The Raspberry Pi 500 with an integrated keyboard is the perfect starter mini-PC The Raspberry Pi 500 is a mini-PC that's tucked away within a keyboard, which makes it super portable and easy to plug in wherever you want. It's the next step up from the Pi 400, utilizing the Pi 5's hardware to make an even better companion. I'm thinking that this enclosure should probably also be able to have a SSD drive tucked into it. The new Raspberry Pi Monitor is also interesting as it can be connected, and powered, directly from the keyboard. Now that it also includes a GPU, and can run most OSes as well, this all makes it a very compact and useful computer. It looks like it will even handle two display outputs. The total cost then would probably come to about $220 (with mouse, screen, and power supply), but that really includes everything you need. See

XDA

Raspberry Pi finally releases its own monitor for your SBC projects

Plus, the Raspberry Pi 500 is here to make your mini PC dreams come true.

#technology #rraspberrypi

You can 'play' AAA games on a Pi (or anything else) using open source Sunshine and Moonlight Moonlight allows you to play your PC games on almost any device, whether you're in another room or miles away from your gaming rig. Moonlight (formerly Limelight) is an open source implementation of NVIDIA's GameStream protocol. They implemented the protocol used by the NVIDIA Shield and wrote a set of 3rd party clients. You can stream your collection of PC games from your gaming PC to any supported device and play them remotely (even over the Internet). Moonlight is perfect for gaming on the go without sacrificing the graphics and game selection available on a PC. Sunshine is a self-hosted game stream host for Moonlight (where you are running the game from). Offering low latency, cloud gaming server capabilities with support for AMD, Intel, and Nvidia GPUs for hardware encoding. Software encoding is also available. You can connect to Sunshine from any Moonlight client on a variety of devices. A web UI is provided to allow configuration, and client pairing, from your favorite web browser. Pair from the local server or any mobile device. Sunshine can host a game from a device running Android, ChromeOS, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, Xbox One/Series, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, or LG webOS TV. Run Sunshine on your own hardware. No need to pay monthly fees to a cloud gaming provider. It works with Intel, AMD or Nvidia GPUs. So yes, you could have a game running on a Windows or Linux or other computer, and be accessing and playing it from a Raspberry Pi or a mobile device. This is also useful if you have one main gaming computer with a good GPU, but others in the home have smaller computers and also wish to play games. See

It's FOSS

How I Managed to Play AAA Games on Raspberry Pi

You can utilize your Raspberry Pi to experience games too, with a catch!

#technology #gaming #remoteaccess #opensource

The OTIO standard can allow importing of a video editor's timeline into a different video editor This means a timeline that contains various media with multiple tracks and clips with cuts, can be exported, for example from Kdenlive and imported into DaVinci Resolve. This is useful where often one editor can do things that another editor cannot do. You can read more about the OpenTimelineIO, or OTIO, standard at https://opentimelineio.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html. Their site does state: OTIO supports clips, timing, tracks, transitions, markers, metadata, etc. but not embedded video or audio. Video and audio media are referenced externally. I picked up on this from Kdenlive's post on Mastodon, about how they have achieved exporting a timeline from Kdenlive and importing it into DaVinci Resolve. The attached image shows this announcement, which can also be seen at

Mastodon

Despite this though there may still be some challenges, for example with DaVinci Resolve on Linux not supporting AAC audio, so no audio editing will be possible then on the DaVinci side (without conversion). Although I'd expect the audio could be left intact as AAC if it is just re-imported back to Kdenlive. On DaVinci Resolve's side, I see they announced support for OTIO was added already from their version 18.5. #technology #interoperability #openstandards #vvideo

RaspController is an Android app for remotely managing a Raspberry Pi RaspController is an application designed to monitor, access, and control your Raspberry Pi over a network. Once you pair the app with your lean, mean, green board, you can access the files, monitor the resource consumption, and check the outputs of the sensors and cameras connected to the SBC. Plus, if you’ve got the necessary packages installed on your Raspberry Pi, you can send wake-on-LAN packets over the network to activate it remotely. For tinkerers who often pair extra devices to the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO pins, you can consult the pinouts and wiring diagrams inside RaspController. As if that’s not enough, you can even use the app to execute shell commands on the SBC, making it perfect for a headless Raspberry Pi setup. See

XDA

RaspController is my go-to Android app for tinkering with my Raspberry Pi

If you

#technology #raraspberrypi

If your webcam didn’t come with customization software, you can use OBS to reframe it OBS is free and open source software that will provide various filters and effects you can apply to an input such as a webcam. It will generate an output stream which any app will think is a webcam. In this way you can apply custom masks, overlays, zoom in, add a title, change colours, change scenes between multiple cameras, or share your screen, change the background, and lots more. See

XDA

My webcam didn’t come with customization software, so I used OBS to reframe it

Adjust and reframe your webcam just the way you like it using OBS.

