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Showing posts from November, 2024

Apple Forces the Signing of Applications in MacOS Sequoia 15.1

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The dialogue that greets you when you try to open an unsigned application in MacOS Sequoia 15.1. Many MacOS users are probably used by now to the annoyance that comes with unsigned applications, as they require a few extra steps to launch them. This feature is called Gatekeeper and checks for an Apple Developer ID certificate. Starting with MacOS Sequoia 15, the easy bypassing of this feature with e.g. holding Control when clicking the application icon is now no longer an option , with version 15.1 disabling ways to bypass this completely. Not unsurprisingly, this change has caught especially users of open source software like OpenSCAD by surprise, as evidenced by a range of forum posts and GitHub tickets . The issue of having to sign applications you run on MacOS has been a longstanding point of contention, with HomeBrew applications affected and the looming threat for applications sourced from elsewhere, with OpenSCAD issue ticket #880 from 2014 covering the saga for one OSS

Fix That Old Remote With Graphite

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A button that stopped working has probably led to more than a few smashed remotes over the years. Fortunately [pescado99] has shared a beautifully simple cure for dead or dying remote buttons : graphite dry lubricant. Most remotes operate by pushing a conductive carbon coating on the back of the button onto a pair of contacts on the PCB. Unfortunately, that conductive coating can wear off, leaving you with a dead or dying button. The video after the break [pescado99] demonstrates how to use a cotton swab to apply powdered graphite to the rear of the buttons to make them conductive again. A soft pencil can also be used, but the graphite works better. This beautifully simple hack is too good not to share and could save many remotes from landfills. If you’re more interested in upgrading remote, you can build your own universal remote or replace it with a web browser . from Blog – Hackaday https://ift.tt/I5tBD39

Building a Hydrogen-Powered Foam Dart Cannon

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Nerf blasters are fun and all, but they’re limited by the fact they have to be safe for children to play with. [Flasutie] faced no such restrictions when building his giant 40 mm foam dart launcher , and it’s all the better for it. This thing is sizeable—maybe two to four times bigger than your typical Nerf blaster. But that’s no surprise, given the size of the foam ammunition it fires. [Flasutie] shows us the construction process on how the 3D-printed blaster is assembled, covering everything from the barrel and body assembly to the chunky magazine. Loading each round into the chamber is a manual process, vaguely akin to a bolt-action mechanism, but simplified. It’s the method of firing that really caught our eye, though. Each round has a cartridge and a foam projectile. Inside the cartridge is a quantity of flammable HHO gas generated, presumably, from water via electrolysis. The blaster itself provides power to a spark gap in the cartridge that ignites the gas, propelling the pro

The Nixie Tube Multimeter That Almost Made a Comeback

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In a world of digital monotony, the Avo DA14 digital multimeter, with its vintage J Nixie tube charm, is a refreshing gem. Recently refurbished by [Thomas Scherrer] , this multimeter video review is a blend of nostalgia and tech savvy. The DA14 not only has style, but substance — delivering resistance, current, and voltage measurements that make you wonder why more multi-meters didn’t stick with this stylish glow. As [Thomas] starts by powering up the DA14, we were instantly captivated as the Nixie tubes illuminate in their retro orange. With each twist of the dial, he demonstrates just how intuitive the multimeter is to operate, walking us viewers through each function while giving some extra love to its calibration process—a neat front-panel potentiometer that requires just a touch of finesse to get perfect readings. But, as with all good tinkering tales, things go downhill when issues with analog inputs and the display pop up. A teardown reveals a beautifully complex inner assemb