I am a big fan of LEGO as you can see on many LEGO related posts in this blog. Imagination-fostering Lego is 80 years old this month. Lego was founded by 1932, Ole Kirk Kristiansen, a Danish joiner and carpenter. The company started by making and selling wooden toys. In 1934, his company came to →
Do you remember diode-transistor logic? Diode–transistor logic (DTL) was the direct ancestor of transistor–transistor logic. You could easily do OR and AND functions with diodes, and then use transistor for amplifying and implementing NOT function. Perform the XOR/XNOR function with a diode bridge and a transistor article shows you discrete DTL-like circuits that use an →
NASA’s expensive Mars exploration Curiosity rover is finally doing what it was created to do: rove. Following a successful wheel test, the probe moved forward. Photo Gallery: Curiosity Rover Makes First Tracks on Mars article tells that Curiosity beamed back some incredible images of its tracks, which tell scientists that the soil is firm, great →
Here is one connector I don’t like and sometimes hate: The cigarette lighter receptacle in an automobile, initially designed to power an electrically heated cigarette lighter. It has became a de-facto standard DC connector to supply electrical power for portable accessories used in or near an automobile. It is commonly used as a means of →
Soldering is an art. With practice, one can learn to easily assemble complex circuits. When you make mistakes you need to do rework, which is usually quite time consuming with through-hole parts. The solder must be completely removed pin-by-pin and the vias cleared of solder before a new part can be installed. The ‘slap method’ →
Antenna on the Cheap (er, Chip) article shows how to build a simple “classic” WLAN antenna from Pringles potato chip can. I have built antenna based on this plan (some improvising) and I can say that it worked. Besides WLAN I have used it for wireless video at 2.4 GHz. Cantenna article tells that in →
Trouble at V.I.R.U.S. (Virus Investors Radical United Society) …a rejected campaign idea from F-secure archives… I see now what that “F” means in F-Secure. I see why this did not get out but found this funny. →
Hackers are buzzing with ideas from Pi-powered arcade machines and drones to the home automation and low-cost tablets. 10 coolest uses for the Raspberry Pi article tells that TechRepublic has delved into the Raspbery Pi’s developer forums, and here’s our round-up of the best ideas so far, ranging from the eminently achievable to the massively →
iFixit.org article How One Teacher Built a Computer Lab for Free tells an interesting story. The problem? An underfunded school needed computers for the classroom. Budget? $0. How One Teacher Built a Computer Lab for Free article tells how just one sixth-grade teacher got those computers at that budget. In 2007, Robert acquired 18 donated →
From cables to speakers to stands that prop up your phone, there are more cool accessories out there than you can shake a stick at—and they all seem grossly overpriced. Top 10 Cellphone Accessories You Don’t Need to Buy (Because You Can DIY Them for Cheap) article describes 10 cellphone accessories that are cheap and →