Rainwater From the Road to the GardenMost small-scale, residential rainwater harvesting systems we’ve seen rely on using an existing roof and downspout to collect water that would otherwise be diverted out into the environment. These are accessible for most homeowners since almost all of the infrastructure needed for it is already in place. [SuburbanBiology] already built one of these systems to take care of his potable water, though, and despite its 30,000 gallon capacity it’s not even close to big enough to also water his garden. But with some clever grading around his yard and a special rainwater system that harvests rain from the street instead of his roof, he’s capable of maintaining a lush food forest despite living through a drought in Texas.
For this build there are actually two systems demonstrated, one which is gravity-fed from the road and relies on one’s entire property sloping away from the street, and a slightly more complex one that’s more independent of elevation. Both start with cutting through a section of sidewalk to pass a 4″ PVC pipe through to the street where the stormwater runoff can be collected. The gravity-fed system simply diverts this into a series of trenches around the property while the second system uses a custom sump pump to deliver the water to the landscaping.
For a system like this a holding tank is not necessary; [SuburbanBiology] is relying on the soil on his property itself to hold onto the rainwater. Healthy, living soil can hold a tremendous amount of water for a very long time, slowly releasing it to plants when they need it. And, at least where he lives, a system like this is actually helpful for the surrounding environment as a whole since otherwise all of the stormwater runoff has to be diverted out of the city or cause a flood, and it doesn’t end up back in an aquifer. If you’re more curious about a potable water system instead, take a look at [SuburbanBiology]’s previous system.

NeurIPS keynote speaker apologizes for reference to Chinese studentA speaker at the annual NeurIPS AI conference has drawn criticism — not for her opinions about AI, but the way she referred to a Chinese student. During her keynote presentation on “How to optimize what matters most,” MIT Media Lab Professor Rosalind Picard (pictured above) included a slide quoting an excuse given by a […]
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Wago Terminals Make This Ham Radio Dipole Light and PackableFor the amateur radio operator with that on-the-go lifestyle, nothing is more important than having your gear as light and packable as possible. If you’re lugging even a modest setup out into the woods, every ounce counts, which is why we love projects like this packable dipole antenna feedpoint.
At its simplest, a dipole antenna is just two pieces of wire cut to a specific, frequency-dependent length connected to a feedline. In practical terms, though, complications arise, such as keeping common-mode currents off the feedline and providing sturdy mechanical support for the antenna to suspend it safely. [Ham Radio Dude]’s design handles both those requirements while staying as small and packable as possible. The design starts with a bifilar 1:1 current balun, which is wound on an FT82-43 ferrite toroid with 22 AWG magnet wire. One side of the balun is connected to a BNC connector while the other is connected to a pair of Wago splice connectors that are glued together. A loop of paracord for mechanical strain relief is added, and the whole thing gets covered in heat-shrink tubing. The antenna is deployed by attaching a feedline to the BNC, clipping quarter-wave wires into the Wago terminals, and hoisting the whole thing aloft. Full build details are in the video below.
People will no doubt be quick to point out that these Wago terminals are rated for a minimum of 18 AWG wire, making them inappropriate for use with fine magnet wire. True enough, but [Dude] was able to get continuity through the Wagos, so the minimum gauge is probably more of an electrical code thing. Still, you’ll want to be careful that the connections stay solid, and it might pay to look at alternatives to the Wago brand, too.

