Topics /
Hardware & Electronics
The most popular blog posts about hardware & electronics on Hacker News. 4,805 posts.
My foxhole radio
As a child I'd made a crystal radio set and had been meaning to make one again when I came across stories of foxhole or PoW radios made f...
How the Z80's registers are implemented
The 8-bit Z80 microprocessor is famed for use in many early personal computers such the Osborne 1, TRS-80, and Sinclair ZX Spectrum. The Z80...
Precursor’s Custom PCBs
While the last few updates about Precursor have focused on evidence-based trust and security, this update is more about the process of making Precursor itself. There is an essential link between evidence-based trust and understanding the manufacturing process: to convince yourself that something has been constructed…
Yamaha DX7 reverse-engineering, part III: Inside the log-sine ROM
The Yamaha DX7 digital synthesizer (1983) was the classic synthesizer for 1980s pop music. It used two custom digital chips to generate so...
Apple unveils new iPad mini with breakthrough performance in new design
Apple today introduced the powerful new iPad mini with a larger 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display in four gorgeous finishes.
Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition review
Please note: I've updated this review in several spots and have highlighted these updates like this . Please also check out the comments-se...
Qualcomm cancels Snapdragon Dev Kit, refunds all orders
This afternoon I received the following email from Arrow, regarding the Snapdragon Developer Kit for Windows: Dear Valued Customer, Please see this important message from Qualcomm: ”At Qualcomm, we are dedicated to pioneering leading technology and delivering premium experiences to our valued customers. The launch of…
I chose the ThinkPad Z13 Gen1 as my Linux laptop
Blog, Podcasts, Live Streams and Videos about Linux and Open Source with a focus on Ubuntu, Debian and NixOS.
Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3 released
Time and CMOS image sensor technology has marched on since 2013. So today, we’re happy to announce the launch of Camera Module 3.
macOS 27 does not support CoreStorage volumes
macOS 15 Sequoia had a hard time with CoreStorage – and thus encrypted HFS+ volumes – since it deprecated both technologies and callously crippled some important tools for working with them, but nonetheless it mostly still worked. While I’d often – but not always – have to manually unlock one of my HFS+ volumes – but…
Pinebook Pro, First Impressions
After seeing it in action at FOSDEM (from afar, as the crowd was too large), I decided to buy a Pinebook Pro for personal use. From the beginning, the intention was to use it for pkgsrc development, with NetBSD as the main OS. It was finally delivered on Thursday, one day earlier than promised, so I thought I would…
I toured Unitree's factory. I'm more bullish on the West
Everyone thinks China's robot factories are automated. They aren't. The robots are Chinese; the robots that make robots will be Western.
Typing with pleasure, and low latency
In this article I examine human- and machine aspects of typing latency (“typing lag”) and present experimental data on latency of popular text / code editors. The article is inspired by my work on implementing “zero-latency typing” in IntelliJ IDEA.
How cheap digital verniers work (2017)
Ever wondered how cheap digital verniers are able to produce good precision at very low prices? I did, so I took one apart.
The Ball and Supply Chain
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.
ESP32 WiFi Superstitions
The ESP32 is a popular microcontroller to use for do-it-yourself home automation, sensors, and a variety of other bits and bobs that you might want to take care of around the house. It’s the successor to the venerable ESP8266 which has found its way into many of our WiFi connected devices (seriously, open up a device…
The Web MiniDisc App (2020)
Get control of your MiniDisc device thanks to WebUSB and WASM
Unveiling our new Quantum AI campus
Google is unveiling a new Quantum AI campus in Santa Barbara, California.
Inside a Ferroelectric RAM Chip
Ferroelectric memory (FRAM) is an interesting storage technique that stores bits in a special "ferroelectric" material. Ferroelectric memory...
The stack circuitry of the Intel 8087 floating point chip, reverse-engineered
Early microprocessors were very slow when operating with floating-point numbers. But in 1980, Intel introduced the 8087 floating-point copro...
Benchmarking 15 “E-Waste” GPUs with Modern Workloads
Decommissioned enterprise tesla GPUs are widely available and extremely cheap. In this post, I benchmark tesla GPUs to see if they are useful
Designing and building a keyboard
Some years ago, I wanted to make a Nixie Tube clock from scratch. PCB manufacture was so expensive that I ended up just making the PCBs by hand. I figured I would give the market another look, and dang has custom PCB manufacture become cheap! The best/easiest service that I found was OSH Park. I'd never had PCBs made…
The Search for the Extra Pedal (2017)
McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 will race with Mercedes-Benz power in the 2026 F1 season, taking to the track for 24 race weekends with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
ESP32 and Termux
Documenting my journey in trying to use my ESP32 on my phone through Termux