#technology #opensource #wwebcam

Android’s AirDrop-Like Quick Share Just Got an Upgrade Google has just announced a new, neat change to Quick Share. Now, instead of having to change around your settings or add people as a contact every time you want to share something, you can now just generate a QR code. The other person will be able to scan that very QR code to instantly initiate the actual file transfer, without the other user having to change their existing settings, verify devices, or do anything else. This is part of a larger effort by Google to actually make Quick Share a useful, widely-used feature on Android phones. The feature, formerly named Nearby Share, recently got merged with Samsung's Quick Share, adopting the latter's name. The feature is also available for Windows computers to share files back and forth with Android phones. So, all good it works really well between by Android devices, but I have a Linux desktop and file transfer is something I do quite often. There is a rQuickShare I found in the AUR, but it only shows a black screen, so something is wrong there. I'm still using LocalSend which does work well between all my Android, Linux, and even iOS devices. But thinking about file transfers, maybe I will also just add the Android download folder on my folder to the SyncThing for my desktop. See

How-To Geek

Android’s AirDrop-Like Quick Share Just Got an Upgrade

Scan it.

#technology #quickshare

5 signs it might finally be time to upgrade your PSU As a PC user, you probably already appreciate the crucial role of a power supply unit (PSU). It's not only responsible for routing the correct voltage to every component inside the PC, but also keeping everything operating at peak performance (and importantly, stability). Without adequate and clean power, your CPU, and GPU can easily encounter issues that you might fail to diagnose at first glance. Two places many PC sellers compromise on to save costs, are the power supply and the case. So often upgrading your PSU with a quality one, can make a real difference, and you may need to anyway if you want to install one of the newer graphics cards. Quite frequently stability issues arise from cheap PSUs where they cannot sustain loads nearer their rated limits. Another big plus is many after market PSUs are dead silent. Another overlooked issue with cheap PSUs, is they typically just have a thick bundle of cables coming out of the PSU, no matter whether you many only be using a few of them. After market PSUs will usually have connectors on their casing (like the featured image on this post), so that you only connect what you need to use, and cut down on the cabling clutter inside the PC case. See

XDA

5 signs it might finally be time to upgrade your PSU

It might be time to replace your old PSU, especially if it's been too long or you're thinking of upgrades.

#technology #PSU #powersupply

iVerify's $1 phone scanner finds seven Pegasus spyware infections In recent years, commercial spyware has been deployed by more actors against a wider range of victims, but the prevailing narrative has still been that the malware is used in targeted attacks against an extremely small number of people. At the same time, though, it has been difficult to check devices for infection, leading individuals to navigate an ad hoc array of academic institutions and NGOs that have been on the front lines of developing forensic techniques to detect mobile spyware. On Tuesday, the mobile device security firm iVerify is publishing findings from a spyware detection feature it launched in May. Of 2,500 device scans that the company's customers elected to submit for inspection, seven revealed infections by the notorious NSO Group malware known as Pegasus. “The really fascinating thing is that the people who were targeted were not just journalists and activists, but business leaders, people running commercial enterprises, people in government positions,” says Rocky Cole, chief operating officer of iVerify and a former US National Security Agency analyst. “The age of assuming that iPhones and Android phones are safe out of the box is over,” Cole says. iVerify's app was released earlier this year for Android, too. See

Ars Technica

$1 phone scanner finds seven Pegasus spyware infections

iVerify's detection tool was launched in May and is turning up victims.

#technology #security

Jack Dorsey explains very concisely how Nostr works in 2 minutes One of the best descriptions I've seen. No fluff, no technical jargon. Why Jack left X and Bluesky, was because he wanted a social platform that was also going to be censorship free. The Nostr design depends on numerous hosted relays, and there is/are no central server/s that store posts. Nostr is quite different from the decentralised type hosting of Bluesky or Fediverse servers. I'm glad too he touched on Nostr not working on top of blockchain, because although there are many who punt crypto on Nostr, and you can tip any poster in crypto if you wish for their post, you firstly do not have to use any of that (it is optional) and the network does not rest on top of it. Many users on Nostr (like myself) don't mention crypto and post about perfectly normal things. Watch #technology #socialnetworks #NNostr

KDE is Making its Own Distro, and So is GNOME KDE's distro won't be the same as their KDE Neon (which is Ubuntu based) but it is uncertain whether the new one will replace KDE Neon (I think not because of the differences). What is known about KDE's new distro is the following: * Be the recommended KDE operating system with stability and user experience as priority * Offering a secure experience * A focus on modern technologies (kind of like Fedora) * Immutable core * Wayland by default * Close to rolling release schedule The immutable core is pretty interesting, as that is a newer approach that I've not gone for yet. So we'll only know for sure once there are versions out for testing. It does look like they are trying to marry the benefits of a rolling release with stability, through the immutable core, good testing, and probably built-in rollbacks etc. And it looks like GNOME is going for a very similar approach too. See

It's FOSS

KDE is Making its Own Distro, and So is GNOME

KDE and GNOME are gearing up to build their own Linux distributions. What does this mean? Let's find out!