GM ‘blindsides’ Cruise by giving up on robotaxisWelcome back to Week in Review. This week, we’re looking at GM’s decision to pull out of the robotaxi business, Google alluding to the existence of multiple universes, and how you can make some serious cash by getting an AI bot to fall in love with you. Let’s get into it. General Motors will no […]
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Behold a Geared, Continuously Variable TransmissionWhen it comes to transmissions, a geared continuously-variable transmission (CVT) is a bit of a holy grail. CVTs allow smooth on-the-fly adjustment of gear ratios to maintain a target speed or power requirement, but sacrifice transmission efficiency in the process. Geared transmissions are more efficient, but shift gear ratios only in discrete steps. A geared CVT would hit all the bases, but most CVTs are belt drives. What would a geared one even look like? No need to wonder, you can see one for yourself. Don’t miss the two videos embedded below the page break.
The outer ring is the input, the inner ring is the output, and the three little gears with dots take turns transferring power.
The design is called the RatioZero and it’s reminiscent of a planetary gearbox, but with some changes. Here’s how the most visible part works: the outer ring is the input and the inner ring is the output. The three small gears inside the inner ring work a bit like relay runners in that each one takes a turn transferring power before “handing off” to the next. The end result is a smooth, stepless adjustment of gear ratios with the best of both worlds. Toothed gears maximize transmission efficiency while the continuously-variable gear ratio allows maximizing engine efficiency.
There are plenty of animations of how the system works but we think the clearest demonstration comes from [driving 4 answers] with a video of a prototype, which is embedded below. It’s a great video, and the demo begins at 8:54 if you want to skip straight to that part.
One may think of motors and gearboxes are a solved problem since they have been around for so long, but the opportunities to improve are ongoing and numerous. Even EV motors have a lot of room for improvement, chief among them being breaking up with rare earth elements while maintaining performance and efficiency.

tldr-pages Keeps it Short, Wherever You Need ItLet’s face it, even the most accomplished console cowboy can’t keep everything memorized. Sure, you might know all the important arguments for a daily-use tool like tar or ls, but what about the commands you don’t use that often? For that matter, even if you do use tar every day, we bet you don’t know all of the options it supports.
Built-in documentation or the man pages are of course a huge help, but they are dense resources. Sometimes what you really need is to see just a few key examples. When that happens, check out the tldr-pages project and its array of front-ends. Whether you’re working remotely on an embedded gadget, or have the luxury of a full desktop OS and browser, the project offers a way to get the help you need as quickly as possible.

The idea behind the project is that you can provide the command or tool you want to know more about, and instantly see a list of common options it takes. You’ll also be provided a realistic example for each one, which can often help make things “click” when you’re looking at a particularly obtuse utilization.
If you’re working on a box that has Python, getting access to the database of commands and examples is as simple as running pip3 install tldr and giving it a command you want to learn more about:

There’s also a very slick browser client which can be installed as a progressive web app (PWA) for off-line use. You can even embed it into your own web pages, like so:

If none of that tickles your fancy, the entire database is offered up as a PDF for your local perusal — don’t worry, it only clocks in at around 6 MB.
No matter how you access it, tldr-pages offers up a wealth of practical command line knowledge. Whether you’re looking to hone your terminal skills, or perhaps want to submit your own examples for the benefit of the community, this is definitely a project to keep in mind.
Thanks to [abrakadabra] for the tip.

DIY & Independent Musician News Last WeekThis week in DIY & independent musician news, our indie readers tuned into topics like how to make more money on tour, make the most of the year end and. Continue reading
The post DIY & Independent Musician News Last Week appeared first on Hypebot.

Last week’s top Music Business NewsA busy week by any definition and music business news was no exception, with the Spotify CEO’s alarming net worth, stream ripping cracking down on the wrong culprits, and more…. Continue reading
The post Last week’s top Music Business News appeared first on Hypebot.

Trent Reznor thinks “the culture of the music world sucks” and that music has been “relegated to something that happens in the background”Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor doesn’t like how the culture of the music world has changed and feels technology is to blame for how listeners now value it.

READ MORE: “I can make better music than people pushing buttons”: Beyoncé producer Raphael Saadiq says only “people who can’t play an instrument” depend on loops

In an interview with IndieWire about his soundtrack work alongside bandmate Atticus Ross, Reznor says that, outside the bracket of Nine Inch Nails, the pair have flourished as composers because they’re “working in service to something, where we’re not in control of the whole thing, and we’re working intimately with a director or small team to try and help realise a collective vision, solving that riddle without the burden of ‘how’s it going to be marketed?’ and all the things.”
He adds, “What we’re looking for [from film] is the collaborative experience with interesting people. We haven’t gotten that from the music world necessarily, for our own choice. You mentioned disillusionment with the music world?  Yes. The culture of the music world sucks. ”
“That’s another conversation, but what technology has done to disrupt the music business in terms of not only how people listen to music but the value they place on it is defeating. I’m not saying that as an old man yelling at clouds, but as a music lover who grew up where music was the main thing. Music [now] feels largely relegated to something that happens in the background or while you’re doing something else. That’s a long, bitter story.”
Reznor and Ross have composed music for films such as Challengers, Bones And All, Queer, and the forthcoming Tron film which will land in October 2025. It has also been newly announced that the pair are scoring Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, the next video game from Neil Druckmann (creator of The Last Of Us) and Naughty Dog studio.
Check out the trailer below:

Reznor has already spoken out against the streaming industry before. Interestingly, he helped to develop Apple’s music streaming platform, and though he enjoyed working with the company, it made him realise he wants to remain an artist first and foremost.
Read more music tech news.
The post Trent Reznor thinks “the culture of the music world sucks” and that music has been “relegated to something that happens in the background” appeared first on MusicTech.

