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Category: Hardware

Backblaze's 2024 Hard Drive Failure Rate Report: 24TB Drives Shine

2025-02-11
Backblaze's 2024 Hard Drive Failure Rate Report: 24TB Drives Shine

Backblaze released its Q4 2024 hard drive failure rate report, covering over 300,000 drives. The overall failure rate dropped to 1.35%, with 24TB Seagate drives boasting zero failures in Q4. 4TB drives are nearing extinction, being replaced by 20TB, 22TB, and 24TB models. The report analyzes failure rate trends across manufacturers and drive capacities, offering insights for users. The author also announced their retirement, with a new team taking over future reports.

(www.backblaze.com)
Hardware hard drive failure rate

Building a Budget-Friendly Personal AI Workstation: A Hardware Odyssey

2025-02-11
Building a Budget-Friendly Personal AI Workstation: A Hardware Odyssey

Tired of expensive cloud AI services and potential censorship, the author embarked on a journey to build a cost-effective personal AI computer. The article details the process of assembling a system using a secondhand HP Z440 workstation, two used Nvidia Tesla P40 GPUs (48GB VRAM total), and other necessary components, all for around €1700. The build presented numerous challenges, including GPU cooling and power supply compatibility, which the author meticulously documents and solves. Benchmark tests demonstrate the system's ability to run medium-sized LLMs smoothly, providing complete control over AI models.

(ewintr.nl)
Hardware personal cloud

Nvidia RTX 5090 Power Connectors Meltdown: Deja Vu?

2025-02-11
Nvidia RTX 5090 Power Connectors Meltdown: Deja Vu?

Nvidia's RTX 5090 Founders Edition is facing another power connector meltdown crisis, eerily similar to the RTX 4090 issues from two years ago. Two users reported melted power connectors and PSU damage, with images showing burnt plastic on both the PSU and GPU ends of the cables, even using cables from reputable manufacturers like MODDIY and FSP. While Nvidia previously blamed improper cable insertion, this recurrence highlights concerns about the 12VHPWR connector design. PCI-SIG has updated the connector to 12V-2x6 for improved reliability, but RTX 5090s still support older 12VHPWR cables. AMD, which uses traditional 8-pin PCIe connectors, previously hinted at 12VHPWR being a fire hazard. The 12VHPWR connector continues to face criticism for its design oversights.

(www.theverge.com)
Hardware

Floppotron 3.0: A 512-Floppy-Drive Orchestra Upgrade

2025-02-11

The Floppotron 3.0 is here! This massive hardware orchestra, featuring 512 floppy disk drives, 4 scanners, and 16 hard disk drives, has undergone a major upgrade. This enhanced version boasts increased scale and capabilities, incorporating custom electronic circuits and a completely rewritten firmware. The article details its operational principles, construction, and sound generation, explaining the intricacies of the floppy disk drive wall, scanners, and hard drives, and how MIDI controls them to produce music. It also addresses the significant power consumption and the power supply solution, along with plans for future instrument additions.

(silent.org.pl)
Hardware Creation

USB Spec Meeting Anecdote: The Premium of Translucent Blue

2025-02-10
USB Spec Meeting Anecdote: The Premium of Translucent Blue

At a USB specification meeting, a company showcased their USB floppy drives, surprisingly offering separate versions for PCs and Macs. Committee members were puzzled, as the specification ensured the same drive worked on both systems. The representative explained that the drives were electronically identical; the only difference was the Mac version came in translucent blue plastic and cost more. This reflected the then-popular translucent plastic trend of iMacs and highlighted how some manufacturers leveraged design differences for price premiums.

(devblogs.microsoft.com)
Hardware floppy drive

Used Seagate Drives Masquerading as New: A Global Hard Drive Scam

2025-02-09
Used Seagate Drives Masquerading as New: A Global Hard Drive Scam

Online retailers are unknowingly selling used Seagate hard drives as new. Fraudsters have reset the SMART values of drives, often with an average runtime of 25,000 hours, and reintroduced them into the supply chain. While SMART values can be manipulated, the FARM values (Field Accessible Reliability Metrics) remain, revealing the drives' true age. The issue is global, affecting official dealers and impacting customers worldwide. Suspicion points to decommissioned Chia cryptocurrency farms as the source of these drives. Many drives are sold as OEM, lacking manufacturer warranties, making consumer recourse difficult. Buyers are urged to verify warranty status immediately upon receiving drives.