#technology #Linux #KDE #GNOME

How to expand your NAS with USB drives – and why it’s not always a good idea Expanding the capacity of even the best NAS is simple. Fill the enclosure with as many drives as it supports and add an external enclosure once the primary system is fully populated. Larger drives can replace smaller capacities as they reach their end of life, but there's also the possibility of using USB drives to expand capacity. Whether or not you should do this is a different matter altogether. In my own case, I do actually use the USB interfaces on my home server. But I have USB-SATA connectors going to each 4 TB hard drive. At 2am every morning, the server does an incremental rsync backup from drive 1 to drive 2. So I don't sit with the drives running all day long in a RAID configuration. For me, it's working fine right now. See

XDA

How to expand your NAS with USB drives – and why it’s not always a good idea

How you can (and probably shouldn't) use USB drives to expand NAS capacity

#technology #NAS #sstorage

How to Choose the Best (and Fastest) Alternative DNS Server Your internet service provider offers its own DNS servers, which help you turn websites like www.howtogeek.com into their respective IP addresses. Your devices use those by default, but you can set your own preferred DNS servers for a bit of improved speed. Many DNS servers will also block malware, pornography, and other types of websites, if you want them to. If you're looking for something faster than your ISP's DNS servers, you should run a DNS benchmark to find what's best for your connection. The fastest DNS server will depend on your geographical location and internet service provider, so there really isn't one fastest DNS provider for everyone. See

How-To Geek

How to Choose the Best (and Fastest) Alternative DNS Server

Resolved to use a faster service?

#technology #DNS #nnetworking

Red Dead Redemption 2 Relaxing Ambient Third Person Horse Carriage Ride Red Dead Redemption 2 is an amazing game in more ways that one. But it is not just about gun fights. The scenery, sounds, and numerous small details are truly remarkable. We are seeing more and more videos of walking or riding across the map because you can roam freely anywhere, and interact (or not) with anyone, or any animals. The linked video is one example, shot in 4K 60 fps. I'd recommend watching it at least full screen 1080p. If you have headphones, even better, as you will be able to hear all the details of all the ambient sounds. One day I hope to experience this in proper VR. Watch #technology #relaxing #ambientsounds #RDD2 #ggaming

These temporary tattoos could eventually replace clunky EEG wires and "potentially revolutionize" brain-computer interface devices Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin and others developed the tech, which aims to avoid the limitations of conventional electroencephalography, or EEG, testing. The researchers were able to successfully measure people’s brain activity using specially designed liquid ink that was non-invasively printed onto their patients’ scalps. The innovation might make EEGs and other diagnostic tests much more convenient to perform. The researchers still have many small and large adjustments to make to their technology before it’s ready for public use. They eventually hope to lace their ink with wireless data transmitters, for instance, which could allow doctors to someday perform a truly wireless EEG test. See

Gizmodo

These Temporary Tattoos Can Read Your Brainwaves

The specialized ink could eventually replace clunky EEG wires and "potentially revolutionize" brain-computer interface devices.

#technology #health #EEEG

7 Ways Tech Can Improve Your Mental Health Technology often receives bad press for its adverse effects on people's mental health. But, actually, there are many ways in which your devices can help you improve how you feel, as long as your methods are selected carefully and used in moderation. I rarely get stressed out by tech (it's my form of relaxation) but I have been meaning to add more music to my day as generally when I'm driving or shopping I listen to tech podcasts. Something I can add to this list though (that may work for some) is to try relaxing games like Euro Truck Sim 2 in single or multi-player mode, Snowrunner (similarly you can explore off-road trails with a few friends), or even Red Dead Redemption 2 (in free roaming type game play). See

