Hacker News Reader

jpm_sdon LinkedIn Larpmaxxing

I'm an EE so The Algorithm tailors my feed differently. Instead of a million computer vision Hello World slop posts, I get a million "I designed a PCB with three components on it using ChatGPT" slop posts.

Also I'm constantly getting friend requests from randos all over the world. I thought you had to have some kind of 2nd or 3rd tier actual connection first?

jpm_sdon Mathematical Origami

Modular origami construction of various mathematical solids was pioneered by Tomoko Fuse in the 1980s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomoko_Fuse

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Tomoko-Fuse/author/B004L2C2A4/...

The author is still creating new work and writing new books.

jpm_sdon I'm Tired of Being on the Network

missing link to MiSTer https://retrorgb.com/mister.html

jpm_sdon What appear to be biochemical processes may be a natural feature of geology

there, behind that sofa!

jpm_sdon The creator of Roomba is back with a furry robot companion

https://archive.is/QJkNC

jpm_sdon No, it's not a battleship

Meanwhile, China has found a simple and practical alternative.

https://www.twz.com/sea/chinese-cargo-ship-packed-full-of-mo...

jpm_sdon Gundam is just the same as Jane Austen but happens to include giant mech suits

Patrick O'Brian (author of the Aubrey/Maturin series) was a huge Austen fan and intentionally modeled his writing style after hers. Post Captain (book 2) is the most explicit homage, with a number of character names borrowed from Austen's work.

jpm_sdon The past was not that cute

That's funny, just about a year ago, I had to replace a dead fridge and ended up with a reliable $3000-ish model. It's been great. GE PWE23KYNFS

https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-Profile-ENERGY-STA...

jpm_sdon State of Embedded: Q4 2025 Overview

Nothing about NXP? They are a pretty big player in this space, and mostly do a great job contributing upstream to the kernel, but I guess they don't have a hobby-level entry point readily available.

I've used NXP-based embedded Linux hardware from Toradex, Gateworks and EmbeddedTS in previous projects, lots of vendors out there.

https://www.toradex.com/

https://www.gateworks.com/

https://www.embeddedts.com/

https://variscite.com/

https://www.ibase.com.tw/en

https://www.phytec.com/

https://www.ezurio.com/

jpm_sdon Show HN: I've built a tiny hand-held keyboard

Steve Roberts beat you to it, back in the 80s.

https://bikepacking.com/plog/steve-roberts-computing-across-...

More details, from the man himself:

https://microship.com/winnebiko-ii/

https://microship.com/bicycle-mobile-packeteering/

https://microship.com/first-text-while-driving/

https://microship.com/behemoth/

I think the craziest thing is that almost every feature he built into BEHEMOTH is now covered by the average smartphone (+ a small solar panel).

jpm_sdon The Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel's Antichrist Obsession

https://archive.is/tUoCU

jpm_sdon iRobot Founder: Don't Believe the AI and Robotics Hype

iRobot got crushed by Chinese competitors. Rethink failed early, they had a poor quality product and Universal made a much better cobot. And this new venture is pointless, there are 10 other companies in the Boston area alone doing warehouse automation...

jpm_sdon Hurricane category 6 could be introduced under new storm severity scale

They're just trying to compete with Ethernet.

jpm_sdon Building the mouse Logitech won't make

I was into these trackball devices for a while, then my thumb started to hurt!

Since I switched to a vertical mouse all my hand pain is gone. Highly recommend the MX Vertical.

jpm_sdon A Nation of Lawyers Confronts China's Engineering State

https://archive.is/nELW3

jpm_sdon Enough AI copilots, we need AI HUDs

That's exactly what this article is about, though. Assistive systems that are incredibly capable without needing to have a fake personality.

jpm_sdon Enough AI copilots, we need AI HUDs

This is how ship's AI is depicted in The Expanse (TV series) and I think it's really compelling. Quiet and unobtrusive, but Alex can ask the Rocinante to plot a new course or display the tactical situation and it's fast, effective and effortlessly superhuman with no back-talk or unnecessary personality.

Compare another sci-fi depiction taken to the opposite extreme: Sirius Cybernetics products in the Hitchhikers Guide books. "Thank you for making a simple door very happy!"

jpm_sdon Are we Trek yet? – A guide for how close we are to Star Trek technology

I think we're more or less on schedule?

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Bell_Riots

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Second_Civil_War

jpm_sdon What caused the 'baby boom'? What would it take to have another?

I think this idea that we need more people is completely bonkers. Look at the housing market in any developed country; overcrowding at tourist destinations around the world; environmental impact of resource extraction, plastics manufacturing, fossil fuel consumption. There are WAY TOO MANY people in the world already. We had thriving communities with <1B people on the planet, we certainly don't need to go rocketing past 10B.

jpm_sdon Proposal: GUI-first, text-based mechanical CAD inspired by software engineering

I don't think this proposal addresses the most important problems in mechanical CAD.

Have a look at Dune3D:

https://dune3d.org/

https://docs.dune3d.org/en/latest/why-another-3d-cad.html

jpm_sdon How to modify Starlink Mini to run without the built-in WiFi router

RGMII isn't really designed to go board-to-board, fairly high data rates, and ideally all of the signals should be delay matched. That gets a bit trickier when there are two boards involved. Also I would expect EMI/EMC issues.

I know people do that sort of thing for evaluation kits, but it doesn't seem like a good idea for production.

jpm_sdon Meta found 'covertly tracking' Android users through Instagram and Facebook

More details

https://english.elpais.com/technology/2025-06-03/the-covert-...

https://localmess.github.io/

jpm_sdon GPS Needs to Toughen Up, or Get Trampled Down

Supposedly CRPAs are already due to come off the ITAR list later this year, so that's good news.

https://insidegnss.com/crpas-to-be-removed-from-itar-list-op...

jpm_sdon Sid Meier's Colonization

This link is broken for me, but here's a different writeup on the same game.

https://www.filfre.net/2020/12/ethics-in-strategy-gaming-par...

jpm_sdon How long until unlimited clean energy is real?

https://archive.is/U8Pf9

jpm_sdon Amazon launches first Kuiper internet satellites in bid to take on Starlink

KY-per

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Kuiper

jpm_sdon Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator

Welcome, Tom. Are you a Neal Stephenson fan? There's a memorable character in Cryptonomicon who shares your name...

jpm_sdon Electron band structure in germanium, my ass (2001)

A classic I will never not upvote.

Maybe the frustrations of undergrad lab work would be easier to swallow if they were better situated in historical context. This kind of result should give the experimenter some sympathy for the folks who originally made these discoveries, with less knowledge and worse equipment. But I don't think it's usually explained that way.

jpm_sdon The Egg (By Andy Weir)

(2009)