(www.heise.de)
Hardware hard drive scam Chia farms

Framework Expands Ecosystem with RISC-V Mainboard and Customizable Chassis

2025-02-08
Framework Expands Ecosystem with RISC-V Mainboard and Customizable Chassis

DeepComputing's DC-ROMA RISC-V mainboard for the Framework Laptop 13 is now available. This developer-focused board, powered by a StarFive JH7110 processor, aims to accelerate the RISC-V software ecosystem. Framework also released a Framework Laptop 13 shell, simplifying the use and reuse of mainboards. Additionally, Framework now offers 8TB WD_BLACK SN850X SSDs, open-sourced the mechanical design of the Framework Laptop 16 graphics module shell, and reduced prices on select products.

(frame.work)
Hardware Modular Laptop

FPGA Recreation of Rare Retro Chip MCS6530 Released!

2025-02-08

Paul Sajna has successfully recreated the rare vintage MCS6530 chip using an FPGA after over a year of work. This chip, produced by MOS Technology, was featured in the 1975 KIM-1 computer and various 70s and 80s arcade boards. The project, named yo6530, is open-source and available on GitHub. It utilizes the reDIP RIOT board designed by Dag Lem (creator of the reSID engine) and features a Lattice ICE40UP5k FPGA, compiling with open-source toolchains. Currently, yo6530 supports the 6530-002 and 6530-003 variants, successfully booting a replica KIM-1 designed by Eduardo Casino. Further development will continue, with contributions welcomed on GitHub.

(blog.paulsajna.com)
Hardware

The Evolving Saga of 80387 FPU State Saving: A Tale of Documented Errors

2025-02-07

While investigating the behavior of x87 Floating Point Units (FPUs) and their state saving mechanisms (FSTENV/FLDENV and FSAVE/FRSTOR instructions), the author discovered discrepancies between early Intel documentation and later revisions concerning the 32-bit protected mode FPU state. Early 80387 documentation omitted the floating-point opcode from the 32-bit protected mode FPU state, while updated documentation included it. This led to several third-party reference books perpetuating the outdated information for years. The story highlights the evolution of technical documentation and how errors can persist in technical literature for extended periods.

(www.os2museum.com)
Hardware documentation errors

Pebble Lives On: Open Source Code Reignites Hope

2025-02-07
Pebble Lives On: Open Source Code Reignites Hope

Google's release of the PebbleOS source code has breathed new life into the Pebble community. The Rebble team is hard at work developing new Pebble watch hardware and software, targeting the nRF52840 chipset. They're open-sourcing all updates and collaborating with factories and suppliers to create a new watch that closely resembles the classic Pebble experience, but with modifiable and improvable open-source software. Developers are welcome to join and contribute to improving PebbleOS, the Cobble app, and the Pebble SDK.

(ericmigi.com)
Hardware

TKey: The Open-Source USB Security Key Redefining Flexibility

2025-02-07

TKey is a new type of flexible USB security token featuring open-source hardware and software. Employing a Unique Device Secret (UDS), combined with application measurement and an optional user-provided seed, it derives unique key material for each application. This ensures that even if the application is compromised, correct authentication keys won't be generated. Supporting SSH login, Ed25519 signing, Root of Trust, FIDO2, TOTP, Passkey, and more, TKey offers versatile functionality with ongoing support for additional applications and protocols. Its robust design, using injection-molded or 3D-printed casing and a RISC-V PicoRV32 core, guarantees both security and adaptability.

(tillitis.se)
Hardware security key

Keyboard Company Halts US Shipments Due to Trump Tariffs

2025-02-06
Keyboard Company Halts US Shipments Due to Trump Tariffs

Mechanical keyboard company Qwertykeys has temporarily suspended all shipments to the US due to President Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods. The 45% tariff increase, coupled with DHL's new requirement for a 50% prepayment of declared value plus a $21 processing fee per package, makes shipping unsustainable. Qwertykeys is pausing shipments for 72 hours to negotiate with DHL and other logistics providers for fairer solutions. The company also faced temporary delays in sending replacement parts due to a now-reversed US Postal Service suspension of packages from China.

