HomePod mini feels like magic, but it's just good timing

Apple introduced the HomePod mini six years ago, in 2020.

I'm not one into smart speakers, but the feature that made me take a closer look was their ability to form stereo pairs, without any direct wired connection.

I know there are other speaker manufacturers with wireless speakers, but to my knowledge, Apple was just using AirPlay over WiFi... so how does it work?

Through the magic of buying two HomePods mini (pictured above), I found out. A video detailing the process is embedded below:

6.67-inch flexible AMOLED display works with Raspberry Pi, LattePanda, and other SBCs with HDMI output

DFRobot has introduced a 6.67-inch flexible AMOLED display with a 2400×1080 resolution, designed for easy use with single-board computers such as Raspberry Pi and LattePanda. While flexible displays are common in smartphones, they are difficult to interface with SBCs, so DFRobot added a dedicated MIPI-to-HDMI driver board for plug-and-play compatibility with a wider range of platforms. The panel is just 1.2mm thick and bendable, enabling curved and space-constrained designs, while delivering 450 cd/m² brightness and 16.7 million colors. Like typical OLEDs, it offers deep blacks and high contrast without requiring a backlight, making it suitable for applications ranging from wearables...

ADSL. Откуда в телефонной линии берётся интернет?

Приветствую всех!

Застали ли вы интернет через ADSL? Когда-то давно для многих он был единственной возможностью получить сравнительно быстрый и стабильный доступ к сети. Сейчас же практически никто им не пользуется, а модемы отдаются за бесценок, потому что они уже никому не нужны.

И вот, спустя много лет, я решил попробовать сделать то, чего до меня практически никто не делал: раздобыть то самое оборудование, которое стояло у провайдера, запустить его и, наконец, поднять свою собственную домашнюю сеть и увидеть всё это в работе. Именно этим мы сейчас и займёмся. Заодно узнаем, как работает ADSL, а также вспомним, каким было посещение интернета в...

21.5-inch AI Touch Panel PC is powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX module for industrial HMI applications

AAEON NIKY-2215-NX is a 21.5-inch Full HD AI Touch Panel PC powered by the NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 8GB/16GB and designed for AI-enhanced HMI applications such as production line inspection systems and industrial monitoring dashboards. The panel PC features two GbE RJ45 jacks, four USB 3.2 Type-A ports, CAN Bus, RS-232/422/485, and DIO DB-9/15 connectors, and three M.2 sockets for NVMe storage, WiFI/Bluetooth, and 4G LTE/5G cellular connectivity. It can operate in a -5°C to +55°C temperature range, offers vibration and shock tolerance, and takes 12V to 24V DC input. AAEON NIKY-2215-NX specifications: SoM – NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX Jetson...

Arbor ARES-2100 Wildcat Lake fanless box PC targets industrial automation, machine vision, and Edge AI applications

Arbor ARES-2100 fanless box PC is another industrial platform based on the new Intel Core Series 3 “Wildcat Lake” processor family, which specifically targets industrial automation, machine vision, and lightweight Edge AI applications. The fanless computer supports up to 64GB DDR5 SO-DIMM memory, UFS 3.1 and/or M.2 NVMe/SATA storage, and offers up to three video outputs, up to three 2.5GbE ports, optional WiFi, Bluetooth, and 4G LTE via M.2 expansion slots, an RS232/RS485 RJ45 connector,  and two optional CAN Bus interfaces through a terminal block. As an industrial machine, it’s designed to operate in the -20 to +60°C temperature range,...

Khadas Mind Graphics 2 and Mind xPlay display + keyboard review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and first try

Khadas has sent us the Mind Graphics 2 dock, Mind xPlay portable display and keyboard, as well as the Mind 2 mini PC for review. In the first part of the review, I’ll start by listing specifications, an unboxing of all three packages, a teardown of the graphics dock, and a first try of the xPlay and Mind Graphics 2 with the mini PC. While the Mind 2 will be used for testing, I won’t go into details here since it’s quite similar to the Mind 2 AI Maker Kit we reviewed last year. Instead, in the next parts, I’ll...

FalCAN Probe is an open-source, STM32-based USB to CAN/RS-485/RS-422 adapter

Most USB-to-bus adapters, including tools like CANTact Pro or MeatPi’s Ollie V1 and V2, typically support either CAN or RS-485/RS-422 as fixed-function serial devices. In contrast, the FalCAN Probe by Anders B. Nielsen is a multi-protocol USB adapter based on the STM32F042 microcontroller. The FalCAN Probe is a compact open-source USB Type-C board that connects a computer to CAN, RS-485, and full-duplex RS-422 networks. Instead of using a fixed USB bridge, it exposes the MCU’s native USB interface along with SWD and GPIOs, and can also be used as a small Arm Cortex-M0 development platform. FalCAN Probe specifications: MCU –...

Создаем собственную базовую станцию при помощи SDR

В этой статье я хочу рассказать о том, как я запускал собственную базовую станцию мобильной связи (4G и 2G) при помощи относительно дешевого SDR-трансивера.

Ploopy Bean open-source hardware pointing stick mouse runs QMK firmware

The Ploopy Bean is a 3D-printed, open-source hardware pointing stick mouse that runs QMK open-source firmware on a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller to control four Omron D2LS-21 buttons and a friction nub. Ploopy is a Canadian company known for its open-source hardware computer accessories. We first covered their headphones in 2023, but they’ve also made a trackball mouse, a trackpad, a USB knob, and other accessories since then. The Bean is just the latest addition. Ploopy Bean specifications: Bean Pointing Stick PCB Microcontroller Raspberry Pi RP2040 MCU USB – 1x USB-C port for power and data Buttons – 4x Omron...

HAUI 3Gang Touch Display is a 7-inch wall-mount Home Assistant dashboard with MQTT support

The HAUI 3Gang Touch Display is a wall-mount smart home control dashboard designed specifically to run Home Assistant, OpenHAB, Domoticz, or any other web-based home automation dashboard. Built around a Raspberry Pi 3B+ since it’s one of the cheapest options following Pi 4/5 price hikes, the HAUI (Home Assistant User Interface) replaces standard wall switches and fits into a standard single-gang electrical box, while its front panel spans roughly a three-gang footprint, hence the “3Gang” name. It runs a customized version of FullpageOS Linux distribution with a Chromium browser in kiosk mode and includes built-in MQTT integration along with SSH...