Hardware Tech News

Security experts warn against purchasing cheap, generic TV streaming sticks that promise unlimited content for a single upfront fee. These unauthorized devices secretly hijack and rent out the user's internet connection to strangers, creating significant privacy and bandwidth risks.

Gemini Robotics 2 introduces advanced whole-body intelligence to machines, enabling precise physical control from feet to fingertips. By combining fine dexterity with collaborative teamwork, the system allows robots to successfully execute a wide variety of complex tasks.

The Memo-1 is an open-source computer built from scratch around the classic 6502 microprocessor, uniquely utilizing a retro Minitel as its terminal. Hardware enthusiasts can explore the system's design and contribute to the project's ongoing development through its GitHub repository.

Solid-state batteries are rapidly gaining attention as a promising next-generation power source for modern technology. This innovative approach upgrades traditional lithium-ion batteries by replacing the liquid electrolyte with a solid material.

A design and build firm is leveraging virtual reality to stream 3D architectural models directly to headsets, allowing clients to virtually walk through and experience their future homes. This immersive approach helps clients easily grasp spatial proportions that traditional 2D drawings fail to convey, serving as a powerful sales tool that has allowed the firm to become highly selective with its projects.

A new open-source inference engine named turbo-fieldfare enables users to run the Gemma 4 26B-A4B language model locally on any Apple M-series Mac. Remarkably, the highly optimized tool requires only about 2 GB of RAM, significantly lowering the hardware barrier for running large AI models on everyday laptops.

Peripheral manufacturer Keychron has announced ZGM, its first open-source firmware designed specifically for gaming mice. This new project aims to bring the same level of deep customization and community-driven development to mice that popular open-source projects like QMK and ZMK have provided for mechanical keyboards.

A renter successfully automated their analog air conditioning unit by building a DIY smart controller with an ESP32 microcontroller and a stepper motor for just $15. The physically janky contraption attaches to the existing knobs with binder clips, turning them via a Home Assistant integration without permanently altering the appliance. This budget-friendly hardware hack allows for fully automated temperature control based on room sensors without risking a security deposit.

Researchers using a Software Defined Radio successfully intercepted, demodulated, and decrypted the 915 MHz water usage messages transmitted by the Flume Water Monitor. Despite the encryption ultimately being broken, the device's overall security is still considered fairly robust.

A recent discussion examines John G. Kemeny's 1972 book Man and the Computer, noting that its vision of personal devices acting as terminals for centralized resources feels highly prescient in today's cloud computing era. The conversation also highlights Kemeny's pioneering efforts at Dartmouth College, where the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System successfully democratized early computer access decades before it became standard at other universities.

A new comprehensive guide titled The Rust on ESP Book has been published for developers using Espressif microcontrollers. The resource provides detailed instructions and best practices for integrating the Rust programming language with various Espressif System on Chips and modules. This release aims to streamline embedded software development for engineers working with ESP hardware.

The classic video game Half-Life has been ported to Mac OS 9, allowing players to experience the title on legacy Apple hardware. This achievement is highlighted by a community dedicated to keeping early Mac computers usable today through software downloads, guides, and preservation hacks.

Investor anxiety over artificial intelligence has triggered a widespread slump in chip stocks across the US and Asia. The downturn was particularly severe in South Korea, where trading on the Kospi index was temporarily halted following an 8% plunge.

ReFrame is an experimental camera featuring a color ePaper display that captures and displays only one photo at a time. This minimalist design encourages mindful photography by ensuring every single captured frame remains memorable.

Apple is rebranding the iPhone Upgrade Program to Apple Upgrade, maintaining the core benefit of allowing customers to get a new iPhone every year with AppleCare+ protection. The new program is available immediately for purchase online or in Apple Stores.

The Una GPS smart watch is a sustainable new wearable that prioritizes longevity through a fully repairable and upgradable design. Despite its eco-friendly focus, the developer-friendly device delivers uncompromising performance and convenient USB-C charging.

GPU Solutions is now offering a worldwide service to physically upgrade the RTX 2080 Ti from 11GB to 22GB of video memory. The professional modification includes full VRAM replacement, custom BIOS tuning, and comprehensive testing.

A newly developed adhesive can effectively bond to notoriously difficult nonstick surfaces and be easily wiped away using ethanol. Despite this innovation, outside experts emphasize the need to study the potential environmental impact of the fluorinated molecules involved in its formulation.

Apple has introduced a new Vehicle Motion Cues accessibility feature on the iPhone to help alleviate motion sickness during car rides. Located in the Motion accessibility settings, the tool provides onscreen visual stimuli designed to stabilize the user's senses and reduce discomfort while in a moving vehicle.

Colossus, recognized as the world's first large-scale programmable electronic digital computer, has officially been designated an IEEE Milestone. During World War II, this groundbreaking machine played a pivotal role in the Allied victory by successfully decrypting Germany's secret communications.

A critical vulnerability in the My Eicher fleet management platform by VE Commercial Vehicles allowed attackers to hijack user accounts. By exploiting this security flaw, unauthorized individuals could gain full control over connected commercial vehicle fleets.

Decker is a new platform designed to revive the accessible, intuitive application-building experience of classic macOS and its iconic HyperCard software. Community discussions emphasize how such tools historically empowered non-programmers to easily create native-feeling, self-contained applications and games through creative constraints. By returning to this simpler component-based approach, Decker offers a nostalgic yet highly relevant alternative to the complex development ecosystems of today.

A US citizen named Tunick has been charged after their smartphone wiped its data during an airport search due to a privacy feature in GrapheneOS. The open-source operating system, which runs on Google Pixel devices, includes a mechanism that erases all information when a specific passcode is entered. Authorities are pursuing charges against the individual following the loss of digital evidence during the inspection.

HTMX 4.0 has been announced as the first JavaScript library to release exclusively on the Game Boy platform. The release features a unique gameplay experience with four levels of pickle-collecting action where players squish client-side JavaScript down to size.

Recently shared on Hacker News, CheapSecurity is a lightweight, self-hosted CCTV system designed for Linux single-board computers. It offers an affordable, open-source solution for users looking to build their own home security camera networks. Developers can explore the codebase and contribute to the project via its GitHub repository.

A hobbyist successfully built a custom music streamer featuring a high-resolution display, a custom carrier PCB, and a 3D-printed case using open-source design tools. The project highlights the growing accessibility of hardware engineering for beginners without requiring deep theoretical physics or mathematics. It also sparked community discussions regarding the computational and memory bandwidth challenges of driving large displays at high frame rates.

A new DIY desktop radar project uses an ESP32 microcontroller to track and display local air traffic in real time. The compact device pulls ADS-B data to plot the distance and bearing of nearby aircraft. All resulting flight details are then shown directly on a small integrated screen.

General Motors is investing in a sodium-ion battery startup to improve U.S. grid storage with safer, high-temperature technology. The new batteries promise quieter operation and an impressive 20-year durability for long-term energy infrastructure.

A new open-source project demonstrates the ability to run a 28.9 million parameter LLM on an inexpensive eight-dollar ESP32 microcontroller. This achievement significantly advances edge AI by bringing complex language processing capabilities to highly constrained, low-cost hardware. The source code is publicly available on GitHub for developers to explore and contribute to.

A developer has created educational animations illustrating the inner workings of transistors, which users praised for making complex electronic physics easier to visualize. Following requests from educators, the creator released the materials under a permissive CC-BY license so they can be freely used in training programs. The simulations model field densities and charge carrier behaviors to provide a realistic, intuitive look at how transistors function at a fundamental level.