How-To Geek

7 Ways Tech Can Improve Your Mental Health

The positive power of tech shouldn

#technology #relaxation #mmentalhealth

This Website Shows How Much Google’s AI Can Glean From Your Photos Software engineer Vishnu Mohandas decided he would quit Google in more ways than one when he learned that the tech giant had briefly helped the US military develop AI to study drone footage. In 2020, he left his job working on Google Assistant and also stopped backing up all of his images to Google Photos. He feared that his content could be used to train AI systems, even if they weren’t specifically ones tied to the Pentagon project. “I don't control any of the future outcomes that this will enable,” Mohandas thought. “So now, shouldn't I be more responsible?” Apart from the incredible detail that is recognised from the smallest details on a single photo, the AI also draws all sorts of inferences from appearances, expressions, etc. But you really need to think about the collective analysis across hundreds or thousands of personal photos a single Google user backs up into Google Photos. The power of AI across all of those photos is where the true value lies. Google though, says the company doesn’t sell the content stored in Google Photos to third parties or use it for advertising purposes. Users can turn off some of the analysis features in Photos, but they can’t prevent Google from accessing their images entirely, because the data are not end-to-end encrypted. As a user, you just have to hope that analysis really does not get into the wrong hands, no matter whose hands those may be. See

WIRED

This Website Shows How Much Google’s AI Can Glean From Your Photos

A photo sharing startup founded by an ex-Google engineer found a clever way to turn Google’s tech against itself.

#technology #privacy #AI #ggooglephotos

South Korea arrests CEO for adding DDoS feature to 240,000 satellite receivers Allegedly, the functionality was needed to counter the attacks of a competing entity. The exact way the DDoS functionality was leveraged on the devices was not specified, but these attacks are always illegal when targeting external systems. Moreover, users of the satellite receivers were involuntarily taking part in attacks and might have experienced reduced device performance during these occurrences. There has been more and more of a shift towards satellite communications for civilian Internet and mobile phone use, so this is probably just a wake-up call for all of us to realise that those satellites sitting up there in plain view, are not just going to be "allowed" to be used without any interference or weaponizations. It will be both military (and I include all nations here) who will try to intercept or even block messages, as well as the usual hacking and ransomware suspects who will try to exploit them. The military of all nations will be pushing to have their encryption back doors included, and will want to be able to disable civilian satellite services "in times of need". All I'm saying is, we cannot assume these satellites will all just be there functioning in our interests 100% of the time. Of all the communications mediums ever invented, satellites are the most exposed and vulnerable of all. In other words, be sure not to rely solely on satellite communications in the future. Consider them a useful supplementary tool for communications, but do not neglect your more traditional means of communications. See

BleepingComputer

Korea arrests CEO for adding DDoS feature to satellite receivers

South Korean police have arrested a CEO and five employees for manufacturing over 240,000 satellite receivers pre-loaded or later updated to includ...

#technology #satellites #vulnerabilities #ssecurity

Cross-platform open source HandBrake Video Converter Just Got a Big Update HandBrake, the free and open-source video converter and encoder, has released a new update. HandBrake 1.9 has improved support for Intel hardware, VP9 video, disc sources, and much more. It also supports many of the newest codecs, and the linked article also mentions which codes are succeeding which ones in future. It is also using the latest FFmpeg version 7.1. If you don't use FFmpeg on the command line, then HandBrake is pretty well much the go-to GUI alternative. See

How-To Geek

The Handbrake Video Converter Just Got a Big Update

More media encoding and decoding.

#technology #opensource #vvideo

DistroSea.com: a website that lets you run and test 60+ Linux distributions straight from your web browser No need for any installation or even creating a live bootable medium. DistroSea uses virtual machine (VM) technology to allow multiple operating systems (distros, in this case) to run on a single host system. Each Linux distro runs in an isolated VM with its own visualized resources (CPU, RAM, storage.) DistroSea downloads and configures the distro ISOs using the quick get script from the Quickemu project. It also uses noVNC libraries to allow you to interact with the distros in your browser. noVNC a web-based VNC (Virtual Network Computing) client that connects to the graphical environment of the Linux distro running on the server and streams it to the user's browser. This allows full interaction with the distro as if it were installed locally. Quite an interesting review on how this works, and seems it may be a better experience than using VirtualBox. See

How-To Geek

Not Sure If You

Linux is just a few clicks away.

#technology #Linux #opensource #distrosea

Ubuntu Linux works pretty well on a 2014 MacBook Air I also have a 2014 MacBook Air, except mine still has its original battery in, and works perfectly. But this is a great idea as there are no longer macOS updates for these old devices. It is an intel based CPU so most Linux distros should work perfectly well on it, and then regularly receive OS updates. Just note, in the linked article, that there was a small workaround needed to establish Wi-Fi connectivity. See https://www.howtogeek.com/i-installed-ubuntu-on-my-old-macbook-air-and-wish-id-done-it-sooner #technology #Linux #mamacbook