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Intel gets worse, but Power11 might get better
Just in case we needed any more reassurance we made the right move with OpenPOWER: Phoronix is reporting that Intel is about to get even ...
Topics /
Hardware & Electronics
The most popular blog posts about hardware & electronics on Hacker News. 292 posts.
182
Galois field instructions on 2021 CPUs
CPUs like to operate on data types such as uint8_t , uint16_t , uint32_t , and uint64_t . These data types can be viewed as integers modulo 2 8 , 2 16 , 2 32 , and 2 64 respectively. Addition and multiplication can be defined on these integers modulo 2 N in a way which is familiar to most people; for example, in…
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Verilog Is Weird
Verilog is the most commonly used language for hardware design in America (VHDL is more common in Europe). Too bad it's so baroque. If you ever browse the Verilog questions on Stack Overflow , you'll find a large number of questions, usually downvoted, asking “why doesn't my code work?”, with code that's not just a…
184
Semiconductors are more than just processors and GPUs
If you ask a software developer the question 'What are some example uses of semiconductors?', they'll probably mention 'silicon chips', like the ones found in processors or graphics cards. Indeed, this is probably the answer that I would have given just a couple years ago, but I have since become enlightened as to the…
185
How many computers are in your computer? (2021)
Any ‘computer’ is made up of hundreds of separate computers plugged together, any of which can be hacked. I list some of these parts.
186
TI-83 Plus One More
Repair of a TI-83 Plus calculator with a non-working screen
187
Reversing a 2.4GHz Remote Control
I have an old project on Github called rf-car for controlling a radio car with HackRF. A few months ago, my daughter received a new RC car made by Dickie Toys :
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It's dire: Raspberry Pi availability tracker
Yesterday André Costa emailed me about his new website, rpilocator. It's a website to track Raspberry Pi 4 model B, Compute Module 4, Pi Zero 2 W, and Pico availability across multiple retailers in different countries. In his own words: This database was created out of frustration trying to locate a Raspberry Pi…
189
Trying to get past the 500 nits limit of the MacBook Pro (and failing)
An investigation into why the new MacBook Pro XDR display is capped at 500 nits, despite being advertised as '1000 nits sustained brightness'.
190
Yamaha DX7 chip reverse-engineering, part V: the output circuitry
The Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer (1983) was the classic synthesizer in 1980s pop music. It uses a technique called FM synthesis to produ...
191
Converting a WW2-Era Engine Cowl Flaps Indicator into a USB Peripheral
General Electric 8DJ4PBV quad engine cowling indicator with PIC16F1459 and MCP41HV31-502 board to its right. A Microsoft Surface in the background is controlling the indicators via USB.
192
An Interview with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger
An interview with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger about IDM 2.0, the acquisition of Tower Semiconductor, and the choices Intel did not make.
193
Predicting the tide with an analog computer made from Lego
Didn't you ever wish your<br>computer understood you?
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Controlling RGB LEDs with only powerlines: Anatomy of a Christmas light string
The RGB curtain predictably turns into a mess of wires when not used according to instructions. As should be obvious from this blog, I am somewhat drawn to clever and minimalistic implementations o…
196
Building a radio-controlled submarine with automatic depth control
In this post series I will explain the making of a radio-controlled submarine. I will go through the design, the building process, Python code, tests in water, and all the mistakes I made. Lots of …
197
Confirmed the MOS 7600/7601 Pong chip is a true microcontroller
In a previous article I discussed the MOS 7600 and 7601 "Pong in a chip" ICs, manufactured by MOS Technology (of the famous 6502) and act...
198
ZFS on a single core RISC-V hardware with 512MB
Is this feasible? Yes it is! OpenZFS on Linux compiled from sources for RISC-V, it will work with less than 250MB of RAM for a nearly fully filled 2TB zfs volume with 225.000 files! Even stressing the system and run in parallel (via Wifi): a…
199
VR robots are building railways in Japan
Could VR-powered humanoid robots be the future of heavy construction? Over the years we’ve seen a number of major corporations try their hands at marrying VR technology and robotics, from VR convenience store employees and a remote-controlled bomb squad bot to a rather unsettling headset that uses a robotic arm to…
200
Simulating the IBM 360/50 mainframe from its microcode
The IBM System/360 was a groundbreaking family of mainframe computers announced on April 7, 1964. System/360 was an extremely risky "bet-t...
201
The 13-Inch MacBook Air
It’s taken decades of iterative refinement to get to this point — a nearly perfect laptop for nearly everyone.
202
Build a PinePhone App with Zig and Zgt
Can we use Zig to code PinePhone Apps? Maybe make them simpler and safer? Let's find out!
203
Silicon die teardown: a look inside an early 555 timer chip
If you've played around with electronic circuits, you probably know the 555 timer integrated circuit, 1 said to be the world's best-selli...
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Home Made TPM2.0 Module
Introduction With the recent launch of Windows 11 Microsoft also made having a hardware TPM module mandatory. Although this technology is not new (it was introduced in Windows 10 and Windows Server…
206
The Reliability of Optical Disks
How long will burned CDs / DVDs / BluRays last?
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1956 Philips 353A Bakelite Vacuum Tube Radio Repair and Restoration
A few months ago I bought my first ever vacuum tube radio, a 1956 Philips 353A bakelite AM/FM set, which is (currently) the oldest item in my collection. I’ve been wanting to get into vintage radio…
210
I finally found a use case for my Raspberry Pi Model B+
I take a severely underpowered computer and make it do something useful.