(www.theverge.com)
Hardware trade war

T1: A RISC-V Vector Processor Inspired by Cray X1

2025-02-06
T1: A RISC-V Vector Processor Inspired by Cray X1

T1 is a RISC-V vector processor implementation inspired by the Cray X1 vector machine. It features a lane-based microarchitecture with intensive chaining support and SRAM-based VRFs. Supporting standard Zve32f and Zve32x, T1 allows VLEN/DLEN scaling up to 64K, pushing the limits of the RISC-V Vector architecture. Key features include lanes, chaining, and a large LSU, while also serving as a general platform for MMIO DSAs. Designed with Chisel and accompanied by a T1Emulator, T1 integrates with any RISC-V scalar core. Users can configure T1 for various performance trade-offs, balancing throughput, area, and frequency, allowing for both high efficiency and high-performance designs.

(github.com)
Hardware Vector Processor

FreeBSD as a High-Fidelity Audio Server: A Deep Dive

2025-02-06
FreeBSD as a High-Fidelity Audio Server: A Deep Dive

This comprehensive guide details configuring FreeBSD as an audiophile-grade audio server. It covers system and audio subsystem parameter tuning, real-time operation, bit-perfect signal processing, and optimal methods for enabling and configuring the system's graphic equalizer and high-quality audio equalization using FFmpeg filters. A comparison with Linux is included, along with numerous commands and configuration examples to help build a superior audio system. Linux users will also find valuable insights, particularly regarding MPD player and filter configuration.

(m4c.pl)
Hardware Audio Server High-Fidelity Audio

Is Your 3D Printing Filament Ruining Your Prints? The Ultimate Guide to Drying and Storage

2025-02-05
Is Your 3D Printing Filament Ruining Your Prints? The Ultimate Guide to Drying and Storage

This comprehensive guide tackles the often-overlooked issue of filament moisture in 3D printing. It details how hygroscopic filaments absorb moisture, leading to problems like stringing and poor adhesion. The guide covers different filament types and their hygroscopicity, symptoms of wet filament, and various drying methods, from dedicated dryers to oven drying (with strong cautions!). It also provides detailed storage solutions, emphasizing airtight containers with desiccants and vacuum-sealed bags. Proper desiccant care is also addressed, highlighting the need to periodically dry the desiccant itself.

(syntaxglow.com)
Hardware filament drying

Framework Launches RISC-V Mainboard for Laptop 13: Open-Source Hardware Takes a Leap

2025-02-04
Framework Launches RISC-V Mainboard for Laptop 13: Open-Source Hardware Takes a Leap

Framework has released its highly anticipated RISC-V mainboard for $199. This drop-in replacement for the Framework Laptop 13's Intel or AMD motherboard features the StarFive JH7110 processor, 8GB of RAM, and supports Ubuntu and Fedora. While performance is comparable to a quad-core ARM Cortex-A55, its significance lies in its open-source nature, aiming to accelerate the RISC-V ecosystem. Kits with a case, storage, and accessories are also available, along with pre-built laptops featuring the RISC-V mainboard.

(liliputing.com)
Hardware

Radxa Orion O6: Ambitious Open-Source Arm V9 Motherboard, But Needs Refinement

2025-02-04

Radxa's Orion O6 motherboard boasts being the world's first open-source Arm V9 motherboard, promising high performance, low power consumption, and enhanced security. However, real-world testing reveals performance doesn't quite match the marketing hype of rivalling Apple's M1 chip. While outperforming some competitors in certain benchmarks, results are mixed elsewhere. Furthermore, the open-source hardware claim is questionable, with full schematics and OSHWA certification currently absent. Software-wise, the pre-installed OS presents issues like a default device tree configuration and unusual CPU core load distribution. In short, the hardware shows promise, but software and driver support require significant improvement. Proceed with caution and temper expectations.

