beeper. These were in large part inspired by earlier work I did on the Apple II. W…
4407
Pump up the charge: Getting -5V from a 5V power supply
When it comes to electronics, I am a woman of simple interests. Ideally, I only want to care about one voltage, and ground– there’s a reason I did so much be...
4408
The Z80 Membership Card (2015)
The microcomputer is an incredible, revolutionary invention. Like the electric light, the printing press, and the wheel, it has changed the world. Without microcomputers, the internet, and perhaps even "life as we know it" would not be possible!
4409
4410
Canon Nanoimprint lithography semiconductor manufacturing system (5nm)
On October 13, 2023, Canon announced today the launch of the FPA-1200NZ2C nanoimprint semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which executes circuit pattern transfer, the most important semiconductor manufacturing process.