Deep Dive into Sputnik
If you are an American of a certain age, you know the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik, beating the United States to orbit. You might even remember ham …read more Continue reading Deep Dive into Sputnik
Author Archives: Al Williams
Print Your Own Robby the Robot
When it comes to robots, few are as iconic as Robby. [Ogrinz Labs] has wanted to build one and even examined a real one up for auction to get high-res …read more Continue reading Print Your Own Robby the Robot
Custom FM Radio Station Powered by Shell Scripts
[Trwmato] wanted to spend more time listening to a normal radio to cut back on phone use. But the programming wasn’t quite right so, of course, the solution was to …read more Continue reading Custom FM Radio Station Powered by Shell Scripts
Spy Tech: The GPS Numbers Station
We’ve talked before about number stations — mysterious shortwave transmitters repeating numbers, presumably for clandestine purposes. But, of course, the mere fact that they are unusual makes them stand out. …read more Continue reading Spy Tech: The GPS Numbers Station
Microsoft Claims 20 second Qubits
While it might seem that your computer malfunctions every few minutes, the reality is that modern computers are usually quite robust. Not so much for quantum computers, where qubit life …read more Continue reading Microsoft Claims 20 second Qubits
If You Want to Hack Me, Come in Through the Speaker
Some security hacks require someone to have physical access to your computer. In many cases, that’s easy to mitigate. Other attack vectors can put you at risk from anywhere via …read more Continue reading If You Want to Hack Me, Come in Through the Speaker
Linux Fu: Fake Webcams, GUI Edition
Previously, I looked at using the Linux video loopback system from the command line. The basic trick was simple enough: capture video from a real camera, process it with something …read more Continue reading Linux Fu: Fake Webcams, GUI Edition
Linux Fu: Taming Strace
While many operating systems seem to try to prevent you from peeking under the hood, Unix and Linux positively encourage it. One great tool that we’ve looked at before is …read more Continue reading Linux Fu: Taming Strace
Poking Around with JTAG on a Guitar Amp
You would think a guitar amplifier would be a straightforward piece of analog electronics. But, of course, these days, everything has firmware, including [mforney]’s Yamaha THR10c. The service manual showed …read more Continue reading Poking Around with JTAG on a Guitar Amp
How to Let Everyone Keep a Secret
Someone calls you at work and says, “Don’t tell anyone, but…” If you are like most people, there are one or two people you will pass it along to with …read more Continue reading How to Let Everyone Keep a Secret