One of the biggest hurdles in upgrading or modifying the HP 14-an013nr is just getting the case open. HP doesn’t have any incentive to make this easy, they want to sell you more computers, having you upgrading them interferes with that.
Happy Hacker’s Notebook: Mysteries of the HP 14-an013nr: RAM
In the video “AICvideo” expresses the opinion that more than 8GB of memory is unnecessary in this machine because of the limited processor power. I’m don’t really have an opinion about that yet, but it’s worth noting that because of the integrated graphics the system memory is also the graphics memory, and it does have a full-HD screen, which is a lot more pixels to drive from memory than most notebooks this size.
Happy Hacker’s Notebook: Desoldering surface mount devices with a headlight bulb.
Judging by the video, aside from being very, very dangerous in at least three different ways and probably more, this seems to actually work very well for very little money, and it fills a very real need (otherwise nobody would have been nuts enough to try it).
Intro to the HP 14-an013nr, the hardware hacker’s bargain notebook
HP 14-an013nr, or W2M53UA, or W2M53UAR “W2M53UA” is a secret code to use in searches to find deals on this computer and parts and accessories for it that others miss. Okay, it’s an “item number” or somesuch, as opposed to
The PirateBox Pi Papoose
The basic idea is that you’ll be able to walk into a coffeehouse or take a table on the sidewalk somewhere, pull out a notebook computer with some electronic bits stuck somehow to the back of the lid (very cyberpunk aesthetic, sort of like a DeLorean with high-tech stuff stuck on the outside), have PirateBox up and running in the background to entice other folks around to log in and share whatever while you work on the notebook and on the Internet in the foreground, but you’re still able to connect to the PirateBox, monitor and control things there from the notebook.
Wisdom of the Ancients: “My Two Cents”
Well, I sit at my computer, staring at the screen Like a chloroformed iguana. My brain has got gangrene.
Interesting question – USB microphones and USB switches
My first thought was, as they say, “bits is bits”. If there was noise enough in the box to interfere with discriminating between ones and zeroes than it wouldn’t work for any data. It didn’t seem to make sense.
On reflection, though… maybe. Just maybe.
Jerry Pournelle, RIP
I remember reading once the contention that there are, at any given time in history, only about four hundred really influential people in the world, and that as such it’s really not too surprising that there are a lot of direct and indirect connections between them. Jerry Pournelle was indisputably one of those four hundred for our times.
Home Studio Recording, the Raspberry Pi, and Tracktion
Tracktion as a company seems to be not only supporting Linux and the Raspberry Pi, but quite enthusiastic about it… about “democratizing” home recording by using the latest in inexpensive tech to make it much more affordable.
Bluetooth Gets More Useful… Very Slowly
Obviously, Bluetooth is a digital protocol, and the mini-stereo jack output is analog, so the device doesn’t only contain a Bluetooth receiver, it contains a digital-to-analog converter, or DAC… and with that step we’ve set foot in the analog universe with a very, very inexpensive piece of gear. Is it a good DAC? Is it even adequate? We have no clue, they’re trying not to even bring the issue to mind.The one thing we do know is, whatever the DAC is, it’s cheap.
Power Requirements for the Raspberry Pi Zero W
What this means is that pretty much any USB jack will supply plenty of power to run a Raspberry Pi Zero or W at full load, even with Wifi and Bluetooth.
Powering the Raspberry Pi Zero W Through its USB Data Jack
It is possible, in fact routine, to power the Raspberry Pi Zero (and the Raspberry Pi Zero W) through its USB data jack.
Getting a Raspberry Pi to Connect via Wifi on First Boot
It is still possible to get a Raspberry Pi on Wifi, even the first time it’s ever booted, just by adding a little text to the end of one file.
Powering a Raspberry Pi from a Powered USB Hub While it Uses the Hub
It is possible with some powered USB hubs to use the hub itself as the power supply for a Raspberry Pi while the Pi is using the hub for peripherals, avoiding the need for both a powered USB hub that supplies 5 volts over a USB connection and a USB charger that supplies 5 volts over a USB connection… which is a little silly, when you think about it.
Tech – Element 14’s new Pi Desktop- This One Might Be Important – Update: utter disappointment
The Raspberry Pi is very I/O bound, always has been. The latest processor is a four-core and amazingly capable for the price, the 1 mb of memory is pretty scanty but enough to run Linux well, the memory access is plenty fast enough, but of all the “storage” access, the micro-SD card socket, the USB ports, the Ethernet jack, the on-board Bluetooth and Wifi, the fastest is… the USB ports. USB 2.0. That’s just sad, and really, really hampers the user experience. Anyone who has upgraded their main machine from a hard drive to a solid-state drive will tell you that it’s the single most effective thing you can do to improve the entire user experience, short of upgrading a whole machine… and the Raspberry Pi is sort of in the opposite direction, with storage being slower rather than faster.
Tech – The “Recruiting Company”
I’ve talked about some, just a few, of the evils of the modern common structure of “recruiting” companies and how it was mandated by misguided tax laws here. Briefly, they do not recruit. Far from trying to persuade anyone to
Tech – Government-Imposed Slavery in the United States High-Tech Sector
It doesn’t matter even a tiny bit that you don’t want to be their employee, you never wanted to be their employee, that you wanted to be responsible for your own damned taxes. It doesn’t matter even a tiny bit that FooBarTec didn’t and doesn’t want you as an employee, that you may not even be qualified for employment by their standards. The IRS decides to “reclassify” you as an employee, no discussion… and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, because all of the work that they are “reclassifying” is in the past now.
Surprise, surprise… survival on Mars will require generalists and appropriate tech, not specialists and high tech.
None of these general thoughts should come as a surprise. Survival on Earth has almost always implied stepping down from whatever level of technology has failed to a level that still works. It’s one of the most fundamental principles, and a reason that the line between “survivalism” and interest in various forms of primitive technology is so blurred.
One more microphone…
I yielded to the temptation… the Marantz SG-58 “Professional Audio Scope” (302 mm shotgun mic) was apparently introduced at $79, then slowly ratcheted down in price over time. Last week it briefly hit $13.44 (Amazon Prime shipping) and I “bit”. Hard to pass up at that price, even just out of curiosity. Shortly after I ordered the price bounced back up to $49.98.
Hackaday on Stirling Engines
It’s really not that difficult to understand the working principle of a Stirling engine, it’s mostly just counter-intuitive that there’s enough energy there for it to really work… similar in that respect to the fire piston, or the Rüdiger roll. As described, they all seem barely plausible, you have to see it to really believe it.