A swift rundown of some great innovations in calculation from Jason Weisberger on BoingBoing:
Mechanical calculators are fascinating. They represent the early ingenuity and groundbreaking prowess that paved the way for modern computing. While the iPhone or Android device you are likely reading this on is exponentially more powerful and useful, these devices are where it all began! Mechanical calculators demonstrate the incredible progression of technological innovation and highlight the human drive to solve problems and improve efficiency in mathematical computations.
Super fun list about about fictional bookstores and libraries. Earlier this year my kids (finally) moved out of the destructive phase and we now can rent library books on the regular. I had forgotten the magic of these spaces and it’s been such a joy to rediscover them through a different lens. Each library has its own distinct character and feeling, enough so that my almost four-year-olds are discerning enough to request to visit different branches depending on the day. It doesn’t take much to transform a regular library into a fantastical one, which is why the setting of a library is so ripe for sci-fi and fantasy stories. Still, of course, some stories do it better than others! I was happy to see the library (of the Neitherlands) from Lev Grossman’s The Magicians included here. Though, as the author of the post Cole Rush notes, it’s not exactly the most peaceful or charming place.
Readers can never truly get enough of books, and the proof is in the pages: Even when we’re reading to escape to another world, we love when we encounter the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of places packed with shelves of old and new books. Bookshops and libraries tend to make appearances in many of my favorite sci-fi and fantasy tales, and they’re always a welcome addition to any fictional world. I never pass up a chance to explore a bookshop, even when I’m right in the middle of a story!
See the full list here on ReactorMag.com
We’ve got the New nEw NEW for you right here:
You’ll need a good pair of tweezers when soldering delicate surface-mount (SMD/SMT) components. These are a great pair of precision, heat-resistant tweezers. They’ve got a metal body and ceramic inset tips, so they are anti-magnetic and will not bend with use. The tips are fine and pointy to pick up components without risk of scratching, and because they are ceramic, they are also excellent for holding parts during hot air rework or if you’re going to get close with your soldering iron.
You’ll need a good pair of tweezers when soldering delicate surface-mount (SMD/SMT) components. These are a great pair of precision, heat-resistant tweezers. They’ve got a metal body and ceramic inset tips, so they are anti-magnetic and will not bend with use. The tips are fine and pointy to pick up components without risk of scratching, and because they are ceramic, they are also excellent for holding parts during hot air rework or if you’re going to get close with your soldering iron.
On/Off Round Key Lock – 12mm Diameter
MAJOR KEY ALERT 🔑🔑🔑 we now stock ‘Key Lock Switches’! These mechanical switches don’t use a button, lever, or magnet to open and close the contacts. Instead, a literal key is used. This low-cost but effective key lock switch is nice and compact: you only need to drill a 12mm / 0.5″ diameter hole in your mounting plate.
Momentary On/Off Round Key Lock Switch – 12mm Diameter
Insert the ‘bike lock’ style key and rotate it one turn clockwise. Now, the two contacts on the back are electrically connected and locked. Rotate it back counter-clockwise to disconnect the switches. This makes for an excellent ‘On-Off’ switch that requires the key to activate.
5.5mm/2.1mm DC Barrel Polarity Reversing Cable
Once in a while, we find products with center negative DC power jacks, and they really make us mad because who keeps around both positive and negative polarity versions of every voltage? Now, hopefully, USB Power Delivery will solve this long term, but until then, this 2.1mm DC polarity reversal adapter will have to do!
Pimoroni NVMe Base Duo for Raspberry Pi 5 – PIM704
Add two super-fast NVMe SSDs to your Raspberry Pi 5! Ideal if you need redundancy or just a load more storage on your RPi. Pimoroni’s NVMe Base Duo is a PCIe Gen 2 extension board for Raspberry Pi 5. To use it, simply populate it with one or two M-key NVMe SSDs (2230 to 2280 sizes supported) and mount it under (or over) your Pi for a compact and fast storage solution. It even comes with rubber feet!
Espressif ESP32-S3-EYE – ESP32-S3 Camera Board
Ever wanted to dabble in face and/or speech recognition? Espressif’s ESP-S3-EYE is a miniature AI development board. It is based on the ESP32-S3 SoC and ESP-WHO, Espressif’s AI development framework. It features a 2-Megapixel camera, an LCD display, and a microphone, which are used for image recognition and audio processing.
Adafruit TSMP96000 “Code Learning” Infrared IR Receiver Breakout – STEMMA JST PH 2mm
For classic 38KHz infrared remote signal reading, we’ve got a lovely STEMMA IR Receiver. But if you want to read infrared signals from remotes with different carrier signals, especially when you don’t know the frequency, this Adafruit TSMP96000 “Code Learning” Infrared IR Receiver Breakout has the ability to detect IR signals from 20 to 60KHz and provide the carrier signal for analysis. This is used for “code learning” situations where you want your device to work with any IR remote control.
Adafruit I2C Controlled + Keypad Shield Kit for 16×2 LCD
We really like the range of LCDs we stock in the shop, such as our classic blue & white and the fancy RGB negative and RGB positive. Unfortunately, these LCDs require quite a few digital pins: 6 to control the LCD and then another 3 to control the RGB backlight for a total of 9 pins. That’s half of the pins available on a classic Arduino!
Visit www.adafruit.com/new for more info.
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