Metaverse book gets boring rename in latest sign of waning enthusiasmThe growing malaise for metaverse hype is reminiscent of the AI sector directly before the launch of GPT-3.

A Modchip for a FridgeAn annoying fridge that beeps incessantly when the door is open too long should be an easy enough thing to fix by disconnecting the speaker, but when as with [kennedn]’s model it’s plumbed in and the speaker is inaccessible, what’s to be done? The answer: create a mod chip for a fridge.
While the fridge electronics themselves couldn’t be reached, there was full access to a daughterboard with the fridge controls. It should be easy enough to use them to turn off the alarm, but first a little reverse engineering was required. It used a serial communication with an old-school set of shift registers rather than a microcontroller, but it soon became apparent that the job could be done by simply pulling the buttons down. In a move that should gladden the heart of all Hackaday readers then, the modchip in question didn’t even have to be a processor, instead it could be the venerable 555 timer. Our lives are complete, and the fridge is no longer annoying.
The 555 is unashamedly a Hackaday cliche, but even after five decades it still bears some understanding.

Powering Biology with BatteriesWe’ve all been there — you forgot your lunch, but there are AC outlets galore. Wouldn’t it be so much simpler if you could just plug in like your phone? Don’t try it yet, but biologists have taken us one step further to being able to fuel ourselves on those sweet, sweet electrons.
Using an “electrobiological module” of 3-4 enzymes, the amusingly named AAA (acid/aldehyde ATP) cycle regenerates ATP in biological systems directly from electricity. The process takes place at -0.6 V vs a standard hydrogen electrode (SHE), and is compatible with biological transcription/translation processes like “RNA and protein synthesis from DNA.”
The process isn’t dependent on any membranes to foul or more complicated sets of enzymes making it ideal for in vitro synthetic biology since you don’t have to worry about keeping as many components in an ideal environment. We’re particularly interested in how this might apply to DNA computing which we keep being promised will someday be the best thing since the transistor.
Maybe in the future we’ll all jack in instead of eating our daily food pill? If this all seems like something you’ve heard of before, but in reverse, maybe you’re thinking of microbial fuel cells.

UVI release HX-ODDY soft synth HX-ODDY has been modelled on an original white-face MkI version of the ARP Odyssey, and includes some new features that expand on its original capabilities.

New zero energy storage tech could lead to immortal blockchainsToday’s tech allows us to preserve data for thousands of years with zero energy usage, tomorrow’s could ensure Satoshi’s vision lives on forever.

Bethesda Game Studios employees form a ‘wall-to-wall’ unionEmployees at Bethesda Game Studios — the Microsoft-owned game developer that produces the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises — are joining the Communication Workers of America. Quality assurance testers at Bethesda’s parent organization ZeniMax unionized last year, becoming Microsoft’s first official union in the United States. In its announcement, the CWA calls Bethesda’s new union […]
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This Vintage Computing Device is No Baby FoodToday, if you want a computer for a particular task, you go shopping. But in the early days of computing, exotic applications needed custom computers. What’s more is that with the expense of computers, you likely got one made that fit exactly what you needed and no more. That led to many oddball one-off or nearly one-off computers during that time frame. Same for peripheral devices — you built what you had to and you left the rest on the drafting table. [Vintage Geek] got his hands on what appears to be one of them: the Gerber Scientific 6200.
While Gerber Scientific is still around, we’ve never heard of the 6200. Based on the serial number, we would guess at least 62 of them were made and this one has an interesting backstory of living in someone’s home who worked at the Pentagon. We presume the tapes were erased before it was sold!
Design-wise, it is pretty standard stuff. A 19-inch rack, a standard tape drive from Kennedy, a power supply, and some cards. The box takes 240 V, so the computer didn’t get powered up, but an examination of the inside looked like this really was a one-off with handwritten labels on masking tape.
We couldn’t tell for sure if the device was a computer itself, or just a tape drive and maybe plotter interface for another computer. If you know anything about this device, we are sure [Vintage Geek] would like to hear from you.
If this does turn out to have a CPU onboard, we’d bet it is bit sliced. If you have a 9-track tape machine, you may have to make your own tapes soon.

