Month: July 2022

Turn Drone Into A Large Propeller To Increase Hover Efficiency

Multirotor drones are significantly more popular than conventional helicopter designs for many reasons, which do not include efficiency. Making use of the aerodynamic effects behind this, [Nicholas Rehm] was able to significantly increase the efficiency of his experimental tricopter by turning it into one large spinning propeller. Since aerodynamic drag is proportional to velocity, a

Read More
A look at attacks on internet cables in France in April 2022, when “backbone cables” were surgically cut in three locations around Paris in around two hours (Matt Burgess/Wired)

Matt Burgess / Wired: A look at attacks on internet cables in France in April 2022, when “backbone cables” were surgically cut in three locations around Paris in around two hours  —  As new details about the scope of the sabotage emerge, the perpetrators—and the reason for their vandalism—remain unknown.

Read More
A ’70s TV With ’20s Parts

Keeping older technology working becomes exponentially difficult with age. Most of us have experienced capacitor plague, disintegrating wire insulation, planned obsolescence, or even the original company failing and not offering parts or service anymore. To keep an antique running often requires plenty of spare parts, or in the case of [Aaron]’s vintage ’70s Sony television

Read More
How China’s mass collection of personal info and its new, unevenly enforced data security rules contribute to a thriving underground market for stolen data (Karen Hao/Wall Street Journal)

Karen Hao / Wall Street Journal: How China’s mass collection of personal info and its new, unevenly enforced data security rules contribute to a thriving underground market for stolen data  —  Government’s mass collection of personal information aids social control but undermines national security, cybersecurity researchers say

Read More
How the nearly two-year-old chip shortage upended Detroit’s car manufacturing, which a historian says may be the biggest disruption since the 1970s fuel crisis (Jeanne Whalen/Washington Post)

Jeanne Whalen / Washington Post: How the nearly two-year-old chip shortage upended Detroit’s car manufacturing, which a historian says may be the biggest disruption since the 1970s fuel crisis  —  The worst crisis for automakers in 50 years has left dealerships with little to sell as prices soar for consumers  —  Listen

Read More
Adding A Battery To Extend Speaker Life

Perhaps the weakest point in modern electronics when it comes to user servicability is the lifecycle of the batteries included from the manufacturer. Without easily replaceable batteries, many consumer goods end up in the landfill when they’re otherwise working perfectly. If you’d like to get more out of your devices than the manufacturer intends, you

Read More
A look at the bipartisan American Data Privacy and Protection Act, which privacy experts say might finally give the US a strong federal data protection law (Gilad Edelman/Wired)

Gilad Edelman / Wired: A look at the bipartisan American Data Privacy and Protection Act, which privacy experts say might finally give the US a strong federal data protection law  —  A bill with bipartisan support might finally give the US a strong federal data protection law.  —  Usually, when Congress is working …

Read More