[Bill Porter] is helping a friend out by designing a simple security system for her home. It relies on Xbee modules to alert a base station when doors are opened, or a pressure mat is stepped on. The door sensors are quite simple, and you’re probably already familiar with them. One part mounts to the …
Dial 1 to get Siri as your operator
Back in the days of yore when hats were fashionable and color TV didn’t exist, there were real life people who would answer the phone if you dialed 0. These operators would provide directory assistance, and connect you to another number (such as KL5-8635). Apple’s Siri is a lot like an olde-timey phone operator, so …
Monitoring water levels with a Parallax Ping sensor
When you need a mechanism to detect the water level within a container or tank, you have several different options. Most people opt for a simple float or probe that sits in the water, while others use optics to sense when the water is reaching an undesired level. This device built by [Danilo Abbasciano] uses …
Head-to-head mountain climbing from the safety of your game room
Why risk frostbite and altitude sickness when you can marvel at the view from atop your own mountain climbing game? [Jeff] built this delightful piece which you can see in action after the break. he combined several very simple ideas and he did it really well. The climbers are both mechanical. They grip the mountain’s …
Beer chilling in the name of science
We’ve all been there. The day is done and it’s time for a cold one but you neglected to put more beer in the fridge after imbibing the last bottle the night before. You could chuck it in the freezer and revisit your attempt at refreshment in an hour. But if you need a malty …
Canadian Apple store refuses to return woman’s stolen iPhone
Here’s an interesting – if cautionary – tale of how an Apple store in Canada apparently refused to hand back a stolen iPhone to a woman, despite police and Apple’s database as confirming the hardware was registered to her.
According to the CTV Brit…
McCartney: I’ll contact police over hack claim
Former Beatle Paul McCartney says he is planning to contact police over allegations that his voicemails were intercepted.
Another XSS security flaw discovered in Skype; taps Facebook integration
A security researcher has discovered a potentially major security flaw in Facebook, apparently caused by the communication package/service’s recently-launched close integration with Facebook.
According to David Vieira-Kurz of the SecAlert newswire, the…
Easy for privacy to be lost in the clouds
PlayStation users don’t have to be told it’s privacy awareness week. As they’re waiting for their lives to restart – sorry, their online gaming to be restored – they may be feverishly checking their credit card accounts in case any mysterious transacti…
