Nazi Weapons of the Future
We know. The title sounds like a bad newsreel from 1942. Turns out, though, that the Nazis were really good at pouring money into military research and developing — or …read more Continue reading Nazi Weapons of the Future
Author Archives: Al Williams
Exploring Texas Instrument’s Forgotten CPU
Texas Instruments isn’t the name you usually hear associated with the first microprocessor. But the TI TMX 1795 was an 8008 chip produced months before the 8008. It was never …read more Continue reading Exploring Texas Instrument’s Forgotten CPU
OpenAI Hears You Whisper
Should you wish to try high-quality voice recognition without buying something, good luck. Sure, you can borrow the speech recognition on your phone or coerce some virtual assistants on a …read more Continue reading OpenAI Hears You Whisper
Better Scope Measurements
There was a time when few hobbyists had an oscilloscope and the ones you did see were old military or industrial surplus that were past their prime. Today you can …read more Continue reading Better Scope Measurements
A Love Letter to Small Design Teams, and the B-52
The true measure of engineering success — or, at least, one of them — is how long something remains in use. A TV set someone designed in 1980 is probably, …read more Continue reading A Love Letter to Small Design Teams, and the B-52
Wow! You Could Have a (Tiny) V8!
If you grew up before high gas prices and strict emission control regulations, you probably had — or wanted — a car with a V8 engine. An engineering masterpiece created …read more Continue reading Wow! You Could Have a (Tiny) V8!
Raspberry Pi Grants Remote Access via PCIe (Sort Of)
[Jeff] found a Raspberry Pi — well, the compute module version, anyway — in an odd place: on a PCI Express card. Why would you plug a Raspberry Pi into …read more Continue reading Raspberry Pi Grants Remote Access via PCIe (Sort Of)
Open Source: Free as the Air You Breathe
[Carolyn Barber] recently interviewed a 15-year-old who has been making Corsi-Rosenthal boxes for people in his community that are at risk for COVID. Not only is it great that a …read more Continue reading Open Source: Free as the Air You Breathe
IGY: The Year We All Got Along
If you are a Steely Dan fan, you might know the Donald Fagan song, “IGY.” In it, Fagan sings about a rosy future with high-speed undersea rail, solar power, giant …read more Continue reading IGY: The Year We All Got Along
Glass 3D Printing via Laser
If you haven’t noticed, diode laser engraver/cutters have been getting more powerful lately. [Cranktown City] was playing with an Atomstack 20 watt laser and wondered if it would sinter sand …read more Continue reading Glass 3D Printing via Laser