Category Archives: digital

Books You Should Read: Designing Reality

Posted on by

These days, budget CNC builds are mainstream. Homebrew 3D printers and even laser cutters are old hats. Now I find myself constantly asking: “where’s it all going?” In the book, Designing Reality, Prof Neil Gershenfeld and his two brothers, Alan and Joel, team up to answer that question. In 250 pages, they forecast a future where digital fabrication tools become accessible to everyone on the planet, a planet where people now thrive in networked communities focused on learning and making.

Designing Reality asks us to look forward to the next implications of the word “digital”. On its surface, digital  …read more

Continue reading Books You Should Read: Designing Reality→

Old LED Light Bulbs Give Up Filaments for Spider Web Clock

Posted on by

We love it when something common gets put to a new and unusual use, especially when it’s one of those, “Why didn’t I think of that?” situations. This digital clock with a suspended display is just such a thing.

The common items in this case were “filaments” from LED light bulbs, those meant to mimic the look of clear-glass incandescent light bulbs. [Andypugh] had been looking at them with interest for a while, and realized they were perfect as the segments for a large digital clock. The frame of the clock was formed from bent brass U-channel and mounted to …read more

Continue reading Old LED Light Bulbs Give Up Filaments for Spider Web Clock→

What’s the real value—and danger—of smart assistants?

Posted on by

Smart assistants are programmed to eavesdrop on you in order to await commands. Sometimes they’re dangerous, and other times downright hilarious. What’s the real value in these devices?
Categories:

Security world
Technology

Tags: alexaassistant… Continue reading What’s the real value—and danger—of smart assistants?→

Digital Kiln

Posted on by

A kiln or foundry is too often seen as a piece of equipment which is only available if a hackspace is lucky enough to have one or individuals are dedicated enough to drop the cash for one of their own. [The Thought Emporium] thought that way until he sourced materials to make his own kiln which can also be seen after the break. It costs half the price of a commercial model not including a failed—and exploded—paint can version.

As described in the video, these furnaces are tools capable of more than just pottery and soft metal baubles. Sure, a …read more

Continue reading Digital Kiln→

Friday Hack Chat: Reverse Engineering the Digital Compact Cassette

Posted on by

For this week’s Hack Chat, we’re talking about reverse engineering the Digital Compact Cassette. Why should we care about an obsolete format that was only on the market for four years?  Because if a copy of the Spin Doctor’s Pocket Full of Kryptonite costs $50 USD on the used market, it has to be good.

In the early 1990s, several different digital magnetic tape formats came onto the scene. The MiniDisc was magneto-optical, yes, but back in the day it was amazing for recording bootlegs. DAT also appeared in the early 90s, and it was a godsend for recording studios. …read more

Continue reading Friday Hack Chat: Reverse Engineering the Digital Compact Cassette→

Follow the Bouncing Ball of Entropy

Posted on by

When [::vtol::] wants to generate random numbers he doesn’t simply type rand() into his Arduino IDE, no, he builds a piece of art. It all starts with a knob, presumably connected to a potentiometer, which sets a frequency. An Arduino UNO takes the reading and generates a tone for an upward-facing speaker. A tiny ball bounces on that speaker where it occasionally collides with a piezoelectric element. The intervals between collisions become our sufficiently random number.

The generated number travels up the Rube Goldberg-esque machine to an LCD mounted at the top where a word, corresponding to our generated number, …read more

Continue reading Follow the Bouncing Ball of Entropy→

Explained: digital forensics

Posted on by
Digital forensics is different from cyber-security as it deals with the problem when it’s too late for precautions. It’s the science of figuring out what happened just before and after a breach.

Categories:

Tags:

(Read more…)

The post Explained: digital forensics appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.

Continue reading Explained: digital forensics→