zimmie

auxio said:

Given how long these tools have been around (40+ years in some cases), how relatively simple the code is compared to modern software, and the fact that they're used in server environments, I'm very surprised they haven't been fully security audited by now.

sudo is not at all simple, and it has reached the level of complexity where it's basically impossible to confidently reason about it. The OpenBSD team made something simpler (doas) a while ago. Maybe this is the kick people need to finally adopt it more broadly.

dewme said:

zimmie said:

144 antennas means 144 amplifiers, and a 144-path phase modulator (unless it clusters them into sectors such that when in one quadrant of the device, the other three quadrants' antennas are inactive) or 144 coherent oscillators. The radiation precision would also depend on the tolerances of several components in each of the amplifiers. It's basically a track-while-scan RADAR.

Based on the last time I dealt with active phased array tech, that base station is likely over $750 in parts alone.

This unit may be fairly large, but if you look at where this technology started take a look at the SCANFAR (SPS-32+SPS-33) radar panels used on the USS Long Beach and USS Enterprise built in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Each panel was about the size of a small house. The newest equivalent, the SPY-1 radar array variants, are much smaller but still very large and consume a significant amount of the power budget on their host platform. But while sharing the technology these are also solving a different problem. Wireless power transfer (WPT) is much more narrowly focused and the beamforming is targeted at increasing the power transfer efficiency, which at 5 watts per device is still far less efficient than plugging in a USB or Lightning power charging cord.

It's the smallest 144-path active phased array I've ever seen. And it isn't really solving a different problem at all. Both are intended to deliver a lot of RF energy to a remote point with moderately high precision. A TWS RADAR looks for the reflected energy, while this is sending the energy to be harvested at the destination, but that distinction doesn't matter to the power transmission part.

The only functional difference I see is that this doesn't use information from the transmission to determine target location. It instead uses a side-channel. Compared to building a 144-path active phased array antenna in the first place, repurposing this for hobbyist RADAR would be trivial.

qwerty52 said:

SpamSandwich said:

Enjoy having your brains and internal organs being cooked with microwaves.

Yes, there are concerns about eventually radiation effects for the users, due to the wireless connection between iPhone and AirPods, what in fact is a child play compared to this. Hot to mention the possibility for unauthorized access to the users phones this way.

No, there aren't. There really, really aren't. People have worked around far higher levels of RF energy for nearly a century with zero long-term health effects. With long exposure to high levels of power (significantly more than 5W), you can get something vaguely like a sunburn. A bit higher than that focused on your eyes, and you can boil your vitreous humor. The heat is the only real risk, and that's mostly a risk because you can't see it to avoid it. I'm an Extra-class radio operator and have been dealing with kilowatt-range RF for over a decade.

144 antennas means 144 amplifiers, and a 144-path phase modulator (unless it clusters them into sectors such that when in one quadrant of the device, the other three quadrants' antennas are inactive) or 144 coherent oscillators. The radiation precision would also depend on the tolerances of several components in each of the amplifiers. It's basically a track-while-scan RADAR.

Based on the last time I dealt with active phased array tech, that base station is likely over $750 in parts alone.

For anybody unaware, reptile skins are HEAVILY regulated at the international level. Absolutely do not try to fly with a python or alligator version of this unless you are sure of the laws of every region through which you will be traveling. I know somebody who had the vulcanized rubber on a high-end camera replaced with faux alligator skin, and the camera was confiscated by customs (they couldn't tell if it was real or fake). He eventually got it back, but it was a bit of an ordeal.

joefrank said:

I d love a 23" 4k monitor to use two of them side by side, to replace my eizo ones that were 1080 but there doesn't seem to be any. Two 27" side by side is way overkill.

The first LG Ultrafine 4K is real 4K (4096x2304 pixels) and 21.5" diagonal.

The second LG Ultrafine 4K is fake TV 4K (3840x2160), and has a 23" diagonal.

Both are pretty widely available. I snagged a used 21.5" unit earlier this year for ~$300.

polymnia said:

joefrank said:

is it just me or are displays not getting ridiculously large? There's really a lot of use for the smaller sizes we were used to. And there's not much point for sizes larger than the already humungous 31.5".

It’s not just you. Even though I much prefer a big display for my photography work that pays me, I have a Mac Mini that does nothing but host my iTunes library. I run it headless now since a nice, modestly proportioned display isn’t easily available. I’d love a small monitor with a fit & finish I’m willing to look at in the living area of my home. 

It seems that USB displays may by moving into that space. I saw an article here on AI the other day for a 15” USB display that checked the boxes for compact & nice looking. 

The compact displays like that are decent as long as you don't expect too much. They don't get as bright as the screens in Apple's laptops, for example. 99% sRGB, rather than P3. They're not bad monitors, just not great. Fortunately, they're also pretty cheap. A brand new 2160p (3840x2160) monitor from UPERFECT is $170.