Anfractuosity built a hyperspectral camera, the Waverider, using a miniature USB spectrometer, a stepper-driven x-y stage, and a Raspberry Pi Pico. It scans spectra one pixel at a time, taking nearly 19 hours for a 400x400 image but capturing more than just RGB values per pixel.
Usually databases are treated primarily as fairly dumb data storage systems, but they can be capable of much more. Case in point the PostgreSQL database and its – Ada-based – PL/pgSQL programming language, which allows you to perform significantly more complex operations than would be realistically possible with raw SQL. Case in point the implementation of a Kalman Filter by the folk over at Traconiq, which thus removes the necessity for an external filtering pipeline. Using a Kalman Filter is highly desirable when you’re doing something like vehicle tracking using both dead-reckoning and GPS coordinates, as it filters out noise that can be the result of e.g. GPS reception issues.
Nathan Ladwig has got the ESP32 decoding SPDIF quite effectively, using an onboard peripheral outside its traditional remit. The project allows an ESP32 to work as a USB audio device or take an S/PDIF signal as input, and then transmitting that audio stream over RTP.
This article details the creation of a toolkit for building a macropad using an Android app and a Linux server, focusing on communication protocols, security considerations, and the challenges of building a complex interface with App Inventor.
Microsoft has released version 1.1 of Microsoft BASIC for the 6502 under an MIT license. This version, from mid-1978, supports the Commodore PET, KIM-1, and early Apple models. It's a version that has circulated unofficially for some time, now with licensing clarified.
Niklas Roy has created a modern-day take on the two-wheeled robots used in schools in the 1980s with Logo programming. His robots are vector plotters that create artwork and can be built with an Arduino Nano.
This week's security roundup covers the Anubis web AI firewall, AI exploit generation, a vulnerability in CodeRabbit, the potential illegality of adblocking in Germany, a Microsoft Copilot audit log issue, and a disputed Elastic EDR vulnerability.
A retrospective on the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, celebrating its 50th anniversary. The article discusses its history, impact on early home computers and consoles, and its continued (though niche) presence in modern electronics.
The article discusses using AI for code review, emphasizing that it should be used as a tool to flag potential issues for human review, similar to how a spell checker works. It highlights a tool created by Bill Mill to aid in this process, which uses a command-line interface to connect to LLMs. The author stresses the importance of discernment when accepting AI suggestions and provides the system prompt used in the tool.
A project that displays WiFi signal strength using *Space Invaders*-themed sprites on an ESP8266. It recalls the practice of wardriving and provides a visual representation of nearby networks, including open ones.