2024 Business Card Challenge: CardTunes Bluetooth SpeakerA business card form factor can be quite limiting, but that didn’t stop [Schwimmflugel] from creating CardTunes, an ESP32-based Bluetooth audio speaker that tried something innovative to deliver the output.
What’s very interesting about this design is the speaker itself. [Schwimmflugel] aimed to create a speaker out of two coils made from flexible circuit board material, driving them with opposite polarities to create a thin speaker without the need for a permanent magnet.

The concept is sound, but in practice, performance was poor. One could identify the song being played, but only if holding the speaker up to one’s ear. The output was improved considerably with the addition of a small permanent magnet behind the card, but of course this compromised the original vision.
Even though the concept of making a speaker from two flexible PCB panel coils had only mixed success, we love seeing this kind of effort and there’s a lot to learn from the results. Not to mention that it’s frankly fantastic to even have a Bluetooth speaker on a business card in the first place.
The 2024 Business Card Challenge is over, but judging by all the incredible entries we received, we’re thinking it probably won’t be too long before we come up with another sized-constrained challenge.

TONEX Metal Gems Collection is FREE for a limited time at Audio Plugin Deals
TONEX Metal Gems Collection from IK Multimedia is now free for a limited time at Audio Plugin Deals. Tonex is IK Multimedia’s flagship machine-modeling guitar tone creator. IK Multimedia’s Tone Eco-System recreates the sounds of the most sought-after amps, cabs, and pedals. There are a few versions of TONEX, but if you don’t own one [...]
View post: TONEX Metal Gems Collection is FREE for a limited time at Audio Plugin Deals

Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. & Indie MusicThis week, our tips and advice for independent, do-it-yourselfers offered a look inside a social media music marketing campaign, how to manage link rot, one-sheets for music promotion, music and. Continue reading
The post Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. & Indie Music appeared first on Hypebot.

REWIND: New Music Industry’s Week in ReviewIt was a busy week filled with important music industry news. Berklee College named a new but familiar President, Spotify’s value soared, musicians struggled on tour, and much more.
The post REWIND: New Music Industry’s Week in Review appeared first on Hypebot.

Karanyi Sounds Lofi Lite Virtual Instrument is FREE (again) for a limited time
Karanyi Sounds offers the Lofi Lite virtual instrument as a FREE download for a limited time. This isn’t the first time that Lofi Lite has been offered for free, but the deal is now available again for those who missed it. If you already own Lofi Lite, you can skip this article because the plugin [...]
View post: Karanyi Sounds Lofi Lite Virtual Instrument is FREE (again) for a limited time

UAD Vintage Studio Bundle Is $59 (94% OFF) On Plugin Boutique
Plugin Boutique has a new deal on the UAD Vintage Studio Bundle for $59, a 94% discount, lasting until August 11! UAD plugins have become fairly affordable lately, especially with bundles. We have covered a number of them on BPB previously. Also, many of their plugins no longer require UAD hardware which opens the door [...]
View post: UAD Vintage Studio Bundle Is $59 (94% OFF) On Plugin Boutique

LANDR reveal Fair Trade AI programme LANDR have announced the launch of an initiative that has been set up to allow artists to earn recurring revenue from participating in the training of assistive AI music tools. 

DISCONNECTED SOULS Sign To Layered Reality ProductionsProgressive/ cinematic metal quintet DISCONNECTED SOULS have signed to Layered Reality Productions (LRP). Following the digital release of their debut album Fragments Of Consciousness in the beginning of this year, both LRP and the band are now working on a physical release of the debut album slated for the second half of 2024. New music videos are also due to land over the coming months, with a special new and original single planned for this coming winter. 

Fletch (the bands’ founder) had this to say:

“This project has evolved a lot since I originally conceptualised it, but the one thing that hasn’t is my goal to work with the brightest and best to deliver quirky and chaotic music and this is exactly what we’re going to continue to do!I’m not one of those people who’s always dreamed of being on a label, but having seen the hard work and talent behind the LRP, they couldn’t be a better fit and it’s going to be a pleasure and privilege to work closely with Tom and co moving forward! They’re a talented group who are working tirelessly to support the progressive scene. I am very excited for the future of this partnership!”

Tom de Wit of Layered Reality Productions comments:

"After releasing their album Fragments Of Consciousness digitally earlier this year, it was clear to us at LRP that we wanted to work with this band. And the feeling was (fortunately) absolutely mutual!"

www.disconnectedsouls.comThe post DISCONNECTED SOULS Sign To Layered Reality Productions first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.