Al Williams

1 week ago | hackaday.com | Al Williams

[Doug Brown] had a problem. He uses a dummy HDMI plug to fool a computer into thinking it has a monitor for when you want to run the computer headless. The dummy plug is a cheap device that fools the computer into thinking it has a monitor and, as such, has to send the Extended Display ID (EDID) to the computer. However, that means the plug pretends to be some kind of monitor. But what if you want it to pretend to be a different monitor?

1 week ago | hackaday.com | Al Williams

We’ve all been there. [Kasyan TV] had a universal adapter for a used laptop, and though it worked for a long time, it finally failed. Can it be fixed? Of course, it can, but it is up to you if it is worth it or not. You can find [Kasyan’s] teardown and repair in the video below. Inside the unit, there were a surprising number of components crammed into a small area. The brick also had power factor correction. The first step, of course, was to map out the actual circuit topology.

2 weeks ago | nzherald.co.nz | Al Williams

A Northland teacher renting a school house has questioned whether her tenancy was for a fixed or periodic term. Photo / Stock Image 123rfA Northland school teacher wants to stay in a house owned by a board of trustees but has been told to leave and make way for a new principal. Taipa Area School teacher Jessie Moran accepted a tenancy at the school’s “principal” house in April 2024. The board asked her to move out earlier this year so a new school principal could move in.

2 weeks ago | rnz.co.nz | Al Williams

By Al Williams, Open Justice reporter of Warning: This story contains content some may find disturbing. A mother of three "fell in love" with a friend's 15-year-old son and formed a "relationship" with him before authorities discovered her "distorted thinking". The teen wasn't getting on well with his family and had been reported missing more than 20 times. She was very anxious to find love in a real relationship, and he provided it.

2 weeks ago | hackaday.com | Al Williams

When home computers first appeared, disk drives were an expensive rarity. Consumers weren’t likely to be interested in punch cards or paper tape, but most people did have consumer-grade audio cassette recorders. There were a few attempts at storing data on tapes, which, in theory, is simple enough. But, practically, cheap audio recorders are far from perfect, which can complicate the situation.