Warp: free plug-in from Baby Audio Continuing their tradition of closing out the year with a freebie, Baby Audio have announced the launch of a new plug-in that’s based on Transit 2.

Shure SM58 Takes Center Stage at 58th Country Music AwardsAt the 58th Country Music Awards, held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Shure microphones provided audio from the stage. The legendary SM58 and Shure's cutting-edge wireless systems were at the heart of this year's performances, bringing unmatched sound quality to country music's biggest night.A Behind-the-Scenes Look:The event featured an impressive lineup of industry-leading audio professionals, including:Tom Davis - Audio Producer

Paul Sandweiss – Audio Coordinator

J. Mark King – Production Mixer

Rick Shimer – Front of House

Pat Baltzell – House Production Mix

Jason Spence – SL Monitors

Chris Daniels – SR Monitors

Eric Shilling and Peter Gray – Music Mixers

James Stoffo – RF CoordinatorThe Shure Sound System:24 channels of PSM1000

110 Bodypacks

8 P9HW Wired Bodypack Personal MonitorsSpotlight on Artists:Some of the industry's top performers relied on Shure to deliver unforgettable performances. Notable highlights include: Chris Stapleton – Iconic wired SM58

Luke Bryan & Lainey Wilson – SM58 capsules

Luke Combs – KSM11 capsule

Megan Moroney, Ella Langley, Riley Green, Bailey Zimmerman, & Dierks Bentley – Beta 58 capsules

Ashley McBryde & Parker McCollum – KSM9 capsulesAbout Shure (www.shure.com) The post Shure SM58 Takes Center Stage at 58th Country Music Awards first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Kalshi CEO admits enlisting influencers to dis Polymarket in a now-deleted podcast segmentKalshi’s CEO, Tarek Mansour, confirmed on a podcast interview that his employees did ask social media influencers to promote memes about the FBI’s raid on the home of his arch rival, the CEO of Polymarket.  Both of these companies offer competing events-betting markets, a new kind of betting industry where people wager about the outcomes […]
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Could Bitcoiners embrace BlueSky, an X alternative that hit 25M users?The social media platform has roughly doubled its number of users since November, suggesting it may have pulled some US-based X users after the presidential election.

Apple Newton Gets Rebuilt Battery PackWe all carry touch screen computers around in our pockets these days, but before the smartphone revolution, there was the personal digital assistant (PDA). While it wasn’t a commercial success, one of the first devices in this category was the Apple Newton. Today they’re sought after by collectors, although most of the ones surviving to this day need a bit of rework to the battery pack. Luckily, as [Robert’s Retro] shows, it’s possible to rebuild the pack with modern cells.
By modern standards, the most surprising thing about these battery packs is both that they’re removable and that they’re a standard size, matching that of AA batteries. The Newton battery pack uses four cells, so replacing them with modern rechargeable AA batteries should be pretty straightforward, provided they can be accessed. This isn’t as easy, though. In true Apple fashion the case is glued shut, and prying it apart can damage it badly enough so it won’t fit back in the tablet after repair is complete. The current solution is to cut a hatch into the top instead and then slowly work on replacing the cells while being careful to preserve the electronics inside.
[Robert’s Retro] also demonstrates how to spot weld these new AA batteries together to prepare them for their new home in the Newton case. With the two rows fastened together with nickel strips they can be quickly attached to the existing electrical leads in the battery pack, and from there it’s just a matter of snapping the batteries into the case and sliding it back into the tablet. If you’re looking for something a bit more modern, though, we’d recommend this Apple tablet-laptop combo, but it’s not particularly easy on the wallet.

