207 karma · joined May 9, 2022
There will always be an arms race between safe-crackers and safe-builders. Presumably the lessons learned will help make the next generation tougher to break into.
I was not familiar with the Oric, but while it does look like the LOCI does support cdc_ncm, I am not sure that the pico-usb-wifi is the right firmware for it. The pico-usb-wifi is more aimed at any computer with a USB port, so anything from ~1995-onwards with a USB and IP networking stack - if it runs Linux and has cdc_ncm and cdc_acm - there's a good chance it'll work. Earlier systems might be feasible with PCI/ISA USB cards.
cdc_ncm is really helpful for early 2000s systems and locked-down embedded systems. For example, I've been hacking the Spotify Car Thing, which only has USB device mode. After switching it into host mode, there's no 'way in', so any change required re-flashing the firmware over-and-over. Once I had cdc_ncm set up and attached the pico-usb-wifi, I could telnet in and develop, of course a USB UART likely could have established the same thing.
Personally, I rescued a dozen PogoPlugs from the trash a decade ago and used one to practice self hosting a word press instance. Having a dongle like this would have allowed me to stick it in a corner and run something like librespot or snapcast. Instead, I eventually sent them to the recycler when I moved.
I achieved two goals today: a front page post on hackernews and for being recognized for my work; or more accurately, for being very good at using AI ;)
Now I need to make a nice 3D-printed case.
I admit, I almost couldn't believe it when I turned off my regular blazing fast 802.11ax NIC in the KDE network manager and switched to the pico-usb-wifi and I watched the YouTube "stats for nerds" buffer fully fill up and playback was totally smooth.
https://gitlab.com/baiyibai/superbird-host-mode
I also did not look forward to trying to build in wireless functionality in to NixOS, because it also took 30 minutes to flash the device - I had to lower the transfer block size and add more retries in the flash utility because it kept crashing.
ultimately both the SuperBird work and the RPI pico firmware was about 300 prompts of investigation, research, creating potential approaches, architecting, designing, debugging, testing/validating, and documenting.
Regarding your last two questions... I started out 25 years ago by studying for a CCNA in high school and joined the industry just as first generation 802.11ac devices began hitting the market. From my position, I've worked on every layer from the SoC, PCB, to software. I want to be very careful and say software estimation is very difficult. The main bug (issue #1) I encountered would have been very difficult to diagnose and resolve ten years ago using traditional development workflows.
Great work on PicoGUS.
CachyOS on a 200-300 USD Intel n100 tablet with a wired or wireless keyboard of your choice is my go-to recommendation these days. I have one connected to a 4k display and it handles 4k YouTube just fine. It handles Windsurf as well. By comparison, Debian 13 could not handle 4k video and Windsurf overtaxed the system, causing write access errors.
https://www.chuwi.com/product/items/Chuwi-hi10-x2.html
Or spend a little more to get a 12 inch higher resolution display: https://www.chuwi.com/product/items/chuwi-hi10-max-n150.html
If you need more video outputs, higher speed I/O, or a faster CPU for video editing, I cannot help you.
In fall of 1999, I built my first PC with an Abit BE6 to use with an Intel Pentium 3 'Coppermine' 500 MHz. I was a fifteen year old kid working at pizzeria in the midwest making minimum wage to feed my computer hobby. At the time I was reading hardocp, and compiled a list of "good" BX motherboards to try and find at computer show that was organized on a semi-regular basis at the local fairgrounds. This event saw numerous mom&pop computer stores travel from hours away to sell custom PCs, software, and hardware. I remember having a bit of buyer's remorse because I actually wanted the BE6-II which featured the ability to change the front side bus in 1 MHz steps, while the older BE6, only had a set of fixed multiplers and PCI dividers. My 500 MHz coppemine (5 x 100 MHz) didn't post at 750 MHz (5 x 150 MHz) and was unstable above 667 MHz (5 x 133 MHz). This overclock still 'saved' me a considerable amount of money by allowing me to purchase the cheapest part and squeeze performance out of it. That computer hobby led me down a path of studying computer engineering and my eventual departure (escape) from the Midwest.
Years later, in 2015 I moved to Taipei, and remember walking around Neihu seeing all the headquarters of the computer part manufacturers I used in my childhood (Liteon, ECS, Nvidia). I didn't realize that Abit's former headquarters on 陽光街 is right next to many of the places I've been living and working next to for the past decade.