(www.jeffgeerling.com)
Hardware

AMD's Versal RF Series: Revolutionizing RF Signal Processing with Integrated Direct RF-Sampling

2025-02-04
AMD's Versal RF Series: Revolutionizing RF Signal Processing with Integrated Direct RF-Sampling

AMD is revolutionizing RF signal processing with its new Versal RF Series adaptive SoCs. These chips integrate high-resolution RF data converters, hard IP DSP compute blocks, and AI engines onto a single die, delivering up to 80 TOPS of DSP performance and 32 GSPS sample rates. Targeting aerospace & defense and test & measurement markets, the Versal RF Series boasts 19x more DSP compute and 80% lower power consumption compared to its predecessor. Its high-resolution, wideband spectrum observability and low-latency processing make it ideal for applications like phased array radar, electromagnetic spectrum operations, and military satellite communication terminals.

(www.electronicsweekly.com)
Hardware RF Data Converters

Alibaba's Xuantie C910: Ambitious RISC-V Core, Short on Fundamentals

2025-02-04
Alibaba's Xuantie C910: Ambitious RISC-V Core, Short on Fundamentals

Alibaba's T-HEAD division has released the Xuantie C910, a high-performance RISC-V core aiming to reduce reliance on foreign chips and provide cost-effective solutions for IoT and edge computing. This deep dive analyzes C910's architecture, including its out-of-order execution engine, branch predictor, and cache system, revealing performance characteristics through testing. While excelling in vector extensions and unaligned access handling, C910 suffers from an imbalanced out-of-order engine with insufficient scheduler and register file capacity relative to its ROB size. Its weak cache subsystem further limits performance. Despite ambition, C910 needs improvement in balancing core architecture and memory subsystem.

(chipsandcheese.com)
Hardware Chip Architecture

Importing Chinese Electric Mini-Excavators: A First-Hand Account

2025-02-04
Importing Chinese Electric Mini-Excavators: A First-Hand Account

A blogger recounts his experience importing a shipment of Chinese-made electric mini-excavators. Initially seeking affordable electric options for his parents' Florida property, he found a lack of suitable machines in the US market. He turned to China, sourced machines, and made improvements to suit North American users. His small business now ships these excavators across the US. The article details the import process, from ordering and shipping to inspection, comparing the excavator's price and performance to competitors, highlighting its eco-friendly, economical, and convenient aspects.

(electrek.co)
Hardware electric excavator China manufacturing import

Breakthrough Non-Reciprocal Optical Memory: Nanosecond Write Speeds, Billions of Cycles Without Degradation

2025-02-04
Breakthrough Non-Reciprocal Optical Memory: Nanosecond Write Speeds, Billions of Cycles Without Degradation

Researchers have developed a novel non-reciprocal optical memory that achieves ultra-fast nanosecond write speeds using magneto-optic and thermo-optic effects. The memory is based on a microring resonator (MRR) with an integrated electromagnet, controlling current to alter the magnetic field and thus modulate light transmission. Experiments show clear eye diagrams at 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps, and stable operation after 2.4 billion write/erase cycles, demonstrating exceptional reliability and endurance. This breakthrough promises to revolutionize high-performance optical memory, offering new possibilities for future high-density, low-power information processing systems.

(www.nature.com)
Hardware optical memory non-reciprocity high-speed writing

Critical AMD Zen CPU Microcode Vulnerability Allows Malicious Code Injection

2025-02-03
Critical AMD Zen CPU Microcode Vulnerability Allows Malicious Code Injection

Google's security team discovered a critical vulnerability in AMD Zen CPUs (Zen 1-4). An attacker with local administrator privileges can bypass insecure signature verification to load malicious microcode patches, compromising the confidentiality and integrity of confidential computing workloads protected by AMD SEV-SNP and potentially the Dynamic Root of Trust for Measurement (DRTM). AMD released a fix on December 17th, urging users to verify TCB values for SNP. Further details and tools will be released on March 5th by Google to allow time for remediation.

(github.com)
Hardware CPU vulnerability

Reverse Engineering a SanDisk High Endurance microSD Card: Uncovering the Flash Memory Secret

2025-02-02
Reverse Engineering a SanDisk High Endurance microSD Card: Uncovering the Flash Memory Secret

Blogger Jason reverse-engineered a SanDisk High Endurance microSD card to uncover the mystery of its flash memory. SanDisk was tight-lipped about the type of flash used, even refusing to answer his support requests. Through meticulous analysis of test pads and bus signals, Jason determined that the card uses Toshiba/Kioxia BiCS3 3D TLC NAND flash. He detailed the NAND Flash ID and JEDEC Parameter Page, overcoming challenges like deciphering obscure test pad layouts, controller interference, and SanDisk's custom Parameter Page format. The findings reveal the use of 3D TLC flash, but SanDisk's secrecy surrounding this detail sparked Jason's criticism.