“Curious, foolish and ambitious”: How Polyend’s Synth is reimagining synthesizer designBenn Jordan isn’t a Polyend employee, but the company frequently consults him when developing new instruments. And he’s never been shy about discussing many of them to his 459,000 YouTube subscribers. Two years ago, the company’s founder Piotr Raczynski showed Benn an early prototype of the Polyend Synth. “To be honest, I didn’t completely get the vision,” the producer, content creator and researcher tells me.
But by that stage, Polyend had already settled on the physical design. “The grid has many advantages over the traditional keyboard — for example, [it can] fit way more notes within a small footprint,” Piotr explains. Still, the clever interface ideas that would elevate the Synth weren’t there yet. According to Benn, “it only had one synth engine” and despite the grid’s potential advantages, he just didn’t see the form factor “vibing” in the same way that Polyend’s Tracker and Play instruments do.
In that iteration, Polyend’s Synth was just another digital synthesizer, like many others out there, but in a black rectangle with pads instead of a keyboard. Piotr stuck with the idea, though. “We knew that we wanted to make a grid-based device… and knew there was still plenty of room for innovation. But, as it’s highly customisable, it can sometimes be disorientating. We knew we needed a solution.”
Polyend Synth. By Simon Vinall for MusicTech.
Polyend’s solution is so simple that it now doesn’t seem particularly revolutionary. For Benn, it wasn’t until he got his hands on a more complete unit a few months back that it finally clicked and he realised “how brilliant the thing is” he says. “Once I saw the multi-engines in use together with sequencing… oof. So nice.”
Polyend combined several different concepts to create an instrument greater than the sum of its parts. It starts with an incredibly broad pallet of sounds.
“We created separate synths, each with its own character,” Piotr says. There are eight engines in total covering everything from emulations of vintage analogue synths to harsh wavetables, physical modelling and modern FM.
But we live in a world where Arturia’s MicroFreak and MiniFreak are already covering this ground. These are also digital synths with powerful multi-engine cores capable of shapeshifting in surprising ways. This wasn’t the real challenge, as Piotr explains. “We knew that we were not building one system that shares some standard components and making a multitimbral architecture… Then, the interface challenge was allowing users to play three separate synths at once.”
Polyend Synth. By Simon Vinall for MusicTech.
This is where the Polyend Synth starts to separate itself from everything else on the market today. The Smart Grid goes beyond the standard pad-style controller that lets you switch between chromatic and scale modes, though it can do that too. You can split the grid up into three sections, each of which controls a different synth engine.
Think of it like setting up a split on a keyboard, but with a lot more flexibility. If you only need one octave of a pentatonic scale for your bass line, you can confine one synth to just five pads along the edge, leaving open a wide expanse for two other synths to play chords and leads on. Or you can split the grid evenly three ways. If you prefer a horizontal layout to a vertical one, there are options for that.
You can’t design your own custom grids, but the 12 built-in layouts give you more options than any other pad controller that I know of. Piotr hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a custom grid editor — in fact, the company beta-tested one during development, but everyone just ended up using the grid presets anyway. Pior adds that the company hasn’t received many requests for the feature at this point.
Polyend Synth. By Simon Vinall for MusicTech.
However, having three different playable synths available simultaneously presents some challenges. For one, playing three instruments at the same time is exceptionally difficult. Sure, Polyend could have just added a sequencer and called it a day, but that would make the Synth a groovebox, and Polyend already sells several of those. The focus here was on performance, adding “the smart grid and chord follower mode [kept] it highly playable and fun,” Piotr said.
Let’s focus on those words, “fun” and “play” for a moment. In a recent video, YouTuber and music producer Taetro talks about how so much gear is focused on making music, with an eye towards a finished product recorded for posterity. But “I do remember a time when I used to play music,” he says early in the clip before digging into how the Polyend Synth forces him to have fun with instruments again.
Polyend Synth. By Simon Vinall for MusicTech.
The final piece of the puzzle that makes the Polyend Synth something for playing music, versus making music is the chord follower. Each synth can have its own arpeggiator or sequencer settings, but as long as one synth is in a chord mode (either standard chord, chord scale or using a chord pack), the other two synths will follow the root notes to keep in tune.
