Way back in the dimdarks, software was distributed on floppy disks. That worked because most applications only needed a megabyte or two for the complete installable package. Systems pushed this a bit. Slackware and OS/2, for instance, often needed ten or twenty floppies. That is why the CD became a media of choice for systems [...]
The facebook announcement of specifications for their server farms has received interest from places like Tech.Blorge and The Register. Part of the reason is that it has ‘green tech’ tied to it and another is that it is presented as a open specification like in FOSS. The upshot of the server design, according to Frank [...]
Comparing the technologies between 1981 and 2011 can be a reminder of just how good we have it. Slashdot linked to StormDriver on a comparison of the Osborne portable computer and a modern iPad2. The Tech Archive: 30 years of mobile computing. The occasion is the 30th anniversary of the Osborne. The bar charts are [...]
For one way to visualize the strength of Japan’s earthquake, how about a bent tower? Gizmodo has pics – The Japanese Quake Was So Powerful, It Bent the Tokyo Tower. That’s the tip of a 1,091 foot (333 m) tall communications tower. It must have suffered like the end of a whip and it is [...]
One of the latest game changers has been in the pipes for quite a while. Processing power, connectivity, video presentation, and software have finally all come together with a reasonable price. Now you can see folks sharing pictures and other things at table gatherings on their tablets. Digital Trends (HT Instapundit) has a rundown on [...]
The Electronics-Lab.com Blog has two posts of interest today. One takes note of the hazmat problem that results if you use ferric chloride to etch circuit boards – the resulting copper chloride should not go down the drain. The other is a list of the 10 Best Electronics Suppliers. Both posts refer to Instructables. The [...]
How about a junk yard? Hack A Day describes Harvesting ultrasonic sensors and refers to Hacking Automotive Ultrasonic Sensors at Instructables. As the comments indicate, the modern auto junk yard could be a good place to pick up sensors of various sorts and LED lights and all sorts of other stuff that might be a [...]
Replacing the hard drive and keeping the installed systems working is both trivial and tricky, especially if you are not doing an exact clone of the entire drive. In my case, I wanted to simplify the drive layout by not including the Windows recovery partitions and by changing the size of the data partition. First [...]
A good directional antenna can improve signal strength if you know where to point it. Instructables has the scoop on building a DIY Wifi Extender – Cantenna build with a stand. The parts list is rather simple. The parameters are calculated using cantenna calculator. Antenna experimentation is one aspect of AR that is readily available [...]
Tagged antenna, DIY, wifiEC&M has a rundown on the National Electrical Code changes for 2011 A lot of these changes involve grounding and equipment bonding issues which could be pertinent to the radio station and its equipment. The only way to find these codes online are through local government websites that post their building codes. The last edition [...]