Tag: Hardware

I received a very cool gift this year: a Web USB-powered airhorn! It uses an Arduino Uno and some very neat code. The device waits for approval, configures, and reads continuously from the device for an "ON" signal to trigger the horn. Although the Arduino code isn't available yet, the project is inspired by the WebUSB examples for Arduino and should be released soon. Check out the post and the demo.

I gave my son a micro:bit for his birthday, hoping to introduce him to programming. While he preferred FIFA, I ended up having a blast exploring the device myself. I found it incredibly easy to use and a perfect starting point for hardware and software programming. I even coded a (buggy) Breakout clone to test its capabilities! While the web editor is excellent, I believe integrating WebUSB for direct deployment and improving debugging capabilities would greatly enhance the experience.

I just got the XNA Beta and had to tweak the template code a bit to get it running on my older machine (Athlon with a Geforce 2MX). I was getting a Device Creation Exception, and it turned out my graphics card doesn't support multisampling on the backbuffer. Adding "this.graphics.AllowMultiSampling = false;" to the InitializeComponent method fixed it. Hopefully, this helps someone else too! (P.S. Hardware donations are welcome! 😉)

Microsoft plans to upgrade the Xbox 360's CPU in early 2007. The new CPU is expected to generate less heat and consume less power. While some consumers are threatening returns, this upgrade is a standard practice in the console industry and will likely result in a cooler, quieter console rather than a faster one. Sony, for example, made similar upgrades to the PS2 after its initial release.

I'm not as impressed by Project Origami as others seem to be. While the idea of an ultra-mobile PC is appealing, and I'd like to own one, it feels like a somewhat predictable development in technology.