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My Business Card Runs Linux

thirtythreeforty.net

151–160 of 415 posts

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mainly work in web-dev, but working in embedded systems is kind of my hobby. It's kind of refreshing working on bare-metal, optimizing up-to single bytes of data, when I'm usually working on layers and layers of abstraction everyday.

Where does a web-dev turn to to get started in this as a hobby?

I’d highly recommend Espruino — a microcontroller that runs JavaScript http://www.espruino.com/

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#152
post #141
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I don't know is why all phones don't have a QR/barcode reader application preinstalled. A QR code is the best of both worlds.

iOS has this standard, default camera app

On android, Google lens in pixel can do it and few other manufacturers like OnePlus have deeper integration with Google Lens via their camera app but needs to be installed separately.

I support the idea of having built-in barcode reader which can scan barcode from the screen as well e.g. images in webpage.

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where does a web-dev turn to to get started in this as a hobby?

I highly recommend the ESP8266 and ESP32 once you're a little more familiar with the arduinos. They have Wifi, and the ESP32 is actually very powerful and has two cores. They make for great DIY home automation/IOT devices and are pretty easy to work with.

> ESP8266

Second this. The ESP8266 (a nodeMCU) is about as powerful as an Arduino Uno, is about half the size of a credit card, is very thin and costs around $3.

The wifi part is the biggest advantage. You can send sensor data directly to your server via simple http requests.

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see why you were downvoted. I fully get why the blog writer didn't include USB-C with this awesome project. But there's now a growing group of people who simply can't use USB-A anymore with their laptops. Most will have an adapter, but not all.

What an absurd tragedy. Everyone was just fine with usb-A and ethernet ports and hdmi but no, now these laptops need dongles for literally everything.

Absurd tragedy? Maybe for you. For me, it's been a good life since the 2016 MacBook Pro. I got a decent dock, and connect everything with a single cable.

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#155
post #3

While it's a fascinating project I'd have some security concerns about plugging someone's USB business card into my computer.

ethernet on a business card is just not as viable.

Perhaps you could do something like this, incorporating the jack into the PCB instead of an elevated component? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/XJACK_ne...

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#156
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see why you were downvoted. I fully get why the blog writer didn't include USB-C with this awesome project. But there's now a growing group of people who simply can't use USB-A anymore with their laptops. Most will have an adapter, but not all.

While this is generally true, I think it’s less true for embedded systems. All of the tools I use at work for embedded systems engineering (JLink, serial adapter, oscilloscope, logic analyzer, nearly all MCU dev boards and FPGAs) are USB-A. I use a MBP and simply could do any work whatsoever without a USB hub. I think it’s fair to assume anyone in the industry can use USB-A.

In the industry, yes, I agree. Except for maybe managers but even they probably have a dock on their desk that includes USB-A.

Edit: I remember something, having done work related to embedded stuff. About 6 years ago, we still had 3.5" floppy drives in a couple of scopes in the lab. We replaced those with a device that internally had the interface of a 3.5" floppy drive, but on the outer faceplate it had a USB-A connector for thumb drives.

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#157
post #3

While it's a fascinating project I'd have some security concerns about plugging someone's USB business card into my computer.

That was my first thought. If someone gave me this at defcon I would not use it.

Would you use anything given to you from a random individual at defcon?

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#158
post #124
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My note was not at all about lead-free hate, actually, since several years, everyone in EU (and I believe in US as well) has been using lead-free solder (ROHS is 2003, if I recall correctly). As you say it is just a matter of slightly increasing the soldering iron temperature, but it doesn't end there and there may be issues further on (JFYI): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy) It seems like lead-free…

I took a quick look at a rework station in an aeronautic company in France, all leaded solder.

>I took a quick look at a rework station in an aeronautic company in France, all leaded solder.

Very possible, there are a number of (pretty much wide) exemptions even in the last version:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rohs-compliance-and-guidance#wha...

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my first thought. If someone gave me this at defcon I would not use it.

Would you use anything given to you from a random individual at defcon?

In an airgapped VM, on someone else's hardware? Probably not even then!

Re: My Business Card Runs Linux

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ethernet on a business card is just not as viable.

Perhaps you could do something like this, incorporating the jack into the PCB instead of an elevated component? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/XJACK_ne...

I never understood why Apple and other thin laptop manufacturers didn't do this? I remember X-Jacks fondly, and would love to have a super-thin laptop with ethernet.
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