Ep 334: Radioactive Shrimp Clocks, Funky Filaments, Owning the Hardware

Last week, we held an Episode 256 celebration round-table, but Kristina and I also met afterwards to talk about all the week's hacks.  That part didn't fit, but we didn't want to deprive you of your weekly hack fix either, so here they are!

14 Feb 202421min

For this week's episode, we did something super special -- we all convened to answer your burning questions about your hosts, both as hackers and as humans. We kick things off with a segment featuring a hearty round-table discussion between Elliot, Al, Dan, Kristina, and Tom. What's on our benches? What do we type on? Go find out! None of us figured out What's That Sound though a few of us had some creative guesses. Can you guess the sound? There could be a t-shirt in it for ya. Kristina and Elliot went on to have a normal podcast too, but since the round table section went so long, we'll process up that section and put it out early next week. Stay tuned!

9 Feb 202441min

This week, Dan joined Elliot for a review of the best and brightest hacks of the week in Episode 0xFF, which both of us found unreasonably exciting; it's a little like the base-2 equivalent of watching the odometer flip over to 99,999. If you know, you know. We had quite a bumper crop of coolness this week, which strangely included two artifacts from ancient Rome: a nanotech goblet of colloidal gold and silver, and a perplexing dodecahedron that ends up having a very prosaic explanation -- probably. We talked about a weird antenna that also defies easy description, saw a mouse turned into the world's worst camera, and learned how 3D-printed signs are a whole lot easier than neon, and not half bad looking either. As always, we found time to talk about space, like the legacy of Ingenuity and whatever became of inflatable space habitats. Back on Earth, there's DIY flux, shorts that walk you up the mountain, and more about USB-C than you could ever want to know. And don't forget that to celebrate Episode 256 next week, we'll be doing a special AMA segment where we'll get all the regular podcast crew together to answer your questions about life, the universe, and everything. If you've got a burning question for Elliot, Tom, Kristina, Al, or Dan, put it down in the comment section and we'll do our best to extinguish it.

2 Feb 20241h 7min

This week Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Al Williams chew the fat about the Haier IOT problem, and all other top Hackaday stories of the week. Want to prove your prowess at C programming? Take a quiz! Or marvel at some hairy display reverse engineering or 3D-printed compressor screws. On the lighter side, there's an immense water rocket. After Al waxes nostalgic about the world of DOS Extenders and extended memory, the guys talk about detective work: First detecting AI-written material, and finally, a great detective story about using science to finally (maybe) crack the infamous DB Cooper hijacking case. Follow along with the links over at Hackaday. Don't forget to tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

26 Jan 20241h 4min

This week Hackaday Editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start things off with a traffic report from the Moon, which has suddenly become a popular destination for wayward robots. [caption id="attachment_657278" align="alignright" width="300"] Anonymizing an ATtiny85 via laser[/caption] From there, they'll go over a fire-tending contraption that's equal parts madness and brilliance, two decades of routers being liberated by OpenWRT, impressive feats of chip decapping, and USB-C's glorious rise to power. You'll also hear about the latest developments in laptop RAM, exploits against the flash encryption used on the ESP32, and Android powered oscilloscopes. The duo will wrap things up with horror stories from the self-checkout aisle, and a look at the fantastical rolling power station that Dan Maloney has been building in his driveway. Check out the links over at Hackaday, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

19 Jan 20241h 24min

This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos met up to discuss the best hacks of the previous week. It's CES time once again in Las Vegas, and you know what that means -- some wacky technologies like this AI pet door that rejects dead mice. Then it's on to What's That Sound, which Kristina managed to nail for once. Can you get it? Can you figure it out? Can you guess what's making that sound this week? If you can, and your number comes up, you get a special Hackaday Podcast t-shirt. But then it's on to the hacks, beginning with a new keyboard from [Joe Scotto] and an exploration of all you can do with an LED strip, like 1D fireworks and roller coasters without any moving parts. From there, we marvel at the ability of sound waves to extinguish flames, and the tech behind life as a quadriplegic. Finally, we examine not one, but two of Jenny List's finely-crafted rants, one about web browsers, and the other about the responsible use of new technology. Check out the links over at Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

12 Jan 202445min

Welcome to 2024! This time around, Elliot and Dan ring in a new year of awesome hacks with quite an eclectic mix. We kick things off with a Pluto pity party and find out why the tiny ex-planet deserved what it got. What do you do if you need to rename a bunch of image files? You rope a local large-language model in for the job, of course. We'll take a look at how pinball machines did their thing before computers came along, take a fractal dive into video feedback, and localize fireworks with a fleet of Raspberry Pi listening stations. Ever wonder what makes a GPS receiver tick? The best way to find out might be to build one from scratch. Looking for some adventure? A ride on an electroluminescent surfboard might do, or perhaps a DIY "Vomit Comet" trip would be more your style. And make sure you stick around for our discussion on attempts to optimize surgery efficiency, and our look back at 2023's top trends in the hardware world. Check out all the links over at Hackaday!

5 Jan 20241h 6min

This week in the Podcast, Elliot Williams is off at Chaos Communication Congress, hearing tales of incredible reverse engineering that got locomotives back up and running, while Al Williams is thinking over what happened in 2023. There’s a lot of “how things work” in this show, from data buoys to sewing machines to the simulated aging of ICs. Whether you’re into stacking bricks, stacking Pi Picos, or stacking your 3D prints to make better use of precious bed space, this episode is for you. Enjoy. And as always, check out the links over at Hackaday, and let us know what you think in the comments!

29 Dec 202346min