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LED signs could soon hide secret messages
From free decoder rings hidden in our cereal and Enigma machines used during world war two to the end-to-end encryption of iMessage, the sending and receiving of secret messages has always been a part of our daily lives. Thanks to technology, apps and services that offer end-to-end encryption are now commonplace. But what if you want to share a piece of information with an individual or group in a public area?
Lego's new toy train is a STEM tool for preschoolers
Twenty years ago Lego introduced Mindstorms as a way to engage kids who were becoming more interested in video games and the internet than plastic building blocks. It was successful enough that the kits became a regular sight in robotics classes and competitions. Now the line is on its fourth generation, and it's been joined by other STEM-friendly Lego kits like Boost and Powered Up to bring tech skills to many different types of kids. Now Lego's educational division goes even younger with Coding Express, a set that will teach 3- and 4-year-olds the basics of programming while they construct a world of trains, picnics and wandering deer.
Lego's STEM-friendly Batmobile needs more STEM
Even as STEM toys become more popular, Lego's construction sets remain the gold standard, with more recent products like Mindstorms and Boost expanding into the fields of robotics and coding. This month it's bringing that technological expertise to its more standard kits with the Powered Up ecosystem. Now bread-and-butter sets like Lego City and licensed products like DC Superheroes get nifty additions like motorized parts and app connectivity, starting with Batman's iconic vehicle.
This cute Def Con badge beckons you to hack it
At previous Def Cons I wrote about the unofficial badges and the culture surrounding those pieces of technology. This year I was determined to move past my infatuation with blinking lights and colorful PCBs (printed circuit boards). Then I saw the Maneki Neko badge. It's the iconic beckoning cat (literally what "maneki-neko" means) with a moving 3D-printed arm and two 16-segment LEDs that blink at you while it waves.
Ben Heck's Pocket Beagle drum sequencer
Felix takes his hand to the soldering iron, picks up Beagleboard.org's Pocket Beagle and assembles a drum sequencer with the help of the Bela Mini audio cape. With a laser-engraved case, hands-on assistance from S. Astrid Bin and a custom-designed input-output matrix for driving the LEDs, Felix puts it all together with C++. Have you made an electronics audio device, or a project with the Pocket Beagle? Let the team know on the element14 Community.
Ask Engadget: Do I buy, build... or both?
The support shared among readers in the comments section is one of the things we love most about the Engadget community. Over the years, we've known you to offer sage advice on everything from Chromecasts and cameras to drones and smartphones. In fact, our community's knowledge and insights are a reason why many of you participate in the comments. We truly value the time and detail you all spend in responding to questions from your fellow tech-obsessed commenters, which is why we've decided to bring back the much-missed "Ask Engadget" column. This week's question comes to us from a high school senior with a dead laptop and a need for a solid school laptop and a gaming machine. Weigh in with your advice in the comments -- and feel free to send your own questions along to ask@engadget.com! Would it be worth the money to build myself a PC (for gaming and other activities such as basic coding), and get myself a notebook to take to school? Note that I am going to be a high school senior this upcoming school year, and am deciding on either going to a nearby university or community college or a nearby trade school. My current laptop is pretty much dead. Please help!
Leaked Apple repair videos offer a peek behind the curtain
Apple products aren't necessarily made for you to repair them at home; you generally need to take your ailing iPhone or Macbook Pro into an Apple retail store for any significant fixes or part replacement. Now, however, a YouTube account has apparently leaked eleven official-looking internal training videos that show how repairs are made on iPhone X, iMac Pro and MacBook Pro.
You can legally download 3D-printed gun designs next month
3D gun printing advocate Defense Distributed has emerged triumphant in a legal battle to freely publish online blueprints that could allow users to manufacture firearms.
Make your classic gamepads wireless with 8BitDo's DIY kits
8BitDo will happily sell you wireless controllers that are vaguely similar to classic gamepads of yore, but it clearly can't sell you the real deal without invoking massive copyright battles. It can, however, offer you the next best thing. The company is now selling mod kits that add Bluetooth wireless to original NES, SNES, Super Famicom and Mega Drive controllers. You don't need a soldering iron or a toolbox -- so long as you're comfortable opening a vintage gamepad in the first place, you'll have everything you need (including a lithium-ion battery) to avoid stringing cords across the room.
Nintendo Labo contest champions include a solar accordion and teapots
If it wasn't already apparent that you can do much more with Nintendo Labo than what comes in the box, it is now. Nintendo has unveiled the winners of a Creators Contest that challenged them to produce games and musical instruments, and the results go well beyond what you might expect. One of the more inventive examples is Momoka Kinder's solar-powered accordion. It uses the Joy-Cons to both play notes (when you cover one of the holes with your finger) and change volume based on tilt, while pressing buttons on the Switch screen controls the octave. You probably won't serenade someone with it, but it's complete and relatively easy to make (you can use tissue boxes if you like).