So let’s imagine you’ve got a basic arp for your bass and a little lead flourish that you want to come in at the end of every four bars, but you also need to play a long, spicy eight-bar chord progression. With most instruments, playing this and keeping the bass and lead fill following your chords would require some serious finger dexterity. But the cleverness of Polyend’s Synth is that you can latch the bass and, as you change chords, the root note of your bass arpeggio will follow. And, even if you just hit the same pad over and over for the lead, it will also stay in tune with the backing chords. The pads also support polyphonic aftertouch which opens up levels of intuitive expression not normally available on this sort of mass-market device — not bad for $499.
Polyend Synth. By Simon Vinall for MusicTech.
The layout, the sounds, the sequences, the macros for tweaking the patches — all of these are saved together in Scenes. These are distinctly different from a project on a groove box, though. You can’t just open one of the producer-made preset Scenes by Venus Theory or Renoizer and hit play. In fact, there is no play button. Piotr’s thoughts were: “Since the Synth is more of an instrument to be played, we didn’t want users to simply load projects, hit play, and listen. Instead, we aimed for projects that could be performed live. This led us to the concept of Scenes, which are more akin to presets than traditional projects.”
What would normally require several pieces of gear, a mastery of a complicated sequencer or prodigy-level finger dexterity is accessible to a broad swath of the public with the Synth. Playing rich multi-part synth arrangements isn’t limited to those with deep pockets and a studio full of gear; it can be done in your living room.
The Synth is the next evolution of the synthesizer from gadget to modern parlour instrument, following in the footsteps of Teenage Engineering’s Pocket Operators and Korg’s Volcas. Where once the upright piano or a cheap acoustic guitar would be the most common instruments in a home, you’re increasingly likely to find a tiny affordable synthesizer. They’ve found their place among amateurs simply looking to entertain themselves or others, rather than record a hit single.
Polyend Synth. By Simon Vinall for MusicTech.
Creating an instrument that can deliver this level of harmonic complexity while also being a viable parlour music option wasn’t easy. It took roughly three years for the Polyend Synth to reach its final form. “The biggest challenge was the interface. We developed 12 different prototypes. It took us quite a lot of time to nail the thing down. The goal was to give users something familiar, intuitive, and easy to grasp in the first five minutes of operating it. But also deep enough to allow further exploration once you get the basics,” Piotr explains.
Judging from the early reviews (and my own hands-on time) it seems that Polyend has successfully struck this balance of immediacy and depth. Depending on where you look you’ll find artists like Federico Chiesa, better known as Oora, praising its more advanced capabilities saying the Synth is, “made for the sound designer, for the people who really like to dig into the sound.” But Emily Hopkins (AKA the Harp Lady) is quick to point out that you can learn most of what you need to know to use it in an afternoon.
The biggest criticism so far is that the firmware still feels incomplete and buggy. In particular, the pad sensitivity just isn’t dialled in yet and it defaults to full velocity. This state is how the company recommends using the Synth for now, which makes getting nuance out of the instrument a little difficult.
Polyend Synth. By Simon Vinall for MusicTech.
It helps that the Polyend Synth is built on the same microcontroller as its Play+ and Tracker+, the upgraded versions of its Play and Tracker grooveboxes that include early versions of some of the synth engines in the Synth. The company knows the hardware inside and out at this point. It’s tested the limits of its processing power, given many of the synth engines a trial run on those grooveboxes and even managed to keep the price reasonably low. Content creator Vulture Culture even called the Synth “the best value in music production today.”
For Piotr and the Polyend team, the goal with the Synth wasn’t necessarily to make something revolutionary. They didn’t want to build the most powerful synth, the smallest synth, or the synth with the longest sequencer. The focus was on making something fun that was more than just a musical toy.
“We engaged in a discussion about the ideal setup for our creative process and found that the best results come from using three different devices along with a few effects. Four devices always felt like too much, while two didn’t suffice,” Piotr said.
And with that core concept settled, the company carried forward, even if not everyone immediately got the vision. In a world where it often feels like companies are happy to make the same instrument over and over, cashing in on their legacy, Polyend is offering genuine innovation. Piotr summed up the company’s philosophy perfectly: “We like doing things differently, which is a more risky and challenging path, but this is who we are — curious, foolish, and ambitious.”
Polyend Synth. By Simon Vinall for MusicTech.
The post “Curious, foolish and ambitious”: How Polyend’s Synth is reimagining synthesizer design appeared first on MusicTech.