(ripitapart.com)
Hardware NAND flash

ESP32 Remote-Controlled Camera System: Live Streaming & Motor/Servo Control

2025-02-02
ESP32 Remote-Controlled Camera System: Live Streaming & Motor/Servo Control

This project showcases an ESP32-based remote-controlled camera system that transmits live video streams over WebSockets and controls motors and servos. A Python server manages WebSocket communication and provides a web interface for viewing and controlling the ESP32 devices. It features automatic timeouts to reset motors and servos to defaults if no commands are received. The system supports multiple clients and is open-source.

(github.com)
Hardware Live Video Streaming

FDA Warning: Critical Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Contec CMS8000 and Epsimed MN-120 Patient Monitors

2025-02-01
FDA Warning: Critical Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Contec CMS8000 and Epsimed MN-120 Patient Monitors

The FDA issued a warning about three critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities in Contec CMS8000 and Epsimed MN-120 patient monitors. These vulnerabilities could allow unauthorized access, data exfiltration, and remote control of the devices. The FDA recommends immediately disconnecting internet-connected devices and contacting healthcare providers for alternative monitors. No related incidents have been reported.

(www.fda.gov)
Hardware medical device security cybersecurity vulnerabilities FDA warning

Augmenting MIDI Hardware with Perl: Building Custom MIDI Filters

2025-02-01
Augmenting MIDI Hardware with Perl: Building Custom MIDI Filters

This article details building a custom MIDI filter using Perl and the RtMidi library to enhance the capabilities of an M-Audio Oxygen Pro 61 MIDI keyboard. Two key features are implemented: a software-generated pedal tone and fifth interval, transforming single-note plays into chords; and a bank-switcher using the controller's pads to select MIDI channels, acting like 'tracks'. Asynchronous event handling ensures minimal latency, and the filter is extensible to add features such as 'pickup' functionality and rhythmic strumming effects.

(fuzzix.org)
Hardware Hardware Enhancement

Google's Mysterious Pixel 4a Battery Update: A Recall in Disguise?

2025-01-31
Google's Mysterious Pixel 4a Battery Update: A Recall in Disguise?

Google released a battery update for some Pixel 4a phones, significantly impacting battery life for affected devices. The reason for the update remains unclear; Google only mentions improved "battery stability" without explaining why some phones were targeted or the nature of the problem. This lack of transparency has led to user frustration and speculation that this is a de facto recall without the usual safety warnings and clear communication.

(arstechnica.com)
Hardware

Modernizing the Classic Casio F-91W with a New Motherboard

2025-01-31
Modernizing the Classic Casio F-91W with a New Motherboard

The author purchased a replacement motherboard for their classic Casio F-91W watch from Crowd Supply. This project retains the original Casio LCD but replaces the motherboard with a modern microcontroller and open firmware, resulting in a watch with extended battery life and added functionality. The article details the process of replacing the motherboard, including disassembling the watch, soldering components, installing the new board, and compiling and installing custom firmware. An emulator was used to test the firmware before successfully upgrading the watch with features like a stopwatch and thermometer.

(blog.jgc.org)
Hardware

Microsoft's New Surfaces: Intel-Powered Models Cost $400 More

2025-01-31
Microsoft's New Surfaces: Intel-Powered Models Cost $400 More

Microsoft launched new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models for business customers, powered by Intel's Core Ultra processors. These are $400 more expensive than their Qualcomm Snapdragon-based counterparts. The Intel-based models start at $1499 with a second-gen Core Ultra 5 processor, 16GB RAM, and 256GB storage. Qualcomm-based Surfaces start at $1099. Consumer models currently only offer Qualcomm options. Available February 18th, the new Surfaces support Microsoft's new AI-enhanced mobile device management portal.

(www.theregister.com)
Hardware
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