Another memory from that time was buying 128 MB of SD-RAM from Crucial (Micron). I remember being a little pissed because the price had gone up 50% due to the 921 earthquake, which killed thousands and left many homeless, and knocked the fabs offline which led to a supply shortage.
Present an alternative.
I've done some cursory research on the XREAL Air 2 Pros because they are currently discounted at 299 USD. I'm interested in retiring a 4K 43" monitor which has been slightly too large.
My question to anyone who has tried XREAL's products is whether the more expensive XREAL ONE model provides a much better productivity experience for 499 USD?
So far, I'm not convinced the Air 2s provide a 'stable' enough image for productivity tasks as this article states. I found a Youtube reviewer who created a rendition of what it is like to use them for video editing - and they weren't enthusiastic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZhD8Dt6akY&t=316s
Linus Sebastian from LTT did go on Jimmy Fallon a few months ago and show off the XREAL ONEs https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=vybLi25Q8Fw
For me, I'm not interested in XREAL's Android offerings; I'm more interested in Graphine or e/OS, but would need to purchase a new tablet and a new phone with USB-C display output. I did pick up a Chuwi Hi10 X1 Intel n100 tablet a few months ago for about 200 USD, so that solves the battery problem for me. https://store.chuwi.com/products/hi10-x1-n150
If I didn't have that, and wanted to go the powerbank with X86 route, the company MeLE does have some very, very small mini pcs. https://store.mele.cn/products/mele-quieter-4c-n100-3-4ghz-f...
To many people asking about keyboards, I'd recommend simply getting a 60% with bluetooth, or an adapter which converts a regular USB keyboard into a bluetooth adapter. I'm also a trackball user, and the Japanese company DEFT makes some decent ones.
I've installed it to three devices and have daily driven it since June 2023. I got tired of paying the Apple tax, so I picked up a Motorola Edge 30 (Dubai) for ~200 USD which was the newest non-Murena/Fairphone listed on the website - but it is no longer listed because they've shifted to the "easy installer". I've turned to community-built ROMs for my other devices, including a Xiaomi Pocophone F1 from 2017 - which works great - and a Lenovo Tab. I specifically purchased the Lenovo tablet because there was a ROM; there's a user on the forums who is creating a lot of ROMs for devices. I was looking for a tablet to serve as an e-reader and media consumption device, but it's powered off most the time.
The OS is very nice to use. It's very similar to iOS. The browser has automatic ad blocks, so some sites complain that I need to turn off my ad blocker, but this isn't possible. The privacy-first focus has helped me to avoid becoming a smart phone addict. I use it primarily for consuming hacker news articles on the go.
As far as errors go, /e/OS developers have stated they need to invest more time on tablet features, so the Lenovo Tab I have isn't an iPad competitor. Also, my Motorola Edge 30 was stuck on version 1.19 for about 7 months until I manually side-loaded the update. For the past month, App Lounge was having trouble anonymously connecting and updating apps. V2.5 was released a couple days ago and everything seems fixed.
I like being able to anonymously install apps using the "App Lounge". I tend to keep less than 30 apps on my phone and don't use it for gaming. The only Google App I've installed is Gboard for additional language input - other than that it seems like every other app is available. My bank and brokerage apps are supported. I did set up a Garmin smartwatch on the tablet so I could get offline Spotify playback. One negative is that Uber recently updated their app in the last 6 months which broke scrolling on the map, which makes it difficult to see how far away my driver is.
The only concern I really have is that the boot loaders aren't lockable, which could be a security risk if the phone gets out of my possession. Luckily, I have treated my phones as disposable for years.
There are only two things I dream of: 1. An open-source Samsung Dex alternative so that I could plug my phone into a monitor and keyboard and use it as a PC. 2. An /e/OS ROM for an e-ink device with support from Murena//e/OS developers for e-ink devices.
I have several Daikin split units and installed Faikins on them. https://github.com/revk/ESP32-Faikin
Having the PCBs made, flashing them, sourcing the connectors,and installing them was a bit involved, but setting them up in home assistant was one of the best things this nerd has ever done.
I wish there was an over-arching collective of hackers who would teach the principles, and help collaborate to decipher these protocols and help build software and microcontrollers to replace proprietary systems like the one Advantage Air has. I bet a simple ESP32 could handle this.