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Did you know you can turn a computer mouse into a camera? You probably shouldn’t, but you can (video)

Mouse modern computer mice feature optical sensors that track the position of your mouse as you move it over a flat surface. But you know what else uses optical sensors? Cameras. So can you use a mouse as a camera? Kind of. YouTuber Doctor Volt turned an old Logitech mouse into a camera. But it’s […]

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$25 board brings satisfyingly retro HDD clicks back to your SSD-equipped computer

Sure SSDs are great, because they’re fast, sturdy, and quiet. But do you ever feel like it’s a little too quiet around your computer? If you find yourself missing the signature ticking sounds that accompany hard drive activity the $25 HDD Clicker is here to help. The HDD Clicker is little bit of retro-inspired fun […]

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Hacker installs Ubuntu on a Google Nest Hub (2nd-gen) smart display

The 2nd-gen Google Nest Hub is a smart display with a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen display, a built-in speaker, and a lightweight operating system designed to put Google Assistant front and center. But security expert FrĂ©dĂ©ric Basse found a security vulnerability that could be exploited to install other operating systems on the […]

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Notkia puts a Linux PC inside the shell of a Nokia 1680 cellphone

The Nokia 1680 classic is a basic cellphone that was released in 2008 just as smartphones were starting to become a thing. Designed for phone calls, texting, and not much else, the phone has a small screen, a numeric keypad, and support for 2G networks. But a hardware hacker going by Reimu NotMoe has scooped […]

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Lilbits: Using a Fisher Price baby toy as a real game controller and VESA’s new variable refresh rate display standards

Computer display standards organization VESA has announced a new open standard and logo certification program for PC monitors and laptop displays with variable refresh rates. Yet another new mini PC with a Rockchip RK3566 processor and Ubuntu software is available, this time with prices starting at just $89. And a new version of the Sxmo […]

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Lilbits: MangoPi’s SD-card sized Linux PC, supersizing the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and Intel’s most powerful desktop chip

Chinese company MangoPi made a bit of splash earlier this year by introducing a pair of tiny computer boards powered by RISC-V processors. Now the company is showing off a new computer-on-a-module that’s smaller than an SD card, but which packs four ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores, supports Linux-based software, and can handle 1080p video playback […]

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Lilbits: WiFi Game Boy Cartridge, Framework modular laptop in Europe, and more

Folks have been hacking the Game Boy for decades, but surprisingly up until now one thing that nobody seems to have done is create a WiFi Game Boy cartridge that allows Nintendo’s original handheld game console to connect to the internet wirelessly. Well, now we can scratch that off the list, because a hacker created […]

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Now you can buy or build your own iPhone with a USB-C port (kind of, but not really)

Last month engineering student Ken Pillonel introduced the world to what may be the first fully functional iPhone featuring a USB-C port, after replacing the Lightning port on an iPhone X with a USB-C port. Now Pillonel has released open source instructions and files for folks that want to try this at home, as well […]