Ben Heck's mini pinball game: Analysis and programming
Ben is moving walls around, but don't expect him to quit his day job to become an architect just yet. After a few tests on the pieces for the modular miniature pinball kit, it has been decided that the angles need to change for the pinball run. That means a redesign is in store. Meanwhile, Felix has received the final design of the printed circuit board from OSHPark, and based on some initial tests it appears to be a-okay! What do you think of the build so far? Let the team know over on the element14 Community.
Suicide, violence, and going underground: FOSTA’s body count
Maybe you've noticed a sudden flood of updates to Terms and Conditions recently from the internet services you use. A close look at those agreements will show that many are GDPR related, but some are most definitely not. Welcome to the culture of fear, ushered in by the passing of FOSTA-SESTA.
Nintendo Labo review: A labor of love
Over the last week, I've spent more than 20 hours folding and assembling cardboard, and I've learned a few things. One: You don't want to follow exactly in my footsteps. And two: Nintendo's Labo is ingenious. It's something few other companies could have produced and turns the Switch into so much more than a game console: With Labo, it's an engine powering a whole new world of DIY creations. The only downside? Building Labo kits can be a pretty huge time sink. But for some, that might be a good thing.
Screen Actors Guild pledges to fight AI-driven face-swapping porn
The slow war against AI-powered, face-swapping pornography continues. The Screen Actors Guild, the labor union representing the biggest names in film and television, says it's "fighting back" against deepfakes, videos that superimpose actors' faces onto the bodies of porn stars. SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris wrote the following in the group's monthly magazine, as spotted by Deadline: "We are closely watching the development of so-called deepfakes. This artificial intelligence tool has the ability to steal our images and superimpose them onto another person's body in potentially unpleasant and inappropriate digital forms. SAG-AFTRA is focused on these emerging processes and fighting back when the technology infringes on our members' rights."
Google's latest do-it-yourself AI kits include everything you need
Google's AIY kits have been helpful for do-it-yourselfers who want to explore AI concepts like computer vision, but they weren't really meant for newcomers when you had to supply your own Raspberry Pi and other must-haves. It'll be much easier to get started from now on: Google has released updated AIY Vision and AIY Voice kits that include what you need to get started. Both include a Raspberry Pi Zero WH board and a pre-provisioned SD card, while the Vision Kit also throws in a Raspberry Pi Camera v2. You won't be going on extra shopping trips (or downloading software) just to get the ball rolling.
Adam Savage returns to Discovery Channel with 'Mythbusters Jr.'
The original Mythbusters may have gone off air after its 14th season in 2016, but the science-based show hasn't lost any influence since then. A reboot came to the Science channel last November, with new hosts taking on the DIY-ethos and wow factor of the source show. Now, co-creator and original co-host Adam Savage is setting his sights on a younger generation with a new spin-off titled Mythbusters Jr.
Huawei P20 Pro teardown sheds light on its three cameras
Take a look at the P20 Pro and there's a good chance you'll wonder how Huawei managed to stuff three rear cameras into a phone roughly the same size as its two-cam rivals. Thankfully, it's no longer much of a mystery. The DIY repair crew at iFixit has torn down the P20 Pro to explain how Huawei pulled off the design. The primary, monochrome and telephoto cameras are all stuffed into a compact module that's closely connected to a similarly space-efficient mainboard -- in fact, it looks like there was plenty of room for the 4,000mAh battery and speakers (though there's no headphone jack, alas).
Ask Engadget: What's the best way to clean my touchscreen?
The support shared among readers in the comments section is one of the things we love most about the Engadget community. Over the years, we've known you to offer sage advice on everything from Chromecasts and cameras to drones and smartphones. In fact, our community's knowledge and insights are a reason why many of you participate in the comments. We truly value the time and detail you all spend in responding to questions from your fellow tech-obsessed commenters, which is why we've decided to bring back the much-missed "Ask Engadget" column. This week's question is straightforward and concerns touchscreens. Weigh in with your advice in the comments -- and feel free to send your own questions along to ask@engadget.com! What's the best way to clean a smartphone screen (or touchscreen)?
Hands-on with the sci-fi game that falls apart as you play
You're never going to play Clunker Junker in your living room or on your desktop PC, no matter how many GPUs it has. Hardware is the issue here, but it's not a matter of processing power -- Clunker Junker requires two LED-adorned arm cranks, plus four crates with glowing lights and doors that come crashing down when they're unlatched during gameplay. The game itself, to be fair, runs on a laptop, but that's about as traditional as this thing gets.
Giant scissors are your controller in this quirky first-person action game
There's this small world inside GDC 2018 called Alt.Ctrl.GDC, where you'll find a booth full of quirky games that incorporate physical objects into their story. With Scissors the that than (the latter part pronounced "da da dan," according to its Japanese developer), you use giant scissors as your controller and as the main weapon inside the actual game. Before we get into the premise of Scissors the that than, you should first know that the physical pair that acts as a controller only has a joystick on the left handle (which you use to move) and a red button on the right one that starts the game.
