China became the third country to land a probe on the Moon on January 2. But, more importantly, it became the first to do so on the far side of the moon — often called the dark side. The ability to land on the far side of the moon is a technical achievement in its own right,
Read MoreIt’s safe to say that hot-melt glue is a staple of the projects we see here at Hackaday. There won’t be many readers who don’t have a glue gun, and a blob of the sticky stuff will secure many a project. But it’s not so often we see it used as an integral component for
Read MoreCelebrate the big game with this prize pack that includes a TV, a Chefman air fryer and $125 in CBS All Access gift cards. This giveaway ends Feb. 3. Win* this LG 65-inch OLED TV – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreEmilie Filou / Quartz: Madagascar’s data processing and call centers for international clients flourished after it built out cable internet in 2009 with speeds exceeding those of UK — In a large, open-space office, employees are busy processing promotional coupons for a well-known supermarket chain … Madagascar's data processing and call centers for international clients
Read MoreAstrophotography is an expensive hobby. When assembling even a basic setup consisting of a telescope, camera, guiding equipment and mount, you can easily end up with several thousand dollars worth of gear. To reduce the monetary sting a little, [td0g] has come up with an innovative homebrew mount and guiding solution that could be assembled
Read MoreSarah Perez / TechCrunch: Plex is in talks to offer ad-supported movies and more premium subscriptions as soon as this year, taking on Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video Channels — Media software maker Plex is preparing to take on The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video Channels, possibly as soon as this year. Plex
Read MoreSarah Sluis / AdExchanger: Piano, a SaaS platform for digital publishers including 1,300 media brands, raises $22M Series B to help publishers bring in non-ad revenue — Piano, whose tech and services gives digital publishers a way to supplement their ad revenue, raised $22 million in Series B funding Thursday to expand … Piano, a
Read MoreCaddy’s new three-row crossover is armed with a battery of hot new tech. 2020 Cadillac XT6 revealed ahead of the Detroit Auto Show – Roadshow Source: CNet
Read MoreNatasha Lomas / TechCrunch: Spanish on-demand laundry and dry cleaning startup Mr Jeff raises $12M Series A led by All Iron Ventures with plans to expand to 30 countries by end of 2019 — If you thought the on-demand laundry space had run out of startup steam, here’s a bit of a conditioner: Spanish startup
Read MoreDan Goodin / Ars Technica: Researchers: a hacking group made ~$3.7M in Bitcoin since Aug. with Ryuk ransomware, which only targets firms with huge resources and can lay dormant for a year — Ryuk lies in wait for as long as a year, then pounces on only the biggest prey. — A recently discovered ransomware
Read MoreCoconut is a delicious and versatile food but if you’ve ever tried to open one you know they can be a hard nut to crack. Those of us who live in the tropics where they are common might reach for a machete, drill, or saw to open them, which is often a messy and sometimes
Read MoreTaylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch: Research shows self-reported heavy Facebook users make impaired decisions, like drug addicts, on a classic test of maximizing rewards — Researchers at Michigan State University are exploring the idea that there’s more to “social media addiction” than casual joking about being too online might suggest. Research shows self-reported heavy Facebook users
Read MoreRita Katz / Wired: How ISIS is changing how it uses tech to recruit and coordinate, by moving to free public chat apps and services like RocketChat, Yahoo Together, Viber, Discord — HEADS UP, TECH companies: If your product appeals to the masses, it likely also holds allure for terrorist groups like ISIS. How ISIS
Read MoreRahaf Mohammed al-Qunun lands in the country after fleeing her family and pleading for help on social media. Saudi teen who tweeted plight is granted asylum, arrives in Canada – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreWatchdog timers are an often overlooked feature of microcontrollers. They function as failsafes to reset the device in case of a software failure. If your code somehow ends up in an infinite loop, the watchdog will trigger. This is a necessity for safety critical devices. If the firmware in a pacemaker or a aircraft’s avionics
Read MoreSidney Fussell / The Atlantic: Automation may not completely replace service workers, but will likely reduce hours, lower pay, and conceal intense demands on labor and poor working conditions — Workers may not be replaced by robots anytime soon, but they’ll likely face shorter hours, lower pay, and stolen time. Automation may not completely replace
Read MoreWashington Post: Over half of the top 20 YouTube search results for “RBG” this week pointed to conspiracy-theory videos about Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s health — Conspiracy theories about the health of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg have dominated YouTube this week, illustrating how the world’s … Over half of the top 20 YouTube search
Read More[Sean Hodgins] has a knack for coming up with simple solutions that can make a big difference, but this is one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” things: addressable seven-segment LED displays. [Sean]’s design is basically a merging of everyone’s favorite Neopixel RGB LED driver with the ubiquitous seven-segment display. The WS2811 addressable
Read MoreDavid Pierce / Wall Street Journal: How MicroLED display technology, demoed by Samsung at CES, may let customers assemble their own TVs to the exact size and shape they want, like Lego bricks — MicroLED is better looking, more efficient and more versatile than any previous display tech. Now all Samsung, Sony … How MicroLED
Read MoreTrump has made a lot of things buzzworthy, but perhaps none more than “fake news.” Everyone has strong opinions about who is at fault for spreading lies in the press. It’s “the media’s” fault. It’s Trump’s fault. Before Trump, it was the National Enquirer’s fault. It’s Facebook’s fault. You name a source, and they’ve probably
Read MoreWe love electromagnetic displays: take the modern look of a digital readout, combine with the low-tech coil mechanism that you theoretically could create yourself, add a dash of random clacking sounds, and what’s not to like? Evidently, [Nicolas Kruse] shares our affection for these displays, because he’s taken it beyond theory and created a 7-segment magnetically-actuated display
Read MoreThe federal closure seems to have led to expired certificates, and without them, hackers can get between you and the website you’re visiting. Shutdown: Government sites with lapsed security certificates pose risk – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreEmma Best / Gizmodo: An overview of internal WikiLeaks data the US government collected from 2009 through at least 2017, including chats with identifying details on some sources — Late last year, the U.S. government accidentally revealed that a sealed complaint had been filed against Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. An overview of internal
Read MoreMonoprice’s Monolith Liquid Spark makes budget headphones sound better than ever, while the Monolith Liquid Platinum takes high-end headphones to the next level. Monoprice's two desktop headphone amps are spectacular – CNET Source: CNet
Read MoreThe Chinese telecommunications giant said that the alleged actions of the employee, Wang Weijing, had nothing to do with the company. Huawei Fires Employee Arrested in Poland on Spying Charges Source: NY Times Tech
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